2015 Fellow Vanessa Paige recaps a challenging but fruitful first week at Training Camp. Looking back at one thing she learned each of the first five days, Vanessa reflects on the inevitability of failure, the importance of understanding your teammates and why you can’t forget to validate yourself.
You can read Vanessa’s original post and follow along throughout Training Camp on her personal blog, Venturing with Vanessa.
On the first day of VFA Training Camp, we were encouraged to write a few SMART goals to help guide us through the next five weeks. While I haven’t always loved creating SMART goals, I was able to settle on one that I’ve fully committed to, a goal that could be deemed as “cheesy” to some and “easy” to others. This goal is to learn one new thing every day about my peers, team members, hard/soft skills, or myself. And I’m not going to lie, this turned out to be one of the easiest goals I have ever set for myself — but it’s only been easy because I’ve absolutely loved every second of aiming to achieve it.
Which leads me to my week one lessons…
Day 1: It is OK to ask for help.
On Monday, I woke up super early to drop my car off at the parking space I had rented from a woman who lived about two miles away. After being unable to get in touch with her to confirm our arrangement for most of the day, I finally heard from her as Day 1 was wrapping up. Sure enough, she told me on the phone that 1. she doesn’t know who I am, 2. she is about to have my car towed, and 3. she never rented her spot to me. So obviously I freaked.
My reaction in this situation on any other day would have been to get an Uber to get me to my car as soon as possible. But for whatever reason, even though I didn’t know them well, I reached out to two of my fellow Fellows who I knew drove here. And I was surprised that both of them didn’t mind dropping everything to help me out. I know it seems like a small thing, but for me it meant the world.
I have grown accustomed to doing things on my own, or figuring things out for myself. In this moment, where someone I hardly knew helped me so willingly, I realized the value of the strong community feel that VFA strives to achieve. You can ask for help from everyone at any level of this organization, whether it’s the CEO Andrew Yang, or the fellow you just met, Julian.
Day 2: Struggle is necessary for understanding yourself.
On Tuesday, Andrew sat us down to talk about struggle and achievement. During the conversation, he talked about struggling with finding the right job, struggling with women because of that job, struggling financially when he quit that job, etc. He said that struggles change as you get older — as certain things wane and other things build in importance.
I believe something similar to what Andrew believes; without struggling you miss the opportunity to learn about who you truly are. Struggle and failure are necessary for really knowing what you are made of.
President Theodore Roosevelt said, “There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder.”
What does this mean to me exactly? Don’t be afraid of failing. This week I have failed a lot. During our website challenge when I couldn’t change a stupid little icon. During the Lego challenge when I mistakenly switched the color of two pieces (bigger deal than it sounds!). During one of our group assignments when I failed to meet a deadline. After one of our work days when I failed to remember I made dinner plans that I shouldn’t have made in the first place. It’s only been a week, and I am 100% sure that I’ve failed more times than I can list, but that is ok because I’ve accomplished so much more because of these failures. I am growing more resilient because of my willingness to fail and get back up. Training camp will kick your ass, and get you comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable.
Day 3: Create a common ground.
Teamwork makes the dream work…right?
Team dynamics are HUGELY important at training camp. And if you don’t know how each individual functions, then there is bound to be miscommunication in the future. Even if you understand each other, there is still the opportunity to encounter conflict.
I’ve been blessed with being paired with some of the most amazing people I have ever met. My group is incredible and I feel that I’ve learned something from each and every one of them over the course of this week. Niki taught me to question the norm and never settle for mediocrity. Rafael taught me to use all of my available resources; if you know someone that is better at something than you, ask them for their opinion. Chris taught me to never take things too seriously; laughter is the best medicine in stressful situations. Sophie taught me to process information before taking action; preparedness is necessary to achieve ideal results. And Dutch taught me to seek out the internal motivators and passions of others; to get to know people past a surface level before making any real judgment of them.
After authentically getting to know everyone this week, we’ve created a common ground with one another which was the foundation for everything we achieved. Our level of understanding one another will continue to grow from here, and I can’t wait to see what else I learn about my peers.
Day 4: Validate others…but validate yourself as well.
You know the look that people get when they hear that they did something well? Or when something they learn clicks, they put it to action, and surprisingly enough…it worked? Or that air of achievement and pride that shows when people are proud of their work? If you haven’t experienced this, or haven’t seen someone else experience it, then you’re truly missing out. It’s like walking on water or floating in air. It is a swelling balloon of pride in your chest or the euphoria of winning a big game. And I love encouraging that feeling.
People work best when they work to their strengths, and receive validation for it. That has been one of my “not so SMART” goals this week; to give praise to my excellent teammates. They did amazing work under a crazy time crunch, and I can’t help but say that I am extremely proud of them for all they accomplished this week.
On the flip side, I am terrible at saying the same of myself. I feel that we were taught at a young age to question ourselves and to be hypercritical of who we are. I recognize it in myself, and in others…which is probably why I like to tell people just how amazing they are.
So, self, you did well this week. You battled sleep deprivation, lack of nourishment, and time sensitive projects…and you won. You encouraged others to be the best version of themselves, and by doing that you strived to do the same.
Moral of the story, give credit where credit is due. But don’t forget to validate yourself in the process.
Day 5: Sleep is a necessary evil.
I’m not going to lie, I really wanted to celebrate and grab a drink with friends at the end of the day on Friday. But after being up for close to 48 hours straight, I ended up falling into a small coma instead of a nap. After waking up at 3:30 am on a Saturday and realizing I missed all of the fun things that people had done that night, I initially was upset. But then I realized I needed to do what was best for me and sleep. So as small of a lesson that is, make sure you’re rested through this process so you can be your best self…and so you’re able to have a celebratory drink every once in a while.
All in all, this has been a crazy, exhausting, gritty, fulfilling week at Training Camp, and I’m sure next week will continue along this trend. I’m excited for the challenges ahead, and I cant wait to “quell the storms and ride the thunder” with the rest of the 2015 Fellows and the VFA Team.