Shawn knew then that continuing his career was not sustainable for his body, mind or spirit.

“Before I could find my vocation and the thing that I felt called to do next after law, I felt very desperate.

the more desperate I became, the further away from my reach it was, which only caused more problems.”

he discovered that  the place to look for clarity was within the sorrow he had experienced in life.

“Poet philosopher Kahlil Gibran… said that ‘our greatest joy is our sorrow unmasked.'

what does that mean for me?”

you can learn a lot through internal reflection and an examination of how your heart might be broken.

where does it hurt?

If I could ask entrepreneurs only one question to ponder about their future and their contribution to humanity, I would say I would ask ‘where does it hurt?

I needed to roll up my sleeves and find people who needed me and serve them without any expectation of anything in return.

Shawn found Gandhi’s words to be true, “If you want to find yourself, lose yourself in the service of others.”

think about the intersection of our talent or skill set, what the world needs, and what our passions are.

It might feel counterintuitive but, when you’re feeling hopeless, it is useful to ask who you can serve.

If you're really stuck, and you're beginning to lose hope, I would encourage you to think about someone who needs you right now.

when you decide to serve someone, it provides you the opportunity to get out of your head and put the focus on helping someone else.

being of service “isn't writing a check. It's not joining their board of directors. It's not going to their fundraising event. It's you rolling up your sleeves; it may be holding their hand, looking at them, seeing them, listening to them.”

Giving time and talents to others provides the space and focus to turn outwards

we need to have practices that slow us down forcibly so that we can have this mind and heart space opening up. It will allow us to have creative thoughts and inspirational thoughts and the birth of ideas that we can bring to fruition and action.