A much younger, and naive me asked a skip level manager – “I feel pretty scared most of the time. Like I am by myself, trying to fix this. What if I fall and fail.”

And he said to me, “And what if you fly?”

Remembered him today, when I saw this tray in a random shop in the Whaler’s Village tonight. Sending him a lot of love and a lot of good wishes. I know he needs them.

Six months after joining Google, I was convinced I had made the worst decision of my life. I messaged him that I want to come back to Salesforce. He said two things (1) “Have you asked your family?”. And (2) “Can you wait six more months. The tide will turn. You must wait.”

I believed him and the tide turned. I was restless and he gave me an anchor.

Cheers to mentors and skip levels and all those people who help us embrace our fears and love us despite our follies. Thanks JFAB!