What makes you proud?

Last year, instead of having a party to celebrate turning the big 3-5 at the beginning of October, I went to a writing retreat at The Porches, an antebellum house on the banks of the James River, deep in Virginia. I began my 36th trip around the sun doing what I love: writing. I started drafts of three personal essays about subjects that are really important to me: friendship, my career, and Tiger Woods (long story on that last one; the essay explains it all). With all that, I met my one-day word count PR—10,000 words—a feat even most writers would say is darn near impossible. 

Last week, ten days after turning 36, I concluded a year-long class during which I wrote a collection of short stories. It was intense! I submitted one story per month, except for July, when we had our ‘summer break,’ which was convenient, since my baby was due then, anyway. As I logged off at the end of the last class, I said aloud to myself, “Holy crap, I wrote a book—and had a baby!” Either one of those is a great feat separately (it’s my second book, actually, so I speak from experience), but to do them both could be said to be impossible.

But what I’m most proud of is not the 10,000-word day or the story collection or the baby (who is amazing)—it’s that I gave myself the time and space to do what I love. I created the conditions in my life so that I could focus on accomplishing what was really important to me, and as a result, I surprised myself by doing the impossible. 

What investments do you need to make to give yourself the time and space to do, or perfect, what you love? I went to a writing retreat and signed up for a class, both of which paid off. How can you create that space for yourself? 

Some in the industry would say it’s impossible to raise a first-time fund in today’s environment, when many LPs are flocking to their old reliables and reupping at record numbers, while so many new GPs are entering the market. I recommend thinking of this as encouragement. Give yourself the time and space to focus on the business you’re building. You might be surprised when the impossible winds up being the inevitable.