Second Calling: Life Purpose for Professionals at an Inflection Point

What is true leadership? Some view it as effective influence--getting more people to do what you want. But it's more than that. When leadership is rooted in values, it has the potential to change the world. 
Stuart Bunderson studies meaningful work and leadership. He is an organizational psychologist, and he heads the Bauer Leadership Center at Washington University. One of Stuart's seminal works explored how zookeepers find meaning in their work and the implications this has for them. 
In this episode, you'll learn about:

• Value-based leadership
• Starting with one's own values as a leader
• The difference between values and purpose
• Finding meaning in work
• One's calling as destiny

Connect with Stuart:
Website
Bauer Leadership Center
Publications
The Zookeeper's Secret

***
Want help in finding  your own purpose? Email us at [email protected].
Want to connect? Make a connection on Bradley's LinkedIn page. 
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   [email protected]. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

Do you have a life story waiting to be told? Storytelling provides a powerful structure for organizing how we think about our lives. It can be used to create a life of greater purpose.
Jeremy Brown started is the founder and CEO of Throne Publishing. He works with people to convert their own life stories into books. This has given him insight into what makes for a meaningful, purposeful life. Here, he shares his perspective on living a life worthy of telling about. 
In this episode, you'll learn about:

• Fitting a business model to your lifestyle
• Proactive vs. reactive purpose seeking
• Being passionate about people 
• Processing your life story
• Using our life experiences to help other people

Connect with Jeremy:
LinkedIn
Throne Publishing Group
***
Want help in finding  your own purpose? Email us at [email protected].
Want to connect? Make a connection on Bradley's LinkedIn page. 
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   [email protected]. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

Leon El-Alamin started out life on the wrong path. Growing up in Flint, Michigan he got into the street life. He was a drug dealer. He was shot in the head. He was incarcerated. In prison, he was put into 22-hour-a-day lockdown. Amid these difficulties, he had a revelation. He discovered who he really was, and what he wanted to become. Upon release, he went looking for work, but no one would hire him because of his record. Rather than returning to crime, Leon decided to change the community. He started a non-profit to support at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated individuals.  
In this episode, you'll learn about:

• Taking a radically new path in life
• The need to focus on one's self
• The power of reading 
• Creating yourself into who you want to be
• The impact of spirituality on self-discipline

Connect with Leon:
Made Institute
Facebook
LinkedIn
***
Want help in finding  your own purpose? Email us at [email protected].
Want to connect? Make a connection on Bradley's LinkedIn page. 
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   [email protected]. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

You've heard about hypnosis. Did you know that you can hypnotize yourself--easily and safely? Doing this can be a powerful way of clarifying lots of issues--including your purpose.
David Spiegel is the Wilson Professor of Psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. His life work--for forty years--has been studying hypnosis using stringent scientific protocols. He knows what it is, how it works, and how it benefits people. He's also hypnotized thousands of people. Here he demystifies hypnosis and explains how to start practicing it. 
In this episode,  you'll learn about:

• What hypnosis is
• How hypnosis works
• The connection between hypnosis and the unconscious
• The Reveri app-an easy, safe way to hypnotize yourself
• How self-hypnosis can clarify purpose

Reveri App
David's publications

***
Want help in finding  your own purpose? Email us at [email protected].
Want to connect? Make a connection on Bradley's LinkedIn page. 
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   [email protected]. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

Do you have calling in life? Do you want one? How would you know if you have a calling?
Bryan Dik is an expert on callings. As a professor of psychology, at Colorado State University, he has studied them for two decades. He even started a company to help young people choose purposeful careers. In this episode of the School of Purpose Podcast, Bryan teaches about callings--what they are and how to find your own. 
In this episode,  you'll learn :

• What a calling is
• How knowing our gifts and strengths guides us to our calling
• How to assess our deepest values
• The power of starting with what we're most interested in
• Starting with possibilities and making informed choices

Where to find Bryan:
Personal Website
PathwayU
The Purposeful Work Podcast

***
Want help in finding  your own purpose? Email us at [email protected].
Want to connect? Make a connection on Bradley's LinkedIn page. 
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   [email protected]. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

