Since we are now at the 20th newsletter of the podcast I've been suggested by our Social Manager Haven to do something special.
I'm reflecting today on how starting this podcast has impacted my life and guided my path of purpose.
It really is a milestone to make it to more than 50 episodes now 20 newsletters. That's sooo much work! :) But its worthwhile work. Continually saying yes to People of Purpose has been one of the great blessings in my life. I get to start important conversations, learn lessons from the best, inquire and investigate what truly matters, and choose my way forward from a platter of wonderful opportunities.
It's been a fantastic journey and continues to show me new sides to myself I'm not sure I would have ever unlocked without the wisdom and experience that comes with hosting People of Purpose. My life is directed by People of Purpose.
In this blog I'll attempt to chronicle the highlights of my PoP journey point by point in backwards chronological order.
Financial Independence: I said yes to pursuing real estate investing as a way of providing the kind of life that inspires me and takes care of my soon to be wife as she immigrates to the U.S.
People of Purpose has taught me entrepreneurship as lifestyle design, team building, and impacting the world through my specific vision.
After meeting PoP guest #040 Whitney Chaffin and learning about real estate as a means of expanding my purpose, building financial independence, and elevating my ability to more purposefully impact the world I've taken the leap and am now in a full on education program with classes and mentorship. Doing my first deal in August!
Seeing the power of teamwork to keep People of Purpose alive and growing during my 70+ hour grad school and full-time teaching weeks was a testament to my persistence and ability to challenge myself with new responsibilities. Now It's time to take responsibility towards my finances. I hope to be a role model for PoP listeners and readers who haven't put quite the emphasis on purposeful financial wellbeing.
Determine your value and go for it.
I'm after creating passive streams of income, having others paying down assets while giving them a wonderful place to live, and bringing wealth to all those who invest and partner with me. I know this can be a challenge. But when the dream is big and clear enough my how continually comes into focus.
Say yes and be a beacon of light and hope for others who are watching. I'm so grateful that People of Purpose positions me as a guinea pig for next-level purposeful pursuits. I don't doubt how much I can do by sticking with a vision and making consistent progress. People of Purpose has caused me to ask better questions and aspire for more responsibility. I have actual impact on people's lives through creating a platform that accentuates my gifts.
People of Purpose is responsible for the quality of network I now have. One day we're going to go into communities that need our collective creativity and we are going to transform spaces. This will be a non-profit education and mission company with teachers, coaches, and volunteers from all over the world held together by principles of purpose. It's been a wonderful two years of beginnings. Over this next year the foundation will set and we'll start building. Join our purpose-seeking community online and we'll start meeting up in physical communities.
BetterHelp: I saw ads all over the bus stations and trains in the Bay area for this sweet-looking online counseling platform called BetterHelp. We pitched them for sponsorship and came away with a pretty significant affiliate relationship.
Each new signup gets people a free trial period and 10% off of any online counseling you do. It's powerful and very legitimate stuff. In 15 minutes of answering prompts and survey questions, I found a counselor who is a perfect match. Video calling and messaging Colleen in Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, San Diego, and now Seattle has been a privilege. There's no way I could have this quality of counseling this consistently as a traveling backpacker and entrepreneur.
Colleen is a pre-marital Christian counselor with a personal background in entrepreneurship and 25 years of successful marriage. It feels so good to spend an hour each week clearing my thoughts and anxieties with a professional wherever I am. We even had our first couples counseling where my fiance was able to join a FaceTime Call on my phone from Thailand while I'm in California and Colleen is in Kentucky.
Colleen led an incredible conversation that brought up lots of questions and thought scenarios which I know will be incredibly healthy for our long-term relationship.
I highly recommend trying it for yourself if you are after growth in any area of your life.
With BetterHelp you can work with a licensed professional who specializes in the area of your life you have questions on and you can do so for much cheaper and with much more convenience in the comfort of your own home. I'm really excited to see where this partnership will go! Check it out at www.betterhelp.com/peopleofpurpose.
Accelerate Good Conference: I was meditating at Sprit Rock Meditation center just north of San Francisco for a 3 day writing retreat when I met a woman on our lunch break.
