Most of us have been through a career transition – we know something is missing or there is more we are meant to do.
Our guest today, Shawn Askinosie, went through a challenging career transition that led him on a journey to meaningful work. It was so significant that he wrote a book about the journey called Meaningful Work: A Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, And Feed Your Soul.
Before reading his book or being introduced by our mutual friend Seth Godin, I tried Shawn’s chocolate at Jenny’s Ice Cream years ago. They offered an Askinosie chocolate flavor, created from ingredients provided by Shawn’s family-run company. And it was delicious!
Eleven years ago, Shawn started Askinosie Chocolate after a twenty-year career as a defense lawyer. Using a bean to bar model, he sources the beans himself from around the world.
Askinosie Chocolate’s work toward community development locally and globally has been well-recognized. Oprah Magazine called him “one of 15 guys saving the world” and Forbes recently named the company one of the 25 best small companies in America.
On this episode of The Portfolio Life, Shawn shares the story of his journey from lawyer to chocolatier to an author. His experiences allowed him to learn how to navigate life, measure company growth beyond profit, and what practical things we can start today to find meaningful work.
Listen to the podcast
To listen to the show, click the player below (If you’re reading this via email, please click here).
Show highlights
In this episode, Shawn and I explore:
- What did a monastery teach him?
- When do you know you are in the right place at the right time?
- What does it mean to be resting in the presence of God?
- What is his heart metric for his book?
- Why did he write his story the way he did?
Sean’s search for his next venture
- What was a daily activity that helped him find his next passion?
- Did he know anything about chocolate before starting his business?
- What happened when he went to the Amazon?
- Why did desperation actually make his discovery harder?
- What did volunteering with palliative patients in a local hospital teach him?
Lessons from Shawn’s book Meaningful Work
- What can you learn from the two parts of his business’ vocation?
- What is farmgate and why is it important?
- How to answer the question: how much is enough?
- What happens if you don’t find the purpose of your work?
- Why and when we should practice reverse scale.
Resources
- Shawn Askinosie’s web site
- Shawn Askinosie on Twitter
- Meaningful Work, by Shawn Askinosie
- The Seven Storey Mountain, by Thomas Merton
- The Strenuous Life
- Real Artists Don’t Starve
- Subscribe, rate and review on iTunes
What is one thing you’re going to do to bring meaning to your work after listening to Shawn? Let us know in the comments.
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