Good morning, friends!

It’s always been a dream of mine to run the New York City marathon. That race is extraordinary, and it makes me tear up every time I go out there to cheer on the runners.

Last year, 50,000 people came together to run 26.2 miles on Nov. 5, and each soul had a different reason for doing it. Some do it for time, some for completion, and some out of the pure love of running.

Although I don’t think I’ll be running that marathon in the near future, I did sign up for a half marathon in Central Park in two months. I ran this exact half eight years ago and fell short of my sub-2 hour goal by 4 minutes and 51 seconds. Devastating.

I am trying for a sub-2 hour finish time again this year. Eight years and two kids later. I’m cautiously optimistic, but what happens if I don’t hit my goal? What happens if I finish two minutes over my goal?

That happened to YouTuber Casey Neistat at the New York City marathon last year. He attempted to complete the marathon under three hours, and his time came in at …. 3 hours and 1 minute. Devastating.

In his recent video, Sisyphus and the Impossible Dream, he says, “You do a lot of meaningless, purposeless, stupid things. You get obsessed. You spend years focused on it. And literally, no one cares but you. But you persevere anyway and you keep running. Because when you add up all those stupid, meaningless obsessions, what they add up to is your life.”

It took him 17 years and 24 marathons, but finally, at age 42, Neistat ran a 3 hour and 57 minute marathon. That was his impossible dream that became reality.

What’s yours?

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PROFILES.

— The billionaire who took on Harvard [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The businesswoman speaking out against sexual violence
— The fashion icon who dislikes the word ‘luxury’
— America’s most prolific professional bridesmaid
— The Queen of Country building an empire

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The billionaire who took on Harvard: Billionaire Bill Ackman seems to be at war with nearly every institution right now: Harvard, MIT, Business Insider, and Joe Biden. While Ackman’s campaign had suddenly made him a bogeyman of the left, he has long been a Democrat. “I’m not some archconservative,” Ackman says. “But now I’ve been accused of being racist, a white supremacist, and right-wing as a result of all this.” He said that “what left means today is not a party I want to be associated with,” and if that means he has suddenly found common cause with the worst sort of right-wing culture warriors, so be it. What a fascinating profile. (New York Magazine; if you can’t access the article, try this link.)

“A closed mouth gathers no foot.”

The businesswoman speaking out against sexual violence: Sheryl Sandberg using her fame to turn the world’s attention to Israeli victims of sexual violence on Oct. 7. Sandberg has spent a whirlwind four days in Israel filming a documentary on sexual violence during the attack. She has been interviewing survivors and witnesses on a bare-bones set in a cavernous, cold warehouse and traveling to kibbutzim and the site of a music festival where 1,200 people were killed in the worst terrorist attack in the country’s history. She has viewed photos of dead bodies of women who she said show clear signs of sexual violence. “You can’t unsee all these photos,” she said. (The WSJ; if you can’t access this article, try this link.)

“This is the most important work of my life. Everything I’ve learned and experienced, I really believe brings me to this moment.”

The fashion icon who dislikes the word ‘luxury:’ Miuccia Prada says, “Fashion is one third of my life.” She has created two celebrated fashion labels, Prada and Miu Miu, and, together with her husband, Patrizio Bertelli, helms the Prada Group, a global luxury brand with $4.5 billion in annual revenue (as of 2022) and over 13,000 employees. The second third of her life, she says, is “culture and the Fondazione.” Since its creation in 1993, the Prada Foundation has become a leading proponent of contemporary art. “After, there is family and friends, and possibly some pleasures.” She paused to reconsider. “Actually, they all overlap. I try to make my life useful.” (Vogue)

“I work for a luxury company. It’s not perfect for a political position like mine—this was always the biggest contradiction in my life.”

America’s most prolific professional bridesmaid: When she was 26, Jen Glantz typed out an ad on Craigslist with the subject line: “Professional bridesmaid – w4w – 26 (NYC).” In the ten years since that hazy night, Glantz has parlayed what began as a Craigslist lark into a fully fledged, six-figure business as the country’s most prolific professional bridesmaid. When a bride reaches out, Glantz’s services start at $2,500 and go up from there, depending on how much support someone needs. Do they need unlimited texting and calling? Bachelorette party planning help? An extra set of eyes to go dress shopping? Take a look inside the bizarre world of professional bridesmaids. (The Hustle)

“You don’t know who’s going to come at you or who’s not going to like you or how the bride is going to treat you.”

The Queen of Country building an empire: Dolly Parton is a live performer, recording artist, songwriter, novelist, philanthropist, Netflix producer, theme-park operator and hotelier, just to name a handful of her business ventures. She sells everything from dog accessories to fragrances and even muffin mixes. How does she keep up the momentum? “I work my butt off,” she says. In this Q&A, Parton spoke with her about her nonstop empire expansion, trusting the people she hires and the importance of “9 to 5.” (Bloomberg; For more, check out this Profile Dossier on Dolly Parton.)

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