After talking about People of Purpose she went home that evening and talked to her daughter - an organizer of a tech nonprofit conference. Two weeks later I found myself with a press pass to the Accelerate Good nonprofit tech conference in SF! I was able to ask a question to the panel and introduce myself as the People of Purpose podcast host in front of Forbes magazine. It was a big step towards legitimacy in my mind as an independent media brand.
Because of this experience, I carry myself as the CEO of a podcast that is influential and here to stay. I was also introduced to several of the speakers through my introductions with the host. I learned that I just need to tell my story and it will attract the right opportunities to construct what it is I'm trying to build.
Published on Other Podcasts: My friends I've made through People of Purpose interviewed me capturing my story of my Yosemite Fall that started my trajectory into purpose and my insights less than 24 hours after checking out of my 10-day vipassana meditation retreat. They are forever memorialized in my guest appearance on Do a Day and on Catching Z's podcast.
It's great to work up the courage to be vulnerable to candid public conversations, and contribute to each of their wonderful projects. Our conversations outside of our interviews mean so much to me, helping me to see and refine a vision that's realistic and makes sense for who I am and what is my purpose. Plus I have lifelong friends in the business now.
Path to Purpose: I made my first ever course and delivered it to a cohort of four last spring. I've learned a lot from this project that has taken a pause.
It's humbling to create a 12 -week curriculum and hear how others put the teachings into practice. There were some remarkable stories of transformation.
I severely underestimated the time and level of commitment it would take for others to complete so many of the things I've done over 3-4 years in 12 weeks. I'm so grateful for the experience and feedback I was given. I will revamp the course this winter in Thailand and plan to release it in the first half of 2020. Watch out for that!
Kansas Connections: I've been able to meet wonderful Kansans through People of Purpose.
My marketing manger met me because I interviewed his boss Daniel Rivera, I've met Our every-episode listener Jacob because I interviewed his former landlord Joe Sessel who I met from People of Purpose's first ever MeetUp. Also a listener in Topeka introduced me to his stepmom Jeanette Wood, who has become one of my greatest mentors since featuring her incredible story on the podcast.
I have had two dinners with them and sat with them at church now. They are amazing givers. The two books I've gotten from them have been incredibly intimate to my journey into purpose. I've also reconnected with my high school art teacher and been introduced to the Kansas State Teacher of the Year Jeff Baxter - another one of my great mentors.
I met a family from my hometown Topeka, Kansas at Hillsong church in San Francisco. We went out to dinner afterwards and today their two brilliant, creative daughters are the reason our Instagram and Facebook pages are so beautiful.
We have a great team of five now too. They are responsible for our beautiful Instagram and truthfully for me having the time I need for my wonderful relationships with my fiance.
I've also gotten reacquainted with my Dad's boss Keith Warta who is an excellent example of how to be a purposeful president of an employee-owned company for decades.
These connections that matter so much isn't even mentioning the phD professors of purpose, NFL performance coaches, Hollywood acting coaches, ESPN documentarists, and TED talkers I might have never gotten an hour of undivided attention with without having a podcast.
It's absolutely incredible how People of Purpose is becoming a project of a lifetime. I'm writing this in Seattle as I'm in the process of organizing a bachelor party in Austin, TX, and getting married in Thailand.
I'm beginning to build wealth through real estate and a network of relationships and listeners in every continent. I have experience refreshing mindsets daily and get to practice what I preach. All of these disparate things are snowballing with sustainability.
The best part is that I know myself and love myself more than ever. God is good and God is love. And this just a taste of the kind of inspiration I get to be fueled by in this People of Purpose journey!
If you want to capture my in-depth thoughts on being the People of Purpose creator and host I suggest you listen to our 5-part Why PoP Series I recorded in these solo episodes on the podcast last fall. Here's the description of the first one I discuss the power of courage, what I've learned from my guests, lifelong-learning, balance, and patience. I zone in on the past year and a half in which I lived a nomadic lifestyle and share how PoP became a grounding force in this time.