Turning Sorrow into Joy with Shawn Askinosie

Shawn Askinosie is the founder of Askinosie
Chocolate, an award-winning, small-batch luxury chocolate company
that sources 100% of its beans directly from farmers and shares
in the profits.


Shawn is a former trial attorney with an incredible record. He is
one of only a handful of lawyers in America who obtained a "not
guilty" verdict on a death penalty case.


But one day he realized he couldn't do it anymore. His body and
soul were weary of the grind, so he left.


Unsure what to do next he began searching for his true calling,
something to feed his soul. He began volunteering extensively,
and even sought out a monastery to dig deep into himself.


From the depths of sorrow came his joy unmasked, and Shawn
founded Askinosie Chocolate.


His book Meaningful Work, and his excellent TEDx talk, detail his
journey and provide a clear, practical blueprint to Do Great
Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul.


I discovered Shawn's work via Seth Godin, who has written
extensively about Shawn and his company. Seth even devoted an
entire episode of his podcast Akimbo to Shawn's work.


And yet, it was Shawn who reached out to me just last month,
asking if he would be a good fit for this podcast.


Of course I was elated. We talked some weeks ago about what value
we could create for you, and planned a joyous conversation
celebrating all the best parts of work and life.


And then the world turned upside down.


Shawn suddenly finds his own philosophy and principles being
tested like never before. At the time of the conversation you are
about to hear, Shawn was just hours away from having to furlough
half of his small team of 20, in order to give his employees a
functioning company to come back to, and protect the mission.


When Shawn got on the call, he was clearly distressed. I offered
to reschedule, but he refused. In fact, he was grateful for the
opportunity to work through his thoughts and feelings in real
time, as a case study for leaders of other organizations who are
or will soon be faced with similarly difficult choices.


I never intended this podcast to be about current events, but in
this case it was unavoidable.


The first 20 minutes of this conversation are deep, heavy, and
mournful. But it's also truthful and honest. After that we turn
the corner into a more upbeat and positive chat.


This is an incredibly valuable and timely episode. 
Related Links

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZZ1AY1_VRYI

Askinosie Chocolate: https://askinosiechocolate.com

Shawn Askinosie: https://shawnaskinosie.com

Meaningful Work (book) by Shawn Askinosie:
https://amzn.to/3byQuNk

Seth Godin's Akimbo episode featuring Shawn's work:
https://www.akimbo.link/blog/s2-e2-it-s-not-about-the-chocolate

Additional

Jay Reynold's on Beyond Networking:
http://www.beyondnetworkingpodcast.com/heard-but-never-seen-with-espns-jay-reynolds/

Seth Godin on Beyond Networking:
http://www.beyondnetworkingpodcast.com/where-you-are-and-what-you-do-with-seth-godin/

Leadership Mastermind

Hop on the wait list and be the first to get notified when my
next public leadership mastermind opens in May:
https://brianmillerspeaks.com/join/


 


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