Off Autopilot with Oren Hodes

On the first episode of Off Autopilot, I sit down with Ross Wehner, a former journalist and the founder of World Leadership School, to talk about purpose: where it comes from, how to put it into words, and why it is the most important thing most schools never teach.

Ross stuttered as a kid and spent years trying to make himself invisible at school. Fast forward to today, he's creating the change he wants to see through World Leadership School. His purpose fits in seven words: "I forge paths so that goodness prevails." He walks through how he found it, and how you can write your own with the people you love, so you stay centered when the world feels unpredictable.

What we explore:

1. The school-to-work journey that led Ross to one question that cracked him open: "Is this all there is going to be to my life?"
2. How to write your own purpose statement.
3. The four types of students and what changes when the purpose of school is... purpose.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

0:28 Meet Ross Wehner

1:02 Stuttering and trying to be invisible at school

2:19 Learning as thinking, feeling and doing

4:18 Three ways purpose forms

7:25 "Is this all there is?"

11:25 "I forge paths so that goodness prevails"

12:50 A quarter-life crisis

13:32 The great problem of our time

16:38 Looking inward

17:48 What AI can't do for us

19:30 Calling cards

21:40 Growth moments

25:55 Why purpose matters for schools

26:53 The four kinds of students

31:32 What if the purpose of school were purpose?

33:08 The achievement treadmill

38:05 Impatient optimism and the next 15 years

41:02 Purpose needs community

43:37 Closing reflections

45:48 Where to find Ross

To connect with Ross and follow his work: https://worldleadershipschool.com 

On purpose,
Oren