The Purpose Matrix

Mike Guarino has built successful businesses, led thousands of physicians, testified before Congress, and met presidents, popes, and CEOs.

But the moment that changed his life happened in a church during his nonverbal daughter’s First Communion. What he witnessed in that moment reshaped the way he thinks about success, money, leadership, and responsibility.

Since then, Mike has spent decades mentoring young people, serving the homeless, funding opportunities for others to encounter Christ, and challenging people to stop waiting for someone else to step up.

Phil and Mike discuss the question that drives many of his biggest decisions, why courage requires action, what leaders owe the people around them, and why he refuses to put a dollar between people and Christ.

What ties all of these stories together is a simple conviction:

To whom much is given, much is required.

0:00 Intro

06:50 Business Success Through Relationships

12:05 Spiritual Discipline and Daily Prayer

17:22 Mentoring the Next Generation

24:40 Serving the Homeless

32:09 The Eucharistic Encounter

41:39 To Whom Much Is Given

47:05 The Marian Shrine Vision

52:10 The Fire and Ice Challenge

Resources Mentioned:

Legatus

https://legatus.org/blog/legatus-names-philanthropist-and-healthcare-leader-michael-guarino-2025-ambassador-of-the-year

📚 Followed by God by John Eldredge

📚 Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy by Matthew Kelly

📚 Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly

📚 Catholic Men Will Make America Great Again

🎬 The Great Awakening

🎬 The Island

🎬 Entertaining Angels

⚙️ Download The Purpose Matrix tool:

https://www.thepurposematrix.com/

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Six men started with a simple goal: Stay consistent with fitness after Exodus 90 ended.

Two years later, that small accountability group has become something much bigger. They meet at 5:15 every other Friday morning, track habits together, read books and scripture together, challenge each other’s blind spots, and refuse to let one another drift into complacency.

The discussion follows how the group was built, how they choose members, what they track, and why accountability works differently when it becomes brotherhood. They share the impact on their marriages, faith, parenting, careers, and personal discipline.

Several themes emerge throughout the discussion:

Discipline creates freedom. Growth requires sacrifice. Vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness. And most importantly: life was never meant to be lived alone.

The conversation ends with a challenge. Good times can create complacency. The responsibility of every generation is to resist that pull and become the kind of men others can follow.

0:00 Intro

00:40 Meet the Forge Men

04:00 How the Group Started

07:53 Structure and Meeting Rhythm

10:20 Traits of Strong Accountability Partners

14:50 Goals, Habits, and Scorecards

19:00 How Brotherhood Changed Their Lives

23:11 Vulnerability, Marriage, and Real Struggles

33:57 Leading Families by Example

41:13 The Compounding Effect of Accountability

46:09 The Future of Forge Men’s Group

55:00 The Cost of Becoming Better

59:04 One Lesson From Each Man

01:01:45 Good Times Create Weak Men

Resources Mentioned:

Forge Men's Group Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/forge_mens_group

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Dr. Jeremy Mathis watched two highly successful physicians die while the system around them barely slowed down…

Their careers had consumed their lives, their families were struggling, and when they were gone, their schedules were simply filled by someone else. 

That experience forced him to confront a difficult question: What if the default definition of success leads somewhere you never intended to go?

As an orthopedic surgeon, husband, and father, Jeremy began designing his life around the things he didn’t want to lose. He shares how that led to the creation of the “Mathis Manifesto,” a collection of lessons on relationships, money, parenting, and independent thinking that he’s intentionally passing on to his children.

Phil and Jeremy discuss why work-life balance misses the point, how identity gets confused with achievement, why seasons of life should shape your priorities, and what it means to live your legacy instead of leaving it behind for someone else to discover.

0:00 Intro

7:30 The Mathis Manifesto

12:44 Teaching Kids Through Life

17:53 Your Career Is Not Your Identity

22:44 Live Your Legacy 

Resources Mentioned:

📚 Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

📚 How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

📚 The 5 Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom

📚 The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

📚 The Action Bible 

⚙️ Download The Purpose Matrix tool:

https://www.thepurposematrix.com/ 

Follow @PhilOnPurpose

https://www.instagram.com/philonpurpose

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Most people are living from a mindset they never intentionally built.

