True Calling Project | Finding Purpose And Meaning In Life And Career

Dr Gary Brown is a licensed psychotherapist who has been in private practice for over 30 years. His primary focus is helping people connect to themselves and other people at a deeper level than what they might be used to, and his years of practicing have led to a number of interesting opportunities. In recent years, Gary has experienced a unique level of continuity of care: he has second-generation patients. Couples he worked with 10 to 20 years ago are now referring their adolescent children to his practice. Gary is able to see first hand how all sorts of traits travel through families. Not just mental health, but also physical, biological and emotional traits. Gary also has years of experience working in crisis intervention (which is, unfortunately, constantly relevant). During his time working with the the survivors of terror attacks and disasters, Gary has learned strategies that anyone can employ to mitigate the impact of shared trauma. The 24-hour news cycle gives us too much exposure to these traumati

Talking with a friend recently about the nature of low mood and low energy, or depression, and how it can help us bring clarity to our current situation. But only if we suspend judgement of what we are experiencing. I really think the Buddhists had something when they taught about releasing judgement. Notice how much easier life is when you are not judging your current situation, your relationships, your mood, your surroundings (gasp...politics). If we value ourselves and what we can bring to others and the world, we first have to get out of our own way. And to do that, we have to leave the judgement behind. Let others be the judge, we just need to focus on allowing ourselves to put out there what we need to. Subscribe to the True Calling Project podcast on iTunes. And find it here:www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/category/truecallingproject/

Today’s guest, Kosta Stoyanoff, isn’t your typical positive speaker. He is the Founder of Uplifted Life, where he tries to remind people that there is more to life than what they have been conditioned to experience, and more to them than they could have ever imagined. We discuss how we can find the part of ourselves that will be essential if we want the world to change, and why we need to look internally – not externally – if we want to create that change. I was first introduced to Kosta through his video, “A Reminder To All Activists.” He discusses why activists need to come from a space of love, compassion, gentleness, and kindness. Who you are is more important than the fists in the air, the rallies, or the posters. If you are angry, resentful, and full of toxicity and you are trying to change the world, you’re not part of the solution – you’re part of the problem. Some will argue that we have to resist loudly and aggressively if we want change, and his own ideas about activism have received some resistan

Being afraid of pissing people off might be the #1 dream killer of all time. I was reflecting this week on how overly cautious we can tend to be (me included) when it comes to not wanting to possibly offending someone else. As if going through life solely to be polite can get us what we need...or be able to become what we were meant to become. Conflict is a part of life and relationships. We can't run from that or simply appease. When we are going after what we want our actions might hurt other people. But that doesn't mean it's always our problem, or our fault...or a bad thing. When we all show up as ourselves, we might piss each other off. But is that always a bad thing? Subscribe to the True Calling Project podcast on iTunes or find it here: www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/category/truecallingproject/

Today our guest, Michael Kuhn, shares a powerful story about transformation, presence, relationships, and the metaphysical aspects of life (and death). Michael struggled with relationships and substance abuse for much of his early adulthood. After waking up in a jail cell, he decided he had to make a change. The need for knowledge became his new addiction. After almost drowning, his perspective was changed further. Michael believes that our goal as a species, and consciousness in general, is service to others. Intentionally living a life driven by your want and need to help others is the ultimate form of love. Michael’s journey towards discovery and transformation was a long and tumultuous one, but he shares it with others so that we can be inspired and learn from his experience. “Don’t live our life only for you. It’s pointless. When you wake up and you help others, you get so much more out of that than striving to buy or do something for yourself ... Striving to be a better person and help others as much as

What is it about relationships that we find so rewarding?  What kind of people do we gravitate towards?  Is it their words?  Is it their advice?  When we have a good, solid, friendship or relationship, and connection with someone what are they doing that makes it so?  What can we focus on in our relationships to enhance our connection with others?  Subscribe to the True Calling Project podcast on iTunes and find it here:  www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/category/truecallingproject/

Death is a unique process in human experience in that it can only be directly experienced by the participant, and it cannot be recorded. In almost everything else in life, people are ready and willing to offer advice… but, in this one area, they can’t. Bryan Wright, like many of us, is fascinated by this unknown, yet ubiquitous, experience. He is a student of Thanatology – the study of death, dying, and related processes – and he’s on the show today to discuss the postmodern phenomenon of denying death and the transformative power of the grieving process. Throughout much of history, death was considered an important part of the continuum of life and a community experience. Everyone and everything died, and the whole tribe was part of it. Western society has largely lost touch with that continuum. In Western society, we don’t often participate in the natural grief process. We often use the word recovery to describe that experience, but the field of Thanatology is moving away from the language of recovery becau

