Bradley Wright, Life Purpose Lab

How does purpose intrude into our everyday life? Even in middle age, can we turn our careers into something profoundly purposeful? Burton Fleischner has a successful career as the manager of a large retail bookstore. But, it didn't engage him at a deep level. Then, one day, a customer asked him a question that caused him to reevaluate everything. Not long after that, he left the safe, known world of retail and moved into medical care. He was inspired by a tragedy that his family had experienced decades prior. He's now a celebrated rehabilitation aide who powerfully helps patients in a rehabilitation hospital. He's so full of purpose that it doesn't even feel like he's doing work. In this episode, you'll learn about:How we can us our careers to complete unfinished business from our youthWhat it feels like being in an organization that doesn't have a compelling missionHow empathy brings us closer to our purposeHow friends and family can actually keep us from exploring our purpose as they encourage us to be risk averseHow a single conversation can change our whole lives***Find more at our Instagram page. Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com. 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   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com

Why aren't more people able to find their purpose? What is it about our past that makes it difficult to do so?This week's guest explores this topic with his work. Joey Drolshagen helps people overcome their blocks to living fully and purposefully. He has developed a system that enables people to overcome their unhelpful conditioning and move more fully into the life they are meant to live. Removing these barriers can make all the difference. In this episode, you'll learn about:What it feels like to not be doing what's purposeful to youCreating time to do what is purposefulHow past conditioning can take us away from our purposeThree things that everyone should do for more purposeThe distinction between hard work and inspired workLinks to Joey's work:BookWebsite Promotional ***Find more at our Instagram page. Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com. 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   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com

If you're a person of faith, how do you connect what you're doing in life with what God wants for you?This is a big, meaty question that this week's guest, Dustan Christensen, unpacks for us. He identifies several steps that we can take to align our actions with God's will. He anchors this discussion the in the distinction between sacrifice and obedience, and he prescribes the right ordering of them. In this book, you'll learn aboutHow writing a book enables you to leave a legacyAsking yourself "who am I supposed to be?"Sharing our purpose with others in the context of a relationshipHow God uses pain and love to align us with our purposePurpose can be found in all areas of our livesDustan's book: Obedience vs. Sacrifice***Find more at our Instagram page. Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com. 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   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com

What is the story of your life? Are you willing to give yourself over to it fully?Robert Pardi lives a beautiful, meaningful life. He got there through living out stories. His wife died at a tragically young age, and Robert was her caregiver for 11 years. He transitioned from Wall Street to being a life coach. He stumbled upon a small town in central Italy where his family emigrated from and he made it his home. He shares the wealth of knowledge that he's gained through all of this about living a meaningful life.In this episode, you'll learn about:The value of sharing our life experiences with othersUsing a vision board to plot our purposeHow to think of your life in terms of the stories that you createThe need to surrender completely to what life asks of usSupporting others into the life that they want to liveRobert's website (check out the view from his balcony!)***Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com. 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   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com

Kenneth Joyner, a dedicated teacher and mentor, founded the Boys with a Purpose program to guide boys lacking father figures towards success. He discusses how personal hardships shaped his mentoring journey and emphasizes the importance of new experiences in finding purpose. Kenneth explains the difference between passion and purpose, sharing insights on teaching critical life skills and public speaking. He also highlights partnerships with organizations like Boeing to create pathways for academic and personal growth, offering aspiring mentors practical advice.

Do you need to be qualified to do what you find most purposeful? Probably not.Steven Lavine was the president of the California Institute of the Arts for 29 years. He had a very successful tenure, despite not being an artist.  He got the job through "dumb luck," and he constantly had to face what he didn't feel qualified to do. His story is that of following your passion regardless of perceived ability to do it. In this episode, you'll learn about:Surrounding yourself with people of purposeThe powerful role dumb luck plays in finding purposeLearning by making mistakesThe value of throwing ourselves into our incompetencyWhy purpose carries with it the idea of struggleBiography of Steven***Find more at our Instagram page. Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com. 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   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com

What, exactly, is meaning? How can we continually find it in our physical and spiritual world? Alex Pattakos is one of the world's leading experts in the study of meaning. He founded the Global Meaning Institute and is a scientist and philosopher. Guess who encouraged him to write a book about meaning? Viktor Frankl himself! Alex has thought deeply and lived fully when it comes to meaning. He shares his insights with us. In this episode, you'll learn aboutFinding meaning in every momentDefinitions of meaning and purposeLogotherapy as developed by Viktor FranklWhy leadership is always spiritualWhy awareness is the entry point into meaning***Find more at our Instagram page. Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com. 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   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com

What is it like to being willing to go wherever your sense of purpose takes you? Steve Sorensen has been wine grower, film maker, executive, and, now, a highly successful mandolin maker. He's been willing to go wherever his interests take them, and he's created a rich, purposeful life in which each stage prepares him for the next. This week he tells us his story. In this episode, you'll learn about:The twists and turns in life that happen when we pursue purposeHow our natural skills and abilities can show us our purposeWhen it's time to leave a job that doesn't feel purposefulHow starting a hobby can lead to purposeHow purpose can organically grow with what we're doing***Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com. 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   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com

When we talk about finding purpose, our minds often go to young people who are just starting out or maybe people in the middle of life who want to make a course correction. Anna Hall makes a compelling case this week that we're overlooking a group that may need purpose more than others--senior citizens.Anna is the founder of The Purpose Equation. She brings years of research into the topic of purpose, and she uses her expertise to help people--not just seniors--to find more purpose in their lives.In this episode, you'll learn about:why purpose might be more important in old age than at any other time of lifeliving without purpose is heartbreakingwhy each of us have a unique way of living purposefullyhow purpose changes our perceptions of the worldhow we can make assisted living homes meccas of wisdom***Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com. 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   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com

It's easy to think that we need to find our purpose before we act on it. But, maybe it's the other way around. We act on what we think is purposeful--however little we understand it--and we then get clarity about our purpose as well as the resources to enact it. In short, take action first, find purpose second.Wayne Gill is someone who takes action. He started a very successful law firm. He has overseen a highly impactful non-profit organization. He's an accomplished speaker. From his experience, he has plenty of wisdom to share about finding purpose.In this episode, you'll learn about:Becoming a dream enactorNot being able to see the end from the beginningThe importance of having partners who believe in youHow action opens up possibilitiesThat gifts determine destiny***Want to connect? Have a question? Just want to say "hi"? Send me an email at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com. 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   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com