A spilled glass of milk. A road rage moment. A bad test score. Phil Moeller walks through how the way we see situations shapes how we think, feel, and act. Over time, those reactions become identity.

Drawing from As a Man Thinketh, Focus 3 principles, and personal experience, Phil breaks down the mindset cycle that quietly drives everyday life.

Tune in and explore how attention shapes perception, why the brain filters for what it expects to see, and how intentional exposure can completely reshape the way someone lives.

0:00 Intro

03:53 Building Your Mindset Intentionally

10:17 Victim Mindset vs Purpose Mindset

14:44 Internal Peace vs External Results

18:03 How to Audit and Strengthen Your Mindset

Resources Mentioned:

📚 As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

📚 Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

📚 Focus 3 by Tim Kight

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Bo Parfet was told he would never graduate high school. He struggled with dyslexia, ADHD, speech impediments, and years of feeling behind everyone else.

But those same struggles became the foundation for everything he’s accomplished today.

After building and exiting a successful real estate business, Bo realized success alone wasn’t enough…

A conversation with his wife, a hospice chaplain, forced him to rethink purpose, regret, and the kind of life he actually wanted to live.

Today, Bo helps lead a multi-billion-dollar investment firm focused on solving problems like housing affordability, loneliness, literacy, and community.

He’s climbed Mount Everest from both sides, helped restore eyesight for tens of thousands of people around the world, and is living a life centered around service instead of status.

This episode digs into adversity, authentic living, emotional healing, intentional parenting, faith-driven leadership, and why the people who impact the world most are usually the ones who learned how to suffer well.

0:00 Intro

05:58 Leadership and the Resilience of Failure

10:54 Finding Purpose and Living Authentically

15:01 Growth Through Setbacks and Adversity

20:25 Solving the Loneliness Crisis Through Community

26:01 Mountaineering, Healing, and Emotional Recovery

30:05 Restoring Sight and Creating Global Impact

36:16 Intentional Parenting and Rites of Passage

41:01 Service, Legacy, and Getting to Heaven Exhausted 

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Bo

https://www.boparfet.com/ 

DLP Capital

https://dlpcapital.com

SEE International

https://www.seeintl.org

Mark Batterson books

https://www.markbatterson.com/books/ 

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https://www.facebook.com/philonpurpose

Kyle Ahrens spent five years inside Tom Izzo’s program at Michigan State where discipline was expected, accountability was constant, and nobody was allowed to coast.

Then injuries hit… He broke his foot, came back too early, broke it again, and lost an entire season after working all summer to earn his spot.

That experience reshaped the way he thinks about adversity, preparation, and what actually creates resilience over time.

Today, Kyle works in business, raises young kids, and still carries the same mindset that shaped him as an athlete.

This episode digs into why strong communities matter, why relationships make hard seasons survivable, and how small daily actions quietly shape who you become.

0:00 Intro

05:50 Balancing Hard Work With Family and Community

10:11 Building Teams Through Accountability

15:46 Relationship Driven Leadership

20:03 Applying Competitive Discipline to Business

24:45 Modeling Discipline for Kids

29:55 Relentlessness and Controlling the Controllables

34:55 Learning From Failure and Preparation

39:35 Courage Through Small Daily Actions

44:47 Mentorship, Transition, and Asking for Help 

Resources Mentioned:

Michigan State University

https://msu.edu

Phelan Insurance

https://www.phelanins.com 

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@PhilOnPurpose

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https://www.facebook.com/philonpurpose

A 22-year-old suddenly passes away in a basement before a night out. No warning. No chance to do anything he planned…

That moment never left Matt King.

He’s a husband, a father of three young kids, a CEO, and a leader responsible for people, companies, and decisions that don’t slow down.

At the same time, he’s training for a 2000-mile ride from Mexico to Canada (despite never being a cyclist).

Along the way, he plans to stop in small towns and meet families dealing with loss, trauma, and situations they didn’t choose.

Some people carry regret from what they did. Others carry something heavier.

This episode forces a question most people avoid…and will put you face to face with it.

