Know the Spirit

As a woman who manages a distillery, I’m often asked to share advice and expertise with folks wanting to pursue a career in the industry.

We all know the usual tactics: Learn everything you can, work as you learn, dedicate yourself to the craft, never take or decline an opportunity without considering the consequences.

All of that is solid advice. Add in the discernment that will (one would hope) develop in parallel with experience, and you’ve covered the basics. But if that’s all it took, the simple addition of ambition and luck would complete the Handbook of Happiness.

But there is another element that connects our love of the craft with the eagerness to excel. It’s less about the how, and all about the why.

Know the spirit.

Distillation is the science and art of leaving behind what you know is harmful, undesirable, and unnecessary so you can create something valuable from only that which is wanted, wonderful, and worthy of being shared. The decision-point of those cuts is where plan defines action, skill meets intention, and ambition demands commitment. 

Know the spirit of your mentors and peers—those who will solidify your foundation, and may determine the ladders you’ll have the opportunity to climb. Their reputation will impact yours in an industry that’s smaller than most realize. Keep in mind it isn’t enough to know whether your chosen mentors are respected. You must understand what they are respected for, and decide if that matches your ethics.

Know the spirit of the companies and organizations you choose to lend your labors to. Do you work for someone who values profit over quality, or people over profit? Rushed inspiration for an adrenaline rush, or visionary planning for longevity? A work ethic that demands sacrifice or one that embraces balance? Tradition, innovation, collaboration, solitude, education, secrecy...

You’ll judge some of the above harshly, and may even now be arguing whether the contrasts I outlined will actually coexist. That’s exactly what you should be doing—considering where the circle of your values may or may not overlap with those you’ve chosen to join in the industry.

No individual or organization will be a perfect, unfaltering fit. Sometimes, the environment will evolve with its potential. Sometimes it won’t, and you’ll make a course correction. Sometimes, you’ll stand in amazement at your good fortune. Sometimes, you’ll be the one driving the change and evolution.

Which brings us to the most important piece: Know the spirit you bring to the table.

It isn’t about what you know, what you can do, and the profit you may turn. This is about who you are.  Who you choose to be. How you determine value. The ethics you practice, why those ethics matter to you, and what they offer to the folks who choose to work with and for you.

And as people in the industry take on new roles and responsibilities, the best come to understand that it’s the spirit that matters to those they manage and mentor, and it’s the spirit that will create something unique and worthy of respect.

Your journey is driven by the spirit that is uniquely yours—what you know must be left behind, what you choose to keep, who you decide shares your spirits, and how you develop within your environment over time.

Your spirit holds your potential. Owning it shapes your success. Knowing it gives you power.