How to level-up: 26 y/o associate at a MFREPE

Hey all - looking for some advice here. For some background, recently started as an associate at a MFREPE. Graduated university in '22, and spent some time in IB before having to take a year off due to health issues. Was able to bounce back and joined a small REPE shop before lateraling to a MFREPE shop. It's been great so far and learning experience has been really good but am wondering at this point how I can keep leveling up my career.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about how I can set myself up for success in the next ten years and some of my reflections (i) with AI, the only thing that really isn't replicable is relationships, communication, and creativity when it comes to deal structuring / negotiation. REPE folks, especially ones at larger shops, tend to put a lot of emphasis on modeling, even at more senior levels, but these models are relatively simple. You just need to flex the right variables and understand the band of potential outcomes. (ii) The MFREPE life doesn't appeal to me. You make pretty decent money at the higher levels, but you will always be working for someone else, and it's not fun to be stressing out about every single email you send out or every process / logistical thing that comes with working at a big company. (iii) entrepreneurship is very appealing but also very difficult. I've seen some really interesting smaller funds in RE (ethnic retail, IOS, etc) but feels like you need a lot of capital to get started AND a differentiated viewpoint. But still, I think personally, it would be my dream to go off on my own. Apologies for the rambling, but if anyone has any advice on what the best use of my time outside of my day job is. I think it's probably networking (my undergrad has some pretty good connections in terms of higher-ups in real estate), but anything else or any other thoughts? Thanks very much.