Purpose and the Science of Changing Behavior for a Better Life

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What's working on purpose anyway? Each
week we ponder the answer to this question.

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People ache for meaning and purpose at
work, to contribute their talents passionately

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and know their lives really matter.
They crave being part of an organization that

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inspires them and helps them grow into
realizing their highest potential. Business can be

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such a force for good in the
world, elevating humanity. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration to help
usher in this world we all want

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Working on Purpose now. Here is
your host, doctor Elise Cortez. Welcome

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back to the Working on Purpose Program. Thanks for tuning in again this week.

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I'm your host, doctor Elis Cortes, joining your live from Dallas,

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Texas, which is home based for
me. By way of introduction, I'm

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a management consultant specializing in meaning and
purpose, organizational logotherapist, inspirational speaker,

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social scientist, and author. Learn
more about me and how we can work

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together at either at least Cortes dot
com, Orgusto dash now dot com.

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Let me think, my partner and
sponsor work proud. We are a perfect

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collaboration. Everyone wants to know they
matter and at the work they do is

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meaningful and appreciated. Work Proud is
a mobile platform built to encourage employees to

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share its stories and recognize each other's
contribution, and they empower hr and business

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leaders to help create company cultures where
all employees are inspired, I feel proud

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of their work and proud of their
company. Learn more at work proud dot

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com. With us today is doctor
Brad Wright, a professor of sociology at

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the University of Connecticut, where he
studies American Christianity, spirituality, and well

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being. He has authored fifty plus
articles and written two books, including Upside

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Surprising Good News about the state of
our world. We'll be talking today about

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purpose and how it's experienced, among
other things. He joins it today from

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Stores Connecticut. Brad, welcome to
working on Purpose. Thank you in a

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court with your intro. I'm proud
to be here. I'm wonderful. I'm

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so happy to hear that you know. And I don't remember exactly how it

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happened. We met on LinkedIn and
when I saw what you were doing,

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I was like, you must come
on the show and talk about that.

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So thank you for being willing to
be caught well. Thank you and you're

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welcome. So I just have to
get right into Both of us are social

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scientists. We're both lovely geeks in
that way. And you study, as

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I said in the intro, spirituality
and well being, but also purpose.

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So let's get right into the nitty
gritty here. I want to get from

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your perspective what you've learned as to
whether purpose in life can be intentionally discovered.

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Well, that's the big question,
isn't it right? Because a lot

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of times when people talk about discovering
purpose, they talk about an organic journey,

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you know, something that they didn't
have control over, Like you put

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a canoe in the water, you
end up in the ocean. You say,

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this is wonderful I got here.
And if that's all there is,

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then we should be novelists. Right. In addition, there's the hope that

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there's things that we can do intentionally
to get more purpose. So I suppose,

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staying with a canoe analogy, you
can paddle and choose your tributaries.

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You can do things that take you
to a different place. And that's what

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I love about this area of study
is that there's both a strong organic compound

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to it and also a strong intentional
compound. M And what I have discovered

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and You've said this in one of
your podcasts, and the field of purpose

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is incredibly complex and profound, And
one of the things I like to remind

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and teach people is that purpose is
not an honor an off switch. It's

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not either here or not. There's
just so many layers and nuances to it.

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And why, I guess both you
and I hear we spent all these

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year of studying and inquiring into it. But one of the other things that

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you talked about, and I think
it was one of your one of your

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podcasts that I was listening to,
you said that purpose might be randomly experienced

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or it might be patterned and predictable. And so if it is predictable and

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patterned, what are the patterns and
how can they be reproduced for people who

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might want it more purpose in their
lives. Well, that's the big question

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that people like you and me deal
with. We spend a lot of time

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talking with people about finding purpose.
We observe, we listen, we read,

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and we start to look for patterns, and then we look for patterns

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among the patterns, and then maybe
if we get lucky and we're good,

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we see patterns of the patterns of
the patterns and we have like concise explanations

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for it. And so that's what
I spend all my time teasing about,

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trying to tease out is what are
the what's the patterning and a purpose.

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I'll give you one for example,
it's pretty common for people to engage purpose

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the most during transitions in their life. So you think, you know,

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say from eighteen seventy eight, maybe
that's the purpose range when people are engaged

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in purpose pursuits. It's it's not
you know, one part each year,

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one sixty each one of those years
where there tends to be in times of

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transition. You come out of school, you come out of a marriage,

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you come out of your first job, and it wasn't what you want,

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your kids leave home, you retire. So that's an example of a pattern

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that we see. And then you
start seeing patterns of when people look fortant

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and what they find and how they
look for it. M I gotta say

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two things what you just said there, Brad. One, this notion of

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teasing out how people discover their purpose, and in my case, I'm very

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interested too and how they express it, which we're going to talk about later

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as well. So I'm just on
the tail end of finishing up curating an

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anthology of twenty five women stories from
across the world who have discovered their purpose

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and are pursuing it, and so
Gash did not silence her phone. No,

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No, World number one. So
I'm in the process now of categorizing

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their stories for it, so that
as as the anthology goes goes through,

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we can start to make sense of
the progression of their story. So I

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think what I'm going to do is
I'm going to arrange the stories according to

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the expression of the purpose. It's
just so exciting. I can't even tell

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you. I can't wait. It's
coming out in the next coup blow months

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and anyway, so I'm creating that. And then the second thing I wanted

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to say about this notion of some
of these stages or some of these events

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that helped to spawn purpose. I
can absolutely tell you, and I know

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you won't be shocked that getting divorced
five years ago was a fantastic catalyst for

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me to really really clarify my purpose
and to enrich its expression. A huge

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catalyst for me. Yeah, there's
an element of sometimes we decide we want

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to seek purpose, and sometimes we're
thrown into needing defining purpose. So even

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our motivation has different layers to it, and it can be multifaceted. Yes,

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And in fact, one of the
things I really wanted to talk about

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on the heels of this whole conversation
or this whole topic, is you do

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say that we often discover more of
our purpose and moments of distress, and

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some of our deepest insights regarding purpose
come from these moments of distress. Well,

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you say a little bit more about
that. I mean, I mentioned

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my divorce, but what is it
about these moments of distress that help us

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get access to our purpose? Distress
is clarifying the the great enemy of purpose.

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And by the way, that's a
nice way to think about it.

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Instead of just thinking what creates purpose? You can think, well, what

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hinders purpose? And I've come to
think that the great enemy, the great

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barrier defining purpose is business. I
don't think it's completely agreeing. I don't

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think it's evil, I don't think
it's narcissism. I think it's business.