NSFW. Or maybe it's AFW (appropriate for work). This isn't clickbait. Because clickbait is bullshit. This is about smiling through and letting go of a lot of what we get tied up in on a day to day basis. Do we really HAVE to put our energies and efforts into things that we can't control? Do we HAVE to play along with things even though we know they're bullshit? Like in the Emperor's New Clothes, we all know when we SEE bullshit, but we also have a keen sense of FEELING into bullshit. Trust your gut. But for today you can just practice with how good it feels to call a spade a spade by hearing yourself say the words "bullshit" and smile a bit. It'll make your day a little bit better.  Find the True Calling Project podcast on iTunes and also find it here:  www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/category/truecallingproject/

Today’s guest, Trevor Oldham, is a 20-year-old college student and co-founder of Become The Lion, one of the top ranked motivational blogs. Trevor has entrepreneurship in his blood, and he’s been running businesses since he was a kid. When Trevor was 17, he had success importing phone cases from China and selling them. It was a profitable business, but he decided that he needed to do something with more purpose and impact. At the age of 18, Trevor co-founded Become the Lion so that he could inspire millennials to become the best versions of themselves. One thing that Trevor learned early on is that, in order to become your best self, you have to ask for help – on top of that, he learned that many people are actually happy to offer help. He reached out to other entrepreneurs already running successful businesses, and he was able to learn a lot from them. Taking a chance and reaching out to Jon Gordon, author of The Seed, gave Trevor a helpful nudge towards finding his purpose. No matter where you are in your j

Funny how we fail to appreciate our impact on the people around us and our environment both in a positive and negative way.  We judge our impact as negligible when we are really the one's that need to be judging.  All our job is to express and create and leave the judging to others.  People will receive the impact of our actions regardless of what we think about them.  How can we be more intentional in what we do in a positive way?  In a way that is a true expression of who we are?  Taking notice about our negative influence and not turning a cheek on that either.  We're all small pieces in the world but equally important pieces.  What ripple do you want to set out into the world?  Because it matters.  Subscribe to the True Calling Project podcast on iTunes and find it here: www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/category/truecallingproject/

Listen up control freaks and self care junkies! This is for you. And for me. I'm done. Tired. Spent. Things are reaching their limit here with my business. But this time, instead of trying to self medicate the stress with "self care", I'm going to listen to it. Instead of trying to strangle control and lessen my anxiety, I'm going to let go. Not only that, I'm going to double down on listening to my stress and double down on letting go of control. We'll see how it goes. What's going on in your life that you're trying to over manage? What's getting in the way of what you want and value and what can you let go of to help you get closer to it? Subscribe to the True Calling Project podcast on iTunes and find it here: www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/category/truecallingproject/

Interesting opportunities are coming up lately.  Things that I never would have imagined even 3 or 4 years ago.  What if our limited mindset really is the problem? We try to seek certainty before we act thinking there should be this clear linear pattern from which to base our decisions from.  We think we know something until something new shows up in our lives. What's right in front of us right now that's trying to get our attention? Are we looking to only act on things that we are certain will "pay off" or are we willing to see what's "behind door number 2"?  What opportunities are possible to us if we allow ourselves to just...take..that step...that's right in front of us.  And then see where it takes us. Interested in learning more about how I can help you through coaching?  Find out more at www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/individual-coaching/  

Frances Harvey is a Professional Certified Coach targeted directly towards therapists and mental health clinicians, providing support, advice and all manner of help so they can reach their goal of running a successful practice and business. In this episode, we talk a lot about the idea of letting go. We all know that trust is important in so many aspects of our everyday lives, so how do we put this to use in our businesses? And what are the benefits? It may be a daunting task to ‘let go’ and open yourself up to trust, being vulnerable, but many times, that’s when we are fully able to allow the new to come into our lives and businesses. “Make a list of everything on your plate. When you go to do that task, ask yourself “Should I be doing this? I know it needs to be done, but should ‘I’ be the one doing it?”” Frances believes that therapists are simply called to do what they do, and that being able to successfully run a business around that calling is essential. In spite of this, many therapists lack the knowle

When should I push through and suck it up?  This comes up a lot for me. When do I push through and when is it ok to let go and relax? When is it time to step it up and when is it ok to take a break? If we only push ourselves all the time we'll burn out. If we only chill out and take it easy, we'll never move forward or grow. And there can be alot of guilt and angst about not pushing it hard all the time.  Knowing why we're doing what we're doing and implementing a plan and cycle in our actions and goal setting can help. Limiting and making boundaries to "go all out" as well as a time to step back and recuperate. Planning and executing both. Room for engaging as well as releasing.  Interested in learning more about how I can help you through coaching?  Find out more at www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/individual-coaching/

