At 33, Justin Jones-Fosu pulled his car over to the side of the road and wept about a father who was never around. For years he’d lived by a rule that sounds a lot like fairness: if I didn’t cause it, I shouldn’t have to carry it.
This conversation is about what he did next.
Justin runs a firm called Work Meaningful, and his new book is Stop Chasing, Start Creating. It’s a fable. The tortoise and the hare, retold inside a modern company, with a tortoise named Tano who keeps a notebook called Almost Said for everything he swallowed in meetings. I’d argue the notebook alone is worth the price.
We talk about:
* why he put the truest story of his life inside a tortoise instead of a memoir
* what it looks like to step off a race you’re winning
* the difference between working for impact and working for applause
* how you tell quitting from being finished
* whether meaning is found or made
And you gotta hear the part about the research he did leading up to the publication of this book, and how he convinced his publisher to push it to the top of the list.
One more thing: we’re reading
A lot of the people who listen to this show have a book they’ve been carrying around. Maybe it’s finished and sitting in a drawer. Maybe it’s half a manuscript and a pile of notes. So we’re opening a door.
From October 13 through December 15, Crossroads is holding the Soundings Reading Period. We’re reading books of the inner life, from any tradition or none. If your manuscript is finished, send the whole thing. If it isn’t, send a simple proposal: a one-page overview, an outline, a sample chapter or two.
It costs $25, and I’ll tell you what that buys. I read it myself, and within 21 days you get a one-page letter from me that says where your book stands: Ready, Nearly, or Not Yet. If I’m late, you get your $25 back. It’s not a deposit on anything, and nobody’s going to call you afterward to sell you something.
It’s all on one page: crossroadspublishing.group/submit. And if it’s not you, I’d guess you know the person it is.
The book: Stop Chasing, Start Creating by Justin Jones-Fosu, wherever books are sold or just click the link. Don’t forget to leave him a review!
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