Vanessa Van EdwardsScience of People, Science Of People · Behavioral Researcher, Founder, Author, Harvard Instructor

It's easy to find what's wrong with people.

10 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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In this short, emotionally charged excerpt, Vanessa Van Edwards reflects on the difficulty of focusing on people's flaws and the courage required to look for the good in them. She recounts how a supportive partner saw the best in her despite her awkwardness and self‑doubt, offering generous encouragement that allowed her to become socially brave and to launch her own business just three months after meeting him. The narrative highlights the transformative power of kindness, the personal struggle to accept such generosity, and the direct link she draws between emotional support and entrepreneurial action.

Chapters

When did you will up? I think that it actually takes courage to search for good in people because right now we're very focused on what's wrong with everyone. But what touched a nerve with you? I think that he, all my bad, my awkwardness, my difficulty, he was like, I still see good in you and we can figure it out. I took so long for me to believe that, and that was extremely kind. And I still feel that. That's what kind of makes me emotional, is like, I still feel like he has to sometimes put up with me, you know? And he still is like, I'm here, you know? And I'm like, how generous, because his generosity allows me to be brave socially. It allows me to be brave in business. Like, I started my company 3 months after I met him.