A strange thing happens when you start doing real deals.

You expect the work to feel fast — constant activity, constant decisions, constant movement.

Instead, much of the time feels like… waiting.

We’re a few weeks away from closing our first syndicated investment. The structure is largely finalized, commitments are coming together, and most of the major work is already done. At this stage, there isn’t much to “push.” The process simply needs to finish.

Earlier in my career, this kind of period would have made me uncomfortable. I would have felt like I wasn’t progressing — like I should be doing something.

But this is something I’m learning:

Serious investing has seasons, and the waiting season is where positioning happens.

While we wait for the current deal to close, my focus hasn’t been on rushing into the next opportunity. Instead, it’s been on strengthening the foundations that make future opportunities possible.

Most deals don’t come from marketplaces — they come from conversations. I’ve been spending time meeting operators, investors, and builders, learning how they think and what they’re building. Over time, the quality of your network largely determines the quality of your deal flow.

Great opportunities often appear unexpectedly, and the investors who benefit are the ones who are positioned to act. That means continuing to strengthen liquidity, capital relationships, and the ability to move when the right situation presents itself.

Every deal reviewed, every conversation with an operator, and every post-mortem on past investments helps refine how opportunities are evaluated. Over time, investing becomes less about activity and more about improving decision quality.

These foundations are what allow opportunities to compound over time rather than appear as one-off events.

Many people think great investors win because they are constantly making moves.

In reality, much of the advantage comes from being ready when the right opportunity appears — ready with relationships, capital, experience, and judgment.

Those things are built during the quieter periods.

Right now, I’m spending less time trying to “do more deals” and more time increasing the size and quality of the ecosystem around me — meeting people, learning structures, understanding incentives, and sharpening how I evaluate opportunities.

Because over the long run, opportunities don’t usually come to the most active investors.

They come to the ones who are most prepared when the moment arrives.

— Dakota

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