The Layers Of Independence

Independence Day is supposed to be about reflecting on and celebrating our collective independence, especially relative to the rest of the world, as well as the grave sacrifices generations have made to make it so. When taken in this light, it is likely something we all take for granted, and perhaps that’s the luxury symbiotically associated with it. Without independence, we wouldn’t be free to overlook why we are blessed with it.

The idea of “independence” has layers, especially within our personal and professional lives. For me, married with a kid, I am very lucky to have a small family that binds me to them, but they also work hard to let me do things independently — to travel, to keep odd hours, to work when I’m inspired to, and so forth. Here, “independence” exists within a structure of co-dependence.

In work, the layers are even more complex. I personally have been blessed throughout the recent past of being in roles at companies and with investment firms where everyone recognized and honored my desire for independence. Where else could that happen in the world? That’s why I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Independence in work doesn’t always mean that you are your own boss and answer to no one, but more often it’s about having the freedom within your team or organization to take risks, to follow your instincts, to make decisions, to prosecute your ideas and beliefs. In all of my work experiences in venture, despite what you may read on Twitter and Hacker News, the groups’ structures have rules but underneath them are huge oceans of independence available to anyone who wants to navigate them. So, there are many layers to independence — our national independence, our independence to do what we want (within reason) on an individual level, the ability to exercise independence even within a family, and at least for me in investing, a chance to think freely about how the past may inform the future with the freedom to follow my intuition.