The Paterson Podcast

Today we begin a four-part series on Purpose. Purpose can be an intimidating conversation. When we consider our individual purpose, we might feel pressure to generate an inspiring phrase that captures who we aspire to be. We also run the risk of misunderstanding our unique contribution to the world if we only think about our existence in the most general terms of humanity’s purpose.

Join David and Stephen as they discuss the importance of living into our unique purpose and how it plays out within our personal Life Domain.

When Jake Weidmann puts his calligraphy pen to paper, there is an immediate connection between his heart and his hand. As Jake explains, the calligraphy pen is so sensitive to pressure and force, that it literally picks up the heartbeat of the one holding it; the murmurings and tremors of the heart show up in the pressure and flow of the pen on the paper. As a master penman (one of only 9 in the world and the youngest by a few decades), Jake brings his heart and theology to every piece he creates. In our latest Podcast episode, we sit down with Jake to talk about art, theology, and the creative process.

If you spend even a few moments with Austin and Esther Havens Mann, two professional photographers focused on capturing travel and humanitarian subjects, respectively, you’ll hear them talk about light. Whether it’s Esther helping people see themselves in “new light,” or Austin finding places where the light breaks through; through their lens, you’ll see the world in a whole new way. The Mann’s work has been featured in National Geographic, Forbes, and the New York Times. Their clients include Apple, Charity:Water, and TOMS shoes.

In today's podcast episode, we caught up with the Manns, to talk all things creativity, humanity, and mastery. Listen in today.

Where did all the excitement, enthusiasm, and trust go? How is it replaced so quickly with this fear of complication?

In this series, we are diving into the topic of fear and our response to fear. This week we conclude by discussing how fear can cause us to overcomplicate. When fear enters our thinking, we begin to listen to a number of voices that skew our vision. We are distracted by the noise and lose our sense of direction in the pursuit of what matters most. It can be tempting to reach for an immediate solution. What would it look like to put our solutions on pause and start by getting perspective?

Listen in as David and Stephen tell of their own experience with over-complication and share practical ways to make truth visible.

The most compelling thing about you, is what you think about when you think about yourself. It will dictate what you do. It will describe how you love. And it will determine what you consider to be chiefly important in your life.

What you think about yourself depends on the messages you've heard about yourself. Some messages are grounded in the truth of who you are. Other messages may be cloaked in truth…but are grounded in deception.

Accepting a deception about yourself will shadow the truth of who you are, and cause you to overcompensate in a variety of artificial and unreliable ways. Join us today as we discuss the temptation to overcompensate, and offer ideas to cultivate the truth of who you are.

“A decision driven by fear can be only a bad decision.” - Tom Paterson

Fear-based decisions result in fear-based outcomes; while hope-based decisions result in hope-based outcomes. Fear clouds our mind and distorts the truth. It causes us to tense up, clench our fists, protect ourselves, and retreat. Hope, however, awakens possibility and opens us up to generosity and love.

In today’s podcast, David and Stephen explore the reality of fear, our instinct to flee, and ways to strengthen Truth. Join us as we combat the temptation to hide, and sift through new ways to open ourselves up and experience the goodness of life.

Today, we embark on a new series with David and Stephen, exploring helpful suggestions when facing fear. In this first conversation, we investigate our freeze response, and consider ways to surrender and trust amidst confusion and uncertainty.

As we recall the turbulence of 2020, David shares his own experience of entering an uncertain future: “I remember my hopes and plans evaporating. I remember the frustration and annoyance bubbling up within me. The fear. Because we had a plan, and the plan was being disrupted.” As David recalls the months to follow, he shares how he arrived in believing that, “Fear does indeed point the way, but fear must never be the way. Rather, love, courage and hope must be the way.”

Join us as we discuss the reality of disruption in our life, our subsequent response to it, and ways to nurture hope in moments of discouragement and fear.

"You don’t get anywhere of significance on your own. You get somewhere significant beside others.” -Tom Paterson

In this final episode in the Living Your LifePlan series, we explore Accountability. You can’t do life alone. This is especially true when pursuing the unique calling and purpose of our lives which can be so hard and challenging. What does it look like, then, to build a robust Life Net of friends, mentors, protégés and a LifePlan partner; helping you navigate your purpose with intention and impact?

Each relationship has a unique role and purpose in your Life Net. “When I look for a mentor I’m looking for someone who is wise, nurturing or protective,” comments Stephen. With good friends, “It’s about pairing vulnerability with accountability, helping others by asking questions,” adds David. And with protégés, they are individuals where “I see something in them they don’t see in themselves yet.” concludes Stephen.

For more on how to pursue and approach and invest in a rich Life Net full of mentors, good friends, protégés and a partner, listen in.

This week we take a look at the Life Initiative Profile; the space where we consider the kind of life we are committed to living, and then put in place the action steps we need to take in order to get to where we want to go.

This is where the LifePlan process gets really practical, looking at what it takes to manage our next steps so that we do what we say we’re going to do, and live in alignment with our Purpose along the way.

“It’s about rhythm and whatever the right rhythm is for you,” comments Stephen. “Some choose a monthly rhythm or a quarterly rhythm of reviewing their LifePlan, looking at the commitments they made and asking if that actually made it on to their day-to-day calendar.”

So what does it look like to make progress, adapt, and renew the plan in an ongoing way? Or what about when you’re stuck and not seeing any forward movement? Listen in for thoughts on how to manage and adjust objectives and road blocks, renew initiatives, and reframe things to see more forward movement in living out your Life Purpose.

Happy New Year, friends! In this series we’ve been exploring some of the core principles and ideas that help us to manage and live out our LifePlan in a real and tangible way. Today we discuss the Life Dashboard; the place where all of the perspective we’ve gained converges. In the Life Dashboard, we lay out the fundamental pillars of Purpose, Vision, and Life Strategies. Then we consider the Vital Signs that we have to manage and turn to health to get to where we want to go. And last, we must also consider the Risks - those things that can trip us up.

A life of purpose doesn’t happen by accident: “It’s about setting an intention and then asking ‘Is this what I’m moving towards?,’” comments David.

“Yes. it’s the power of remembering… of remembering 'Where is the intersection of what I naturally do and what I naturally care about?' and 'How is it appropriating itself in the last month or two of my life?'” adds Stephen.

For more on setting intention, the power of remembering, and practices for updating and renewing your LifePlan (or other intentions you are setting to kick off the New Year), listen in!