Hola fellow beautiful voyagers,

It’s 5 AM. I woke up earlier than usual this morning, roused by the sound of my dog throwing up. Not the greatest way to meet the day, but luckily, I love her.

Four years ago, I was moving from startup to startup, confused about my future but leaning into the roles I thought others valued. In the middle of the confusion, I had lunch with a wise friend. An artist and actor, she knows how to read people, and she knew me well. I remember we were eating brunch in San Francisco, near the water, a view of the Bay Bridge before us. I was telling her about my latest job:

“I think it will be good. I am in charge of figuring out how to break engineering work into manageable cycles while working with the operations team to make sure our products are aligned with their expectations.”

My friend got a confused look on her face. Her response was immediate and to the point. In a direct and loving way, she said, “Meredith, don’t you think you might need to be a little more creative in your role? I remember how happy you were working on videos in your past job. You loved that.”

It’s incredible how much a single question can affect the course of your life. I thought long and hard about what she said. Over the next couple of years, I slowly righted the ship. I started by building Beautiful Voyager, an experience that reminded me of my core strengths. These days, I’m happy and secure in a creative role at a larger company I love.

There you have it. The advice that wasn’t advice, but a question. Have you ever experienced something similar? What is the best career question someone ever asked you? Reply to this email and let me know. I would love to share what you learned with someone else in a similar position.

p.s. As a result the Vox story linked below, there are more of you reading this email than ever. Welcome, new friends. We’re happy you’re here.