Before becoming a certified proposal writer, I was a senior account manager at an international advertising agency. We worked globally, starting early in the morning with colleagues in the UK and ending late at night with clients in Asia. The pace was frenetic, and the work required a lot of communication across teams, departments, and freelancers around the world. One pitch stood out as particularly demanding. We were pitted directly against our competitor, and the turnaround times were the tightest I ever experienced in my career. I recall the late nights and weekend work, I remember the multitude of phone calls and emails, and I will never forget the countless hours spent reading and editing the copydecks in search of perfection. In the end, it paid off; we got the client, and I will always cherish the feeling of pride when they called out my name to my supervisors as their determining factor. It just goes to show, one person really can make all the difference.