Have you ever relaunched your life? Do you ever want to? My guess is there are days when you daydream of forging a new path, hitting the eject button.
Stefano Zenezini is doing this exact thing with his wife, Laurence Deprez-Zenezini. After decades in leadership at Procter & Gamble, Stefano eschewed the corporate board room for a monastery and olive grove.
He and his wife cofounded Cultura Viva, a sustainable olive oil and kombucha farm in Umbria, Italy. They are building a legacy within a monastery that’s 1000 years old. They are connecting with the land. They are producing an award winning olive oil - Le Clarisse - named for the nuns who inhabited the monastery.
Even if you have no interest in working with nature, or olives, you’ll love their story. Stefano talks about leaving a legacy, dreaming, hard work, and much more.
Listen to the full episode. You’re sure to pick up a nugget or three for your own career adventures.
Core Themes
Take note of these themes for your own career adventures.
Do Epic Sh!t
I had a boss with a cool picture framed in her office that said, “Do epic sh!t.” Every time I entered her office, it would stare at me. It would whisper, “Paul, are you doing epic sh!t?” Many days the answer was “no.” That sign has left an indelible mark, nonetheless.
Stefano is doing something truly EPIC! He and his wife, Laurence, are creating history on top of the historic. They are tapping into the mythos of a monastery to make world class olive oil. It came across loud and clear when he described the harvest.
“You start collecting these olives…they have a strong green flavor. You're immersed into these trees that have been there hundreds of years. Then, you finish at the end of the day, you have all these cases, you go to the mill and you have this green oil that comes out. The smell, I can still remember. Then, you finish this one week of harvesting with a barbecue among the olive trees.”
Dream with Partners
We all need partners. Doing epic sh!t is hard. We’re far more likely to make our dreams come true with a partner. Many VCs and investment pros discourage solo-founders. Even solo-founders oftentimes have co-creators.
For Stefano, his co-dreamer and founder is his wife, Laurence Deprez-Zenezini. They both have dreamed of working with nature for decades. Now, it’s a reality.
Plus, they complement one another. Stefano is “the Ops Guy” while Laurence is “the creative.” Who are you dreaming with?
“With my wife, it was always our dream. The funny thing is that both for me, when I was literally 18 years old and for her, when she was 18, to one day work with nature. One event led to another and we ended up to co-found this farm in Italy. It's a small reality. We dedicate ourselves to the production of extra virgin olive oil.”
Immerse Yourself
We’ve got to roll up our sleeves, get dirty! To career adventure, we can’t be above any work. As a golf course superintendent, I used to clean dead fish from the ponds and sharpen greens mower blades. This taught me the ins and outs of operating a world class golf course. Plus, it showed I wasn’t above any task.
Stefano talked about the exact same thing. To operate a olive oil farm and produce world class olive oil, he and his wife must know every task. Knowing every task enables them to improve efficiency and gain respect. Plus, it helps them truly connect with the adventure.
“The first year we did every possible job in the olive grove. We wanted to have an understanding of what it entails. Still today, my wife wants to do the pruning. Olive Oil Sommelier was exactly the same logic. When we talk about something we have done it, I'm not telling you I've read that's how you do it. I have done it. I know what does it take to prune an olive tree.”
Leave a Legacy
What kind of legacy do you want to leave? This isn’t easy to identify. It takes introspection and an accounting of your dreams. Thinking years into the future is difficult. One approach may be to think about how you want to be remembered with those you care about most.
For Stefano, building Cultura Viva is about creating something with and for family. The olive trees live for hundreds of years. They are literally putting their blood, sweat, tears, and time into the earth, into something that will outlive them.
“The idea is to leave a legacy to our family. The olive trees, they will be here longer than myself and my wife and the kids and the kids of my kids and the kids of their kids. They will be here for hundreds of years.”
Different Kind of Hard Work
Anyone who has worked with nature knows it’s a different kind of hard. You are at the whims of the weather. Plus, you have a never ending list of physical tasks to complete.
Stefano is no stranger to long hours. He worked a lot as a senior leader with P&G. That said, he found that staying up late just isn’t possible when you are working in nature. Yet, even though you’re tired, you feel mentally recharged!
“The way you feel at the end of the day, you might be physically exhausted, but incredibly mentally recharged. Which is different from what you might feel in an office where you come home and say, ‘Oh, I am drained,’ but you still go to the gym because you want to do some physical exercise. Mentally you're completely gone. Here, you're physically tired. You don't go to bed at midnight.”
Forge Your Frontier
You want to do it, so do it. Stepping outside of the family mold is tough. Many of us have been bred to be accountants, lawyers, teachers, nurses, cops, you name it. We have watched how our love ones walk these paths each day. Why do you think many professional athletes kids become professional athletes? Yet, this doesn’t mean we have to follow our family’s path.
Stefano didn’t have a ton of farming in his background. Yet, he had an interest and a dream. Then, he found someone with a common interest and others to help him learn how to do it. What frontiers do you need help forging? When asked if he had farming in his background, here’s what he had to say…
“There was no farming in my family on my side. Now, I have always seen my father having his vegetable garden. We always ate a lot of vegetables. We always ate very healthy in my family. We all had a deep respect for nature. One of my brothers is an agronomist, but I never had the specific attachment to a farm.”
Don’t Miss More From Stefano
Stefano and his wife are building something remarkable. They are putting their lives into the trees, their humanity into the olive oil. They’re olive oil is delicious and truly does have the flavor of artichokes. Yum!
Go beyond the themes. Listen to the full episode. Stefano provides more insight to how he is confidently forging a unique path with his co-dreamer, Laurence.
Enjoy the episode! Thanks for you support!
Paul G. Fisher
Know Any Career Adventurers?
I’d love to connect with you or anyone in your network who is confidently forging a unique path. Message me and we’ll talk!
Additional Resources from Episode
You may be interested in checking out these additional resources…
The Chemical Story of Olive Oil - Book by Richard Blatchly, Zeynep Delen, and Patricia O'Hara.
Buying Le Clarisse - Direct link to Le Clarisse shop.
Video of Cultura Viva Farm & Design Guesthouse
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