We’ve been told a story — that purpose is a North Star, a perfect sentence, a destination to reach in the distant future. But what if that story is what’s keeping us stuck? 

In this episode, thought leader and author Michael Ventura shares a new path to purpose — one that helps you realize yours now and chart your path forward. Instead of chasing a single North Star, he invites us to see purpose as a constellation of meaningful points already alive in our lives. Through 13 “points of light” — from origin and identity to wounds, joy, and service — he offers a framework to help map who we are and what we’re here to do.

We talk also about:

• Why the “North Star” model no longer works
• A new framework made up of 13 “points of light” — from origins, identity, and wounds to joy, and service
• How wounds shape our direction — and why healing is part of living our purpose
• How to recognize that your purpose is already alive, now 
• The difference between intellectualizing your purpose and deeply knowing it
• What to do when you feel stuck or like nothing’s blooming
• A preview of Michael’s forthcoming book — and how he shifted from agency leader to guide, teacher, and healer

Michael Ventura is a thought leader, author and practitioner working at the intersection of personal transformation and organizational change. He’s the founder of the strategy and design consultancy Sub Rosa, the author of Applied Empathy, and an advisor to leaders at organizations like Nike, Google, and the Obama-Biden Administration. He teaches at Esalen and works with individuals and teams in moments of transition.

Connect with Michael Ventura:

• https://www.michaelventura.co/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mvmvmv/
• Substack: https://michaelventura.substack.com/

Connect with Lizzie Azzolino:

• https://www.workwithlizzie.com/  
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzieazzolino/  
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzie_azzolino/

Time is something we think about, talk about, worry about and structure our work and lives around every day. Yet, how often do you stop and ask: What is time, really? What is my relationship with time? Could I be experiencing time in a completely different way? In a world that feels like it’s speeding up, our relationship with time is ready to evolve. Because “I don’t have enough time” is just a belief. But it’s not the whole truth.

In this conversation with my friend Daniel Naor — Kabbalah teacher and belief system coach — we break down the subconscious programming to explore how to rise above the limitation of linear time and open to a more expansive reality. 

In this episode, we bridge the spiritual with the practical to explore:

• What time really is — and how to expand beyond a purely linear experience of time
• The biggest limiting beliefs we hold about time — and how to shift them
• Divine timing: how to work with time, rather than work against time
• The balance between planning and allowing for a greater plan to unfold
• The difference between hustling and aligning with time’s natural flow
• Practical ways to rewrite your relationship with time and move from pressure to presence

Work with Daniel Naor:

• https://www.kabbalah.com/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/daniel.naor72

Work with Lizzie Azzolino:

• https://www.workwithlizzie.com/ 
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzieazzolino/ 
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lizzie_azzolino/

What does it really mean to lead with integrity? And how do we move beyond external expectations and comparison to fully trust and be ourselves?

In this conversation with Benedikt Lehnert—a seasoned design executive whose career spans startups to Fortune 10 big tech, including Microsoft and SAP—we explore what it means to shift from thinking our way to answers to feeling our way into alignment. Ben shares his journey of leaving external validation behind to reconnect with his core truth. We explore the inner work leadership requires today.

We also discuss the concept of “openings”—moments that wake us up and invite us to release old ways of operating, even when it’s uncomfortable. I share how to spot, understand, and move through these openings with intention.

Finally, we explore the intersection of entrepreneurship, humanistic design, business leadership, and intuition—and why, as industries and systems crumble, our willingness to step into alignment is not just personal but collective.

If you’ve felt like you’re being asked to step into a new way of leading—both in work and life—this episode will help you trust that process.

Get in touch with Benedikt Lehnert: 

• https://benediktlehnert.github.io/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benediktlehnert/
• Substack: https://benediktlehnert.substack.com/

Get in touch with Lizzie Azzolino:

• https://www.workwithlizzie.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzieazzolino/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lizzie_azzolino/

In this episode, Lizzie welcomes master astrologer and Kabbalah teacher Rachel Schwartz to explore the profound shift happening in the way we work: the movement from external success to inner alignment. As systems and structures rapidly change, we’re being called to redefine purpose, security and fulfillment — not through external validation, but through deep personal truth.

Lizzie shares her own recent inner work and realizations about how much of herself she had been hiding in her own work, including this podcast. Together, she and Rachel explore what it really means to do the work we are here to do — not just in our careers, but across all dimensions of life.

Rachel unpacks the astrological forces shaping this moment, particularly Pluto’s move into Aquarius, which signals a breakdown of old structures and an invitation into radical individuality, purpose, and contribution. They explore how work is no longer about achievement — it’s about consciousness.

They also discuss:

• Why external systems (corporations, governments, institutions) are dissolving—and what this means for our work
• How Pluto in Aquarius is shifting us from external security to internal sovereignty
• The danger of looking for a guru — and why the answers are already within
• Why true individuality isn’t about standing out — it’s about contribution
• How to navigate moments of despair and misalignment and how to take your next step
• The real definition of fulfillment: receiving from an unlimited source
• How inner work shapes external reality — and why that’s more true now than ever

This conversation will challenge how you think about work, success, and your role in the world — offering a new lens on why we’re here and what it means to fully step into our purpose.

