Turning Sorrow into Joy with Shawn Askinosie

Beyond Networking with Brian Miller

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/

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