Identity Work

What would it be like to start your career with AI? In this episode, Adam and Stephen explore how AI is changing the substance of entry-level work. Young professionals can now produce polished analysis, models, and presentations in minutes, but bypassing the struggle may also mean missing the judgment that struggle once developed. They discuss why speed is not the same as learning, how managers ca...

After more than 70 episodes asking what makes work meaningful, Adam finally has a working answer: learning with people who make him laugh while providing for his family. Then AI changed how he experiences all three. In this episode, Adam and Stephen explore whether AI strengthens our connection to work or quietly erodes it. It can accelerate learning, eliminate tedious tasks, and increase our abil...

Why can we accomplish ten things and only think about the one we left undone? In this episode, Adam and Stephen wrestle with the persistent feeling that they are falling behind at work, at home, and in life. Adam shares how competing priorities, unfinished house projects, and an imaginary better version of himself left him wishing for a 36-hour day. They explore research showing why criticism and...

For the first in-person episode of Identity Work, Adam is joined by his friend and podcast superfan Griffin Davis. Stephen is absent, so Griffin receives the full Adam Beasley Experience: one microphone, two coffee mugs, and whiskey in the home office. Griffin recently left The Home Depot, just two months after earning a promotion, to co-found Novora Communities with his best friend. He shares how...

What if the peace is not just an aspiration, but something we can actually experience in our work today? Adam and Stephen sit down with Kevin Ainsworth, founder of GuideCap Partners, to discuss calling, ambition, contentment, and the burden of believing every outcome depends on us. Kevin explains why meaningful work can be part of our identity, why money fails to deliver the happiness we expect, a...

Comparison Is the Thief of Joy Why does someone else’s success make us question our own lives? A former Bain coworker announces a massive startup fundraise. A younger colleague climbs the career ladder faster. Someone on LinkedIn seems to be building the future with AI while we are still figuring out how to write a good prompt. We see the headline and immediately wonder, “Why isn’t that me?” In th...

Back pain and late work nights have left Adam stuck on the same question most mornings at 4:45 a.m.: snooze for more sleep, or get up and protect the routine? Adam and Stephen dig into the research on sleep and morning routines, unpack the "worst of both worlds" cycle Adam has fallen into, and land on two very different default answers. Adam breaks down the six research-backed pillars of a good mo...

Adam made $3,000 selling World Cup tickets and got to attend two games for free. It was an objectively great outcome. Then ticket prices doubled a few days later, and all he could think about was the additional $7,000 he could have made. Adam and Stephen explore the strange emotions of missed upside, why our brains remember losses more vividly than wins, and how counterfactual thinking can turn su...

What happens when pain keeps you from doing the things that make you feel like yourself? After reinjuring his back and barely sleeping for six weeks, Adam wrestles with losing his ability to work out, focus, write, and be present. Adam and Stephen discuss how health shapes identity, why “my identity is in Christ” can feel abstract, and what it means to be loved when you do not feel like yourself....

Adam and Stephen are back after a run of guest episodes to talk about Adam’s recent home-buying journey, the unexpected satisfaction of painting a house, and why physical work can feel so different from knowledge work. What starts as a conversation about DIY house projects turns into a deeper reflection on meaningful work, providing for your family, financial “chains,” and the strange mixture of j...

What if meaning is not something you find, earn, or finally arrive at, but something you design one moment at a time? This week, Adam and Stephen are joined by three-time guest Emma Wood to discuss How to Live a Meaningful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. The book applies design thinking to one of the least spreadsheet-friendly questions imaginable: how do you build a life that feels meaningfu...

What if doubt is not a weakness to overcome, but a skill to practice? This week Adam and Stephen are joined by Professor Bobby Parmar from the UVA Darden School of Business, award-winning professor, researcher, and author of Radical Doubt. Bobby studies how leaders make decisions, especially when the path forward is unclear, uncomfortable, or full of competing interpretations. The conversation sta...

