Purpose in the Process
32 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 22 ratingsA purposeful life is a better life. In this podcast we'll look for the “why” behind the “how” in processes related to business and career, health and well-being, adventurous living, relationships and family, personal growth, and spiritual connectedness. Join us each week for thought provoking conversations with interesting people from all walks of life.
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Episodes
Episode 29: Stars in the Darkness - What Changes Will Last?
April 26, 2020 23:57 - 58 minutes - 40.8 MBMy co-host and I discuss a few of the potentially lasting changes (hopefully good ones) from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Episode 28: Mike Garrett - FInding Purpose in Suffering
April 06, 2020 01:56 - 1 hour - 65.9 MBMy friend Mike Garrett joins us in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis to discuss the purpose in the process of suffering. Thank you for your patience as I took several months off to “counter balance” a few other goals and projects. I’m glad to be back doing the podcast, especially now, and I appreciate all of the continued positive feedback and support. Some links for what we discussed in this episode: Falling Into Grace, by John Newton (I quote from this book several times in thi...
Episode 27: Will Blackman - Staying in the Moment
August 25, 2019 20:19 - 47 minutes - 54.3 MBMy friend Will Blackman returns to help kick-off the second season of the podcast and give us an update. For his first visit, go check out Episode 19! In this episode, Will and I discussed: What Will has learned about the importance of staying in the moment - and how continuously returning to prayer throughout the day can help exercise that muscle Taking refuge within, despite “the shuffling of plates" How does Will feel about Viktor Frankl’s charge that we should strive to live in a ma...
Episode 26: Peter Merriman - A Humble Approach to Hospitality
June 18, 2019 01:37 - 30 minutes - 34.8 MBFamous chefs don’t become known because of their humility. But as it turns out, their restaurants might. In this episode of the podcast, I spoke with renowned chef Peter Merriman about his unique approach to hospitality in his restaurants. Why is it that a person always feels welcome when they check-in with his hosts? How does Peter motivate his entire staff to entertain like they are “throwing a party every night,” prepare each and every dish like they are “cooking for their mom,” and con...
Episode 25: Dr. Hyla Cass - A Purposeful Approach to Functional Medicine
May 20, 2019 02:12 - 56 minutes - 64.7 MBWe go to the doctor with the goal of feeling better, so it should come as no surprise that conventional medicine is often aimed at helping us deal with symptoms, rather than identifying and addressing the underlying cause. Such an approach is all the more likely in an overwhelmed healthcare system where doctors are increasingly unable to spend the time required to identify and address the root issues behind many “chronic” conditions, especially those with no immediately apparent source. In...
Episode 25: Dr. Hyla Cass - A Purposeful Approach to Functional Medicine
May 20, 2019 02:12We go to the doctor with the goal of feeling better, so it should come as no surprise that conventional medicine is often aimed at helping us deal with symptoms, rather than identifying and addressing the underlying cause. Such an approach is all the more likely in an overwhelmed healthcare system where doctors are increasingly unable to spend the time required to identify and address the root issues behind many “chronic” conditions, especially those with no immediately apparent source. In...
Episode 24: Discovering Your Seven Stories
April 29, 2019 01:16 - 43 minutes - 49.9 MBWhat accomplishments are you most proud of? When you think of the "top stories" of your life - those where you felt most empowered, full of joy, or simply had a great time doing something you were really good at - which experiences rise to the top? More importantly, what specific attributes seem to be common to each of those stories? On the heels of a couple deep philosophical episodes about finding “purpose,” I wanted to offer some concrete advice about the “process” someone might use to ...
Episode 23: Finding Meaning In Responsibility
April 13, 2019 22:33 - 1 hour - 108 MBIn this second part of a two-part special series I focus on the importance, and process, of finding meaning and purpose in life, as found in the book Man’s Search For Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. Frankl explains how responsibility to oneself and others (and to what life is asking of you) is a vital counterpart to freedom, a concept echoed by many present-day authors, including notable thought leaders like Jordan Peterson and Jocko Wilink. If you only listen to one of these two episodes on Fran...
