101 Things in 1,001 Days: #60 - Write a letter to someone I admire (36/101).

I am lucky to have had a boss that taught me some truly important lessons early on in my career. I wrote him a letter the other day to let him know how much I admire him. I met Seth in Barcelona 3 1/2 years ago and was blown away by his vision, passion and eagerness to do good in the world. I still cannot believe how lucky I am that he took a chance on me two years ago and created a position for me after an interview in Buenos Aires. It has been an incredible journey since then and I am honored to have him as a mentor, role model, colleague and friend.

Today marks a special day for Seth as its his fifth anniversary of making a career shift and starting the wild ride into the Jewish philanthropic world with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. I wanted to share some of the highlights of the letter as I think there are some really good professional and life lessons. Here is an edited version of a top ten list of things I learned from working with Seth the last couple years (in no particular order):

Approach life through a lens of optimism: Seth's signature on his email reads "Sent from a place of optimism". I love emulating this part of Seth in my daily life. He lives a life of optimism, both in thinking that huge initiatives get completed by just making a call (or at least a call to our colleague Yaniv) and generally being solution oriented. He is a cheerleader to our teammates, family and friends, ensuring that we feel positive and a part of his success. I personally get a lot of my drive and passion from working with him and hearing his optimistic visions for the Jewish future inspires me to dream big and make it happen.
Get it done: He is our team's visionary, an ideas guy and is brilliant at developing ideas. Seth has taught me that even in a world full of ideas and endless possibilities, "when all is said and done, what is more important is what's done than what's said". Every good ideas guy needs a "doer" so Seth, thanks for letting me truly be a "doer" on the team and make your ideas come to life.
Network up and down: The month before I started working at Schusterman, Seth joined me on a JDC Entwine young professional's trip to Rwanda. I remember one day while on the trip, we were in a burrito shop and I looked around and he was sitting at a table with a random person that was not with our group. At the time I laughed in my head but I have thought back on this time as one of the first of many that I witnessed Seth making friends wherever he is. It is amazing how he can literally talk to anyone about anything. To Seth, everyone is equal and he will strike up conversations in restaurants, stay in touch, meet for breakfasts in whatever city he happens to be in, shares articles with people he thinks would enjoy them and generally lives the idea that one can learn, give and gain something from every person one meets.
Have a “Work Hard, Play Hard” attitude: Seth works literally all the time but also always has fun and knows how to create a fun environment in which to work. To him, while everything is important, he also does not take things too seriously, can laugh at himself (and his teammates), be silly and inspires my team to show up at work excited everyday.
Get to inbox zero: At one point last year, Seth was on a mission while on vacation at the beach to get to inbox zero (which meant my colleagues and my inboxes were pinging like crazy as he swiftly ticked his email counter down). While I am not sure he has returned to inbox zero since then, I completely admire it and have tried to get myself to inbox zero every couple months as it makes me feel accomplished and also emphasizes the importance of timely communication.
Show humility: I am amazed at how Seth takes constructive feedback from his colleagues and peers and is humble enough to realize that there is always room for personal growth. He also exhibits such a great balance between his confidence and his humility. This is such impressive leadership and I hope that I too always stay humble yet confident.
Know your priorities: Work is work, but family comes first. Seth is the #1 dad, his children adore him, his wife could not be a more wonderful human being and he knows that everything that he does will help to make the world a better place for your children. Thanks for modeling this so well and showing us the importance of even when one works hard, to always remember the life's real priorities.
Be transparent: I have thrived in Seth's style of honesty, stream of conscious thought and sharing. I have utilized this transparency to prioritize and pivot my work while still keeping my eyes on the bigger picture of what is happening on our team and throughout the Foundation. I hope to continue to model this transparency in my future work for others.
Amplify your strengths, network your weaknesses: Whether it is teaching us about the four styles of leadership or recognizing that you need to surround yourself with others who have different strengths, Seth has truly demonstrated the importance of this both in thought and in action. He has taught us to rely on our teammates, peers and networks in the times when we need some support and to lend a helping hand to those who need some support.
Show gratitude: Seth writes glowing thank you notes, both for things large and small. But he does not just send a thank you note - he also ensures that his positive feedback is heard from others that matter as well. Thank you for showing gratitude to all across our team. I hope this list conveys a small piece of the gratitude I feel having had the chance to work with you.