Adam noticed something strange during one of the most demanding stretches of his career: the Sunday Scaries had quietly faded. This episode is a genuine attempt to figure out why, and what it reveals about the relationship between identity, daily rhythm, and how we experience the line between work and the rest of life. The conversation moves from practical reflection into deeper territory, touchin...

Adam and Stephen reckon with a quietly uncomfortable truth: knowing something intellectually and actually living it are very different things. Inspired by 4,000 Weeks , Adam shares how understanding human finitude hasn't freed him from the pressure of his to-do list, and how AI has made it measurably worse, turning every five-minute window into a high-stakes productivity opportunity. The episode i...

Adam and Stephen take a full-length look at Oliver Burkeman's 4,000 Weeks , a book that quietly dismantles the productivity obsession most high achievers carry without questioning. The episode centers on a single uncomfortable truth: the to-do list was never meant to be finished, and the stress of trying to finish it is the problem, not a sign you need a better system. What emerges is a conversati...

Adam and Stephen get honest about the paradox at the center of their AI experiences: they're both more productive and more consumed than ever before. What starts as a conversation about efficiency quickly turns into something deeper, anchored by Oliver Burkeman's 4,000 Weeks and its uncomfortable thesis that the faster we go, the more we resent the fact that we can't go infinitely fast. The episod...

Adam and Stephen revisit the sabbatical conversation, but with a twist: what if you don't need seven months abroad to get the benefit? After Adam's wife took a one-week retreat and came back changed, the two wrestle with what actually makes time off restorative versus just time off. The episode lands on a surprisingly grounded insight: the value of a sabbatical isn't in finding the right answer, i...

This episode tackles one of the quietest career crises high achievers face: the moment when the habits that made you successful start to hold you back . Adam opens up about a tension he's navigating — that the responsive, task-crushing, people-pleasing work style that earned him every promotion so far is the exact thing standing between him and the next level. Stephen and Adam unpack how identity...

What if you could chase $10M in 10 years… but choosing not to made you feel like you’re wasting your potential? Adam and Stephen dig into the seductive promise (and hidden cost) of money-as-mission. In this episode, we review Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich and wrestle with why it’s both motivating and unsettling. Hill’s framework—clear desire, specific plans, confidence over fear, and...

Welcome to another episode of the Identity Work podcast! This week we welcome CEO, career journeyman, long-time friend, and super fan Brendon Marks. Brendon is the CEO of Capture H2O, a company that provides water treatment services to some of the largest companies in the world. He joins us from San Diego, CA to discuss his career journey and the challenges he's experienced along the way. Our conv...

In this week's episode, Lexi Reiff joins us for a conversation on self-perception and identity. It's a dense but fun one! We discuss the impact of work on personal identity, exploring the evolving self-concept and the question of 'Who Am I?'. We reflect on the challenges of identity shifts and the cultivation of a sense of self, providing insights into the complex relationship between work and per...

Ever felt outside of the 'room where it happens?' We have. This episode dives in to the power of the inner circle based on C.S. Lewis's article on our insatiable desire for joining increasingly exclusive groups. We discuss the power of inner circles, the struggles pursuing them, and better substitutes for that desire. We also delve into the challenges of managing a large quantity of work, the impa...

In this episode, we discuss the NYT's article 'America's Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful, and Miserable' with coach Emma Wood (our first returning guest!). We delve into the negative impact of compounding ease, how to 'friction max', the importance of living purposefully, how experimentation impacts meaning in work, and the challenges of finding authentic purpose. We also explore the fear...

It's challenging to balance work and family life, particularly during the busy holiday season. In this episode, we explore f feeling stretched between growth and exhaustion, the importance of recognition in the workplace to buffer burnout, and the components of good rest. The conversation also touches on the role of technology, particularly AI, in enhancing work efficiency, and some fun personal C...

In this lively discussion about the challenges of balancing work and parenthood, we discuss the importance of recovery, self-care, and maintaining connections through traditions like Christmas cards. We explore the concept of severance in the workplace, share personal anecdotes about parenting, and reflect on the importance of living in the present. The conversation is filled with insights and pra...