The Essay

I remember so vividly back in the days before I started the podcast how I felt stuck in the mud, tires spinning (not unlike the scene in Jurassic Park where Newman gets mauled by a dinosaur while he tried to set up his Jeep’s winch), meanwhile my peers were gaining that traction I coveted. It didn’t help that social media just started glomming onto the culture further amplifying the successes of others. This was the before times, before we realized the insidiousness of the algorithm. Shit … what was I doing wrong?

I remember when Grantland started and Bill Simmons lauded it as a place for up-and-coming young talent. I remember thinking, “I’m an up-and-coming young talent!1 Where’s my invitation? How do all this other up-and-coming young talent get noticed? Do they all live in Brooklyn? Do I have to move to Brooklyn now?”

And the train went by.

For years, it felt like I kept missing the train. There I was on the platform and the train kept leaving without me. And it wasn’t until — I don’t know — a month ago that I realized something: There’s always another train and we almost never see it coming.

We see these nice trains leave, but they weren’t for us. Soon enough, with enough showing up, with enough rigor and tenacity, we will be swept up by the next train we never saw coming. Maybe it’s audio and you never so much as picked up a mic. Maybe it’s video and you never thought you’d ever work in pictures. Maybe it’s something we haven’t even heard of yet. If you have skills2, they remain timeless. The medium always changes. New ones come up, flame up, die off. Shortform, longform, Substack, podcasts, YouTube … holograms?

Point is, I wasted many years thinking of all the trains I missed and this, no doubt, kept me blind to the next one arriving at the depot. It’s a little woo-woo, but your train arrives when it arrives, somewhere at the intersection of luck and perseverance. How long you’re able to stay in the game comes down, many times, to privilege (I am married to a spouse with a decent salary, health insurance; any money I make tends to be gravy. Other people might have to get off the platform, or split their time between stocking produce, landscaping, fitting people for running shoes3, and the THING they wish will lift them up.)

I could go on, and I suspect a significant chunk of you have already unsubscribed from Rage, but with the right abundant mindset, another train always is coming, and by showing up and building a body of work, you’re more likely to hear, “All aboard!”

As you know, this newsletter starts here and goes up to 11!

The Books

1. Saving Time: Discovering Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell

2. The Distance from Slaughter County: Lessons from Flyover Country by Steven Moore. Happy to dig into this one and have Steven back on the pod.

3. Seth Godin is back with The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams. Seth will be back on the pod for the first time since he wrote his amazing book (maybe his best) The Practice.

4. Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes by Christine Yu. This’ll be a fun pod.

The Rest

5. RIP Pipewrench. I was able to feature the founders, and two of their writers (Shanna and Emily), but they did great work and were great advocates for writers while they published.

6. Why to write a review RIGHT NOW.

7. Jacqui Banaszynski of Nieman Storyboard, had a nice riff on Emma Donaghue’s novel Room.

8. Loved the movie The Menu. What a great commentary on foodie culture as well as the cult of celebrity around charismatic mega-chefs. It’s hard to find, but thankfully it was offered at 35,000 feet.

9. Nathan Bransford says, “Don’t start a chapter without these six essential elements.”

10. Rejection is not feedback.

11. Danielle Steele and the tragic appeal of overwork, a riff by Cal Newport, champion of deep work and a fervent rager against the algorithm.

Winner, winner, seitan dinner!

I got the message via Instagram that my caption had been selected as a finalist for The New Yorker Caption Contents at the end of March. When voting went live, I made sure EVERYONE knew to vote. If you did, you helped my caption win! Thanks so much! Fun fact: The cartoonist, Akeem S. Roberts, will be on the podcast. Figured I’d find the guy who drew to the toon that won me a contest. Can I say that my work has appeared in The New Yorker now?

Do you run? Will you be in Eugene Saturday Aug. 5?

I started an unsanctioned trail marathon along the McKenzie River Trail east of Eugene: The First Annual McKenzie Marathon4. The trail is 26 miles one way. The “winner” will get a crowler and a handshake, if you care to stick around. I may be the only one running.

If you’re sick of exorbitant race fees, corporate sponsorships, and want to get back to the rogue spirit of running wild, join me for an unforgettable time. No pomp. No applause. No aid stations. No t-shirts. No junk. Just the satisfaction that you set out to do something challenging and did it. Pre would dig it.5

Check out my mock logo (ignore the double M on top). Maybe there will be an IG account, but that doesn’t strike me as raging against the algorithm. I’ll likely post fliers in running stores. That’s how you rage…

Support the podcast

If you have a few bucks to spare, Patreon is where it’s at. I’m trying to sweeten the pot for patrons, but everyone seems pretty content just by chipping in a few bucks. No complaints there! No matter, I’ll keep trying to offer any goodies I can think of that’ll show my appreciation for that support. Patreon.com/cnfpod

Free ways to support the show? Kind reviews on Apple Podcasts help validate the show for the wayward CNFer. And, as always, linking up to the show and sharing it with your writer pals.

Thanks for reading, CNFers.

Stay wild,

b.r.o.