The Zen of Yield: Emily’s Portfolio of Peace Post

If you’ve been following along, you know I’ve been on a bit of a journey. One minute, I’m dodging heartbreak like it’s a volatile asset class (Bunny Boiler), the next I’m getting an Oura ring from a professor (He Put a Ring On It), and somewhere along the way, exploring ketamine vicariously through Adriana Ballard (A Journey Beyond Control).

So when Emily, investment maven at a family office and secret philosopher-in-residence, reached out to reflect on the ketamine piece, I did what any emotionally curious (and somewhat sleep-deprived) writer does - I reread her message three times and started asking her questions for content for future pieces.

Now, for those of you who haven’t met Emily, she’s the type of allocator who’s quietly shaping the future of private markets while you’re still trying to figure out how to unfreeze a DocuSign. Her resume? Stacked. Her brain? Scary smart. Her energy? Calm in a way that makes you wonder if she meditates with Warren Buffett on weekends.

But beneath the title and track record is someone who, like many of us, spent the early part of her career operating from a place of what she calls “performance-driven, self-imposed stress.” Sound familiar?

Emily admits she used to fall hard into the comparison trap. “I constantly wanted to compete with others,” she told me. Same, Emily. Same.

But here’s where it gets interesting: her awakening didn’t come in the form of psychedelics or solo travel or deleting social media (though all three sound appealing). No, it came in the form of… an engineer.

Yes. A chill, practical, ego-free engineer. The anti-investor.

At first, she mistook his quiet demeanor for a lack of ambition - until she realized he was simply unbothered. He didn’t need to dominate every conversation or check the Dow before breakfast. And that shook her.

“It threw me off course,” she said. But in the best way.

What followed was a slow and steady recalibration. Not a 10x pivot, but a conscious shift: away from pressure-as-purpose, toward presence-as-power. She started noticing the little things. Watering a plant. Learning a new recipe. Creating something by hand instead of clicking “Buy Now.” These weren’t distractions - they were data points of joy. Alpha, meet awe.

She described contentment as a luxury, but I’d argue it’s an overlooked asset class - one with incredibly long-term returns. And as someone who once defined success by how many unread emails I could power through before lunch and how many hours I worked on the weekends, I get it. It takes discipline to step back. To say no to noise. To stop managing your emotions like they’re a quarterly report.

Emily’s story reminded me of something else too: that not all healing has to look dramatic. Sometimes it’s not a headline. It’s a whisper. A moment. A man who doesn’t interrupt. A meal you cook slowly. A conversation that softens you.

And in a world that loves optimization, maybe the best move is simply to opt out - for a little while. But trust me. I know it’s hard - I’ve had my out of office on that says I won’t be responding to emails but yet I respond even before the sender presses send!

So here's to the Emilys of the world - those recalibrating in real time. May we all find the courage to slow down before our inboxes, hearts, or adrenal systems force us to.

Because at the end of the day, our greatest returns might not come from what we manage, but from what we’re willing to let go.

Enjoy the rest of your summer because Summer 2025 won’t be here ever again…