Feeling especially reflective when I recorded this on Monday. Thinking about the things that I've tried and failed at over the course of my life, but especially in the last 5 years. Anything and everything that was not tied into a clear heartfelt purpose that could answer a "why" for me, didn't pan out. I was left feeling empty and not so fulfilled. The "jokes on me" kind of feeling. Not that it wasn't an important lesson, it was and continues to be. Chasing a "thing", the "idea of something", or the allure of something to make me more than what I already possess, is an illusion. Getting clearer on my overall "why" and I encourage others to do that questioning for themselves. Funny, because it seems like a good time to do so as structures and concepts fall apart all around us. Cutting through the BS. Not looking for something outside of you to make or break you. It's all about you. You are enough.  Interested in learning more about how I can help you through coaching?  Find out more at www.johnharrisoncounsel

Sharon Martin, LCSW, is dedicated to helping busy adults and teens in Silicon Valley manage stress in order to promote peace, balance, and happiness in their lives. In today’s episode, we discuss how self-esteem and negative self-talk affect this balance and happiness, and how people who work with children can foster a positive sense of self-worth in the next generation. We all tell ourselves a story about ourselves, which is impacted by the messages we hear every day, and this self-talk influences our sense of self.   Because the messages other people tell us influence our story, we often end up defining ourselves based on other people and a sense of relative achievement… but that is a quick path to negativity. Our sense of self has to be driven by what feels right, not what the outside world says is the right thing. Of course, this isn’t always easy – life is distracting, and the people in your life might contribute to this negative self-talk. On top of that, negative self-talk often tells us that we’re alo

As a introvert myself, I'm going to call out all the other introverts that use introversion as an excuse to hide. While there is nothing wrong with being an introvert, it can provide a slippery excuse to maintain a quiet voice, a muted personality, or even a depressed and miserable state of being. Introverts gather their energies from being reflective and having times of solitude or being around similar people. Here are some reasons that introverts use the "introvert excuse" when minimizing their message or presence. 1. Being afraid of being seen as cocky or arrogant. 2. Feeling as though they don't have "sufficient knowledge" about what they wish to express. 3. Introverts tend to be analytical in nature and therefore can be acutely critical of themselves and their beliefs. However, many introverts are not actually introverted in nature when talking about, expressing, or creating the things they most believe in and affiliate with. It's ok to be an introvert but don't let the excuse of being an introvert allow

Of all of the insights and practical advice that I have heard in the past few years, the one that has made all of the difference is that "if we want to make lasting and significant change in our lives, we have to sometimes do things we don't want to do."  If we only listen to our feelings, our whims, our mood, our problems...we'll never be able to maintain consistency.  We have to rise above our cravings and impulses and force ourselves to show up on the days, and in the places, we don't want to.  When we do this, and transcend our old habits, we can open up space for new things to come in and the rest will take care of itself.  Just show up! Don't wait until you feel like doing it. Interested in learning more about how I can help you through coaching?  Find out more at www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/individual-coaching/

Why are we in such a rush to get somewhere we currently aren't?  When we are constantly bombarded with messages that glamorize the final product we tend to skip over our own process and the necessary steps in our process.  We are all addicted.  Addictions are not just about substances in our mind but also are concepts, false ideas, and unrealistic expectations that take us away from the important place that we currently are.  Embracing the process, honoring it, and listening and learning to what it is teaching us in the moment.   Interested in learning more about how I can help you through coaching?  Find out more at www.johnharrisoncounseling.com/individual-coaching/

Do you ever feel lost or burnt out due to the stress of running a business, or life in general? Jo Muirhead has been there – and now she helps others search for awareness so that they can more easily build a life around their true calling. Jo is an author, speaker, private practice mentor, and rehabilitation consultant. As the director and principal consultant of Purple Co, the Purpose for People Company, she helps people return to work and reconnect to a sense of purpose following injury, illness, or trauma. Jo has a lot of success, and she’s finally built a business that doesn’t cause her to burn out… but only after years of trial and error. During that time, her business suffered as her health declined. Eventually Jo learned that she doesn’t need to run her business based off of anyone else’s template. If we learn more about our values and how we operate, then we can build structures, systems, and schedules that contribute to our own self-care (instead of necessitating care), while still allowing us to gro