Meet Abbi Rodes

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Abbi Rodes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Abbi, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I grew up on a farm. My mother was a narcissist and my father was a workaholic. My family did not encourage us but rather mocked one another. I separated myself at an early age from this mentality and was very clear minded that this type of behavior wasn’t kind, helpful, or something I wanted to be a part of. I parented myself. I decided who I was and what kind of person I wanted to be.
At 18 I moved away and didn’t much look back. Years of undoing the damage of my childhood I began to rest in the simplicity that we all just want to be seen and heard. To be loved.
If I can be a person that can bring love and kindness in baking, creating, photography, or even running with my animals with our Airbnbs guests, I have entered into a place that I can feel good about myself.
I am who I am and not who I’m not. This beautiful revelation keeps me grounded. I know what I’m good at and what I should work on. I’m ok with not working on some things like changing oil or a flat tire. Why? Not because I can’t, because I don’t want to have to know everything or be good at everything. If I can simply be good at the things I enjoy and help others feel good about themselves or experience a little bit of goodness in our time here on earth, that brings me purpose. I can get behind that. All in all, self esteem comes from acceptance. I know things about myself and have accepted them. I don’t like to work out. I do like to run with goats. I don’t like to listen to directions or do math problems, but I will create a beautiful menu using as many farm flowers and produce as I can. I like naps but my mind won’t settle to take them. I like to design but I hate measuring. Therefore I know who to connect with and celebrate differences. I’m not you and you aren’t me. Isn’t that just the best thing ever?!? Let’s celebrate that over blueberry basil buttermilk buttercream cake and create flower crowns together in the field.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Photography: I photograph stories. When I get clients that allow me to create a movie scene that’s wild and free and represents them, it’s the best thing in the world. They feel good about themselves and their personalities show.
Airbnbs:
I’ve designed two Airbnbs on our mini farm. One is a skoolie and the other is a Nordic tiny cabin. Both have chickens to get eggs in the morning and the cabin has a seasonal veggie garden. Each space has many experiences that people can book. This is my favorite part. Scavenging for flower crown ingredients with our guests carrying a basket through the fields and creating beautiful masterpieces we photograph after sipping sparkling lemonade in the field while the goats yell for attention. Animal visits. I trek across the field with a parade of goats, baby goats, and our one sheep into the Airbnbs space and we feed them letting the kids squeal with delight. Then we do our “running with the bulls” version where we all run back to their home and the sheep does parkour into the air with glee from all the molasses he was just fed. Into the woods scavenger hunts, homemade cinnamon rolls brought to you with lavender out of the oven, picnic charcuterie with fresh desserts from the farm, mini family golden hour photo sessions, and our newest creation farm to table food fight. This is something we are just launching in the next month or two. A table set in the field where our goats and sheep occupy. Dressed up and fancy we photograph our guests. Each person has a character they get to pretend to be and one of them starts the fight, ends the fight by releasing the goats to jump on the table and eat the remaining food bits and then we film and photograph the whole event. Absolute mayhem. There’s something so magical about using what you have to bring joy. I have 5 acres near the city and my little herd of animals and chickens benefit from leftovers from the Airbnbs, the Airbnbs eat the eggs, we use the foliage to create table scapes, flower crowns, or cakes. Everything should be seen and enjoyed just like people. We all have beauty inside us that we long for people to see and know. This is how I treat my farm. This is how I hope people I meet get to feel. Seen and loved.
Also I’m very tired from all the work but in the end of the day it’s all worth it. I mean sometimes I’d just like a cleaner and a gardener but that may be something down the road.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Know who you are. Accept what you are good at and where you want to grow. If you don’t want to grow be ok with that and find someone that’s good at it.
Let the broken pieces of your past create beautiful masterpieces to heal yourself and others. Embrace yourself and this beautiful world. Boundaries are the lifeline to success. Do what you can and be ok with what you can’t.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

Neglect me. I’m not saying that was a good thing nor did it f@&k up my life, but I’m who I am because of it. I had to problem solve, find the beauty in myself, get radical acceptance, and that propelled me to love others in a way that empowered them to do the same. Encourages them by seeing the amazing character in them and calling it out and doing the same to myself. Allowing myself to be seen, loud, quiet, still, and wildly free.
I was saved from the pompous parts of life. Where money, status, and position mattered. The farm was my parent and it did a great job.

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