In Pursuit of Purpose

In this episode, I'm closing out season two of In Pursuit of Purpose, and it felt like the right moment to talk about something almost every founder wrestles with in private. You are never going to know it all before you start.

This season has been about building clarity. Clarity around who you serve, what matters, and what needs to go. But clarity was never meant to be the finish line. It's what gets you moving.

So today I'm talking about what happens next. How to take real action when you don't have certainty, when the plan isn't fully buttoned up, and when preparation has quietly turned into procrastination.

Because here's the truth. You don't get certainty first. You get contact.

Real conversations. Real offers. Real feedback. Sometimes a few bruises along the way.

I walk through what I call the Founder Field Test, a simple framework for naming what you actually know, naming what you're only assuming, and running one focused test that tells you the truth instead of guessing it in your own head.

This isn't about being reckless. It's about trading perfection for evidence.

This conversation is for anyone standing at the edge of a decision right now. Holding back a launch, a pitch, or a next step because it doesn't feel ready yet. It probably never will. Take the step anyway.

1. Why waiting for certainty before you act keeps you stuck, and what to do instead
2. How to tell the difference between responsible preparation and preparation that's really procrastination in disguise
3. The four steps of the Founder Field Test, from naming what you know to defining the evidence that proves or disproves your idea
4. Why your first test result isn't the final verdict, and how much time to actually give an idea before you judge it
5. How to reframe failure and rejection as data instead of a referendum on your worth

00:05:10 – Clarity Isn't the Finish Line

"Clarity is not meant to be the final destination."

00:07:25 – Picking a Launch Date Anyway

"I've picked a date, and if not everything's ready, then so be it."

00:14:25 – When Preparation Becomes Procrastination

"At some point, too much preparation just becomes procrastination."

00:20:05 – Expect to Fail, A Lot

"You gotta be willing to fail at least nine times outta 10, at least."

00:21:57 – Introducing the Founder Field Test

"I wanna take you through this founder field test."

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• Watch on → YouTube
  

If this episode gave you the push you needed, follow the show, leave a quick review, and share it with someone building something of their own. Head to ChaseRyanFriedman.com for more resources and to keep building your own purpose positioning strategy. 

In this episode, I'm joined by Greg Hemmings, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and founder of Hemmings House Pictures, a certified B Corp, and Hemmings Films, producer of documentaries and series for networks like NBC Universal and Syfy.

This conversation is for anyone building something meaningful who needs a more honest conversation about what it takes to keep going when sh*t hits the fan.

What You'll Learn

• How to tell the difference between conviction and stubbornness when the pressure is real
• Why the easy yes can slowly turn your company into something you never meant to build
• How to recognize founder burnout and creative atrophy before it takes the business down with you
• A practical explanation of the triple bottom line (profit, people, planet) any business can apply

Why honest "things aren't good" conversations unlock real support in entrepreneur networks

Key Insights & Timecodes

02:20 - Meet Greg Hemmings

05:05 - From Drummer to Filmmaker: Greg's Origin Story

13:55 - When Purpose Meets Payroll: Long COVID and Losing the Spark

21:00 - A Healing Journey in the Peruvian Andes

29:29 - The Cost of Saying Yes and the Courage to Say No

39:38 - The Triple Bottom Line and the Fourth P

Guest Highlight

Greg Hemmings is a pioneer in positive social impact filmmaking and the founder of Hemmings House Pictures, a certified B Corp and 1% for the Planet member based in Saint John, New Brunswick, and Hemmings Films, an original content company producing documentaries and television for global broadcasters including NBC Universal and Syfy. His accolades include the Royal Commonwealth Society's Vision Film Award, three Banff World Media Festival Rockies Awards, induction into Atlantic Business Magazine's Top 50 CEO Hall of Fame, and an honorary doctorate from the University of New Brunswick.

After long COVID and a business downturn tested everything he'd built, Greg turned his camera on his own recovery. The result is Rewiring the Muse, a documentary series exploring the neuroscience of creativity, flow states, and music, and why creative practice is essential for leaders who've lost their spark.

Resources & Mentions

• Website: Hemmings House & Hemmings Films
• Watch: Rewiring the Muse on YouTube
• Greg Hemmings on LinkedIn
• 1% for the Planet

Connect with In Pursuit of Purpose

• Listen on → Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
• Watch on → YouTube

In this episode, I'm joined by Jamie C. Grace, Transformation Advisor, educator, and founder of the School of Original Design and Medicine For The People.

With a background in Molecular and Cellular Biology and advanced training in neuroscience, psychology, trauma-informed transformation, and human development, Jamie has spent her career bridging faith, science, and practical wisdom to help people create lasting change.