Episode 22: Viktor Frankl - Man's Search For Meaning
April 11, 2019 03:22 - 1 hour - 99.3 MBIn this special episode of the podcast I wanted to respond to a listener request by offering some takeaways from the globally renowned book Man’s Search For Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. I’ve mentioned this book in past episodes when discussing the importance of living a life of purpose with various guests, because at the end of the day Frankl’s message regarding the importance of finding purpose and meaning in life is core to the whole point of this podcast. This is not intended to be a summar...
Episode 21: Staying Safe on the Road
March 31, 2019 23:05 - 27 minutes - 19.2 MBThey say courtesy is not so common anymore - this seems to be especially true on the road. As I start to teach my son how to drive, I’ve been noticing that even some of the most experienced adult drivers are no longer driving in the kind of courteous and safe manner most likely to avoid both accidents and tickets. In this episode of the podcast I summarize a few principles about safe driving, and offer my insights as both a former police officer and attorney into some of the top ways to stay...
10-Minute Takeaways Bonus Episode: Finding Your Calling
March 22, 2019 21:12 - 11 minutes - 8.01 MBHave you ever wondered if you have found your true calling? What even makes something a “calling” anyways? In this short “10-minute take-aways” bonus episode, we summarize a process that might be useful for you when considering these questions. What I like best about this particular process is that it also helps you identify the type of changes that might be needed to get yourself positioned into a new and more meaningful direction. This is hardly a new process, but lately I’ve found mysel...
Episode 20: Joe Villarreal - Stories From the Road
March 18, 2019 03:52 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBIf you’re a life-long learner, you will undoubtedly create a lot of stories. The more careers, jobs, skills, and new circumstances you experience, the more people you will cross paths with. But, at the end of the day, who are those stories really for? My friend and fellow polymath Joe Villarreal joined me in this episode for a wide-ranging discussion about the importance of surrendering our own hopes and fears to experience the joy and fulfillment that comes from living a life in the eternal...
Episode 19: Will Blackman - Breaking the Outer Man
March 03, 2019 22:53 - 1 hour - 42.9 MBIn Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, author Richard Rohr builds on psychologist Carl Jung’s description of a process by which we let go of who we think we are supposed to be, and start to more accurately express our “true” selves. Rohr, a Franciscan Priest, adds a spiritual perspective to Jung’s framework of first half and second half life experiences, concluding that “Your True Self is who you objectively are from the beginning, in the mind and heart of God.” This i...
Episode 18: MacKenzie Price - Mentoring a Marriage
February 25, 2019 04:46 - 1 hour - 49.2 MBMentoring can sometimes be a difficult process - especially when it comes to sensitive topics like marriage. How can we best help our friends when they come to us expressing marital conflict? How can we learn to benefit from that same process ourselves, the next time we face challenges in our own relationships? Whether you’re a man or a woman, married or single, you’ll want to listen to this episode about how to help your friends, and how to continually improve your own marriage, by focusing...
Episode 17: James Coleman - Living and Working Abroad
February 21, 2019 04:13 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBHave you ever thought about living abroad? It seems like every week I meet someone who is seriously considering it - or at least dreaming about the possibility. As so many “knowledge work” jobs become capable of getting done anywhere, and often on any schedule, that dream of living abroad can become a real option. But what does it actually look like to make that decision (and then do it)? The specific answer to that question is obviously highly dependent on where you might be thinking of m...
Episode 16: Anthony Torns - Coaching While Staying Coachable
February 11, 2019 03:05 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBWhat makes a great coach? Maybe the better question to ask is, how can we make ourselves more coachable? I dug into these questions with Anthony Torns, a track coach who has become known not just for results achieved in training young men and women as high-achieving athletes, but more importantly, for the way in which he develops and mentors his athletes as people. In this episode of the podcast, Coach Torns and I discussed: Coaching as a way of life What it looks like to be coachable ...