0:00 Intro

02:00 Who Is Matt King

04:46 The Graveyard and Unlived Potential

07:04 Regret vs Awareness

11:03 Asking for a Do Over

15:04 Letting Go of Other People’s Problems

19:13 Work, Fatherhood, and Example

22:03 Riding From Mexico to Canada

24:42 Supporting Families Along the Route

30:19 Living Fully With Limited Time

35:08 Leadership Through Questions

38:19 Training for a 2000-Mile Ride

40:52 Chosen Hard Versus Unchosen Hard

45:09 Back theRide

Resources Mentioned:

theRide

https://backtheride.com

Gobundance

https://gobundance.com/

Follow @PhilOnPurpose

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https://www.facebook.com/philonpurpose

A college senior sits with a professor and admits he has no clear career path. The advice is simple:

Watch who’s successful and do what they do.

Brian Seitz leaves that conversation and starts paying attention to one person in his hometown. It leads to a conversation in a local bar and a job (that he had no experience for).

What follows is years of rejection, relationship building, and learning how the business actually works. That same idea keeps showing up as the stakes get higher…

Who you follow early starts to shape how you hire, how you lead, and what you’re willing to change later.

If you’re choosing a path or leading a team, this sharpens how much the people you watch quietly define everything after.

0:00 Intro

01:31 Joining a Century-Old Business

03:08 Career Advice That Changed Direction

05:47 Defining Success Through Behavior

08:43 Early Sales and Rejection

12:46 Building a Client Base from Zero

16:50 Transition Into Ownership

18:47 Empowering the Right People

22:44 Protecting the Team Culture

25:46 Leading by Example at Work

29:44 Growth Requires the Right People

33:47 Changing Work to Support Family

40:46 What Success Looks Like Now

Connect with Brian:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-d-seitz-cic-64957379

Leugers Insurance Agency

https://leugersins.com/

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Two in ten people love what they do. The other eight show up disconnected, going through the motions, or actively working against the team.

Jeremy Pietrocini pulls from Gallup data to show how leaders misread this problem. They try to fix teams instead of looking at the energy they bring into the room each day. He and Phil discuss the difference between employees who are simply present and those who are actively disengaged (the ones who would make the organization more productive if they stayed home).

The shift starts when leaders examine their own state. A leader who is fully charged creates trust, stability, and hope. A leader who is drained creates fear, confusion, and withdrawal.

Jeremy ties this to simple patterns like how leaders listen, how they create freedom, and whether people feel safe to show up as themselves.

The result is a move from compliance to real engagement, where people bring effort, ownership, and energy because they feel it from the person leading them.

0:00 Intro

02:10 Jeremy’s Backstory

05:10 The Leadership Reality of Disengagement

08:18 What Drives Engagement

11:00 Aliveness as the Real Leadership Test

14:15 What to Do When You’re Running on Empty

18:00 Trust, Compassion, Stability, and Hope

22:24 Work Life Integration vs. Balance

27:19 Listen, Love, Liberate

33:15 Freedom Inside Organizations

38:21 Authentic Leadership and Psychological Safety

43:52 Faith and Leadership at Work

51:23 RECREATE Work’s Mission

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Jeremy:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-pietrocini

RECREATE Work:

https://recreatework.com

Gallup:

https://www.gallup.com

CliftonStrengths:

https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths

📚 Fully Charged by Tom Rath

📚 Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie

📚 First Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

📚 Beyond High Performance by Jason Jaggard

📚 12: The Elements of Great Managing

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Tom Burden built the company, got the recognition, and stepped onto Shark Tank at age 26…

But it still didn’t settle anything internally.

Even at that level, he found himself dealing with imposter syndrome and a persistent sense that something wasn’t adding up.

So the question became: what actually changes that?

Today, Phil and Tom unpack why success doesn’t resolve unworthiness, and how it often deepens the need to prove yourself.

0:00 Intro

04:29 Preparation for Shark Tank

15:58 Using Value Instead of Money

19:12 Origins of Grind Culture

22:54 Healthy Motivation for Improvement

27:48 Learning Through Failure

28:51 Awareness as a Foundation

35:46 Finding Direction Through Presence

41:43 Future Based Thinking and Anxiety

48:24 Purpose in the Present

Resources Mentioned:

🎙️ Intuition of a CEO YouTube Channel

www.youtube.com/@tom.theburden

📚 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

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