Together, we talk about identity, transition, and personal evolution, especially what happens when the version of you that got you here no longer fits the business, life, or leadership you are ready to step into next.

Because you can build the career.
You can grow the business.
You can become the capable one, the strong one, the person everyone counts on.

And then one day you realize the identity you worked so hard to build has quietly become too small for the life and business you actually want to lead.

Jamie's signature message says it best: you're not broken, you're just out of design.

We get into why transition feels so disorienting, how burnout can reveal an identity that no longer fits, the masks high performers wear, and how to rebuild from a place of truth, design, and deeper purpose.

This conversation is for anyone standing between who they have been and who they are becoming. And for founders especially, it is a reminder that you cannot build a more aligned business while clinging to an outdated version of yourself.

Resources & Mentions

• • Website: Jamie C. Grace
  • Jamie C. Grace on LinkedIn
  • On social –> @jamiestarcrawford
  • School of Original Design (URL to be added)
  • Medicine For The People (URL to be added)

  Connect with In Pursuit of Purpose

  • Listen on → Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
  • Watch on → YouTube

  Thanks for listening to In Pursuit of Purpose. If this episode helped you, follow the show, leave a quick review, and share it with someone who's building something meaningful. And remember: you are ready to take the next step. So what are you waiting for? Head to ChaseRyanFriedman.com to start building your own Purpose Positioning strategy, explore free resources, and find more inspiration for the road ahead. Onwards.
  
  

In this episode, I'm joined by SaCola Lehr, a veteran educator, work-life harmony strategist, and host of the Work It, Live It, Own It! podcast.

SaCola has spent her career helping women move from burnout to brilliance, and she's just released her new book, Harmony Hustle for Women.

Together, we talk about the boss babe mentality and what happens when hustle becomes your identity instead of a season.

Because the grind doesn't always look like failure from the outside.

Sometimes it looks like success.

Sometimes it looks like you having it all together, right up until your body forces you to stop.

SaCola walks us through her PRONE to Power framework, born out of her own years of overworking, panic attacks, and a health scare that finally made her listen. We get into why delegation feels so hard, especially for women in leadership, and how learning to trust your team can free you up to lead better.

This conversation is for anyone who has built their identity around being the strong one, the one who always shows up, and who is starting to wonder what it might cost them if they never learn to put themselves first.

• How to recognize the early warning signs your body gives before burnout fully hits
• What the PRONE to Power framework is and how to apply each step
• A practical way to delegate without guilt, even if you've never done it before
• Why "let me get back to you" is a powerful leadership phrase
• How to redefine purpose as something that shifts by season instead of staying fixed

00:00 – The Boss Babe Mentality

"I realized the boss babe mentality does not work. It is highly overrated."

06:00 – Where the Hustle Started

"As a teenager, I said, I will do whatever I need to do. I will hustle to make sure that I don't go without."

08:54 – When the Body Forces You to Stop

"Your body will tell you enough is enough."

14:34 – The PRONE to Power Framework

"Prioritize what's important, delegate what's not important, because not everything that's important and urgent has to be done right away."

22:36 – Learning to Delegate as a Leader

"Find out what lights them up inside. That's the part where you've got to get to know your people."

Resources & Mentions

• Book: Harmony Hustle for Women: Master the Art of Thriving in Life and Career
• Podcast: Work It, Live It, Own It!
• SaCola Lehr on LinkedIn
• On social –> @workitliveitownit

• Listen on → Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
• Watch on → YouTube

If your calendar is packed and your business still feels unclear, the problem isn't your work ethic. It's that you haven't decided what actually matters yet.

Most founders aren't overwhelmed because they lack discipline. They're overwhelmed because they've been trained to treat busyness as proof they're building something real. A full calendar is not always progress. A packed schedule is not always a success. And doing more is not always the answer.

In this episode, I unpack the cultural badge of busyness, why open space is essential for deep thinking and strategic clarity, and how some of history's greatest thinkers protected time for walking, reflection, and focused work. Then I walk through two practical tools you can use right now: the Purpose Filter and the Clarity Cut. The Purpose Filter helps you evaluate what deserves your attention by returning to your purpose, people, positioning, proof, and peace. The Clarity Cut helps you decide what to cut, pause, delegate, protect, or commit to next.

You don't need to become more productive at carrying chaos. You need to become more honest about what belongs in your hands.

