I am not exactly sure how to answer this question at the moment.
The way I feel I “should” answer this question is to put on my professional hat and say, “I am working on a residential real estate project in Paradise Valley, Montana.” However, my more imperfectly honest answer is that I am serving as a 1950s housewife and member of the construction clean-up crew for John, the man I’m in a situationship with. To do this, I have relocated to the middle of nowhere and cleared my calendar for nearly a year to make myself available to help John, however he may need me.
Given that I am a credentialed and respected venture capitalist, you might wonder why on earth I am doing this. The simple answer is that I genuinely want to. I’ve achieved more personal and professional growth over the last year than I did in the last decade. I’ll be revealing the story behind this seemingly illogical statement over the next few months, but, in sum, I have taken the past year to follow my intuition, seize unexpected opportunities, and shed my preconceptions of what I “need” to do to be happy and fulfilled, both professionally and personally. I’ve stopped “shoulding” on my life, and have started living instead.
As Sheila and I shared in this recent podcast episode, she has decided to branch off to pursue her own podcast. While I am sad to see her go, this will give me the opportunity to focus more on what I’ve learned during this past year, which I will refer to as my “Paradise Valley Experience” from this point forward.
Because I’ve learned that talking about my seemingly irrational life choices can sometimes cause others to feel concern for me, I want to address two potential issues head-on:
First, you might wonder about the state of my mental health. This is a reasonable concern, especially since I’ve talked about my issues with mental health before. I want to assure you that I’ve made more progress with both my mental and physical health over the past year in Paradise Valley than I did in the prior four years. I am under the care of an extensively involved primary care physician, as well as licensed mental health professionals.
Second, you might wonder whether John has coerced or brainwashed me into offering this level of support. On the contrary, I continually have to persuade him to let me help. John is a fiercely independent entrepreneur who is reluctant to ask for help or admit when he needs support. One of the most important lessons I’m taking from this experience is how to help when I sense I am needed, without overstepping or giving too much of myself. Because I, too, have trouble asking for help, I’m also improving my own skills by observing my tendencies in John.
I will be sharing this story because I believe it is a powerful case study on the power of intuition, experimentation, and building a life based on “wants” rather than “shoulds.”
Stay tuned.