Episode 15: Melanie Atha (Part 2) - Advocating for Peace
February 04, 2019 03:07 - 1 hour - 51.5 MBIn part 2 of this two-part interview recorded on MLK day 2019, Melanie Atha told us about her other role as the Executive Director of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF). In this second episode of the two-part series, we discussed: How Melanie (and EPF) advocate for peace A discussion from varying viewpoints on policymaking responses to gun violence What it’s like to live a “nomadic” life touring multiple states in “Miranda” (their van) How advocating for peace needs to start by makin...
Episode 14: Melanie Atha - the Peacemaking Potential of Collaborative Dispute Resolution
January 29, 2019 02:49 - 54 minutes - 37.8 MBYou’ve likely heard someone say that “the only people who ‘win’ in litigation are the attorneys.” While the right to go to court will always remain an important part of our civil justice system, if you’ve been involved in litigation yourself you may understand why “winning” doesn’t always provide a clear victory, for anyone involved. There’s no question litigation will continue to dictate the outcome for many difficult to resolve matters, but it’s important to know about the potential for ot...
10 Minute Takeaways (from Episode 12): Working Your Goals to Achievement
January 23, 2019 23:50 - 10 minutes - 7.64 MBThis is something NEW in 2019 called “10 minute takeaways” where I’ll summarize in 10 minutes or less the high points and takeaways from each interview or show. This was the result of great feedback from listeners in my audience - so thank you! My regular long-format interviews will continue, but these shortened versions will be great for people who want to go back and get a quick summary after enjoying the longer conversation, or if you just don’t have the time that particular week to liste...
Episode 13: Jason Pierce - A Balanced Perspective on Youth Sports
January 20, 2019 22:38 - 1 hour - 44.7 MBAmerican families spend $15.3 billion on youth sports activities, an amount that has literally doubled in the last 10 years. A family’s investment in youth athletics can often represent as much as 10% or more of a family’s income. Given these numbers, it may come as no surprise that more kids are placed onto “travel” and “select” teams than ever before. Year-round specialization and private training have become the norm in many communities, and the market incentives driving what has become k...
Episode 12: Working Your Goals to Achievement
January 14, 2019 03:02 - 1 hour - 52.7 MBI got a lot of positive feedback from the New Year’s show, which was the first non-interview episode. I’ll be continuing with interviews, but that feedback also made me realize that people appreciate thoughtful content even without a guest on the show. In that same feedback I got a lot of questions that mostly centered around one topic: moving beyond goal setting to goal accomplishment. So I asked my wife Trisha to join me for this show (since she joins me every year for this process) and ...
Episode 11: US Air Force Surgeon General Mark Ediger - Lessons From 32 Years in Public Service
January 07, 2019 05:40 - 1 hour - 54 MBLieutenant General (Dr.) Mark A. Ediger retired last year after serving as the Surgeon General of the Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Va. General Ediger served as functional manager of the U.S. Air Force Medical Service. In this capacity, he advised the Secretary of the Air Force and Air Force Chief of Staff, as well as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs on matters pertaining to the medical aspects of the air expeditionary force and the health of Air For...
Episode 10: 2019 New Years Special
January 02, 2019 06:35 - 2 hours - 104 MBJoseph and I had a good time recording this impromptu conversation for a special New Year’s show! We discussed: Ways to more thoughtfully approach “screen time” and social media, including specific apps and methods for nudging things in the right direction for families and people concerned with the issue A broad look at podcasting including software, gear, hosting, and other advice (including an 8-step general process for anyone looking to get started with a podcast in 2019) Practical a...
Episode 9: Peter Ostebo - Finding Your Creative Voice
December 23, 2018 21:01 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBAll great writers have a “voice” - a way of expressing the written word in a way that is immediately recognizable as their own. Finding and harnessing your creative voice, in any art form, allows for the expression of emotional authenticity that leads to a true connection with the audience. For many people who make their living creatively, however, that’s easier said than done. After all, where exactly does that unique voice come from, and how can it be expressed “on-demand,” not just when i...
