Being first is not about an end result, it’s about a process and practice

In this series, professionals discuss their experiences accomplishing something for the first time. Read their stories here, then write your own using #IWasTheFirst in the body of the post. 

As of 2016 (when Cengage bought Pathbrite), I hold the dubious distinction of having raised the most venture capital of any African American woman founder, and of being the first and only African American woman to have successfully exited a venture-backed company in the United States.

But, being first has not about an end result, it’s always been about my process and practice.

As I progressed in my career, I’d heard mention of the late Warren Avis’ Take a Chance to Be First: The Secrets of Entrepreneurial Success. Published by Avis (Founder of Avis Rental Car) in 1986, the book separates success into five categories: being the best, excitement, money, self-reliance, and contribution to society.

Take a Chance also argues the continued value and necessity of the entrepreneur alongside rising big business. In it, Avis aligns the entrepreneur with the gunslinger of the American West, and then outlines the five conditions for their survival as:

• An unencumbered life
• Monomania (exaggerated or obsessive enthusiasm for or preoccupation with one thing)
• Prolonged stamina and or “staying power”
• High energy levels (with interspersed periods of relaxation)
• Excellent discernment (particularly when it comes to choosing the people around you)

I also believe these conditions necessary for achieving entrepreneurial success.

When you think about what it takes to achieve, it makes sense that success requires an uninterrupted commitment to an idea, with moments of rest and reflection, and the ability to constantly shape and edit the supporting figures helping you to reach your end goal. This is a practice common to most successful people.

But, when we think about what it takes to be first - to be early, inceptive, and original - it is Avis’ insistence on pairing this practice with a belief that nothing is impossible that I find most compelling.

For instance, I consider myself a serial entrepreneur and professional problem-solver—for companies, social enterprises, and impact organizations. For more than 20 years now, I've dedicated myself to helping people attain their professional and academic goals.

In 2012, I founded Pathbrite, now used by over 4 million college students and young professionals to showcase their work, achievements, and talents while in school and when seeking jobs, promotions, or mentors. Before that, I built a career in education, workforce development, and finance, creating or leading organizations such as San Francisco Works, EARN, Break the Cycle, and my philanthropic consultancy, the Hiles Group.

In 2014, Business Insider named me one of the Silicon Valley 100, their list of the "coolest people in tech right now." I've since been featured by CIO Review, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, EdWeek, Black Enterprise, and more. I was also inducted into the Credit Suisse Entrepreneurs Circle.

I have again and again:

• Developed an uninterrupted commitment to an idea.
• Worked on that idea diligently.
• Remained as equally committed to rest and reflection as I have been to the idea itself.
• Surrounded myself with creative, empathetic, high-functioning individuals.
• Developed and maintained a discerning eye, personally and professionally.

But most important, I have never believed I would fail.

Focusing on the act of being first won’t serve you. Very few celebrate the first to fail, or develop a terrible concept, or even a mediocre product.

We celebrate ingenuity, progress, a penchant for the bold and clever. We celebrate greatness.

Greatness is only ever achieved by developing a lifelong practice of making every moment a personal first. Every moment is the first time in a specific part of your journey, one in which you can choose to excel.

And it is that choosing - that sustained practice of aligning yourself with a purpose, showing up for yourself, working diligently, and editing (your plan, your process, even your circle) fastidiously - that gets you to the finish line, not just quickly, but exceptionally.