“This is a groundbreaking book, a book that will change the way you see the world. It’s about far more than chocolate. Shawn and Lawren have shared the wisdom of the ages, a book about faith, fairness and love. A must read.”
You know that old story of a successful criminal defense lawyer who quits practicing law to start a bean to bar chocolate factory? Yeah…it’s a new story for me too. But that is the story of Shawn Askinosie. Shawn is a remarkable human being. Not because Oprah Magazine named him “One of 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World” or because Forbes named his small batch, award winning chocolate factory, Askinosie Chocolate ‘One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America’. It’s because Shawn holds a contemplative vision for his life and business to create a more just and loving world.
Askinosie Chocolate is a direct trade business that profit shares with their partners, the cocoa farmers, from around the world. Shawn and his team are recasting how a profitable business can operate in the world with integrity, passion and humility. In this conversation you will get a taste for Shawn’s values as he shares about his experience as a Family Brother at Assumption Abbey, how he recognizes the relationship between joy and sorrow, the lasting impact of his 6th grade teacher, why he wanted Askinosie Chocolate to be direct trade, profit sharing and open book management from its inception,… and what the hell he means by the phrase, ‘It not about the chocolate, it’s about the chocolate.
This is just a taste of Shawn’s deeply empowering book, Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul. You can buy the book, Meaningful Work, wherever beautiful books are sold.
To learn more about Shawn visit (and order chocolate) at askinosie.com.
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EPISODE SHOW NOTES
Books & Chocolate by Shawn Askinosie
- Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul
- Askinosie Chocolate
Resources Mentioned
- Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul by Shawn Askinosie
- The Rule of St. Benedict
- Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
- Becoming Human by Jean Vanier
- Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl
- Joy of Full Surrender by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
- Die Wise by Stephen Jenkinson
People
- Assumption Abbey
- Khalil Gibran
- Mitch Albom
- Jean Vanier
- Viktor Frankl
- Jean-Pierre de Caussade
- St. Benedict
- Stephen Jenkinson
- Paul Elmore
- Wendell Berry
- Fr. Greg Boyle
- Pema Chodron
Highlights
- You are a Family Brother at Assumption Abbey in Missouri, can tell us what that is and how that came to be?
- What impact has having a ‘Rule of Life’ had on your life?
- If someone were going to teach a class on the formation of Shawn Askinosie, what 3 books that formed you would definitely be on that syllabus?
- One of the typical career paths I remember from youth on career day is that well-worn story of going from lawyer to chocolate maker, how did you decide to take this well-worn path?
- Can you tell me about Mr. Paul Elmore, and the role he played in your life?
- The phrase, ‘It’s not about the chocolate, it’s about the chocolate’ is a guiding mantra for you. What does that mean to you?
- Can you share the difference between Fair Trade and Direct Trade? And why you chose the Direct Trade route?
- And what is the experience like when you bring the farmers chocolate from their cocoa?
- You are a small business, and have opportunities to scale…what is your philosophy of scale?
- What drink you pair with this conversation?
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