It's time for a pivot!

What's next for First Rodeo 🏇

Hi to all the brave new readers who found me after my lovely friend

Becca Freeman

shared my 22 seasonally-perfect fall reads! I’m so grateful for all the love that y’all gave to my first edition of my newest column, The Weekender, too.

Both are easy, cozy, reading if you’re into that. And while it might not seem like it based on the subject line, that’s more of what I’m getting into today— but indulge me if I take the roundabout way to get there before I land the plane…

I came upon this note about a professor and his “CV of Failures” and found it quite charming. Click in below for the full paragraph, it’s worth the read.

When I first started writing First Rodeo, it was kind of the same idea— I was muddling my way out of an extreme and public-feeling failure, my start-up. This was a safe place where I could metabolize that. (Although… how safe can writing to thousands of strangers on the internet ever really be?)

Everything was quite raw and real to me then, and it’s taken the gift of hindsight to realize that it’s because I wasn’t actually done with the fucking up and finding my footing part. That took years. My transformation feels just barely now complete… and who knows? In two more years I could look back and tell you that it’s still not through.

My writing then reflected that just-barely scabbing wound of my start-up’s fast failure. And I held it up to you all, pointing at it, bellowing: Look at this wound! I have no one but myself to blame and yet it hurts, god dammit!

Pain draws some intrigue, for a short while, at least. When the wound started to scab over, you and I looked at each other. What was left?

I dredged up other pains (see, look, this other part hurt too!), some interesting, some utterly boring. I tried to help mend the wounds of others who made the same mistakes I did, writing about what I’d do differently, answering AMAs, making the most of it all.

But what happens when the scab too is gone?

And the scar starts to fade as well?

What becomes of this place that was my healing?

I’ve turned to readers before to ask— am I okay to write about other stuff?— and you’ve answered me kindly and compassionately. But I’ve still held myself back.

There is still lingering apprehension, but I need to relieve myself of the apprehension I feel like I’ve been battling since I added a paid subscriber tier! For those in my cozy corner, I’d like to pull back the curtain and show you how I’m thinking the sausage should get made moving forward— and what I’ll be leaving behind.

If you have feedback for me about what you like, or don’t like, hit me in the comments! I genuinely want to hear it.

Here’s what’s overdue for change and what I’ll be prioritizing instead…