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And when we have tragedy in our
life, sometimes it makes things more busy,

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but it tends to push us into
what matters the most. It tends

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to get us asking big questions because
it's very disruptive. So maybe business and

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sort of routine combined keep us from
purpose and distress, you know, blows

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that up, as we all know
very well. M M. You know,

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I just started working this last Friday
with a with a new leader and

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an organist, and she's really really
interested on delving into her purpose. And

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I think she's in her mid forties. And she said, this is the

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first time it's really really come up
for her. And she was sort of

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feeling, she was sort of apologizing
and sort of begrudging that that's where she

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was in the moment. And I
said, please, don't do that to

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yourself. This is the society that
we live in. We live in a

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very fast paced world. And tell
you and tell you, catch your breath

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for a moment. It might have
not occurred for you to go looking for

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your purpose or try to understand it
better. And so the same thing I

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told her, As the world is
so busy and fast. She just happened

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to be going on vacation the next
day, and so I told her,

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I said, when you go on
vacation, spend a little bit of time.

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Because they were going to go out
and be camping at a cabin,

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Go sit in the nature and just
listen to the stillness. Listen to what

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you're being is trying to tell you
and what's trying to be revealed for you.

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You need that stillness. So I
completely agree with you about those barriers

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of business and routine getting in the
way of us getting access to our purpose.

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That is so crisp. I love
that. Thank you. I think

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your advice to use her vacation that
way is brilliant because vacations and travel disrupt

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our daily routines in a very fruitful
way. They give us space to think

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about things that could be different than
they are. And that's so much a

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purpose is conceptualizing a different existence.
And that's it's hard work and it needs

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space. It is hard work.
And that's I want to really draw attention

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to that because and just this afternoon
or this morning, I was having a

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really really yummy conversation with a young
man who's thirty two, and he's really

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working at this and we have these
really really philosophical and deep conversations every like

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a few weeks. And you know, I said, I remember how it

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felt when I was your age on
the journey and he's working at this,

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and I said, this is not
for the faint of heart. If you

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really are going into this, this
is real work and it's worth it.

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It's worth every moment, every morsel
of energy that it takes to do it.

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And so to that that end,
I love what you also talked about

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here in one of your podcasts,
and this is I want to spend a

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lot of time to develop delving into
each of these for our listeners. I

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like each for each show or each
episode that they can walk away with something

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they can immediately put to work.
And so you talk about four ways of

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engaging knowledge as we're working toward our
purpose, rational analysis, subconscious events and

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circumstances and signs, and you say
that we need to engage all four and

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it's a practical to think about them
in this way. So let's talk through

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each one of those. What do
you mean by them and how can we

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use them or engage them. Well, let me start off with a metaphor

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that will resonate with you in Texas, and that's finding oil. Now,

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I just thought of using this metaphors. I didn't look up the specifics,

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but as I have read about how
people discover oil, or how companies discover

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oil. They use a number of
different techniques. So they have like some

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sort of ground radar, They test
the soil composition, they look at the

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topography, They do a number of
things, and then if and if each

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of those different modes of discovery suggest
something's there, then they draw a well.

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Okay. Likewise, when we pursue
purpose, we can use different modes

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of discovery. We can use our
rational analysis, we can just stop and

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think about it. We can't use
our subconscious. We could listen to our

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dreams, we can follow our intuitions. We can create experiences that give us

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a chance to test how we react
to things, and then we can interpret

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what happens in our life and you
can add a divine spin to that or

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not in terms of our purpose.
So using all four of those is the

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way to go and discovering purpose because
they'll often teach you different things, but

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eventually they often converge into just a
few things. And that's beautiful. It

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is beautiful. So it was interesting, And I know you really did say

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that you're if I had this right, you really care about empirical research.

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Go I have that right, Okay, So if you would for those of

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our listeners. I'm going to guess
that just a few of them are scratching

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their heads, going, wait a
minute, purpose and rational thinking? What

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do you mean by that? That
just seems like they don't go together.

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It's not. I don't think those
are normally talked about in the same sentence.

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So when you say rational thinking,
what do you mean? Do you

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mean like you know? What am
I naturally good at? What could I

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analyze to say that I actually know? Or what do you mean by rational

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knowledge? That's a purpose? That's
a great example, that's a great question.

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So what does it mean to analyze
something that's so sort of a theory

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on sublimeess? Purpose or something is
you know, basically we're applying a spreadsheet

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logic to it. So how can
you find purpose with a spreadsheet? Which

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is rational thinking? You can analyze
your life. You can analyze your life

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up until this point. You can
analyze other people's lives, and any one

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of those analyzes will help you.
I'll give you an example. A good

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exercise I've found has helped people I
work with is too. I have them

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list twenty twenty five activities they do
regularly, then I give them a five

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by five grid with meaning and happiness
on each dimension. So you have a

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twenty five cells. So I told
you its empirical. I'm just started here.

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I like it. Then I say
place each one of those activities and

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one of the cells based on how
much purpose and how much meaning and happiness

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it gives you. So low meaning
low happiness would be bottom left, High

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meaning high happiness would be top right, and then you go from there.

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When people do that, that just
kind of straightforward analysis and plotting. They

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always have these ahaes of Wow,
why don't I do more of what's in

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the top right? Why am I
spending so much time in the top left?

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How can I move things up into
the right? You know what's so

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great about this? This is almost
exactly the spirit of the conversation I was

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having with this new leader I was
working with on Friday, and she was

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talking about how she know, she's
just feeling overwhelmed because she's got all these

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things she's doing on life, and
I'm like, do you need to be

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doing all those things? How many
those things could you actually outsource or find

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a who to do them? Currently
reading a book called who Not How,

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which is really about how do you
enroll people in your life to help you

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achieve your vision because you can't do
it by yourself. So that's you know.

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I'm like, do you really have
to spend four and a half hours

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every other week cleaning your house?
Really? Do you really have to clean

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your oven? Do you really have
to do all these things that someone else

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going to do for you? So
I really appreciate that clarity. Now,

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one of the other things that you
talk about, too, is is events.