Have you ever dreamed of doing something that was entirely new, but  you have no idea how to do it? All too many people don't act on such a dream. It's too different, too difficult. Some people, however, try it. They take the risk and boldly walk into the unknown. 
Cam Anderson is a woodworker doing really interesting things. He makes extraordinarily beautiful tables--thick slabs of wood with gaps filled with resin. He also films himself making these tables, and posts the videos to YouTube. Many, many people watch these videos. The channel has 1.2 million subscribers! In this episode, Cam shares his secrets for getting into something new that feels purposeful.  
In this episode, you'll learn about 

• Being brave enough to suck at something new
• Serendipitous input from others
• Core vs. manifest purpose in life
• Educating others about their purpose
• The relationship between ability and purpose 

Connect with Cam:
YouTube Channel
Instagram
Blacktail Studio
***
Thank you for listening to the School of Purpose Podcast.
Would you like assistance in finding  your own purpose? Email us at [email protected]. We'll do what we can.
Want to connect? Make a connection on Bradley's LinkedIn page. 
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   [email protected]. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

What should a young person do when they passionate about doing many different things?
Sierra RyanWallick is one such person. She's been a go-getter from early on. At age 11, she founded a fundraising organization that has since raised over $100,000 for local charities. Now, Sierra has turned her attention to social entrepreneurship and mentoring. In this episode, she shares her stories and struggles in creating something that will make the world a better place.
In this episode, you'll learn about:

• Narrowing one's passions when you have many of them
• Whether passion precedes or follows purposeful behavior
• Parental support for one's purpose
• Using social entrepreneurship to create meaning in life
• The impact of mentoring on enacting purpose

Sierra's Links:
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube Channel
Upcycle Design
***
Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at [email protected]. Would enjoy hearing from you.
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. He does a great job and is a joy to work with. Contact him at   [email protected]

How can Christians find their calling in life? There's lots of teaching in the Church about God's "general" will-that is for all people. What about God's "particular" will-His individualized plans for a specific person?
Chase Davis is the pastor of a thriving church in Boulder, Colorado. He's also a deep thinker-having recently authored the book Trinitarian Formation. He has both personal and professional insight into how Christians find purpose and calling in life. In this episode, he shares how to think about these issues, and he gives practical advice on finding one's calling.
In this episode, you'll learn about:

• Finding purpose and identity in God
• Feeling called to participate in a local church
• The difference between a general and particular calling
• The value of getting feedback from others
• The first question that Chase asks people when they want to know their calling

Chase's links:
LinkedIn
Website
Book
The Well Church

***
Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at [email protected]. Would enjoy hearing from you.
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. He does a great job and is a joy to work with. Contact him at   [email protected]

As much joy as purpose gives us, it's often born in pain.
Amber Hovanec-Carey grew up with suffering. At age 9, she was diagnosed with stage 4 of a very rare form of childhood cancer. She went through extensive treatment. At one point, she asked her father, "Daddy, am I going to make it?" Eventually, the cancer went into remission. At in mid-twenties, she was diagnosed with breast cancer--likely resulting from her earlier radiation therapy. She battles that today. This life of overcoming illness has given Amber a unique, deeply empathetic outlook on the world. In this episode, she shares how her suffering has resulted in a daily sense of purpose.
In this episode, you'll learn about:

• The link between empathy and purpose
• How writing can be a calling
• What it feels like to be called to an activity
• Acting purposefully in a situation versus finding purposeful situations
• How past pain produces future purpose

Amber's links:
LinkedIn
Free-Form Feminist Blog
***
Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at [email protected]. Would enjoy hearing from you.
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. He does a great job and is a joy to work with. Contact him at   [email protected]

Purpose is multifaceted. We experience it in different areas of our lives. Many different factors come together to move us into it. How do they come together?
Ben Houltberg has done a lot of things that gives him insight into life purpose. He has been an elite track athlete, a marriage and family therapist, a developmental psychologist, and now the CEO of the Search Institute ("Helping Young People Thrive.") His professional life has been devoted to helping people live their best lives. In this episode, he shares lessons that he's learned along the way for living more purposefully.
In this episode, you'll learn about:

• How fear robs us of purpose
• Purpose being what holds our life narratives together
• A simple definition of purpose
• How relationships foster purpose
• How painful events can lead us to greater purpose

Ben's links
LinkedIn
Search Institute
***
Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at [email protected]. Would enjoy hearing from you.
Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. He does a great job and is a joy to work with. Contact him at   [email protected]