Sean vs. The Beyond Meat Burger

Today's edition of "Storytelling by Sean" marks the 30th edition of this newsletter, and I'm thrilled to say that not once have I had to repeat a story, nor have I lazily thrown together a rerun of previously-written LinkedIn material.

That is, until now.

I suppose I didn't have to re-tell this story (I do have some good ones in the pipeline), but it's been a few years since I've told it, and what the hell... it's a fun little tale about teamwork, leadership, motivation and being forced to eat food that an abnormal eater wouldn't normally eat.

Some background may be in order. I have a very strange, almost-inexplicable fear of eating most foods - an odd quirk that dates back to my childhood and stops me from even attempting to eat things most people consume on a daily basis -- think vegetables, soup, fish and.... well, pretty much anything.

I really couldn't put into words why my diet is comparable to that of a fussy four-year old, nor could I explain why I haven't been able to change this behavior over the past four decades. And yes, I have tried doctors, psychologists, nutritionists and even two different hypnotherapists to kick this weird habit.

Way back in the summer of 2019 -- a magical time before any of us had even heard of mandatory lockdowns, health pandemics or washing your hands to protect against diseases -- I was on top of the world leading what I referred to as The World's Greatest PR Team™.

One night, we were out for drinks when someone (innocently) suggested I should try a "Beyond Meat" burger, explaining that it looks and tastes like a meat-based hamburger -- one of the few foods on the limited menu of old Picky Pasternak.

While I had no doubt the two patties were aesthetically similar, the very thought of consuming something not neatly tucked into my regular food spectrum legitimately caused waves of panic to ripple through me.

But stronger than panic was my need to continue to motivate this high-performing team and to build on what we'd accomplished to date. So we struck a deal: if the team were able to achieve milestones within a certain period of time, I would put aside my completely-irrational fear of eating a plant-based burger. At the time of agreement, it seemed like a fair trade-off.

And wouldn't you know it? My team rose to the occasion and, within about four months, had accomplished everything I'd asked of them (and more). So after trying to stall for as long as I possibly could, we set a date to visit a local fast-food restaurant so they could watch their boss chow down on plant.

How did it go? Check out the video below (complete with original music score and social media highlights) to judge for yourselves:

Even though it's been more than three years since that fateful day... I'd be remiss if I didn't give another round of applause to the fantastic team that helped me go beyond (meat): Brooke Tucker-Reid , Odette Coleman , Sarah Sartaj , Shabeen Hanifa , Giovana Chichito , Gillian Earle and Anne-Julie Gratton . While we're no longer teamies... I'm incredibly proud of what these folks have accomplished since, and I promise I am still watching from afar with great admiration.

Sometimes, you just have to take one for the team.

Making Great Mo-gress!

There's one week left in Movember, which means I moust ache you to support this very worthy cause. (No more 'stache puns; I promise!).

This is the fourth year I've proudly participated in Movember since 2010. Unfortunately, there's a history of prostate cancer in my family. By fundraising, I want to do my part to help raise awareness (also to post silly pictures of myself during various phases of growing a moustache).

If you haven't yet, please visit my Mo Space and consider making a donation. Heck, I even created a horror movie trailer (I Still Mo What You Did Last Movember) to Mo-tivate people (oops!).

Thanks in advance.

If you enjoyed reading this edition of Storytelling by Sean, please encourage your friends and colleagues to subscribe. If you have any feedback, please drop me a note on LinkedIn, on Twitter @seanbpasternak, or via spasternak@gmail.com.