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By the way I do, I
do chronicle my dreams. I went

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up in the morning. I actually
write what I dream of because I am

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looking into my subconscious to see what
I can learn from that. So I

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certainly get that. But events,
you made some kind of a comment about

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you know what if somebody almost falls
off a cliff or does fall off a

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cliff, So how do events help
us clarify or understand our purpose? Well,

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that actually was a true story.
One of my podcast guests fell one

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hundred feet a ten story building high
wow, all all of a cliff rock

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climbing partner. His climbing partner made
a mistake and let go of ropen he

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shouldn't have. And this my friend
or now friend hit the bottom shattered his

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leg, but he bounced. He
didn't die, and it's astonishing he didn't

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die, but that changed how he
saw the world thereafter. Now that's a

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dramatic example. For the most part, we don't want to be thrown ourselves

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off a cliffs to find purpose.
That's usually recommended against. But there are

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things that happen in our life that
can have meaning. You meet somebody,

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you get fired, your house sells, your house doesn't sell, some event,

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there's a tragedy in your community.
All of these can prompt or clarify

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your purpose. Beautiful, that was
so helpful. It's already time for our

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first break. It goes so fast. I'm elast Cortez, your host.

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We don't think are with doctor Brad
Wright, a professor of sociology at the

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University of Connecticut where he studies American
Christie entity, spirituality, and wellbeing.

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We've been talking a bit about his
studies and what he's learned about purpose.

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After Marek, we're going to get
more into how it's experienced. Stay with

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us. We'll be right back.
Doctor release Cortez as a management consultant specializing

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in meaning and purpose and inspirational speaker
and author. She helps companies visioneer for

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greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose
inspired leadership and meaning infused cultures that elevate

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fulfillment, performance, and commitment within
the workforce. To learn more or to

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invite a lease to speak to your
organization, please visit her at Elise Cortez

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dot com. Let's talk about how
to get your employees working on purpose.

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This is working on Purpose with doctor
Elise Cortez. To reach our program today

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or open a conversation with Elise,
send an email to Elise Alis at Elise

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Cortez dot com. Now back to
working on purpose. Thanks for stating with

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us, and welcome back to working
on purpose. As I've watched the pandemic

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continue on and we look for ways
to help companies support their employees handle the

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anxiety, stress, depression, and
feeling disconnected, while also helping to lift

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and inspire them with ongoing professional development. We now offer a wellbeing webinar learning

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series called Grab your Gusto Vital Wellbeing
from the inside Out. I know you

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can relate to that doctor right.
You can learn more about it at least

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Cortes dot com or send me an
email to Elise Atlas cortest dot com if

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you're just joining the program. I
guest is doctor Brad Wright, a professor

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of sociology at the University of Connecticut. He's the author of fifty plus articles

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and one of his books, who
is entitled Upside Surprising Good News about the

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state of our world. He joins
a Day from Stores, Connecticut. I'm

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your host, doctor Elis Cortesse.
Okay, so now for this next segment

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here, Brad, I think it's
really interesting how you are riveted on the

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the notion of the experience of purpose. I think most people have the idea

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that it would be pretty good to
live from your purpose, but I don't

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think there's a lot of people that
really understand that very well. So I

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really definitely wanted to make sure that
we talked about it. And I love

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your School of Purpose podcasts. What
a great name for a podcast and for

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an inquiry. But I just love
that. And so you say that you

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interview people who have found purpose in
their lives, and from their stories,

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we learned about how purpose works and
we are inspired to have more in our

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own lives. We also feature experts
as well, so talk to us a

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little bit about some of the things
that you've learned about how people experience purpose.

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Well, when people experience purpose,
their life is different. So thankfully

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I have not had COVID, but
the people I know who have had it

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said that they feel different when they
have COVID than when they don't. By

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analogy, we feel different. Our
life is different when we experience purpose.

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And there's a number of symptoms I
guess symptoms of purpose. One is people

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have a lot more energy. You
get out of bed, kind of a

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spring in your step. You don't
dread getting out of bed because you have

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something in front of you that you
want to launch yourself into. Another is

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that you often get into flow,
so flows a psychological state that involves sort

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of losing consciousness of time and the
world around you because you get so focused

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on what you're doing. Another symptom
that I've heard often is what you're doing

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feels very meaningful. It's it has
significance to you. You know, you're

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not just wondering why you're doing it. I was talking to a former student

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of mine who has a very well
paid job at a company you would have

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heard of, a tech company,
and I said, how do you like

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your job? He said, you
know, most days I'm between I don't

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care and I kind of like it. Wow, Okay, that's not purpose.

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Yeah, that's not And so that's
I guess, a good negative example

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of what it is not to have
it be meaningful. So those are some

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of the indicators that I've seen a
purpose. I'll add a couple more and

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see what your take is on this. This is based on my experience and

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some of my research too. But
I know I've had Nick Craig on my

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show as well from Boston, and
he talks about that courage gives us excuse

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me, purpose gives us crazy courage
oftentimes to pursue these these kinds of love

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it right, courage to go after
these things. I definitely have done crazy

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things high on purpose that I wouldn't
have done if if I weren't high on

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purpose. It also changes our relationship
with stress. It redirects it positively so

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that we actually experience more of the
good side of stress to power us through

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versus the negative downside of stress.
I don't know if you've ever come across

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any of that. Okay, can
you're a well being guys, so as

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as I am. And then finally, the other thing that he says that

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I've really, really, really like
is that the thing about being about living

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from purpose is that it gives us
access to a fuller spectrum, to the

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human instrument of emotions. So we
have a greater access to you know,

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feel much more deeply and broadly.
So you know, we can experience euphoria,

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we can experience confusion, we can
experience you know, awe, and

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we can also experience doubt and vulnerability. But the thing about about living and

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purpose is that it lets us have
a greater deeper access to what it is

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to be a fully human person.
And I think that's astounding. Yes,

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another one, and I love the
crazy courage that I hadn't thought of it

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in that term, in those terms, but he's absolutely right. Yeah.

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Another thing is that when you're doing
something purpose feel purposeful. It feels authentic

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to who you are. It's like, oh, this is just right.

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So it's almost like if you're trying
on close and you try on you know,

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short after shirt or jacket after jacket, and then one just slides on.

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My it was built, it was
it was designed and constructed exactly for

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you. That's kind of how purpose
feels like. Oh yeah, the flip

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side of that is that everybody's sense
of purpose is different than somebody else's.

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It's not one size fits all.
So when you were talking about purpose,

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you're talking about tailored clothing rather than
off the off the rack. It's it's

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exactly right for you. And so
that's what it feels like. It just

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feels very authentic, you know what, I love about what you're doing.

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So one of the things that I
am a meaning and work researcher of and

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investigating that for years and I form
my PhD dissertation and then some postdoc research.

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I discovered these fifteen modes of engagement
that take into account how important that

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your work is, who you are
in your identity, and what levels that

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you're registering for that. And I
discovered one mode called living your purpose.

