the unofficial flower of 2020

I feel this sunflower right now.

The year start off with such promise. Moved to a new place in West Seattle. The election, and a new positive direction for the country, was coming. I was starting to build a new company.

Then we got pandemic, lockdowns, injustice, protests, riots, fires, smoke and throughout it all isolation. West Seattle became the “accidental island” when our main bridge was closed.

Meanwhile we launched a startup just as the entire world became no bigger than a Zoom window.

There is real privilege in building something new. I’m lucky to get to work with great people, to encourage and be inspired by them. Still the pressure startup teams are under can lead to anxiety and depression even in the best of times. It’s so easy to forget that your colleagues and teammates may be carrying burdens you know nothing about. Isolation and uncertainty just amplify it all.

I’m certainly not alone in feeling the stress of this year. It has worn so many of us down, taken our blooms and squeezed the color from them. Make sure you take care of yourself and your team. Now more than ever, lift them up. Find ways to support them as best you can with honesty and compassion. Be there for them and just as importantly let them be there for you.

We will all get through 2020’s challenges to bloom again soon.