Episode 8: Jessica Dupuy - the Passion Driven Purpose Behind Great Food & Wine
December 17, 2018 13:18 - 2 hours - 99.2 MBGreat artists and artisans are driven by a passion that expresses itself from within. In the case of world class food, wine, and even hospitality, we get to experience the results of that passion in a tangible way that involves all five senses. Yet, when sitting down for a meal or opening a bottle of wine it can be easy to take for granted the talent, work, and drive that culminated in that moment. Discovering and presenting the stories of great chefs, winemakers, distillers, and restaurante...
Episode 7: Fraser Pajak - Trust Based Leadership
December 12, 2018 00:43 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBLeadership as a topic has been written about and discussed ad nauseam, yet good leadership remains elusive for so many organizations and teams. How can the subject of such exhaustive research and discussion continue to be the glaring root cause of business failures, mission-killing morale problems, and weak vision at the top of otherwise strong organizations? Perhaps it’s because talking about optimal leadership will never replace the disciplined practice of good leadership. That’s why for t...
Episode 6: Jay Papasan - Figuring Out Your "One Thing"
December 05, 2018 03:39 - 1 hour - 57.8 MBIt was almost called the “success habit.” Instead, Jay Papasan and Gary Keller released their popular book on purpose driven productivity as The ONE Thing, which went on to sell over 1.3 million copies worldwide, made 400 appearances on national bestseller lists (including # 1 on The Wall Street Journal’s hardcover business list), and was translated into 30 different languages. The reason for the book’s success is clear: learning to ask the all-important “focusing question,” and figuring ou...
Episode 5: Dave Klug - the Challenging Process of Keeping Us Safe
November 29, 2018 02:51 - 1 hour - 67.7 MBLaw enforcement is a difficult job. Not many people would argue with that. Today’s 24-hour news cycle and the proliferation of citizen video journalism has allowed an ever-closer view into the outwardly visible world of police officers like never before, but the average citizen remains unaware of the actual processes, rationale, and training that inform and dictate how our police departments respond to today’s critical incidents. I wanted to shed light on some of the inner-workings of publ...
Episode 4: Jim Flores & Lee Rothenflue - Storytelling Through Film
November 22, 2018 01:05 - 1 hour - 71.3 MBAustin’s film industry really is full of talented, hard-working, independent people. I had the pleasure of sitting down with two of them just one week before the Austin Film Festival. Jim Flores (cinematographer) and Lee Rothenflue (Producer/Post-Editor) gave us their impromptu thoughts about the “work” of storytelling through film in general, and what it’s like to make movies in Austin, specifically. Whether you’re considering a career in filmmaking or are just curious about what goes on be...
Episode 3: Justin Marler - Warring Against Yourself
November 15, 2018 13:54 - 1 hour - 65.9 MBThe ancient disciplines of silence, solitude, and fasting have been, and remain today, a constant in many faith practices and belief systems spanning continents and cultures. Why is that, and what can be gained by the practice of intentional self-denial? We’ve all heard how important it is to learn to say “no” to the ever-growing list of distractions and external demands on our time and energy to stay productive; and we have all been on one kind of diet or another. In this episode, howev...
Episode 2: Jamie Matthews - Asking the Right Questions
November 08, 2018 17:52 - 1 hour - 52.6 MBLearning is about asking the right questions….and it’s also about knowing there is not always one right answer. In this episode of the podcast, we discuss learning and living a life of meaning with Jamie Matthews, a Master Teacher at the Acton School of Business in Austin, Texas. In addition to having found his calling as a world-class teacher, Jamie is a successful entrepreneur, experienced investor, and purposeful philanthropist. More importantly, he is one of those rare people whose posit...
Episode 1: Walter Wright - Learning to Listen
November 01, 2018 03:51 - 1 hour - 64.9 MBWhy is it so difficult for people to find compromise? Have we forgotten how to truly listen to opposing views? In this episode, we dive deep into these questions with Professor Walter Wright, an expert in mediation and conflict resolution, who takes the time to explain how to resolve differences with other people…or at least how to try. In addition to talking about the basic principles of interests based negotiation, we also summarize and explain techniques used by professionals in the...