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And essentially you're you and the work
are inseparable. There is no way to

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distinguish one from the other. You
are it, and it is you,

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and it is very important and who
you are because it's it's like, to

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your point, it's the cloth you're
made of. It's and it's how you're

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showing yourself in the world, who
you're being in the world, and it's

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it's the second highest level that I
found just under a transcendent connection. Transcendent

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connections as the people that are generally
facilitating connection with with with God, and

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so a lot of them wears pastors
and rabbis and priests and spiritual counselors and

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sush. But anyway, so the
way you describe that is is very much

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in alignment with how I talk.
We can all almost finish other sentences.

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I'm guessing on that. Wouldn't that
be fun? Well, I think you're

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absolutely right about the importance of work
and purpose. And I mean I find

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even your kind of your jingle on
between episodes inspiring. It's like, yeah,

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I want more purpose in my work. I heard Tony Robbins say once

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that he didn't believe in work life
balance. He believed in work life integration.

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Yes, and I thought that was
a very pithy and profound way to

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put it. I use that same
praise. I think that's the most Well,

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actually the latest one is work life
harmony. That's the latest way to

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talk about it. So we went
from balance to integration, and I think

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harmony is the latest and I like
that too. So now I have to

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get into two. At this school
of purpose, And I'd love to hear

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how you did this. It seems
that you've convened a group of scholars,

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practitioners, and students who study how
people find purpose, and you together have

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identified processes and created strategies to help
guide people in their journey. So first,

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how did you compile this group of
people and what are some of these

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strategies or processes that you work with. Well, this is one of the

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joys of being a professor, is
that you have all these students where you

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teach, and some of them are
really smart, and so I give them

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the opportunity to research with me,
and they have to have a really high

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GPA to do it, and I
get great. I see, I'm old

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enough. I called them kids,
but I need to be respectful and call

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them young scholars. And we meet
every week and we talk about these things,

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and they collect data and they interview
people, and they try to make

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sense of what's happening in their world, in their friend's world, in the

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world of the university, and then
in the world of like their older relatives

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as it relates to purpose. And
then from that we get more general lessons.

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I'll tell you what lesson has come
up recently is I've had them interviewing

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students about their parents' influence on their
purpose, and we've come up with a

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handful of ways that parents try to
influence the purpose of college students. So

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it can be Laisa fair, it
can be directive, it can be corrective,

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it can be supportive encouraging. For
me, that the broader lesson there

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is that we don't find our purpose
and a vacuum that we have expectations from

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our family, our friends, our
culture, ourselves that are often not inligne

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with our purpose. And that's a
big part of finding our purpose and enacting

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it is that we have to be
willing to let go of those expectations or

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distance ourselves from them. So I
use the analogy of if you're driving down

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the road and a lot of other
people are on it, if you're going

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to find your purpose, you're basically
getting off the road and off roading.

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It's just you're leaving the beaten path. I love that I was just reading.

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I'm part of a group called a
Global Purpose Leaders. Brandon Peel,

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who's been on my radio show in
Hollywood's also on my show, are part

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of that and are stewarding that and
I reading. What's something they put out

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is they talk about how purpose is
revealed to you. It's not something that

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you can really just go out and
just say that you declare it, or

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even even to some degree even discover
it sort of has a revelation process,

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which why I like your idea of
the off roading to go off to beat

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to get access and be present to
it. I like to talk about it

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as you know, what is it? What is it your soul? What

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is your soul as desperately trying to
whisper to you that you can't hear.

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Yes, okay, So that is
something has really confounded me for some time.

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And I just read something by a
Robert Johnson who has passed away,

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but he's a Union psychologist and he
actually worked with you, and he made

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a brilliant point about this, and
that is he said that our rational mind

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is fantastic and he didn't use the
word purpose, but he meant basically the

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same thing for finding purpose when it
comes to collecting information. He said that

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our mind is the eyes and ears
of God, but we have to wait

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for our soul to tell us which
way to go. Mind is great at

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identifying options and understanding them, because
the promise if you go with just intuition,

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you're scratching lottery tickets. If you
go with just analysis, you can't

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get to anything more important than the
spreadsheet. But you combine them and you

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have this beautiful interplay between the mind
and the soul, and that I value

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quite a bit. So I would
agree with what they said, and I

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would incorporate it with rational thought.
As I just mentioned. Isn't this just

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a yummy conversation? You know,
this is why I love hosting the show.

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And you know, really, what
I see you doing with your undergrad

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students is together you're really advancing the
inquiry and the dialogue of purpose among other

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things, whatever else you're experiencing or
whatever you're investigating. And I'm doing the

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same thing on this radio show.
I'm advancing the conversation by curating its contents

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to move it along toward a higher
level of inquiry and understanding around purpose work,

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inspirational leadership, and conscious capitalism.
And so it's just it's so I

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love that you actually, So you
have a group of students, and I

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have this ongoing series of guests like
you do too. So it's a similar

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kind of approach one thing that you
talked about. Sorry, go ahead,

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Brant, Aren't we fortunate? We
are? I'm so grateful. It's just

408
00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:52.000
I pinched myself very frequently, and
that's why I've got all these bruises.

409
00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:56.440
In case you're wondering, you talk
about something that I don't think I've really

410
00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:59.920
heard anybody else say, which is
one of the reasons I wanted to have

411
00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:03.519
in the show because you advance the
dialogue. But you say, applied purpose

412
00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:06.680
is an opportunity. So first,
what do you mean by applied purpose?

413
00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:11.119
And how is it an opportunity?
Okay, So this is the off roadside

414
00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:18.960
of me as a scholar. Most
people when they study purpose, study how

415
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:22.920
it exists as a phenomenon, and
they study it in its natural setting.

416
00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:27.440
So if we were studying a disease, they'd be a epidemiologists, you know,

417
00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:30.880
the epidemiology of purpose, How does
it affect people, what does it

418
00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:37.519
do? But I've gotten really interested
in the study of how to change purpose,

419
00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:41.480
the study of purpose interventions. And
I haven't seen a lot of studies

420
00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:48.960
of purpose interventions other than a handful
of studies of given intervention. But it's

421
00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:52.119
almost like, if you're going to
study a disease. Do you study how

422
00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:57.160
it spreads in the wild, or
do you study what affects it, what

423
00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:00.599
cures it, or what changes it
symptoms, Because you can say both,

424
00:30:00.599 --> 00:30:06.400
they're different enterprises. And so the
latter is what I'm calling the applied purpose,

425
00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:10.640
and that is the study of how
to cultivate purpose, the study of

426
00:30:10.680 --> 00:30:14.079
how people bring it about. Yeah, like the work that you do with

427
00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:18.680
you're consulting, and I just think
it's fascinating. And you know, if

428
00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:22.880
you can really understand something, you're
able to change it, So why not

429
00:30:22.079 --> 00:30:27.240
study how to change it? I
really like that. And here's why I

430
00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:33.880
see purposes. The words meaning and
purpose are probably some of them now most

431
00:30:33.960 --> 00:30:40.720
overused words that are ill applied then
and then I can possibly imagine they're well

432
00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:42.799
intentioned, right, but it's because
people want them. They're elusive, they

433
00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:47.400
don't really understand them. So I
really like what you're doing about your take.

