| 🌿 The Sweet Spot |
Vol. 1 · Issue 012
Monday, September 7, 2026 |
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| Pivot With Purpose · Career strategy · Macro clarity · MyrtusHQ Happy Labor Day |
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This week in The Sweet Spot
I couldn’t resist, so here’s one more 50: Do It
Your Way.
At 20, get in the race, at 30, find your pacers. At 40, be fearless. And at 50? Do things your own way, at your pace and on your terms. Happy Labor Day.
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This week's compass
There is no prize for doing your career the way everyone else expects you to, at 50, you get to choose the course, and why not be bold.
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Section 01
Run Your Own Race
I guess, this is now the real final chapter in the 50 Turns Around the Sun series.
You have spent decades learning what works, what doesn't, what matters to you and perhaps most importantly what doesn't matter anymore. You don't have to run someone else's race.
Maybe you want to build something, go back to school, or have a big corporate job, the tiny independent business, the board seat, the sabbatical, the second career or some wonderfully strange combination of all of them. At 50, you get to choose the course.
50 Turns Around the Sun
| 20s | Get in the race. |
| 30s | Find your pacers. |
| 40s | Be fearless. |
| 50 | Run your own race. |
Your career, your pace and your terms.
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Section 02
The Signal From Sturnella
A shifting labor market meets a mining workforce buildout.
SIGNAL 01 · HIRE & FIRE
The labor market isn't simply weak, it is shifting.
On Wednesday, ADP reported private employers added just 38,000 jobs in August, the slowest pace since January. Manufacturing lost 17,000 jobs and natural resources and mining lost another 5,000. Uber announced approximately 3,300 layoffs, around 10% of its workforce. Then Friday changed the picture: the official jobs report showed 162,000 jobs added in August, considerably stronger than expected, with unemployment holding at 4.1%. The signal isn't one headline, it is the gap between them.
SIGNAL 02 · THE TALENT PIPELINE
Washington is rebuilding the people behind the mines.
On August 7, the Department of War announced more than $80 million in intended investments in mining and metallurgy education, programs involving Colorado School of Mines, South Dakota Mines, the University of Kentucky, Missouri, and Johns Hopkins. The same day, the Department of Energy announced PROSPECT, with up to $100 million aimed at the workforce required for critical-mineral production, processing, recovery and recycling. Mining isn't simply about reopening mines. The country is rebuilding the talent pipeline behind them.
Sturnella lens: A monthly jobs report tells us where employment moved last month. Workforce investment tells us where government believes people will be needed years from now. For anyone thinking about the next phase of a career, that distinction matters.
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Section 03
The 1-Pomodoro Career Map
Dream big, you have four months.
It is Labor Day, it is a short week, and we are entering the final four months of 2026. Set a timer for 25 minutes and ask yourself: What would make me ridiculously pleased with 2026 when I look back on December 31?
Then divide a piece of paper into four boxes:
September
What can I start?
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October
What can I build?
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November
What can I finish?
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December
What can I celebrate?
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Dream a little bigger than you normally would.
Choose one thing for each month. You have four months, four moves and that is enough.
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Section 04
AI That Helps
Play with the what-ifs and use AI to make the possibilities visible.
Instead of asking "What should I do with my career?" try asking "What happens if I do this?"
"What could change for me professionally if I completed this certification before the end of the year?"
Or:
"What might happen if I met two or three new people in my industry for coffee every week between now and December 31?"
Then make it more interesting:
"Give me three scenarios: conservative, ambitious and slightly ridiculous."
You aren't asking AI to make the decision. Once you find a scenario you like, ask: "Turn this into five small actions I could realistically complete before December 31." Dream big. Then make the checklist boringly doable.
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Section 05
Recharge
There are four months left in the year. You have plenty of time to accomplish things. Today, perhaps, you can just create something.
✏️ THE DARE: WRITE SOMETHING NOBODY NEEDS
This Labor Day, go outside. Your garden, a public park, a balcony, the kitchen table beside an open window. Take your notebook with you.
Write something that has absolutely nothing to do with productivity. Write a poem. Start a short story. Describe the person sitting across the park. Write about September. Invent a ridiculous character. Write three paragraphs about something beautiful you noticed.
It does not need to be good. It does not need to become content. Nobody needs to read it.
Make something simply because making it feels good.
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Your Practice
One Small Assignment
01 Decide what would make December 31 feel like a win.
02 Choose one move for September, October, November and December.
03 Ask AI to show you three versions of one of your what-ifs.
04 Turn the version you like into a ridiculously achievable checklist.
05 Then close the laptop and go write something just for you.
Your career. Your pace. Your terms.
Happy Labor Day.
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THE SWEET SPOT
Read the signal · Find your position · Move with purpose
myrtushq.com
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Sturnella Signals
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Myrtus
Career insights for people who want to pivot with purpose.
This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, accounting, or cybersecurity advice. Market information is time-sensitive and may change after publication.
myrtushq.com
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