STORY TIME

💌 constraints create clarity

It feels like everything has been written: AI, career, leadership. What different perspectives do I really have? I spent years discovering talent for TV shows. Now I find tools, investments, patterns. But thinking isn't the same as building. Showing up to these pages is hard when I'm not sure what I'm building toward but I'm going to figure out the why by doing the work.

So let’s begin with the truth.

Here's what I've noticed this year:

The firm I’m working at feels like it’s getting more inbounds already than last year (haven’t measured it, but the vibes are on point). I think the reason is because we're spending more time in intentional places. And thus spending less time in random or less thought-out spaces and places. We're going deep in set verticals, showing up to conferences, making investments and talking about those investments, becoming synonymous with specific areas. Not chasing the hockey puck, but looking at where the hockey puck could go, if you get my drift.

There is something powerful about boundaries.
There is something powerful about being known for something.
It's about having a North Star.

But what if you don't know what your personal North Star looks like?

I really love my job. I really like my life: where I live, who I married, who I spend time with, how I spend my time. But I don't know what I'm building toward outside of all that.

I don't have kids. I do have hobbies. And maybe I've been brainwashed by capitalism, but I'm wired to achieve. Purpose and goals fuel me. I just don't know what mine is right now. And I don't think I'm alone in that.

So instead of overthinking what the outcome should be, I'm focusing on what I can control: the systems that create action.

What I'm taking away:

Phone time before 8 or 9am. Having those couple hours to myself to fully breathe into the day, to figure out what I'm actually thinking about – it's been instrumental.
Clutter. I spent a long January weekend clearing out clothes I don't like, that don't fit me, that I couldn't find the matching sock for. Now when I open my drawers, clothes aren't spilling out, and I mentally and physically feel less cluttered.
Algorithmic inputs. I'm being more thoughtful about my info diet. I'm reading articles by independent writers, magazines (yes, a physical paper Vogue), Post Secret. If you know, you know.
Pressure. I recently joined a small group at my church where I spend two hours a week with people who are so different from me. I sat next to a college professor in chemistry who has three sons close in age to me. Spending time with people who aren't like you, who don't look like you, who you don’t need anything from – it's so good for my brain.

What I'm adding:

Tools to regulate my nervous system. My husband got me a cold plunge for my birthday. I also use an ice mold where I rub ice on my eyelids most days. I call it nature’s caffeine – I'm even writing this while my face is a bit damp.

I've been on a GLP-1 for over a year. Not having the distraction of food noise has been instrumental. Eating three solid square meals a day that are healthy and nourishing, not worrying about snacks and intense cravings – it's been helpful.
LinkedIn research. I have a huge swipe file of people in the VC community who spend time talking about their investments and firms. Sometimes you have to see an example of what you're striving toward before you can create it yourself.

The power of cutting things out

I'm watching my firm succeed by going narrow. By choosing specific verticals and going deep. By showing up consistently in those spaces and becoming known for something specific.

And I'm realizing that I need to do the same thing.

Not by figuring out the entire North Star right now, but by choosing what to subtract and what to add. By creating constraints that actually create clarity. I don't have the answer yet, but my goal is that this would get you thinking about what you could cut out if you’re in need of a compass adjustment.