What You'll Learn

1. Why busyness is not the same as progress, and why a full calendar is not proof you're building the right business
2. Why founder overwhelm is often a clarity problem disguised as a capacity problem
3. How the Purpose Filter (purpose, people, positioning, proof, peace) helps you decide what deserves your time
4. How the Clarity Cut helps you cut, pause, delegate, protect, or commit to what's left on your plate
5. Why sharper positioning earns you more nos from the wrong people, and why that's a sign alignment is working

Key Insights & Timecodes
00:21 - Productive Can Look Unproductive

06:48 - The Badge of Busyness

14:42 - Overwhelm Is a Clarity Problem

31:36 - The Purpose Filter

38:27 - Earning More Nos

• Purpose Positioning Framework
• Profit With Purpose Curriculum
• Purpose Positioning Assessment
• Book mentioned: Essentialism by Greg McKeown

• Listen on → Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
• Watch on → YouTube

In this episode, I'm joined by Jeff Hittner, executive coach, leadership expert, and founder of the Ambitious Dads Initiative, with a career that includes founding and leading IBM's global Corporate Social Responsibility consulting practice.

Jeff has spent 25 years building better leaders and teams, and now coaches CEOs and senior executives across three continents.

Together, we talk about what happens when an ambitious leader stops trying to be two different people, the driven professional at work and the present father at home.

Jeff moved his family from Manhattan to Valencia, Spain, and what started as a one-year plan became a five-year reinvention of how he defines success.

We get into why slowing down feels like failing.

Why so many dads can name their career goals but go quiet when asked about their goals as fathers.

And why the same skill that calms a crying child is the skill that makes you a better leader at work.

This is not a conversation about balance. It's about becoming one whole person in both spheres, and learning to connect before you try to fix.

This conversation is for anyone who is ambitious in their career and their parenting, and tired of feeling like they have to choose.

• How to lead with connection first, so the people you work with and parent actually move forward with you
• Why trying to be two separate people at work and at home quietly drains your energy and your leadership
• A practical reframe for spotting the emotional energy in a room before you tackle the hard conversation
• How to build purpose intentionally instead of waiting to discover it
• Why investing in your growth as a father is a leadership skill, not a soft skill

00:01 – Two Days in One: The Move to Spain

"I felt like I had two days in one."

00:16 – A Values Leap, Not Just a Move

"It was actually a values leap as much as anything else."

00:14 – One Engine: Ending the Work Self vs Home Self Split

"It's very possible to be one and the same man in both spheres."

00:27 – Paper Airplanes and the Power of Connecting First

"Instead of connecting with him first, I just went straight to trying to solve something."

00:44 – Purpose Is Built, Not Discovered

"It's not something that you discover. It's something that you build."

• Website: Jeff Hittner
• Newsletter: Ambitious Dads on Substack
• Jeff Hittner on LinkedIn
• Founding Fathers group (program hosted by Jeff)

• Listen on → Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
• Watch on → YouTube

There is nothing wrong with studying your competitors. But there is a point where research stops informing your strategy and starts replacing your self-trust.

In this episode, I’m unpacking one of the sneakiest traps first-time founders, coaches, consultants, and independent experts fall into: competitor comparison.

You look at someone else’s website, offer, content, testimonials, audience, or polished personal brand and suddenly start wondering: “Am I doing this wrong?”

But comparison is not strategy. And the more you chase your competition, the more comparable you become.

I’ll walk you through why competitor obsession makes your brand less clear, less memorable, and easier to judge on price, polish, and popularity. More importantly, I’ll show you how to come back to your own purpose, perspective, proof, and position so you can build a brand they can’t copy.

Because your competitors can show you what exists. They cannot show you who you are.

1. How to tell the difference between useful market research and fear disguised as “diligence”
2. Why chasing competitors makes your brand less clear, less memorable, and easier to commoditize
3. How to run the “They Can't Copy This” audit to find your real, uncopyable edge
4. The five-part framework (Purpose, Perspective, Persona, Proof, Positioning) for designing your own category
5. A 15-minute exercise to break the comparison spiral and commit to your own lane

00:46 - Comparison Is Not a Strategy

05:07 -  Fear Wearing a Fancy Blazer

08:43 -  When Research Becomes Paralysis

17:17 - The Employee-to-Founder Identity Shift

38:34 - The “They Can't Copy This” Audit

• Listen on → Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
• Watch on → YouTube

In this episode, I’m joined by Sara Bliss Cohen, former Head of Content at Headspace and a veteran creative executive with experience across NBCUniversal, MTV, A. Smith & Co. Productions, and The Content Co-Op.

Sara has spent her career developing stories, leading creative teams, building content strategies, and helping ideas find their audience.

Together, we talk about overcoming imposter syndrome as a first-time consultant, especially when you’re making a career pivot, stepping out from behind a company title, and learning to trust the value of your own experience.

Because becoming a consultant is not just a business move.

It’s an identity shift.

And when you start building something of your own, self-doubt can get loud fast.

