Lessons from a Quitter

•  We're obsessed with trying to find the "right" answer because we think that will give us some semblance of "control" over our future.⁠ "How do I know which direction is the right one for me?"⁠ Everyone who wants to quit their job asks some version of this question:⁠ I always answer the same way:⁠
• 
  The bad news is that there is no right answer. But the good news is that there is no right answer. The more you go down this road, the more you start to realize that the world is full of possibilities. And each step forward uncovers a whole set of new opportunities.⁠
  
  But you have to be willing to push past the discomfort of taking a step without knowing the end result in order to open yourself up to those possibilities.⁠ This week on the podcast, I had the honor of talking to the incredible Dr. Maria Phalime. We discussed her journey out of medicine and how it took her years to get over the guilt of leaving and to begin discovering all the opportunities that are available to her. Her story is such an inspiring example that you don't have to have it figured out in order to leave.⁠

Resources mentioned:

• Stuck to Strategy sign up

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

• Trust what you're feeling.
• If you don't have everything figured out, that's okay!
• Put your story out there.
• And so much more!

Where to find Maria:  

• Website: https://www.mariaphalime.co.za/
• TedTalk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeHqgambbcI

Follow along for more:

• www.lessonsfromaquitter.com
• https://www.facebook.com/lessonsfromaquitter
• https://www.instagram.com/lessonsfromaquitter/
• https://twitter.com/quitterpodcast

Sure, quitting is easy if you've always hated your job. But what if you used to love it? What if you loved it for many years? What if you were really, really good at it?

I'm so excited about this week's episode with the amazing Shawn Askinosie. Shawn walked away from a very successful career as a criminal defense attorney, a job he used to love. Until he didn't.

He realized that the career he once loved was putting him into an early grave and that it was time to do something else.

Shawn is now the founder of Askinosie Chocolates, named by Forbes as "One of the 25 Best Small Companies In America." He was also named by O, The Oprah. Magazine, as "One of 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World." No big deal.

He spends his days traveling between 4 continents to directly source his cocoa beans from farmers, where he offers them above Fair Trade prices, open books, and a share of his profits.

He has created an inspiring company that not only gives back directly to the farmers but his community as well.

His book - Meaningful Work: The Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling And Feed Your Soul, co-written with his daughter Lawren Askinosie, published by Penguin Random House is a #1 bestseller on Amazon.

I got to chat with Shawn about how he walked away from a career he loved and how he figured out what he should do next.

Resources mentioned:

• Stuck To Strategy Sign up

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

• Do the deep work and figure out who you truly are.
• Look for those thresholds.
• Be vulnerable with the people in your life.
• And so much more!

Where to find Shawn:

• Book: https://tinyurl.com/vf58dfv
• Chocolate: https://askinosie.com
• Blog: https://shawnaskinosie.com/
• TEDx talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_askinosie_find_your_calling_where_it_hurts

Follow along for more:

• www.lessonsfromaquitter.com
• https://www.facebook.com/lessonsfromaquitter
• https://www.instagram.com/lessonsfromaquitter/
• https://twitter.com/quitterpodcast

Sure, quitting is easy if you've always hated your job. But what if you used to love it? What if you loved it for many years? What if you were really, really good at it?

I'm so excited about this week's episode with the amazing Shawn Askinosie. Shawn walked away from a very successful career as a criminal defense attorney, a job he used to love. Until he didn't.

He realized that the career he once loved was putting him into an early grave and that it was time to do something else.

Shawn is now the founder of Askinosie Chocolates, named by Forbes as “One of the 25 Best Small Companies In America.”  He was also named by O, The Oprah. Magazine, as "One of 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World." No big deal.

He spends his days traveling between 4 continents to directly source his cocoa beans from farmers, where he offers them above Fair Trade prices, open books, and a share of his profits.

He has created an inspiring company that not only gives back directly to the farmers but his community as well.

His book - Meaningful Work: The Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling And Feed Your Soul, co-written with his daughter Lawren Askinosie, published by Penguin Random House is a #1 bestseller on Amazon.

I got to chat with Shawn about how he walked away from a career he loved and how he figured out what he should do next.

Resources mentioned:

• Stuck To Strategy Sign up

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

• Do the deep work and figure out who you truly are.
• Look for those thresholds.
• Be vulnerable with the people in your life.
• And so much more!

