Working on Purpose

On this Veteran’s Day, almost a century after President Wilson began the tradition to commemorate those who had served their country, this special episode features a 25-year Air Force veteran who colorfully shares her story with humor and wit. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the millions of service men and women who have dedicated themselves to securing world peace and allowed us to live as proud and free Americans. And in their service, military personnel learn unique skills that are incredibly valuable for the employers who put them back to work in the civilian world. This episode is dedicated to the millions of veterans who have heroically given their time and even their lives – to talk about what it means to serve and what we as a collective society can do to support them when they come back home.

Captured live at the Behind Her Brand book launch at Noah’s Event Center in Plano, Texas, this episode celebrates the 11 contributing authors and provides a sneak peek at some of their most fervently held beliefs and most significant experiences as discussed in the book. Behind Her Brand: Expert Edition, literally hot off the press, has dual purposes. First, this book is designed to help readers understand the journey, the lessons, obstacles, thought processes, disappointments, and victories that entrepreneurs go through when building their businesses. Second, this diverse group of experts provides readers with applicable tools that they have used to help them build sustainable and enriching businesses. Readers of the book and listeners to the program will be inspired, encouraged, challenged, and better equipped to pursue their own dreams, whether in life or business.

Serendipitous interventions in our chosen career path can yield surprisingly satisfying results. Dr. Kathleen Kuehnast set out for an academic career in anthropology but found herself in the middle of a crisis situation while working on her dissertation in the post-Soviet country of Kyrgyzstan. Setting aside her academic aspirations, she accepted the call to action from the World Bank to help Muslim women adapt to the complex social and economic changes during the post-Soviet transition in the 1990s. This single act would set in motion a full and ongoing career in international development, unification of gender interests, and helping people in conflict work toward peace. Dr. Kuehnast’s work reminds us all to be open to unplanned opportunities in our career paths along the way – and to recognize that each and every one of us can be every day peacemakers, if only we choose to be.

Did you as a child, or perhaps even today as an adult, absolutely love animals – and maybe even sometimes prefer their company over humans? Do you want to ensure they’re loved, rescued and well cared for, and understood? My guest in this episode loves her work as a zoologist and is specifically most focused on caring for birds of many plumages. Her passion is to ensure these beautiful creatures have the best life they can while in captivity and that she accurately understands and conveys their voice. An avid conservationist, she cares about our planet and all the creatures that dwell on it. Both on the clock and off, she’s engaged with various efforts to defend the beauty and pristine nature of this world we call home. This episode lets us in on a little of the life and times of Gwen Harris, who has trekked various parts of the world in her pursuit to learn about animals and how we can understand and preserve their livelihoods.

In this episode, we learn the story of how technology and convenience meet the personal touch of old-fashioned medical care delivered straight to the home. Taking a cue from Uber and Lyft, the idea was born by a young couple in Dallas who saw a need in the marketplace to serve patients requiring urgent medical care when their primary care physicians were otherwise not readily available. MEND, their newly created company, specializes in the treatment of common illnesses and injuries, which require prompt evaluation, but aren’t serious enough to require a visit to an emergency room. In today’s on-demand world, MEND seems to be just what the doctor called for.

After many successful ventures in his career, James Archer finally found his true calling at age 52. He’d had a strong inkling early in his life that languages and the humanities were the direction he should take for his career, but the conservative times in which he was reared dictated the tried and true, practical field of Engineering. He enjoyed a long career and much success in this technical field, only to discover that after a half century of life this insistent inner calling could no longer be silenced. It only took a brush learning Spanish to ignite the flame. In this episode, we explore the founding and initial development of The ShareLingo Project, a social enterprise that aims to make a lasting difference to the world by connecting cultures, breaking down stereotypes that separate people from different backgrounds and social levels, and better unify the people of the planet.

What can we learn about the human condition by working with people who exhibit impulsive behavior patterns and emotional dysregulation? And how do we know we’re the right person who can actually make a difference doing this kind of work? Choosing a field of study and career is easier when we learn early in life what’s suitable to our personality, interests, and talents. Such was the case with Penny Kruger, who realized in high school that friends sought her out to talk about things that bothered them. She was approachable, and friends seemed to trust her with the intimate details of their lives. That talent, so completely natural to her essence, along with her appreciation for the profound human connection the work provides, is the secret sauce in her practice today. Igniting new awareness and growth in her clients fuels her to continually polish her craft – knowing she gets to make a difference in the lives of her patients and fellow practitioners, while they also do so in hers.

Upon first hearing Dr. Rosenberg speak at a conference, I was struck by the extremely impressive career he has built combatting disease and violence across the world and the modest manner in which he spoke. As a meaning in work researcher, I immediately recognized that Dr. Rosenberg has been working at a level of achievement and impact many people hunger for in their lives but often don’t quite attain. I wanted to have Dr. Rosenberg on my show to gain a glimpse of what was behind this man who had given himself to public service and done so much for the world. In this interview, we talk on a personal level as Dr. Rosenberg shares why he chose the field of public health, the profound role his mentors have played in his life, and the sense of pride and connection he’s experienced serving side by side with his fellow committed professionals in their common quest to improve health for the world's most vulnerable people.

Becoming all we can be. Leaving a lasting legacy. Making a difference in our communities. Many of us yearn to experience our lives and the work we do within it on this profound level. We want to know we are constantly improving and developing our abilities to ever become the person we most want to be while making a difference along the way. But absent some strong guidance and support from those who’ve gone before us or who can encourage us on as accomplished peers and role models, we may not achieve these dreams. Everyone needs and benefits from mentors, or better yet, a whole community of them. In this episode, we talk with two leaders of Leadership Women who make it their business to help women across the nation develop their leadership capacity and connect them to other powerful examples of women who share the drive to matter and lead.

See if you can follow this recipe, will you? Start with one part loving, supportive, and encouraging family who knows how to have fun. Add in one joyful, vivacious kid. Stir in another part tremendous discipline, focus, and determination. Add a dash of entrepreneurial spirit, maybe a little effervescent energy. And what do you suppose you get? In this case, your recipe would yield Gavin Doyle, who found his joy of Main Street USA in Disneyland at age 4 and has cultivated this passion over the years into a very successful business enterprise. Having always had a mind for business, he started with a lemonade stand, later began offering family vacation planning packages to Disney, and then created two popular websites devoted to all things Disney. Now, at age 17, he’s finishing his last year of high school, applying to colleges, and has just published his first book. Kind of makes you wonder – what could you do with the right inspiration and support?