I’ve yet to publish any kind of review of 2023 (I might not at all), but here’s my quick take on what last year was about: establish my coaching business with enough revenue to give me infinite runway for future creative work. And that’s exactly what I did. I now have a healthy client base […]
The Alchemy of Carbon Removal: How Charm Industrial Plans to Run Oil Wells in Reverse and Turn Corn Into Steel
By 2050, we need to remove 10 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually in order to keep global temperatures from increasing more than 2ºC — the commonly accepted threshold for when the climate would become unbearably hot and unpredictable for humans in much of the world. In 2022, we removed two […]
Coaching Questions to Help You Make Breakthroughs at Work and in Life
I get a version of this question regularly: “What are the 3-4 coaching questions or exercises most likely to produce breakthroughs?” I get where it comes from. What if you could boil coaching down to powerful questions anyone can ask themselves anytime they’re looking for a breakthrough? Coaching doesn’t work like that. Coaching is a […]
How to Reinvent Yourself: Lessons Learned from My Career Transition and How to Find Your Next Great Thing
In August 2021, I resigned from my role as COO at ConvertKit. I sold most of my stock and set aside funds for a sabbatical of undetermined length. In the 18 months following my departure, I transitioned industries; pursued three six-month career experiments; experienced deep anxiety and depression; and came out the other side, more […]
Advice for My 10-Year-Old Self
A friend asked me to compile advice for my 10-year old self. I came up with 10 things I’d want to tell myself at age 10. If you enjoy them, please feel free to add or subtract as you see fit and share them with anyone you think would benefit. If you’re reading this, you’re […]
Carbon Direct: The $160 Trillion Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight
There’s an untapped $160 trillion market teeming with potential and on the verge of surging with economic activity — and one company in particular is building a carbon science dream team to take advantage. That market: carbon dioxide. Carbon Direct’s mission is to “combine science, technology, and capital to deliver quality CO2 management at scale.” […]
Let’s work together to solve the climate crisis: A request for opportunities
My name is Barrett Brooks. I live in Portland, OR. I’m an experienced startup operator. After growing ConvertKit to $28M in ARR over five years, I retired from my role as COO in August 2021. I spent the rest of 2021 decompressing, getting my energy back, and serving as volunteer managing editor on The Carbon […]
I am nothing: On the loss of identity in times of transition
1,868 days. That’s the number of days I spent on the ConvertKit team. 12,408 days. That’s the number of days since I was born. I’ve spent 15% of my life at one company. 32% of my adult life. Nearly 47% of my working life. 10,000 hours of deliberate practice is the mark of an expert. […]
The End of the Year is a Time for Rest, Recovery, and Reflection
If you spend any amount of time reading career advice, following founders of companies you admire, or scrolling Twitter, you’ll inevitably run into some version of: l f***ing love the end of the year. All of the lazy people take the last week of the year off. Meanwhile, here I am in the office for […]
The Five Essential Skills for Managing Up at Work
In interviews when I ask people what leadership qualities they look for in a manager or leader (and what they don’t), want to know the number one thing they say? “Well, I know for sure the number one thing I don’t want in a manager is a micro-manager.” No kidding. While micro management is without […]