With Purpose

What do we do when our effort at work feels wasted? In this episode, Ben explores how to process this feeling and challenges the idea that our best efforts need external validation to matter. The most meaningful work is often done not for applause, but because it reflects who we are and the kind of people we're becoming.

What would change this week if you approached your work as an artist, finding satisfaction in doing it well, regardless of the outcome? Reflect and plan your week ahead using this episode’s planner — linked here.

Stepping out from the safety of the shade can be daunting, but what if there was something more waiting on the other side? In this episode, Ben closes out the Art of Leadership series by reflecting on Wichita’s Keeper of the Plains and a powerful quote from Amanda Gorman about stepping out of the shade and becoming the light. True leadership calls us to be brave enough to see the good, pursue it, and even become it for others.

Where in your life are you allowing too much negativity to shape your perspective, and where do you need to be braver this week? Reflect and plan your week ahead using this episode’s planner — linked here.

Playing small might feel safe, but what if it was preventing the world from benefiting from the things only you have to offer? When we hide our gifts, ideas and unique perspective, everyone loses. In this episode, Ben reflects on a two-part mural inspired by a quote from Marianne Williamson and the idea that our greatest fear may not be inadequacy, but the courage required to fully step into who we were created to be.

Where are you playing small when it’s time to let your gifts and talents shine? Reflect and consider how you can step into your unique contributions using this week’s planner – linked here.

Great leaders don’t just accomplish important work, they create space for others to lead after them. In this episode, Ben reflects on a mural inspired by George Washington and one of the most remarkable leadership decisions in history: stepping aside when he could have seized more power. Washington’s legacy wasn’t built solely on what he achieved, but on the people he empowered and the example he set.

Where in your life does leadership look like preparing someone else to step forward? Reflect and plan your week ahead using this week’s planner – linked here.

Great ideas rarely begin with credentials, consensus, or approval - they begin with someone willing to take the first step. In this episode, Ben reflects on the story of the Wright brothers and the lesson behind the Wright Flyer mural on Hutton’s Wichita campus. The Wright brothers changed the world not because they had permission, but because they pursued an idea with persistence and conviction.

What dream, project, or calling have you dismissed simply because no one has told you that you can? Take some time to dream and reflect using this week’s With Purpose planner – linked here.

What kind of future are you building with the plans you have today? In this episode, we kick off a new five-week series on the Art of Leadership with a mural inspired by Daniel Burnham and his challenge to “make no little plans.” Big plans have a way of pulling us forward, inspiring others, and creating impact that outlives us. Thinking too small may be limiting what’s possible and some ideas are just too important to keep to yourself.

Where are you settling for a smaller vision when it might be time to aim higher? Reflect and make big plans using this week’s With Purpose planner – linked here.

Bloat: the thing slowing your organization down due to the cumulative effect of too many helpful additions. Most bloat doesn’t appear all at once, it builds gradually until the system becomes heavier, slower, and more complicated than it needs to be. In this episode, we talk about how the extra meetings, approval layers, stakeholders, and processes slowly pile up – eventually creating friction everywhere.

Reflect and take time to eliminate bloat and test for simpler processes using this week’s planner – linked here.

What if work isn’t something to avoid but instead something woven into the fabric that gives life purpose? Somewhere along the way, we started treating work like a burden instead of recognizing the dignity and joy that can come from doing meaningful things well. In this episode, we close our series on work with a poem from Edgar Albert Guest and a challenge to rethink the way we talk about “hard work.”

The work that shapes us most is rarely easy but it’s often the work we value most deeply. Take some time to reflect and consider how you think of work using this week’s planner – linked here.

What if being constantly busy isn’t a sign of success but a distraction from it? In this episode, we talk about the danger of hustle culture and why celebrating the grind itself might be causing us to measure work the wrong way. The goal isn’t to glorify the work, it’s to pursue meaningful outcomes with purpose.

What are you actually measuring: the impact of your work or just the amount of it? Reflect and consider your relationship to hustle culture using this week’s With Purpose planner – linked here.

Not all hard work is the same: some work gives us purpose, but some slowly drains it away. Hard work isn’t a problem, but it becomes toilsome when we can’t see why it matters anymore. In this episode, we explore the difference between hard work and toil and a few strategies to manage toil when we encounter it.

What’s one thing in your life that keeps exhausting you because it feels like it has no enduring value? Take time to reflect on your work and plan your week with purpose using this episode’s planner — linked here.