Work with Rachel Schwartz: 

• https://www.racheltheastrologer.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racheltheastrologer/

Work with Lizzie Azzolino:

• https://www.workwithlizzie.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzieazzolino/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzie_azzolino/

How do you heal, grow and create a fulfilling new path when the company and career you’ve poured your heart and soul into ends unexpectedly? Lizzie Azzolino is joined by founder and strategist Heidi Hackemer to explore the concept of a “soul break” and the overlooked importance of rewriting the story of our past.

Heidi shares her unconventional path through five chapters: advertising, entrepreneurship, collaborating with the Obama White House, serving as an executive at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Oatly, and her newly emerging homecoming. Her personal story illustrates why and how to listen to our intuition, the real work of knowing who we truly are, breaking free from external expectations and leading a career and life that’s fulfilling and uniquely yours.

They also talk about:

• The emotional and professional pain of closing a soul-driven business
• How breaking points can make way for something greater to emerge
• How to rewrite our stories and reframe the past to create a stronger foundation for the future
• The loneliness of leadership, spiritual lessons of entrepreneurship and the opportunity to redefine leadership now more than ever
• How intuition beyond logic always leads to the right next step and what happens when we go against it
• The vital importance of turning down distractions from technology to know what we really want
• The lessons found in reconnecting with nature, such as quitting her job, buying a truck, and driving across the country in her early 30s, and her current chapter which she calls “witch in the woods”
• Her experience saying yes to the call from the Obama White House
• What she’s learned from the Indigenous community about how to navigate societal and political challenges
• The power and clarity that comes with age

Get in touch with Heidi Hackemer: 

• https://hackemer.co/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidihackemer/
• Substack: https://heidihackemer.substack.com/

Get in touch with Lizzie Azzolino here:

• https://www.workwithlizzie.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzieazzolino/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzie_azzolino/

What do you really want? In this episode, Lizzie welcomes Bonnie Wan, author of The Life Brief: A Playbook for No Regrets Living, to explore the deceptively simple yet transformative question of desire — and the courage it takes to answer it honestly. In a time when many are facing what feels like a midlife crisis — which Lizzie describes as a crisis of desire — they discuss what it takes to uncover our truest wants and align our careers and lives accordingly.

Bonnie shares how she originally developed her “life brief” process during a challenging period as a mom of four young children and her family’s sole breadwinner. Now, she teaches this process to help others close the gap between the lives they’ve built and the lives they truly want to live, helping them break free from limiting beliefs and inherited expectations. Bonnie also shares for one of the first times publicly about her current transition leaving a 30-year corporate career as a brand strategist to reimagine her life again.

They also discuss:

• The art of “taking our time” and Bonnie’s journey to redefine time for herself and her family
• How and why writing reveals hidden desires and new possibilities
• The role of desire as a guiding force and the impact of limiting beliefs
• Practical steps to create a life aligned with one’s deepest values
• A new perspective on “midlife crisis”
• Bonnie’s current career and life transition and how she’s forging a new path centered on service and purpose
• Navigating new relationship dynamics with aging parents

Get in touch with Bonnie Wan: 

• https://thelifebrief.com/
• Bonnie’s book, ‘The Life Brief’ https://tinyurl.com/5h6b5fv9
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonniewan/

Get in touch with Lizzie Azzolino:

• https://www.workwithlizzie.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzieazzolino/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzie_azzolino/

What happens when the path you’ve been on for so long is no longer your path — by choice or by chance? In this first episode, Lizzie shares how one of the hardest times in her life led her to transform her career and life, and what she’s learned from a decade of coaching people in transitions and crossroads. She talks about why the pace of change is quickening now and previews what’s to come in future Now at Work episodes.   

Next, mystic, marketer and musician Will Cady joins for a live tarot reading that answers: What is the future of work? The two challenge the traditional approach to building careers that leave so many feeling unfulfilled, and preview a future where uncommon careers will soon become the norm. Will opens up why he recently chose to leave a long-time leadership role at Reddit without knowing what he’ll do next, how he’s learned to use his anxiety to his advantage, and how he’s successfully navigating the unknown.

They also talk about:

• How to tell your story in the middle of a transition
• The lessons they’ve learned from taking bold leaps of faith
• What happens when you reframe the question, “What do you do?” to “How can I help?”
• New ways to find your true direction, with lessons from Will’s book ‘Which Way is North’
• How anxiety can be transmuted into powerful creative energy
• The ‘why’ behind the collective shifts we’re experiencing and what it means for the future of work

Get in touch with Will Cady: 

• https://www.will-cady.com/
• Will’s book, ‘Which Way is North’ https://tinyurl.com/2rekjhd8

Get in touch with Lizzie Azzolino here:

• https://www.workwithlizzie.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzieazzolino/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lizzie_azzolino/