9 Things I Wish I Had Figured Out Sooner

3. Insider insights can mess you up

My first job in the nonprofit sector was as the in-house copywriter for an organization that fought poverty, hunger and disease in the developing world. I worked hard to make those things vivid for donors.

Then the organization sent me to India to see the work firsthand. I was bowled over. I understood the cause like never before. I learned that feeding the hungry is a complicated process if you want to do it right.