By the time you read this, I’ll have given my first guest lecture.

I wish I could say I felt perfectly confident going in. I didn’t. Imposter syndrome showed up fast, even though public speaking was literally on my vision board this year. Funny how that works: we ask for the opportunity, and then panic when it arrives.

Still, I’m learning something important right now: sometimes fear doesn’t disappear before action. Sometimes it disappears because of action.

This week reminded me how much progress depends on asking for help.

I recently grabbed a smoothie with an investor (so California of us) and he asked if I wanted to learn more about SPVs (special purpose vehicles). My first reaction was to disqualify myself: “I’m not a traditional investor. I don’t really know how to invest.”

His response stopped me: “No one knows how to invest.” There are principles, yes. There are patterns, yes. But there is no perfect rulebook. Most of us are learning in real time, together.

I thought about that again while prepping my lecture. I met with the professor of the class, walked through my deck, braced for hard edits, and got back: “This is perfect. No notes.”

That moment reminded me of something I keep forgetting: I don’t need to have credentials to have something valuable to share. I just have to have access to get to the those answers. A lot of times, LLMs help me get to those answers, but more often than that; phone calls on my walks around the block are the unlock for me.

My newsletter hasn’t grown as fast as I hoped since relaunching. But when I sit down with in the evenings my tea, listen to the chirping frogs from the creek in my backyard echo through my office walls, as if they’re quietly cheering me on to keep going, girl. I’m reminded to keep showing up to write, I know I’m still in the arena. I’m still building. I’m still learning.

Success isn’t fixed; it’s something you define.

The person who is in love with what they’re building is winning.
The person who keeps taking the next step is winning.
The person who asks for help instead of pretending they have it all figured out is winning.

I use AI tools like Anara to ground what I share in research. I ask smarter people better questions. I borrow frameworks. I iterate. None of that is weakness. That is how real progress works.

So if you need permission today, here it is:

Ask for help.

Ask the “basic” question.
Ask the mentor.
Ask the peer.
Ask before you’re burned out.

Yes, you can brainstorm with your favorite LLM but it is a joy to be interdependent. It is a joy to have needs and let someone meet them. It’s a joy to call a phone call and dream with a friend. And it is a joy to return that favor when it’s your turn.

We’re all trying to cross a finish line that matters to us.
We were never meant to do that alone.