I have been struggling recently with the thought of work and purpose.

I was raised in a household that was solidly subscribed to the American Dream. My path was set in stone from birth. I watched my father make a decent living in a white collar job and support his two daughters under this dream. I saw the step up he took from his own father’s path — a blue collar plumber. I saw the power in his college degree, the things he attained by sticking to the prescribed plan. To be successful, I was to go to college, work…

I drove through my hometown of northeastern Pennsylvania late this May, on my way from one quarantine location to my actual apartment. As I drove, I felt the familiar warmth of my childhood stomping grounds pass over me. These are moments of nostalgia that warm me. A Tiger’s Jaw song on a rainy day. Antol’s ice cream on a hot summer day. Then, I braced myself for the Trump signs. Flags. Trump 2020 signs that went up after the 2016 election. And worst, the one house with the Trump-themed mannequin. My bleeding liberal heart was reminded of the very kind…

I was so excited for my first job after graduation. I had a fresh master’s degree in hand and was sold an amazing vision. I was joining the ranks of a growing startup in Detroit, MI. The first few months were great — I was constantly inspired and tapped into the mission of our company. I felt like I was doing meaningful work. I was learning and growing in my role.

Then, around six months, I hit a plateau. I had stopped growing and learning in my role. I realized there wasn’t going to be a path forward for me…

I have a master’s degree in Sustainable Engineering — and while I don’t use it directly in my day to day work, many of the frameworks that I learned still apply. Sustainable Engineering is kind of a mystical term, especially if you’re outside the engineering world. For me, it involved learning all things related to the built environment (think anything we build: roads, bridges, cities, etc.) and sustainability. A large part of that was talking about climate change. Climate change is an impending crisis, even if it’s not always top of mind. One of the climate change mitigation strategies I…

Hi, I’m Veronica and I’m an editor for the Goodbets Press. I’m glad you’re here, reading this, and considering writing for our scrappy upstart publication.

Why we’re here

You can find publications, blogs, Twitter feeds, LinkedIn posts, and so many other outlets discussing entrepreneurship. Typically, you hear stories about the under 30 hoodie-wearing computer geek who made it big. Or the entrepreneurial go-getter who retired before 40 because they cracked the code on passive income. You can also find decent advice, tips, how-tos, and reviews. Sadly, more often than not that advice is a thinly-veiled sales pitch. We’re tired of that. Aren’t you?

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Do you know the saying “love is blind”? The cliche applies to all sorts of lovers who overlook fatal flaws in their blindness. This saying applies to founders and their startups too. The ambitious founder with their one world-changing idea falls madly in love with it. Sometimes, love can also come with blindness.

You need to strike a fine balance between being blinded and being receptive to feedback. You should stand up for your ideas, and work to support them. At the same time, getting feedback from valuable parties and being receptive to it is also vital to your success…

I was recently reunited with a few of my friends from college. If you looked, you can find a small silver ring on each of our pinky fingers. Do we all have the same taste in jewelry? Definitely not. Are we part of some advanced cult? Kind of.

We all studied civil engineering together. In doing so, we took an oath to uphold a professional code of engineering ethics in our senior year. Just like how doctors take an oath, engineers have their own ceremony called The Order of the Engineer. They also have their own code of ethics:

1. Hold…

It’s a new year, which means the world and your social media streams are full of advice on how to start off on the right foot. You might find that some of it is useful. You might also find that most of it is noise. Noise in the sense that they’re half thought out articles with generic advice for improving your life. A common take on self-improvement that doesn’t necessarily get to the root of your problems. This article, I hope, is real enough to be useful to you. So, what do you need?

You need some guidance

Whether you buy into the idea…