The Leap

In a storm, some go to shore. Others take flight.

In the fall of 2008, the storm was everywhere.

Banks were collapsing. Layoffs were happening by the thousands. And I was on the verge of becoming a father.

At the time, I was a vice president at a real estate investment firm led by former Secretary of Housing Henry Cisneros — arguably the worst combination of industries (finance and real estate) to be in during the Great Recession.

I still remember what one of the partners told me as everything around us began to unravel:

“In a storm, any port will do.”

In other words: keep your head down. Don’t rock the boat.

But I remember the voice in my head saying something different:

“In a storm, it’s better to go out to sea.”

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Not every leap takes flight. But sometimes, letting go is the only way to lift off.

And the storm hit. I came home the week before my daughter was born to tell my very pregnant wife that I had both good news and bad news...