The Times They Are a Changing

Posted on July 26, 2021. Filed under: Uncategorized |

I took a walk around Washington Square Park last week with someone I’ve known for a long time in the startup ecosystem. We’re not super close, but I read his writing, and he mine…which I suppose is a different type of closeness. He mentioned on the walk that he’s noticed I am writing less frequently and asked why. The first, knee jerk answer I had was that I used to write more when I had nothing to lose. Whether I was fighting to establish myself as a VC in my 20s or fighting to get a company off the ground…in both scenarios I had little to lose…so I wrote pretty much everything that was on my mind. I look back at that writing, and some of it was excellent…to the point where I’m in disbelief that it actually came out of me. Some of it is also totally cringe, or embarrassing, or not representative of who I feel I am. Either way, it was unfiltered (as I think the best writing is). Today, I probably have more thoughts or feelings that I just let marinate…sometimes I’ll take the time to write them down, but often I ask myself “does the public need or want to read this?” I used to not care about that question…I’m still not sure I care if I really think about it, but it does come up and it does get in the way of publishing posts.

Overall, I don’t think that’s actually the main reason. The main reason is because I have less of a dialogue with myself than I used to. I am an introvert. I need and value quiet time and reflection. And most of my writing is just documenting the conversation I am having with myself in that quiet time. My life at the moment is more execution and less reflection. I now have a 2 year old named Odysseus, which zapped about 90% of my independent reflection time, and a month ago I had a second child named Atlas which zapped 9 of the last 10%. I think I write less now because I “talk” to myself less. I miss that dialogue but it’s an obvious trade to make so I can be present with my family.

I’ve managed to carve out quiet “deep work” time at Pace, where I’m able to advance my professional thinking in a more focussed and applied way, but the meandering walk around Washington Square Park, or the hours spent sitting on a bench and watching New York City go by…that stuff is gone (for now). I guess this is nothing novel…the story of every young New Yorker turned parent of two…I guess it just means I’ll have to get more creative about finding a 25th hour in my days…

P.S. Look at these little dudes. Totally worth it 😜