This year, I came to a surprising conclusion: winter is my favorite season.

The feeling of completion from wrapping up another year, the natural inward reflex prompted by the cold, and the absence of sunlight, weddings, and holiday obligations. But most of all, it was the convergence of a large operational crisis in my business and the looming deadline of a major trip I’d be taking in April.

This convergence of circumstances sharpened my focus, sparking six all-nighters over two weeks as I tore through my finances, the fund’s accounts, journals, and annual reviews with unprecedented intensity. Two weeks turned into months—after January, I essentially never stopped sprinting.

Now, standing on the other side with the opportunity to take inventory, I confess I’m proud of the results—even if the high cost of growth was at times polarizing and isolating. Reflecting on the individual stress and uncertainty my business faces, I see parallels to the broader American drama unfolding. We are living in dizzying times.

In the process of pursuing my primary goal this year—to acquire a seven-figure apartment complex—I’ve grown my identity and relationships with real estate friends like never before (while falling out of touch with others). I dragged my property management teams, kicking and screaming, to a new, uncompromising standard of performance—and it paid off.

And just when I thought I had made my peace with putting certain identities on the backburner to go all-in on real estate, new inspiration struck: the obvious parallels to leverage my years of work in venture capital. Publishing deal memos, ranking on search engines for long-tail content, and establishing credibility in alternative assets with little competition for authority—it all came back into focus.

I’m running on the last fumes from the past two weeks of sprinting. Fortunately, it’s just about time to end this season of intensity. Next week, I’ll be joining my entrepreneur friends for an annual retreat in Texas. The week after, I’ll embark on a month-long voyage to Southeast Asia, with three parts:

  1. Chaperoning American high school students to Taiwan.
  2. Meeting my team in the Philippines.
  3. Seeing my family in Guangzhou for the first time in a decade.

In times of uncertainty, I often find myself relying on two things: work and perspective. This year, life seems to have handed me both in singularly profound ways.

I look forward to returning with renewed inspiration and energy for a strong spring and summer. The rocks (major working goals) for Q2 are:

  1. Repeat the tail-end performance of Q1 consistently into Q2, with all KPIs tracked weekly, all turns tracked daily, and L10 meetings run on time and efficiently every week. Delegate more work to my EA to free up my time.
  2. Finish the turns for the Cleveland quads, and compare options for refinancing strategies or 1031 exchanges into new projects.
  3. Underwrite 100 real estate deal memos. Use them as a calling card to: a) network with brokers, b) Create a platform for my real estate community to engage in meaningful dialogue, and c) Entertain followers with organic drama and content, in exchange for introductions to real estate contacts.

It's been a long journey with twists and turns far beyond what I could have expected. For all of you who have continued to support my journey, thank you. My goal in writing is to educate, entertain, and inform. At a minimum, I hope I’m achieving at least one of those—and I promise to aim for all three.

P.S. If you or anyone you know is looking for a meticulously modern 2BD 1BA apartment in Brooklyn for any dates between 4/8-5/8, I've got just the place here. Feel free to write to mail@muhanzhang.com for any questions or specific dates.