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Welcome to this edition of Meaningful eMail with the most recent takeaway and updates linked here at the top, and then a full article for your consideration.
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Recent Takeaways
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Top Takeaways: Crucial Conversations
Fantastic frameworks and tips for high-stake conversations at work and at home. Video version is on LinkedIn.
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From grind to grin: finding your spark again
As he watched his daughter cross the stage, accepting the diploma with a big wave and an even bigger smile, his heart did a double flip. He was so proud of her hard work and dedication. And yet he felt a touch of sadness too.
It took a minute to place that sadness. Yes, the family rhthms would shift. Sure, he'd miss the school projects and late-night brainstorming sessions. But there was something else. Seeing her so excited and so passionate about her work - her future - had him wondering what happened to his own drive and passion.
He had graduated law school full of goals and big dreams. Marking them off one by one, he achieved major milestones, built a solid career and a beautiful loving family as well. He should feel satisfied, but instead something was missing.
The spark.
How could he get it back?
Should he set more goals? More money? More staff? Bigger clients? He'd already achieved those. Marking those goals off had felt good in the moment, but the rush didn't last long. And the sacrifices to achieve them now felt off kilter.
He needed to find something though - he was tired of life feeling like a daily grind. He missed the daily grin.
He's not alone
That lawyer was my very first coaching client. And since then I've seen this pattern time and again: smart, talented, driven professionals who ticked off achievements for decades are now feeling unmotivated and frustrated.
They're not content to just coast 'til retirement. They are sad - even mad - about losing their spark. They know what it's like to feel passionate and driven. They want to feel that again.
Does that sound like you too?
- Dreading the work day ahead?
- Feeling disconnected from the calendar?
- Wondering where the focus, flow, and fire went?
You're in good company.
You're a striver as Arthur C Brooks calls it. And his book From Strength to Strength, he describes what happens when high-achievers hit this moment.
When fluid intelligence - fast-twitch thinking and sharp execution - starts to give way to crystallized intelligence: wisdom, insight, perspective. It’s a natural shift in our brains, and it hits hardest for those who’ve spent decades mastering one career.
There’s more than neuroscience at play. This is also emotional. Spiritual. A quiet reckoning that can feel jarring if you’re not prepared for it.
It truly is a process, which is so reassuring to those of us who've been caught off guard by the loss of that spark.
What helps?
What I see working isn’t just a new job or big leap.
It’s a quieter, deeper shift:
- Moving from external validation to intrinsic motivation
- Rediscovering strengths - not relying on skills
- Defining clear values
- Reconnecting with purpose
- Identifying what makes a good day (For me: creating something, connecting with someone, following my curiosity.)
Let’s bring the spark back.
If you’re ready to go from grind to grin, let’s talk. Grab a slot on my calendar. I’d love to hear your story and help you find your path.
You may be further along than you realize.
Your spark is waiting.
You don’t have to burn it all down.
You just have to reignite what matters.
