Coffee, Clarity & Career Rewrites

If hustle culture had its way, we’d all be tracking our stress with a wearable and calling it wellness.

But here’s what’s real:
You’re not unmotivated. You’re overstimulated in a system that keeps demanding more while giving less.

This week isn’t about doing more.
It’s about building smarter. With clarity. With receipts.

🔥 If this made your shoulders drop even a little? You’re in the right place.
👉 Upgrade for more moments like this

📥 Download: The Strategic Networking Guide
This isn’t “just reach out” advice. This is about career alignment through connection.

Inside:

🔐 Paid subscribers only → Unlock It Here

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✅ Write down 10 “shoulds.” Cross out 7.
✅ Reconnect with one person whose energy feels safe.
✅ Cancel one meeting that’s been draining your soul since January.

☕ Bonus: Rename your Monday calendar block to “Do Not Disturb My Momentum.”

This isn’t a coincidence. It’s a coordinated recalibration of power.
And no, you’re not being dramatic.

👉 Ready to stop reacting and start building forward? Upgrade to the full playbook

Create a desktop folder called “Not Today.”
Drag all your open tabs, docs, and unfinished thoughts into it.

Schedule a 20-minute appointment for “Later Me” to sort it.
That’s executive function, not procrastination.

We’re not in a “work revolution.” We’re in a reckoning.
The people who got the mic first are losing it. And the ones who’ve been holding the culture together in silence?
We’re not quiet anymore.

If your leadership feels invisible…
If your boundaries feel violated…
If your impact feels unmeasured…

It’s not you.
It’s the framework.
And it’s time to build a new one.

🔥 Want to build yours with strategy instead of burnout?
👉 Join the paid community

Deadline Optimist
noun: The person who still believes “I can knock this out real quick” at 4:47 PM on a Friday… and hits send at 9:22 PM.

We see you. We are you. Let’s do better.

Create a shutdown ritual.
Mine?

Build your version. Protect it like your mental health depends on it — because it does.

We took But First, Coffee live at Transform 2025 — and y’all, the behind-the-scenes was better than the stage.

We saw: 👀 HR tech with zero backend logic
🎁 Tote bags that shouldn’t have made it out of design
🔥 One or two vendors that actually get the moment

John and I spill it all in our live episode — coming this week. It’s sharp, petty, and perfectly caffeinated.

→ Subscribe to But First, Coffee

Scott is bridging legal strategy, social impact, and DEI with actual structure — not just statements.

We talk:
✔️ Reframing without retreating
✔️ Cross-sector collaboration that works
✔️ His new book: Do More, Good, Better

→ Listen on Spotify
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Still thinks burnout is a badge of honor. Forward this and let them know: rest is strategy.