3 Years and a Goodbye

Photo by Lorenz Hoffmann

When should you let something go? I have a tendency to sometimes give up too soon, and yet have a graveyard of examples of where I clearly should’ve given up sooner, knowing the path wasn’t right for me. Perhaps that’s just the byproduct of living in an imperfect, unpredictable world. We live to be plagued by “what ifs” and “should ofs”, each version of events cloaked with highsight bias. 

When I started this newsletter in August 2021 the world was beginning to emerge from the more restrictive lockdowns. Teams were slowly, and separately returning to the office. The Future of Work was both a hot topic to write about and a hot investment thesis. I too was genuinely excited by it. As someone with a tendency towards being a systems thinker, I had so much to say about remote work, company culture and scaling startups. I devoured books, podcasts and tweets on the topic. I had an undeniable urge to share my thoughts about it. August 2021 was also the early days of hype around the Creator Economy. Newsletters and writing courses were becoming lucrative business models and a part of me dreamt of riding the wave of financial freedom one startup framework at a time. Until I no longer wanted to.

I’ve known for some time that I’m no longer that interested in these topics. I even wrote about this evolution in February but hadn’t fully accepted it. I thought/hoped it might change. For so long my work identity, and sense of competence, had been tied to being a Startup Operator. Someone who wanted to fix all the issues I saw around me and excel in this field. I still work in Operations in startups. I still think and care about many of these topics regularly. But it’s no longer what I want to devout my creative time to writing and thinking about. I’m happy to be a learner rather than attempt to be a leader in this field. Maybe that will change again but for now the time feels right to cut the cord (I hate loose ends) on Ways of Working and begin a new writing chapter. 

Many of you signed up in the last few weeks having seen Teresa Torres’ reshare (🙏) of this goals article. Thank you for joining me. If you found that piece helpful then you might enjoy others at the top of this list too.

For those of you who have been around for longer, thank you for allowing me into your inboxes and thoughts over the years. You will never know the amount of times that a like or comment from an internet stranger or real life friend made my day. If you’ll allow me one ask, it’s to continue to be generous with your hearts/shares/comments whether it's on a Substack newsletter, Instagram Reel or dare I say LinkedIn post. The algorithms that be promote clickbait and hate. We can choose to turn that tide even so slightly by engaging with thoughtful, uplifting or just downright creative content. 

If you’re interested in following my next phase of writing you can find me here. Otherwise have a lovely rest of your days. 

Onwards and upwards,

Jo x