👋Hi! I'm Molly. This is where I share the lessons I’ve learned from building fast-moving, messy, ambitious companies. For more from me, you can also find me on the WorkLife Podcast, on LinkedIn, and in Glue Club, a community for leaders who care about building great companies.
Have you ever been told you’re “living the dream” while secretly wondering why you feel so hollow? I’ve been there. On paper, my résumé reads like a manifesto for impact — jobs that promised “life-changing” missions, teams that spoke in terms of “changing the world.” And yet, I was exhausted. Deep down, I couldn’t shake one question: why was I drained by work everyone else told me should be energizing?
Enter my coach at the time, Maggie Hensle (who is the best, by the way, if you’re looking for an exceptional, empathetic, thoughtful executive coach). She gave me an analogy I’ve carried with me ever since.
“Picture yourself in a soup kitchen,” she told me. “And today’s special is sandwiches.”
At first, I laughed; it sounded like a quirky volunteering story. But as she laid it out, something clicked.
Some people get lit up by handing out sandwiches on the street — the face-to-face connection, the gratitude, the instant feedback loop. Their energy comes from seeing the direct result of their effort.
