Letting Go Of My Peanuts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 07:31PM Friday, April 29 will be my last day at CBS Interactive and CNET.
I joined CNET in January of 2008, six months before the network was acquired by CBS. I moved from San Francisco to New York City for this position with much trepidation. I was alone and inexperienced. Little did I know that this job would afford me invaluable TV experience, as well as lead me to my precious family.
I am proud of the work I have done here and proud of the friends, colleagues, and viewers that I've met. If you are reading this blog, you are probably one of those people and I am grateful for you.
So what is next for me? I am hoping the answer is "A lot!" I have a few irons in the fire but no big announcements as of yet.
So why leave? The simple answer is that it is time. I have been hosting a daily technology news show for over 4 years, if you consider that Loaded is an extension of my previous show, Textra. I love this show but I am ready to challenge myself in new ways. Please allow me to put it allegorically.
I once read a story about how people in India used to catch monkeys. They put peanuts in a jar that was nailed to the floor. When the monkey walked by, it would reach in for the peanuts and be trapped because its hand could not come out of the jar while it was full of peanuts. The monkey did not realize that it would be free if it just let go of the peanuts.
The peanuts are a metaphor for the things in our lives that we cling to. We all hold onto things that entrap us. It could be a job that you are a little too comfortable with, a friend that drains your energy, anger, or resentment. In my case, CNET represents my peanuts and those peanuts are hard to let go of because I am comfortable here. I love it here. I am proud to be a part of this team. Nevertheless, I feel that it is time to see what else my career has to offer and I'll never do that while I cling desperately to these peanuts.
I hope you will continue to follow my career. I will keep you abreast of upcoming projects on this site and on Twitter. Meanwhile, thank you for your continued support and interest. I hope you will stick with me as I let go of my peanuts.
cbs, cbs interactive, cbs news, cnet, cnet tv, loaded, natali del conte, natali morris, peanuts, textra
Reader Comments (153)
Good luck, Natali. I also think it would be great to see you (and Clayton) do something new and interesting on TWiT, especially now that Leo is expanding his vision.
Yes, please keep us abreast.
You are courageous and inspiring. Best wishes for luck, success, and most of all, peace!
I'll miss your Loaded shows. Your humour & wit on the 404.
I know what you mean about being comfortable. The hardest thing to do is leave it to try something new and unknown. All the best in your future endeavours!
Sorry to see you leaving, but looking forward to hearing about what's next for you :). Enjoy the interim time with you family.
Wow, thanks for that disturbing monkey trapping story! Kidding :-)
Being a TWiT addict, I'd love to see you drop in on some of their shows occasionally.
Good luck wherever you land!
Moral of the story, Brad: Don't be a monkey. :)
All the best to your future and your endeavor.
Hi Natali
When I first saw the title "leaving CNET" I said "nooooo" but after reading this I completely understand, I'm on a similar situation and this inspire me a lot :)
Your show was part of my day :) I hope you've a lot of success in your next proyects
Greetings from Mexico :)
Isn't tomorrow April Fools' Day? I'm just saying, any "shocking" news item around this time of year makes you wonder.
I'm sorry to see you leave CNET! I love watching you on Loaded and especially your weekly guest appearances on The 404!!! It's nice to see you in an unstructured format, just being yourself. You're an interesting gal.
Good luck with whatever you pursue, I hope it's something I can watch regularly and not just guest spots on CBS.
Sad to see you leave CNET but looking forward to hear what's next. Good luck!
I'm happy for you if this is what you want to do. I'll miss you terribly at CNET. You and Molly are my 2 favorite personalities.
I wish you well and look forward to seeing what you do in the future.
Thank you for all yogur hardware work. I wish you The best. We will jeep on following your career. Hope to see you soon in a new project.
Wishing you the best, Natali! It's clear that you'll do great at whatever you decide to take on. You're a very talented woman and you inspire people like me every day.
I have a few peanuts of my own that I should probably considering letting go of. Thanks for the story and for all that you've done over the years. Good luck!
I will miss you on Loaded but congrats and good luck on all future endeavors. Oh yeah, I hope you don't mind if I use the story about the monkey in India.
I'm going through a similar thing myself right now. I feel like I need something new and lost my job a year ago. I've been trying to figure out what to do while freelancing doing the same thing I had been doing. After several months of deliberation I finally decided to move to follow a dream I had 10 years ago that just didn't seem like a good idea to do before. Good choice? Who knows, but I'm at least doing something proactive.
You'll be missed. Best of luck with whatever you do and I'll be following on Twitter.. I kind of hope you are going to TWiT.
Take care and good luck!
Natali, Your podcasts of Loaded are the highlight of my day. At first I was a little shocked to read that you would leave Cnet, but i thought about it and it makes complete sense.
Good for you leave while your on top and stike out on your own, rest asured you will have a huge following wherever you go. By the way you look great since the baby.
GOOD LUCK!!
I followed Natali from Textra to Loaded because she was the person I wanted to see giving the news. While I have plenty of ways of getting my tech news fix. I am sad to see you go, Natali. I look forward to seeing which way you go and best luck with your endeavors.
Good Luck, I will miss you.
Bet Leo Laporte has been trying to contact you, he loves ex CNET staff.
It's always sad to see familiar faces leave the shows we love. I am sure you will be missed by many at CNET. What a great experience you had there! It's exciting to see what the future may hold for you. Best of luck to you and your family!
Natali,
I wish you much success as you move on. Not that you haven't been successful already, especially in regards to coming together with Clayton and starting your family. I figure probably that you count your son as one of the best things and greatest successes about your life.
You did a great job at CNET! Your perspective of being factual (yet with a dose of practicality and common sense) was/is always a breath of fresh air, whether spoken or in written form. One of the things that kept me coming back.
Thanks for being willing to open yourself up to sharing a little of who you are, where you've been and where you're going with all of us. Looking in from the outside gives me the impression that it has been a great ride for you so far, and that you still have a wonderful journey ahead of you.
Best of luck to you Natali! I have been a big fan of your work and will gladly follow your career. From someone else in the CBS family (but in a different city), you will be missed!