Good Morning Amigos,

Fill up your cup of Sunday joe and let’s kick things off..

Feature Read of the Week:

A close mentor of mine sent me this article a few months ago, “The Death of the Career Path“. The timing was fitting as I was in a time of transition and trying to connect the dots between professional endeavours I’ve embarked on and looking to transition into. A key theme he emphasized for myself and other young professionals is to create “optionality” for yourself.

This means garnering + honing a unique set of transferable skills that allow you to micro-pivot (laterally / vertically / diagonally) as your career grows. The other key tenet of optionality is building a team of trusted allies in different industries who you can lean on + learn from in times of transition. Often times, it is “loose” connections that open doors and avenues for change when pivoting, it is not necessarily limited to your closest mentors & professional colleagues.

As such, a good question to ask yourself is, regardless of industry you work in, “are the skills you are garnering a) of value b) transferable c) scalable with your desired skillset and d) able to open doors externally as you look to grow professionally?”

What I’m Thinking About:

This is one of the more thought provoking reads I’ve come across in 2019, “Introducing The Meat Based Carrot“.

Sure, the author may be a slightly disgruntled farmer but its hard to argue with some of his points regarding society-at-large and the marketing / storylines we read into and believe. The topic I find most interesting is at what point do terms like “Vegan / Gluten Free / Soy Free / Non GMO” transcend our understanding of what is considered healthy?

Here’s an example – Beyond Meat burger patties have 22 active ingredients – many of which one has difficulty deciphering what the ingredient actually is. Whereas, a traditional hamburger is typically a single ingredient (beef) with a few basic spices of the chef’s choice. As such, where do we draw the line in terms of natural, whole healthy foods vs. highly manufactured foods with marketing tag-lines intended to make them sound healthy… Makes you think doesn’t it?

What I’m Listening To: “Red Heart” – Hey Rosetta!

Words I’m Pondering: “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Anne Lamott

Brew, Sip, Think, Repeat,

Wilkesy