434
00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:51.759
You're really taking it and using that
empirical approach that you do to really

435
00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:56.759
get access to them and generate them
into your world in your existence in a

436
00:30:56.799 --> 00:31:00.920
productive way. And I think that
is this is what we need, Brad.

437
00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:04.119
It's like the next sevel leve levels
up. I feel the same way.

438
00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:07.839
I'm just so excited about it.
I have a new team of students

439
00:31:07.880 --> 00:31:10.240
coming on in September, and honestly, I want to ask them if they'll

440
00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:11.720
work with me through the summer.
I'm just so excited to do this.

441
00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:15.680
Oh it's so great. It should
be like that. All right, let's

442
00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:18.359
take our last break here. I'm
Elias Cortez, your host. We went

443
00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:22.480
on the air with doctor Brad Wright, professor of sociology at the University of

444
00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:26.839
Connecticut, where he studies American Christianity, spirituality, and well being. We've

445
00:31:26.839 --> 00:31:30.960
been talking about the notion of how
we experience purpose and so many manifestations.

446
00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:33.400
After the Rake, we're to learn
more about some of his other areas of

447
00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:37.440
inquiry, like the subconscious. Stay
with us, We'll be right back.

448
00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:44.640
Doctor Elise Cortez is a management consultant
specializing in meaning and purpose and inspirational speaker

449
00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:49.440
and author. She helps companies visioneer
for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose

450
00:31:49.480 --> 00:31:56.559
inspired leadership and meaning infused cultures that
elevate fulfillment, performance, and commitment within

451
00:31:56.599 --> 00:32:00.480
the workforce. To learn more or
to invite a lease to speak to your

452
00:32:00.599 --> 00:32:06.279
organization. Please visit her at Leise
Cortez dot com. Let's talk about how

453
00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:16.599
to get your employees working on purpose. This is Working on Purpose with doctor

454
00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:22.240
Elise Cortez. To reach our program
today or open a conversation with Elise,

455
00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:29.839
send an email to Elise ali Se
at Elise Cortez dot com. Now back

456
00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:37.799
to working on Purpose. Thanks for
staying with us, and welcome back to

457
00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:42.720
working on Purpose. I mentioned after
the first break about the Grab Your gusta

458
00:32:42.759 --> 00:32:46.200
wellbeing a webcast learning series. The
content from that program is adapted from part

459
00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:51.359
one of my book which is called
Purpose Ignited, How Inspiring Leaders unite passion

460
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:53.519
and will Elevate Cause, which is
now avaiable on Amazon. And I wrote

461
00:32:53.559 --> 00:32:58.279
that book to awaken readers to their
passion and their purpose and help them transform

462
00:32:58.279 --> 00:33:01.440
them into inspirational leaders who enliven the
workplace and elevate the contribution of business to

463
00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:06.440
all its stakeholders. If you're just
joining us, my guest is joining us

464
00:33:06.440 --> 00:33:09.359
from stores Connecticut, doctor Brad Right. He's a professor of sociology at the

465
00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:14.480
University of Connecticut. And I was
about to say he was working on his

466
00:33:14.599 --> 00:33:17.319
next book, but he's actually working
on several different different articles and has two

467
00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:22.359
books out already. I'm your host, doctor Eli's Cortez. So for this

468
00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:25.119
next segment here, it's so interesting
what you get to do. I'm envious,

469
00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:28.640
right, I guess I'm such a
such a geek myself, and I'm

470
00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:34.240
a researcher too, but I'm very
interested in your studies on the subconscious.

471
00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:37.559
So what I want to ask you
is, what have you learned about the

472
00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:40.079
subconscious in relation to purpose or even
behavior change if you want to take that

473
00:33:40.119 --> 00:33:45.240
one on. Okay, So I'm
happy to talk about it, as long

474
00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:47.119
as you don't think I'm an expert
with the subconscious with behavior change, I

475
00:33:47.160 --> 00:33:52.200
am, okay, fair enough.
Subconscious was off my radar. The subconscious

476
00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:55.480
was off my radar. With purpose, I was thinking in terms of analysis

477
00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:59.599
and experience, because okay, you
know, the social science is a social

478
00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:04.079
science site study what can be measured. But time and time again, the

479
00:34:04.119 --> 00:34:07.839
subconscious kept on coming up in the
stories I heard that I interviewed what I

480
00:34:07.880 --> 00:34:10.079
read, and then in my own
life, and I started finding that the

481
00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:16.000
most productive ways, some of the
most productive ways of finding purpose involved basically

482
00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:22.280
hacking this subconscious or listening to it, and so that's how I got interested

483
00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:28.559
in it. M that's so interesting. So I'm always every I invest in

484
00:34:28.599 --> 00:34:31.199
myself. Every year I go and
I do some kind of a program somewhere

485
00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:37.679
just to keep learning. And this
year I did p SIS seven days work,

486
00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:43.280
which is really I would say that
it's really designed to uncover your shadows.

487
00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:46.239
And so it's shadow work kind of
thing. So it's designed to see

488
00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:50.880
where where it serves you up a
whole week of getting your buttons pushed and

489
00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:52.239
seeing where do you have work to
be able to do? And you start

490
00:34:52.280 --> 00:34:54.519
to notice some stuff. Isn't that
cool? Look at the look on your

491
00:34:54.519 --> 00:34:58.639
face? Oh what goodness? I
love it. Shadow works the best well,

492
00:34:58.639 --> 00:35:00.280
and I don't have I haven't done
a shadow work at so I want.

493
00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:04.239
I'm trying to do everything that I
can right to be on this journey.

494
00:35:04.280 --> 00:35:09.000
So so the notion of shadows and
subconscious is really interesting. Dreams are

495
00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:15.800
really fascinating. Have you studied dreams
at all? I am an enthusiastic,

496
00:35:15.239 --> 00:35:21.960
probably an obnoxiously enthusiastic amateur and okay
interpretation. I just discovered it three four

497
00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:24.920
months ago, had a guest on
my show who talked about it. I

498
00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:28.440
read some of the books she recommended. I went to some of her dream

499
00:35:28.519 --> 00:35:31.599
circles. Oh my goodness. I
had no idea dreams could be interpreted,

500
00:35:32.039 --> 00:35:37.519
and I had no idea that they
had so much to say. It's remark

501
00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:42.000
what's here's the analogia use. There's
digital computers that we all use there on

502
00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.719
our desks. There's also quantum computers. They use an entirely different logic.

