“Laid Off Today”: 10 Things Worth Sharing
Newsletter #007
This blog was adapted from my monthly newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.
I made this list of “Options” the day I was laid off from my previous job (photo above). Looking back, it makes me smile. I admire that I just sat down and took action – even though, for some reason, my first thought was to become a YouTuber.
It’s been a wild couple of years. Here’s 10 things worth sharing:
2 years since I was laid off and started my own studio. I wrote a blog about what I’m learning.
-The quote I come back to more than any – regarding Hot Dog! as well as our bookstore – is from Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again... who at best knows the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” My favorite retelling of this is from Brene Brown, specifically the part about criticism from people outside the arena.
-Speaking of getting your ass kicked in the arena… there was a fire next door to our bookstore a few weeks ago. We’re currently closed for several weeks as we clean up the aftermath. You can help us out by purchasing a gift card, buying books from bookshop.org (who supports us directly), or audiobooks from libro.fm (who also supports us directly). Our community has been wonderful and helpful, which makes me believe (even more than I did before) that we are doing something meaningful.
-On a lighter note, here are a bunch of people wearing Hot Dog hats in the wild. This might actually be my biggest source of pride from the first 2 years of the studio.
-“If it’s really the path, you’ll find it more than once.” I’ve gone deep lately reading Cate Hall’s Useful Fictions. Her writing on agency, luck, and life in general really align with how I think about the world.
-My friend Kate Christy (Folk Founded) and I were going to record a new podcast episode last week, but I had to cancel because of the bookstore fire. For now, you can listen to this rerun of us rambling about Raising Kids and Running a Business.
-Last year, I submitted a design to the Official World Cup Poster Contest and promptly lost the Official World Cup Poster Contest. The good news is that you can get my poster on the internet, anyway.
-Charley Crockett has been playing on repeat at the Hot Dog! Headquarters. I love his new album, Dollar A Day and enjoyed his good-humored interview on Fresh Air. Charley was also featured on the exclusive Hot Dog Summer Subscriber Playlist.
-Did you know that you can toggle your Instagram feed to show only accounts you follow? It’s kind of a game changer, but it makes me even more frustrated at how hard it is to find the posts I actually care about. (To do this, you just tap the Instagram logo in the top left of your feed, and choose “Following”)
-“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” - Edith Wharton
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Stay gold, you guys. Thanks for your support these first few years.
See you next month 👋
New work for The Fairway Club!
Check out this new golf brand for my buddy, Logan, who is opening a new indoor golf lounge in Lee’s Summit.