Where to find Shawn:  

• Book: https://tinyurl.com/vf58dfv
• Chocolate: https://askinosie.com
• Blog: https://shawnaskinosie.com/
• TEDx talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_askinosie_find_your_calling_where_it_hurts

Follow along for more:

• www.lessonsfromaquitter.com
• https://www.facebook.com/lessonsfromaquitter
• https://www.instagram.com/lessonsfromaquitter/
• https://twitter.com/quitterpodcast

In 75 episodes, I think the recurring lesson that comes up in almost every single episode is that you can't think your way to the end goal. It just doesn't work that way.⁠
⁠
There will be detours. Set-backs. New connections. And a whole lot of learning that will change your route. The only thing you have to do is start. You don't have to know how it is going to unfold. Just start.⁠
⁠
This week on the podcast, I was lucky enough to talk to the incredible @shuntagrant about her journey from attorney to entrepreneur.⁠
⁠
Shunta unknowingly started a business at her dining room table in 2014 when she began selling hair bows that she made for her daughter Zoe on Instagram. She left law in 2015 to build Because of Zoe designs fulltime. In 2016, she started a second business mentoring other women business owners on how to build a business and life on the other side of busy.⁠
⁠
Shunta could have never known what her Chapter 10 would look like. She had no intention of being a business owner when she went to law school. And now she has created a life and business that lights her up.⁠
⁠
You don't have to know your Chapter 10. Just start with Chapter 1.⁠

In 75 episodes, I think the recurring lesson that comes up in almost every single episode is that you can't think your way to the end goal. It just doesn't work that way.⁠ ⁠ There will be detours. Set-backs. New connections. And a whole lot of learning that will change your route. The only thing you have to do is start. You don't have to know how it is going to unfold. Just start.⁠ ⁠ This week on the podcast, I was lucky enough to talk to the incredible @shuntagrant about her journey from attorney to entrepreneur.⁠ ⁠ Shunta unknowingly started a business at her dining room table in 2014 when she began selling hair bows that she made for her daughter Zoe on Instagram. She left law in 2015 to build Because of Zoe designs fulltime. In 2016, she started a second business mentoring other women business owners on how to build a business and life on the other side of busy.⁠ ⁠ Shunta could have never known what her Chapter 10 would look like. She had no intention of being a business owner when she went to law school. And now she has created a life and business that lights her up.⁠ ⁠ You don't have to know your Chapter 10. Just start with Chapter 1.⁠

Hi, my name is Goli and I'm a life-long people-pleaser.⁠
⁠
I have a feeling a lot of you are too. Because we're trained from childhood to just do what we're told and not make waves.⁠

And while I used to understand that this tendency made me overly agreeable, overly apologetic (hello, women?), and obsessed with making sure everyone liked me, I didn't realize how much it actually kept me stuck in my career.⁠
⁠
Tendencies like overachieving or perfectionism are just symptoms of the need to be liked. We think that if we just tick off the next accomplishment, like getting the promotion or making partner, or we turn in the perfect work product, then everyone will be happy and, in turn, we'll be happy.⁠
⁠
But I don't have to tell you that it doesn't work that way.⁠
⁠
We just move the goalposts. Maybe excelling at the next thing will finally make it all worthwhile. (Spoiler alert: it won't).⁠
⁠
So we stay in a career we hate because the idea of other people's opinions weighs heavier than our own happiness.⁠
⁠
How will I explain that I don't want to do this? Who am I if I'm not [insert "successful" profession here]?⁠
⁠
This week on the podcast, I dive all into the nature of our people-pleasing and how to start climbing your way out of this suffocating tendency.⁠

Follow along for more:

• www.lessonsfromaquitter.com
• https://www.facebook.com/lessonsfromaquitter
• https://www.instagram.com/lessonsfromaquitter/
• https://twitter.com/quitterpodcast

Hi, my name is Goli and I'm a life-long people-pleaser.⁠ ⁠ I have a feeling a lot of you are too. Because we're trained from childhood to just do what we're told and not make waves.⁠