503
00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:52.039
They're good for an entirely different kind
of different kind of problem that like physicists

504
00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:58.280
and like Google use for some things. Our mind and our subconscious work is

505
00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:02.639
one as as the two combined,
and we can get so much more done

506
00:36:02.679 --> 00:36:07.960
when we're paying attention to our subconscious
and the different ways it's connecting. So

507
00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:12.440
basically, I've come to view I
used to view the subconscious as almost like

508
00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:15.000
your stomach just digesting food. You
don't have to pay attention to just doing

509
00:36:15.039 --> 00:36:19.920
some work. Now I'm thinking it
has as many messages for me as my

510
00:36:20.039 --> 00:36:22.480
rational mind, and they're both committed
to my well being. And I've been

511
00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:30.440
so silly to have ignored it for
so long. If I have this right,

512
00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:32.760
and listeners who've been to PSI,
you can come and correct me if

513
00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:37.039
I don't have it right. But
I think I remember in the three day

514
00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:40.800
session that PSI gave last June here
in Dallas, Courtland Warren gave that he's

515
00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:44.880
fantastic at his work as a facilitator, and I'm pretty sure that he said

516
00:36:44.920 --> 00:36:50.960
that the subconscious works to make what
we want come true. Does that sound

517
00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:54.559
right too? She does? Okay, So listeners and viewers, if I'm

518
00:36:54.599 --> 00:36:57.480
wrong about that and you have another
view about it, get a hold of

519
00:36:57.480 --> 00:37:02.320
me and set me straight. But
pretty pretty amazing stuff. So now we

520
00:37:02.400 --> 00:37:07.480
go on to this idea here,
this notion of how purpose in life is

521
00:37:07.559 --> 00:37:09.280
enacted. It's sort of like what
we've been talking about before, but I

522
00:37:09.360 --> 00:37:15.599
think it's a it's it's actually another
step beyond. So discovering purpose in life

523
00:37:15.639 --> 00:37:17.119
is only the start, which we
both we both agree we've been talking about.

524
00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:20.280
The next step is to live it
out. And that's one of my

525
00:37:20.320 --> 00:37:22.639
big things. That first book was
about awakening passion and purpose. The next

526
00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:27.000
book that I'm writing is about is
about activating it and doing something with it,

527
00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:30.000
bringing it into the world. So
but you say that this means changing

528
00:37:30.039 --> 00:37:35.440
behavior, which is often extremely difficult. So in this one. This is

529
00:37:35.480 --> 00:37:38.960
your area right. Behavior changes is
your jam, So talk to us a

530
00:37:38.960 --> 00:37:44.440
little bit about how we can change
our behaviors. So I love your distinction

531
00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:51.159
between discovering purpose and enacting purpose.
If you discover it and don't enact it,

532
00:37:51.760 --> 00:37:54.440
that puts you in a very painful
place. You know what, you

533
00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:58.000
know what your life is to be
about, but you never got around to

534
00:37:58.039 --> 00:38:01.079
it. Yes, and so I
love your emphasis on acting on it.

535
00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:09.880
I would say in terms of behavior, a good approach is to start making

536
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:16.480
small bets, start trying small,
small experiments to give you a sense of

537
00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:21.239
how to enact it. So,
my son is in the software industry.

538
00:38:21.559 --> 00:38:24.920
He uses the phrase of agile development, where you create a lot of you

539
00:38:24.960 --> 00:38:29.559
create a prototype and you test it
right away. So, for example,

540
00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:35.320
if you think that you want to
be a K through twelve teacher, don't

541
00:38:35.360 --> 00:38:38.760
ignore that. But also don't necessarily
quit your job and go sign up for

542
00:38:38.800 --> 00:38:42.639
it. Instead, find a place
where you can volunteer for a week.

543
00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:46.760
You'll meet people, you'll develop skills, and it'll give you a sense of

544
00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:51.159
what to do. And so I
guess that's what I would say is start

545
00:38:51.239 --> 00:38:54.400
small and move forward. Okay,
I like that, and I'll add on

546
00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:57.920
to that as well. A couple
of years ago, I had Jeff Hayden

547
00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:00.920
on my show He's great, you
like he's any wonderful, Jeff, You're

548
00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:06.079
that smart. Two of us love
you. He is very smart. And

549
00:39:06.119 --> 00:39:09.559
he wrote a book called The Something
about the Myths, the Myths and Motivation

550
00:39:09.639 --> 00:39:14.719
or something like that, Motivational Myths, and we talked about So he studied

551
00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:17.960
really really accomplished people and wanted to
understand how it is they achieve so much.

552
00:39:19.400 --> 00:39:22.400
One of the things that he discovered
is that it's not about them being

553
00:39:22.440 --> 00:39:25.800
motivated. It's that they motivated themselves
by always taking the doing the next right

554
00:39:27.000 --> 00:39:31.199
thing. So there's putting themselves in
some kind of a perpetual motive movement towards

555
00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:35.880
their goals, and it was that
movement that gave them the energy and the

556
00:39:35.960 --> 00:39:38.679
and the juice and the belief that
they were making progress and pulled them forward.

557
00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:42.480
So I think that's kind of what
you're saying too. Yes, it's

558
00:39:42.639 --> 00:39:45.679
very similar to that. Yeah.
Yeah, he's a lovely man. That's

559
00:39:45.679 --> 00:39:47.360
another great thing, right, I
mean, I get to read all these

560
00:39:47.639 --> 00:39:51.440
great books and talk to people that
are that are amazing enough to something in

561
00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:55.800
life, so every week it's good
for me. So now we talk a

562
00:39:55.840 --> 00:39:59.039
little bit about this, and I
know you've written about this and some of

563
00:39:59.119 --> 00:40:00.800
your articles and you speak about it
and you teach on it. But I'm

564
00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:04.840
very intrigued with your inquiry of how
to change your behavior to have a better

565
00:40:04.920 --> 00:40:07.360
life, not just in purpose,
but a better life. What have you

566
00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:13.000
learned there? So I've had a
chance to work with some of the luminaries

567
00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:17.199
in the field. I worked with
Red an article with Roy Baumeister of Willpower

568
00:40:17.280 --> 00:40:21.079
Fame. I had a chance to
have some in depth training with B.

