What does it mean to orient your life around your mission? We talk about mission all the time around these parts, but when was the last time you stopped, took a deep breath, and embarked on the discernment journey around not just what you do in the world but what you want to leave behind when you're gone from it?

This week, kicking off the eighth season of the Mission Forward podcast, Carrie sits down with Dr. John Izzo, author, and advisor who has dedicated his mission to helping companies and individuals find theirs. This conversation is a masterclass in vulnerability; Dr. Izzo shares how experiences from his childhood, growing up without his father, shaped his desire to help people live more purposeful lives. This led him to become a minister, get a Ph.D. in organizational psychology, and eventually advise companies on creating positive cultures for themselves.

He's also a leading trend-spotter and shares with Carrie major trends he sees in business and society: rethinking our relationship to work and seeking more meaning, the growing divide between the wealthy and others, and more. We're at an inflection point, he says, where we could create a more regenerative society or head down a darker path. The choice is made by the cultures we create.

The bottom line, according to Dr. Izzo, is this: "Ultimately, the only thing that's going to matter to you is what you wound up giving the world, not what you wound up taking from it.” 

We're deeply grateful to Dr. Izzo for sharing his time and attention with our Mission Forward community. 

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward

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Now Available! More Than Words: Communications Practices of Courageous Leaders by Carrie Fox, founder and CEO of Mission Partners, is available. You're invited to join an emerging community of practice and become a positive and powerful agent of change.