People of Purpose

Known worldwide for pursuing an incredible list of 100 Things that he wants to achieve before he dies, Sebastian Terry's story is surprisingly not about a bucket list. It's about something more far-reaching: permission, choice, growth and connection. Affected by a curious mind and the death of a close friend, Sebastian experienced a moment in his life where he asked himself a simple question: 'Am...

Michael Steger is a professor of psychology and founding director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose at Colorado State University. For more than 15 years, he has researched how people flourish by living a meaningful life. Michael has published more than 100 scholarly journal articles and book chapters, as well as three books. He was recently named as an Extraordinary Professor by North-West Uni...

Jill Payne lives her life at a 10! An energy-positive, highly trained motivational speaker and celebrity trainer, Jill isn't one to tread lightly when it comes to transformation. Jill first brought her unique brand of energy management to the public as Spiritual Athlete, a program she created that focuses on cultivating joy and vitality through functional movement and intentional exercise. With a...

Jace Nath is a 19 year old junior studying at the University of the Pacific. He is majoring in International Studies with a concentration in International Relations, and is minoring in Chinese. A Stockton native, Jace has had the wonderful privilege of being able to travel around the world and familiarize himself with new places. Since his childhood, Jace has had a passion for learning languages a...

Andy is a Bay Area-based conscious entrepreneur who envisions a world in which technology supports humans being. A digital native who struggled with tech addiction for over a decade, he is currently working on Siempo to give people their lives back and help them flourish. Siempo's first product is an  Android app that transforms your phone into a healthier digital experience. Andy is also passiona...

In today's final Why PoP episode I discuss how I use gratitude to create an infectious optimism that spurs me into bold actions which allow me to  live the life I was meant to. I started People of Purpose out of my appreciation for a second chance at life. In the episode I discuss how I analyzed my inner gifts lying on the mountainside in 2011 what I've done and continue to do to capitalize on tha...

Chicago Cubs Mental Skills Coordinator, Darnell McDonald, is a yoga and mindfulness coach to the major league baseball team. Darnell is a former MLB player for the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and the Chicago Cubs. His motto is: "The sky is not the limit; the mind is." April 20, 2010 Darnell became the ninth player to hit a home run for the Red Sox in his fir...

In today's Why PoP episode I discuss how to purposefully navigate the real world through actionable steps for success. I discuss why People of Purpose is designed to help you believe in yourself and how mindfulness, meditation, and yoga help to get to a place where you trust what you know about yourself. I talk about how to create clarity, educate your dreams, take steps for gaining experience, ba...

Russ is one of six children born and raised in rural Kansas. He was the first in his family to go to college. He graduated with honors in accounting and went to work for one of the big accounting firms. He married 3 years out of school. He was then self-employed for several years. Russ moved to Chicago and joined the trading software firm, Trading Technologies in 1998. He was part of the executive...

I recently attended Sadhguru's Two-day Inner Engineering Course here in San Francisco. The course provides tools and solutions to empower yourself to create your life the way you want it. The course gives you the opportunity to intellectually explore the basics of life using methods that are from the distilled essence of yogic sciences. The course imparts practical wisdom to manage your body, mind...

Marco Gonzalez, is the director of  Yahad-In Unum  ("Together In One"), is a Paris-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering genocidal practices wherever they are found around the world, providing documented proof of crimes against humanity, and a leading voice of protest on behalf of all past and present victims of mass murder.    In accord with its original mission, Yahad – In Unum...

In this special one-of-a-kind episode I, Tanur Badgley, am interviewed by two close friends who have been instrumental in the creation of People of Purpose. These two sisters round out my Life Design Team. In this episode they expertly navigate an interview that leads me to share insights and experiences from the completion of Year 1 of People of Purpose. We dissect the origins of the podcast, how...

This week's episode is the third episode in our 5-part Why PoP series. This series delves into the myriad of reasons why and how I'm doubling down on my commitment to People of Purpose as I enter this year as a full-time graduate school student, middle-school teacher in San Francisco, and host of People of Purpose podcast. Today's episode is about: How the People of Purpose mindset helps me to gro...