569
00:40:21.199 --> 00:40:24.920
J. Fog of Tiny Habits,
and I read widely for a number of

570
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:30.159
years on behavior change and everything ended
up settling down into one of three categories.

571
00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:38.599
You either change your environments, or
you change your motivation, or you

572
00:40:38.679 --> 00:40:44.599
exert self control. So if you
want to change behavior, then you want

573
00:40:44.639 --> 00:40:46.159
to think of one of those three
things. Change your environment to make it

574
00:40:46.199 --> 00:40:52.320
easier to do a behavior, do
something to motivate yourself, or do something

575
00:40:52.360 --> 00:40:54.039
to give you more self control.
Because all three are involved, give you

576
00:40:54.039 --> 00:40:59.079
an example of motivation. This is
an easy hack for changing the behavior.

577
00:40:59.519 --> 00:41:02.320
If you want to start doing something
regularly read a book every night for about

578
00:41:02.360 --> 00:41:06.440
five or ten minutes of somebody who
does it or advocates it. So if

579
00:41:06.440 --> 00:41:08.039
you want to try new, I
did this when I went on basically a

580
00:41:08.119 --> 00:41:13.719
paleo diet. Whole thirty is what
I went on every night for a month.

581
00:41:13.800 --> 00:41:15.880
I read a book on whole thirty. No not the whole book,

582
00:41:15.920 --> 00:41:21.119
just like five to ten minutes worth. And that sort of contagion of their

583
00:41:21.239 --> 00:41:25.400
views and their attitudes and their information
came on to me and that motivated me.

584
00:41:25.920 --> 00:41:31.119
Then I also changed my environment where
I didn't have the junkie food that

585
00:41:31.159 --> 00:41:35.199
I had been needed. I got
rid of them, and then I minded

586
00:41:35.199 --> 00:41:37.280
my self control. I made sure
I got to sleep at night at a

587
00:41:37.320 --> 00:41:38.880
regular time, and that gave me, you know, the ooth to say

588
00:41:38.920 --> 00:41:45.000
no when I wasn't used to say
no to cheetos and ice cream and at

589
00:41:45.039 --> 00:41:49.880
all. So I got to say
two things. Well, I'll say one

590
00:41:49.880 --> 00:41:52.039
thing that I've read a question for
you on that regard. So for me

591
00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:55.719
in my work, the way that
I build motivation, I love the idea

592
00:41:55.760 --> 00:42:00.280
I read a ton It is definitely
inspiring and motivating for me. And another

593
00:42:00.320 --> 00:42:05.280
thing that I do is as as
an inspirational speaker and working from from passion

594
00:42:05.360 --> 00:42:10.559
and inspiration as my platform is helping
people to create the vision that they want

595
00:42:10.599 --> 00:42:15.440
for themselves in the world or they
want in their lives. Right if it's

596
00:42:15.440 --> 00:42:17.239
a dietary thing, it's to be
healthy, or maybe it's to get into

597
00:42:17.239 --> 00:42:22.679
the outfit and look smashing or whatever
it is, but really being pulled by

598
00:42:22.880 --> 00:42:27.320
the inspirational vision that you want to
live into, as opposed to, you

599
00:42:27.360 --> 00:42:30.199
know, the stick or the push
kind of motivation, which is, you

600
00:42:30.199 --> 00:42:31.840
know, if I don't do this, I'm going to have to go to

601
00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:35.159
the doctor and get that operation or
whatever it is, which is more of

602
00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:39.599
a it's a need sort of motivation
and instead of a drive sort of motivation.

603
00:42:39.719 --> 00:42:44.320
Instead of that, more of the
inspirational space. So I like that

604
00:42:44.400 --> 00:42:46.480
very much, and that's a way
they can craft it of their of their

605
00:42:46.519 --> 00:42:50.199
own making, according to what's important
to them. And I think that aligns

606
00:42:50.280 --> 00:42:52.119
very well with the idea of reading
something every night in the space that you

607
00:42:52.159 --> 00:42:57.599
want to be in, so you're
really grounding and better able to delineate that

608
00:42:57.679 --> 00:43:00.719
vision for yourself and make it so
clear that you know it's right in front

609
00:43:00.760 --> 00:43:02.440
of your face, I can get
it right. So I love that.

610
00:43:04.079 --> 00:43:07.159
And then the next question I want
to drill on it on is how would

611
00:43:07.199 --> 00:43:09.400
you change your environment? What do
you mean by that? Oh, so

612
00:43:09.559 --> 00:43:14.519
that's a great question. There's some
research that came out of the University of

613
00:43:14.599 --> 00:43:17.719
Chicago number of years ago on what
they called nudging, and that is,

614
00:43:19.079 --> 00:43:22.679
you change your behavior change your environment. So it's harder to do what you

615
00:43:22.719 --> 00:43:24.840
don't want to do, and it's
easier to do what you do want to

616
00:43:24.880 --> 00:43:28.840
do. So B. J.
Fogg is a great example. He wanted

617
00:43:28.880 --> 00:43:32.480
to start eating healthier so he could
lose weight, so he completely redid the

618
00:43:32.519 --> 00:43:37.639
interior of his refrigerator. He bought
a bunch of those glass pirates storage food

619
00:43:37.639 --> 00:43:43.199
storage containers, and every Sunday he
and his partner chop up food, put

620
00:43:43.239 --> 00:43:45.679
it in those that they like to
eat that's healthy, put in those containers

621
00:43:45.920 --> 00:43:50.199
and put them on the front of
the shelves that way all week. When

622
00:43:50.199 --> 00:43:53.840
they open it up, the easiest
thing to do is to eat the healthy

623
00:43:53.880 --> 00:44:00.320
stuff. So Scott Adams of Dolbert
fame said, I always do what's easiest,

624
00:44:00.599 --> 00:44:04.119
So I make the easiest thing to
do the best thing for me.

625
00:44:04.719 --> 00:44:08.679
M I like that. I really
like that. I have found that for

626
00:44:08.719 --> 00:44:14.519
me I am I'm from Oregon originally, so I actually really quite like the

627
00:44:14.679 --> 00:44:19.960
darker wet days. I find them
really given for contemplation and peaceful and you

628
00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:23.480
know, settling. I just really
really like that. But I also find

629
00:44:23.519 --> 00:44:28.639
that I, no surprise, I
derived tremendous energy from from sunshine, from

630
00:44:28.679 --> 00:44:30.679
light. And so what I find
is that if I if I know that

631
00:44:30.719 --> 00:44:35.920
I need to do something, you
know where it's going to take me a

632
00:44:35.920 --> 00:44:38.280
lot of energy, I tend to
go seek parts of my my office or

633
00:44:38.280 --> 00:44:40.719
my home that have that heavy duty
light. If I want to be more

634
00:44:42.360 --> 00:44:46.480
you know, really really concentrated,
maybe i'm writing or I'm analyzing or producing

635
00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:52.119
a report for a client, I
that that that more dark environment works better

636
00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:55.039
for me. And so I've just
found that that's works best for me.