This conversation is for anyone starting a consulting business, betting on themselves, or learning how to turn their story, skills, and hard-earned experience into work that finally feels like their own.

What You’ll Learn

• How to tell the difference between fear that protects you and fear that signals growth
• Why your career background is your most powerful positioning tool in a crowded market
• How to bring your partner along during a career transition so it feels supported, not isolating
• Why purpose is the one differentiator in any marketplace that cannot be copied
• What it means to show up fully as yourself in your work and why that consistency builds real leadership

Key Insights & Timecodes

00:00 - Introduction

03:00 - Sara’s Career Journey

08:00 - The Pivot Into Consulting

14:00 - When Self-Doubt Gets Loud

32:00 - Building Confidence Through Action

38:00 - Advice for First-Time Consultants

43:00 - Final Reflection

Guest Highlight:

Sara Cohen is a brand strategist and content executive with 16 years of experience across entertainment and tech, including senior roles at MTV, NBCUniversal, USA Network, Sci-Fi, and most recently Headspace. At Headspace, she led branded content initiatives that brought the brand’s mental wellness mission to audiences across podcasts, YouTube Kids, and beyond. Now building her own consulting practice, Sara focuses on helping purpose-driven companies use storytelling to earn trust, grow audiences, and make a measurable impact. She is currently based in California with her family.

Resources & Mentions

• Website: Headspace
• Sara Cohen on LinkedIn
• On social –> @thevillagemomofficial

Connect with In Pursuit of Purpose:

• Listen on → Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
• Watch on → YouTube

You have been sitting on this decision long enough. Changing jobs, leaving your role, building something on your own. You know it. And if you are being honest, the thing stopping you is not confusion. It is not timing. It is the weight of making a real commitment.

This episode is for anyone who has been stuck in that in-between space where everything feels possible but nothing is actually moving. We call it strategic paralysis, and it is one of the most expensive places you can live. Not in money, but in momentum, confidence, and time.

I am going to give you a clear framework for moving through the four stages of transition, a simple positioning statement to get you started, and the one mindset shift that changes everything: stop wondering if it could work, and start finding out what actually does.

What You'll Learn

• Why overthinking your next move is not planning, it is delayed commitment, and how to tell the difference
• The four stages of career and business transition, and which one is costing you the most right now
• How the 10x framework and essentialism apply to making a decisive leap forward
• A three-step action plan to go from rumination to real traction in 30 days
• How to write your first positioning statement so you can start showing up with clarity and confidence

Key Insights & Timecodes

02:17 - Why You Are Still Stuck

05:55 - The Quadrant That Changes Everything

07:48 - Go Narrower to Move Faster

08:57 - The Four Stages of Transition

15:39 - Declare It Out Loud

• Website → https://chaseryanfriedman.com/
• Listen on → Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
• Watch on → YouTube 

Follow us on

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inpursuitpurpose/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-friedman/

Most companies talk about PURPOSE like it's a charity project. A nice thing to do when the budget allows. But here's the truth: purpose is strategy, and if you're not measuring it, you're leaving serious money on the table.

In this episode, I sit down with Julie Davitz, Founder and CEO of Plus Media Solutions, to dismantle the myth that purpose is a soft, unmeasurable idea.

This is not a conversation about values statements or vague impact claims.
It’s about Return on Impact.
How belief becomes behavior.
How story becomes action.
And how action becomes revenue.

If you believe in your mission but struggle to prove its business value, this episode bridges the gap between intention and performance and shows why purpose is not a cost center. It is a growth multiplier.

• Why purpose without activation creates noise, not results
• How to measure Return on Impact alongside traditional ROI
• How storytelling converts emotion into action and revenue
• Where ESG and impact messaging often fail and why trust erodes
• How solopreneurs, founders and SMBs can use purpose as real positioning power

00:00 Intro
02:45 Purpose Fails When Action Is Missing

06:30 Measurement Removes the Fear

10:15 Return on Impact Drives Return on Investment

17:10 Storytelling Is the Emotional Entry Point

29:30 Purpose as Market Differentiation

Julie Davitz is the Founder and CEO of Plus Media Solutions, an impact-driven media and measurement company helping brands turn storytelling into real-world action.

An internationally recognized social impact leader, Julie bridges content, activation, and measurement to prove that purpose drives performance. Her work helps brands, creators, and platforms move beyond awareness into measurable outcomes that fuel trust, loyalty, and growth.

Resources & Mentions

• Plus Media Solutions
• LinkedIn: Connect with Julie Davitz
• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) referenced as measurement benchmark

Connect with In Pursuit of Purpose:

Listen on → Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

Watch on → YouTube