And while I used to understand that this tendency made me overly agreeable, overly apologetic (hello, women?), and obsessed with making sure everyone liked me, I didn't realize how much it actually kept me stuck in my career.⁠ ⁠ Tendencies like overachieving or perfectionism are just symptoms of the need to be liked. We think that if we just tick off the next accomplishment, like getting the promotion or making partner, or we turn in the perfect work product, then everyone will be happy and, in turn, we'll be happy.⁠ ⁠ But I don't have to tell you that it doesn't work that way.⁠ ⁠ We just move the goalposts. Maybe excelling at the next thing will finally make it all worthwhile. (Spoiler alert: it won't).⁠ ⁠ So we stay in a career we hate because the idea of other people's opinions weighs heavier than our own happiness.⁠ ⁠ How will I explain that I don't want to do this? Who am I if I'm not [insert "successful" profession here]?⁠ ⁠ This week on the podcast, I dive all into the nature of our people-pleasing and how to start climbing your way out of this suffocating tendency.⁠

Follow along for more:

• www.lessonsfromaquitter.com
• https://www.facebook.com/lessonsfromaquitter
• https://www.instagram.com/lessonsfromaquitter/
• https://twitter.com/quitterpodcast

• Will Day started out his career with a 2-year stint in the Peace Corps after college. He then went on to a successful career in the financial industry on Wall Street. But something felt like it was missing. In 2001, he enrolled in the Masters of Architecture program at Pratt Institute and then went to work as an architect. But that also never felt right.
• It wasn't until he decided to finally follow his passions as a full-time artist that he realized that he had been trying to force a square peg into a round hole.⁠ ⁠ But the best part about this conversation is that it's not all about how everything worked out wonderfully. I love Will's honesty about the realities of creating a living through art, how to find creativity in the chaos, and so much more.⁠

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

• How to find your creativity in the chaos.
• How to learn to listen to your inner voice.
• How to stop forcing something that isn't working.
• How to apply business principles to an artistic career to set yourself up for success.
• And so much more!

Where to find Will:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willdayart/
• Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/yxqekyqu
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/willdayart/
• Website: www.willdayart.com

Follow along for more:

• www.lessonsfromaquitter.com
• https://www.facebook.com/lessonsfromaquitter
• https://www.instagram.com/lessonsfromaquitter/
• https://twitter.com/quitterpodcast

• Will Day started out his career with a 2-year stint in the Peace Corps after college. He then went on to a successful career in the financial industry on Wall Street. But something felt like it was missing. In 2001, he enrolled in the Masters of Architecture program at Pratt Institute and then went to work as an architect. But that also never felt right.
• 
  It wasn't until he decided to finally follow his passions as a full-time artist that he realized that he had been trying to force a square peg into a round hole.⁠
  ⁠
  But the best part about this conversation is that it's not all about how everything worked out wonderfully. I love Will's honesty about the realities of creating a living through art, how to find creativity in the chaos, and so much more.⁠

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

• How to find your creativity in the chaos.
• How to learn to listen to your inner voice.
• How to stop forcing something that isn't working.
• How to apply business principles to an artistic career to set yourself up for success.
• And so much more!

Where to find Will:  

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willdayart/
• Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/yxqekyqu
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/willdayart/
• Website: www.willdayart.com

Follow along for more:

• www.lessonsfromaquitter.com
• https://www.facebook.com/lessonsfromaquitter
• https://www.instagram.com/lessonsfromaquitter/
• https://twitter.com/quitterpodcast

• So often we hold on to what we know so tightly that we give up the opportunity of having something so much better. Kim Le Pham is on the podcast today and her story is such an inspiration to me. Everything this woman touches turns to gold and, yet, she never rests on her laurels. She's constantly pushing herself (and her husband) out of their comfort zone.Kim Le went from climbing the corporate ladder as a CPA to becoming a wildly successful wedding photographer. But even though she was traveling the world, making a great living, and doing something she loved, she let herself pursue her curiosities.

  She started a fashion blog (laceandlocks.com) which led to an online clothing store (morninglavendar.com) which led to a brick-and-mortar clothing store which led to a second location that also has a cafe. And she's not finished.

  She's the founder and CEO of Morning Lavendar where she employs over 50 people and has been named to Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies 2 years in a row. And she's just getting started.

• She is a shining example of how multifaceted we all are and how much room there is for reinvention.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

• How the fear doesn't go away.
• Why you deserve the same love you give everyone else.
• How we all have inner intuition and the importance of listening close enough.
• And so much more!

Where to find Kim:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laceandlocks/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopmorninglavender/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morninglavenderoc/
• Website: www.laceandlocks.com
• Website: www.morninglavender.com

Follow along for more:

• www.lessonsfromaquitter.com
• https://www.facebook.com/lessonsfromaquitter
• https://www.instagram.com/lessonsfromaquitter/
• https://twitter.com/quitterpodcast