637
00:44:55.079 --> 00:44:59.280
So when you said something about environment
and you know, trying to really motivate

638
00:44:59.320 --> 00:45:01.840
yourself or change your behavior accordingly,
that's kind of where my mind went.

639
00:45:02.599 --> 00:45:07.800
Those are great examples. I like
them. Thank you, it's it's you

640
00:45:07.800 --> 00:45:09.599
know, it's and so this is
what I would say to listeners and viewers.

641
00:45:09.599 --> 00:45:14.360
One thing that I'm very very much. Big on is this notion that

642
00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:19.280
we as human beings can always grow, learn and change. I wanted my

643
00:45:19.320 --> 00:45:21.639
pet peeves. Just when people say, well, that's just the way that

644
00:45:21.639 --> 00:45:24.880
I am or that's just my personality, well there's there's amazing things you can

645
00:45:24.920 --> 00:45:29.280
do to change that. If you
are motivated enough and you really can see

646
00:45:29.320 --> 00:45:31.400
the benefit of change, there's a
lot you can do. And of course

647
00:45:32.119 --> 00:45:35.239
I wouldn't do the work that I
do if I if I didn't think you

648
00:45:35.239 --> 00:45:37.880
could change and learn and grow.
And so that for me is an ongoing

649
00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:44.840
lifetime thing. So let's let's keep
it that. We are already at the

650
00:45:44.920 --> 00:45:46.519
end of the show, doctor,
right, So I want to leave you

651
00:45:46.639 --> 00:45:49.880
with the with the ability to close
the show as you like. You know,

652
00:45:49.960 --> 00:45:52.920
this show is listened to by people
across the globe. They're really interested

653
00:45:52.960 --> 00:45:57.039
in being able to create a workplaces
where people can experience meaning and grow to

654
00:45:57.119 --> 00:46:00.440
their best and develop themselves as inspirational
leaders and do business that betters the world.

655
00:46:01.039 --> 00:46:07.199
What would you like to leave them
with? Two things? One realize

656
00:46:07.199 --> 00:46:15.599
that finding your purpose is shockingly important. What good is it climbing the ladder

657
00:46:15.360 --> 00:46:20.400
if the ladder's leaning against the wrong
building. So that's something I heard Jack

658
00:46:20.440 --> 00:46:23.159
Canfield said that has a I stuck
with me. And secondly, there's lots

659
00:46:23.199 --> 00:46:27.760
of ways of finding purpose. I'll
give you a quick hack. Do little

660
00:46:27.760 --> 00:46:31.960
experiments to see if you like something. Anytime you think you might be drawn

661
00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:36.599
to something, go find a way
of doing it for an hour or two

662
00:46:36.760 --> 00:46:40.400
or even a day and see how
you react. Don't let those little impulses

663
00:46:42.880 --> 00:46:47.400
go unacted upon because you won't know
until you act. And those those little

664
00:46:47.480 --> 00:46:52.440
niggles and dreams and feelings we have, those are the things of purpose.

665
00:46:54.039 --> 00:46:57.480
What a beautiful way to finish brand. Thank you so much. Thank you

666
00:46:57.519 --> 00:47:00.400
for doing the work that you're doing
in the world and for ar with the

667
00:47:00.440 --> 00:47:02.840
rest of us and all of your
books, your articles, through your students,

668
00:47:02.880 --> 00:47:07.159
through your research. It's a gift. Thank you. You're welcome and

669
00:47:07.199 --> 00:47:10.880
it's a pleasure being on your show
a lease and I think you're just doing

670
00:47:10.880 --> 00:47:15.360
great working up So glad you're doing
it. Thank you. I am grateful

671
00:47:15.400 --> 00:47:17.480
I get to do it. Listeners
and feiversity, we want to learn more

672
00:47:17.480 --> 00:47:21.760
about doctor brad Wright, his books, his podcasts. Start by visiting his

673
00:47:21.800 --> 00:47:24.880
personal website. It's Bradley Wright PhD
dot com. Let me spell that for

674
00:47:24.920 --> 00:47:30.119
you. Bradley B r A D. L. E. Y Wright W.

675
00:47:30.559 --> 00:47:36.079
R Ight PhD dot com. Bradley
Wright PhD dot com and thanks again

676
00:47:36.119 --> 00:47:38.440
to our partnering sponsor work Proud,
which helps companies build a platform where your

677
00:47:38.480 --> 00:47:43.559
workforce receives meaningful feedback and thanks for
their work from people across your company.

678
00:47:43.880 --> 00:47:45.880
Last week, if you missed the
live show, you know, catch a

679
00:47:45.920 --> 00:47:49.360
review recorded podcast. I took the
show on the road and as I was

680
00:47:49.440 --> 00:47:52.920
performing an employee engagement survey for our
client in West Texas and the Panhandle,

681
00:47:52.119 --> 00:47:55.480
and I had my colleague Cherry Elliott
youerree joined me. We talked about why

682
00:47:55.519 --> 00:48:00.800
companies conduct employee engagement surveys to remain
in communication with employ ease to use their

683
00:48:00.840 --> 00:48:05.320
feedback for ongoing continuous improvement and connection. Next week will be on the air

684
00:48:05.360 --> 00:48:08.840
with Susan Lucci talking about her work
as a soulful facilitator, circle convener and

685
00:48:08.880 --> 00:48:12.599
purpose guide. See you there.
Remember that work is at least a third

686
00:48:12.599 --> 00:48:20.800
of our lives, So let's work
on purpose. We hope you've enjoyed this

687
00:48:20.800 --> 00:48:24.360
week's program. Be sure to tune
into Working on Purpose featuring your host,

688
00:48:24.480 --> 00:48:30.840
doctor Elise Cortez, each week on
the Voice America Empowerment Channel. Together,

689
00:48:30.119 --> 00:48:37.079
we'll create a world where business operates
conscientiously, Leadership inspires impassioned performance, and

690
00:48:37.199 --> 00:48:43.320
employees are fulfilled in work that provides
the meaning and purpose they crave. See

691
00:48:43.360 --> 00:48:45.719
you there, Let's work on purpose.