Andy Gonzalez  has been the Co-Founder and Marketing Director for the Holistic Life Foundation, Inc. in Baltimore, MD since 2001.  For sixteen years, Andy has taught yoga to diverse populations throughout the world, including Baltimore City Public School students, drug treatment centers, mental crisis facilities, homeless shelters, wellness centers, colleges, private schools and other various venu...

This week's episode is the second episode in our 5-part Why PoP series. This series delves into the myriad of reasons why and how I'm doubling down on my commitment to People of Purpose as I enter this year as a full-time graduate school student, middle-school teacher in San Francisco, and host of People of Purpose podcast. Today's episode is about how and why I have been encouraged to take big le...

Jeanette Wood is a mom to 11 and grandmother to 4.  Her and her husband gave birth to six and adopted five.  Jeanette, or Mrs. Wood as many call her speaks often on how we can positively change our communities and relationships. One of her most popular topics is the power of intentionality, and maximizing ordinary moments. She has spent the last twenty years being a personal mentor to thousands of...

This week's episode is the first episode in our 5-part Why PoP series. This series delves into the myriad of reasons why and how I'm doubling down on my commitment to People of Purpose as I enter this year as a full-time graduate school student, middle-school teacher in San Francisco, and host of People of Purpose podcast. Today's episode is about my purpose and how PoP grows me into purpose. I fe...

Jeff Baxter is a graduate of the University of Kansas with Bachelor's Degrees in Education and English and a Master's Degree in Secondary Education.  He also has a Juris Doctorate from Washburn University School of Law. Mr. Baxter has taught every level and grade of middle and high school students in his thirty plus years of teaching -- from non-readers to National Merit Finalists.  He is passiona...

This week's episode is an introduction to a 5-part series I'm launching called Why PoP. This series delves into the myriad of reasons why and how I'm doubling down on my commitment to People of Purpose as I enter this year as a full-time graduate school student and middle-school teacher in San Francisco. I preview the upcoming topic areas in this new five part Why PoP series and go over some of th...

This week is a one-of-a-kind episode in which I interview 10 people from my Master's of Education graduate school program. Each of us comes from different backgrounds into the same program. I thought it would be interesting to give you a glimpse of the immense sense of purpose each one is bringing into their teaching and education youth in urban, public charter schools in California. The cohort is...

Dr. Lori Desautels is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at Butler University teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in applied educational neuroscience. Lori's passion is engaging her students through neuroscience in education and integrating Mind Brain Teaching and Learning Strategies into her courses at Butler University. She is also co-teaching in a middle school classroom...

Barbara Stegenga and Robin Sizemore fulfill their purposes training children into mindful superheroes. If you walked into their classroom you'd find elementary school kids leading each other in a meditation and helping each other stay calm in times of need. These are not your ordinary heroes. These are SUPERHEROES. Barb and Robin, rather Batman and Robin, have been helping kids cultivate these ski...

Simone and Malcolm Collins are co-authors of the book  The Pragmatist's Guide To Life : A Guide to Creating Your Own Answers to Life's Biggest Questions. Their book is a ruthlessly pragmatic guide to creating your own answers to life's biggest questions.   Each of this book's four chapters covers one of the most important questions a person must ask themselves: Rather than give you answers to thes...

This week is a special episode about the seven podcasts of purpose that I listen to. I find so much purpose and inspiration from podcasts to help me make better decisions in my life, ask right"er" questions, find calm, learn resources to fuel my soul-inspired endeavors, and do something interesting, productive, and purposeful in my free time. The potential for podcasts to change your life is huge....

Darrin and Olivier live in rural Cambodia where they have started an organic farming project called OrganiKH in Darrin's home village of Sveychek. Darrin has a remarkable story of being driven out of her hometown due to the Khmer Rouge's repressive regime in the early 90's. Struggling to make a livelihood, her family sent her to Thailand on her own when she was 13. By the time she came back to Cam...