Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Push Pull podcast where we explore career transitions and specifically the push and pull factors that inform those transitions. If you're a devoted listener to the show, you might notice it's been a few weeks since my last episode. There are a lot of reasons for that, and I think it's important that I clarify a few things here. I can't say that I'm disappointed by the run. So far I had 21 straight weeks of dropping interviews with awesome people, interspersed by highlight reels and my latest thoughts on the state of work, When I started this podcast, my aperture was quite narrow. Hone in on the reasons we choose to make a career transition. and how do we assess those judgments when we revisit them years later? some of the ways that I've described my hopes for the show was to offer some mentorship by proxy, Share relatable stories with an audience. for whom those transitions and the reasons behind them may resonate and help them make their own decisions or put their past decisions in context A few things have changed since I started this. I'm still keenly interested in people and their individual journeys, but as time has gone on, I've started to become more interested in how work is evolving. Throughout this first run, I began to explore what kept people at their jobs, not just filling a seat, but feeling fulfilled, bought in and valued. And my interests have evolved even further than that. How should people think about what to get out of their work and how does that work enable them to build and experience the lives that they truly wanna live? And what does all of this mean for us? Amidst the backdrop of larger economic shifts? How is the nature of work changing? I'm fascinated by the trends of people doing more fractional work, taking shorter term contracts, building portfolio careers, and of course. Endlessly curious about how AI plays into how job functions and job prospects more broadly are changing. some of this grabs my interest because I'm living it myself. About six weeks ago, I picked up a full-time engagement as a product management consultant, which is not something that I expected going into this, But it's really going great and seems like a solid pathway for me to build a more diverse, flexible, and productive career than I'd imagined for myself in the past. And then there's the practical side of actually producing this podcast. Starting a podcast with a weekly release schedule and no end in sight was not the most sustainable way to continue this podcast, especially as I take on other amazing projects. So consider this an official end to what I'm now calling season one of the Push Pull podcast I still have a ton of awesome folks that I'm talking to and a more focused direction that I want to take these conversations. But my recording and release schedule will likely be less tightly coupled than they have been for the past six or so months, 20 weeks interviews, solo riffs, highlight reels, all consistent and all coming from a place of real curiosity and wanting to make something valuable. Now, I started the show with this cadence to prove something to myself too, that I could show up consistently with. Curiosity, insight and persistence. And I think I did. I think I accomplished that. It gave me a lot more than I expected, including deeper connections with the people that I was networking with and meeting clarity on what I really care about from my own work. And hey, it helped me land a new contract, but. Now it's time for a pause and not because I'm done, but because I want to build what's next with more intention. So this episode is a short one. It's a thank you, it's a reflection, it's a reset, but it's also the end of season one. And I'll be back soon with updates on season two. either way you'll hear from me and some amazing people whose insights I'm thrilled to share with you. Super excited on what's to come, and thanks as always for being here. If you have any advice or requests for topics or people that you'd like for me to get on the podcast and interview and dig for their view on things, please reach out, slide into my dms, and if you don't have access to contact me directly, you can always shoot me an email at Varun. That's V-A-R-U-N, at push pull podcast.com. Really excited to continue this journey in a more focused and energized way.