During that first year, I sometimes thought to myself, "Steve, you've got it lucky now, no distractions, you can focus full-time. What are you gonna do when life gets complicated again?" In the end, it didn't matter. That year made me a pro. It gave me, for the first time in my life, an uninterrupted stretch of month after month that was mine alone, that nobody knew about but me, when I was truly productive, truly facing my demons, and truly working my shit. That year has stuck with me.
