Up until about a year ago, I enjoyed choosing what outfits I was going to wear to work, right down to making sure my clothes matched my jewelry and handbag. Sometimes, when I would get a new handbag, I’d build my whole outfit around the handbag.
All in all, this was an enjoyable pastime because I believe that if you dress well you will address things well, too. Plus, when you feel like you look good and professional, you feel more confident and better equipped to utilize all your faculties proficiently. This is the key to making faster decisions and improving workflow.
Maybe I’m just trying to justify the time I spend doing little things like that.
Nevertheless, COVID-19 threw a wrench into the gears, grinding my confident walk into work to a halt, replacing my eye-catching outfits with the comfort of sweatpants and baggy tees, a look we’re all guilty of having from time to time.
Despite that, I was determined not to be held back by something as small as a global pandemic. I’m the CEO of a legal tech startup; we never face setbacks, only setups.
Upon realizing that the lockdown was going to be a little longer than I initially expected, I decided to make some long-term investments … in real estate.
Yes, I now have an entire portfolio of places.
I’m only partly kidding because I did feel that way, but my focus was on finding the best, highest-quality pieces of “nonreal estate.” I’m not saying it’s “nonreal” because it is an infinitely big property, unfortunately.
It is not an actual property — it only has properties. I invested time and effort in finding the best home-space Zoom backgrounds I could. I have built up a collection of almost 30 different virtual backgrounds to complement my attire, which gives me a background for just about each day of the month.
Real estate makes up a pretty big part of people’s financial investment portfolios because, in the past, it has been a highly coveted market with good returns. For me, the nonreal estate is a part of my personal investment portfolio (not in terms of personal finance, but in terms of investing in my personal well-being). Its returns come in the forms of joy, and joy is a pretty lucrative market. People do all sorts of things in the pursuit of joy.
As Chuck Palahniuk said, “Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home … it’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.”
In 2020, I have acquired a different virtual room for every mood, outfit, and occasion — then tripled it, just to be safe. What started as a quirky idea became something in which I found both pride and joy. I ensured that having meetings online would never dull how much I stood out because I was matching my backgrounds with my wardrobe. My background does not define me, but it sure plays a part in making me stand out!
I wonder what will give you pride and joy in 2021?
Olga V. Mack is the CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat and Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security. You can follow Olga on Twitter @olgavmack.