The Yellow Bite
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I hope you fail at your first attempt

I hope you fail at your first attempt

Everyone thought I was crazy for leaving

Stephen Stanberry
July 30th, 2025

friend!,

I'm sitting at the bus stop outside the radio station in 2017.

Age 30. Waiting for the next bus home.

I just walked away from the dream I'd had since I was 11 years old.

And everyone thinks I've lost my damn mind.

Here's the thing though...

As a kid, I'd pretend I was reading the sportscast (total sports junkie).

I'd do commentary for imaginary commentary while playing EA Sports FIFA on my desktop.

For 20+ years, I was convinced I'd be the next great sports broadcaster.

Finally made it to a real radio station.

I was telling sports stories, sure.

But I didn't feel happy.

Plot twist nobody saw coming.

Everyone thought I was crazy for leaving.

"You're throwing away everything you worked for," my editor said.

"This is what you always wanted," I was reminded.

I felt like I was betraying that 8-year-old kid who dreamed of this moment.

Here's what I used to believe: Childhood dreams are sacred and you should never give up on them.

Wrong.

So freaking wrong.

The truth I discovered sitting at that bus stop?

Your first dream is supposed to fail.

Not because it was wrong (it wasn't).

But because it was based on who you were, not who you're becoming.

That 8-year-old loved sports.

The 30-year-old realized he loved stories more than sports.

Big difference.

When I got fired from that remote job in 2023, I wasn't devastated.

I was relieved.

Because I'd learned something that scared little boy never could: your childhood dream isn't your destiny.

It's your starting point.

If I'd succeeded in sports broadcasting right away, I'd still be there.

Taking the bus to cover games I didn't care about (yikes).

Living someone else's version of my dream.

Instead, I'm here.

Helping people tell their own stories.

Building something that matters to who I actually am.

Your childhood dream failing isn't betrayal.

It's evolution.

So I hope you fail at your first attempt.

I hope it teaches you who you've become.

I hope it redirects you toward something way better than what that younger version of you could imagine.

Look, most people are too scared to let their first dream die.

But you? You're about to discover that failure is just redirection in disguise.

And if you want to turn those redirected moments into stories that actually connect with people...

I put together everything I learned about storytelling after leaving radio. The same frameworks that helped me go from telling empty sports stories to helping people tell stories that matter.

It's called "Love, Learn, and Live Storytelling" and it's packed with the exact templates and story structures that turn your biggest "failures" into your most powerful content.

For seven bucks.

(Because your evolution story is worth way more than that fancy coffee you're probably drinking.)

What childhood dream are you still mourning that might have been preparing you for something better?

Hit reply. Share your "failed" dream story.

I guarantee it led you exactly where you needed to go.

From my Caribbean paradise, Jamaica 🇯🇲

Stephen

P.S. Your mess isn't just your message - it's your competitive advantage. But only if you know how to tell it right.