Aligned › Engaged › Fulfilled

Clarence Maur Bongalos
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

Why do smart, capable, good people still feel misaligned with the work they do? That's the question Clarence Maur has been exploring across every conversation on Aligned > Engaged > Fulfilled—with compensation experts, leadership professors, brand strategists, career coaches, and executives who've been on both sides of the table. This isn't a podcast about careers or business. It's about the human forces underneath both—and what it actually takes to move from just showing up, to truly thriving. If you've ever felt the gap between the work you do and the life you want, you're in the right place.

  1. 1d ago

    You Can't Perform Confidence: How Given and Chosen Identity Shape a Fulfilling Career

    Summary Some of who you are was handed to you, and some of it you built on purpose. Joining Clarence this week is Corinne "Corinne the Coach" Guirgis, an award-winning influencer marketing strategist turned ADHD confidence coach, traces that line through her own career. She followed a run of right-place, right-time roles into a director title at 23, then lost a mentor and a job in the same month. She rebuilt her work around her gifts and made a pivot that was planned more carefully than it looks from outside. Along the way, we look at what survives when a professional identity disappears, why the people who see what you can't are essential, and why confidence has to come from within, not from a title or a performance review. The thread is that fulfillment depends on knowing which parts of your identity you chose and which you never questioned. Takeaways Not every identity you carry is one you chose. Some are given to you through jobs, labels, and right-place-right-time opportunities.A title can feel right on paper and still be wrong when nothing is built underneath it.Don't make your whole identity your job, because it won't treat you as though it were.A promotion rooted in your gifts lands differently than one rooted in vanity.People are anchors and serve as your feedback loop.The thing you're best at helping others see is often the thing you're blindest to in yourself.You can't perform confidence. It has to be excavated from within.Stories can be rewritten, but the ones in permanent ink are the hardest to let go of, because you're attached to them.Purpose is an anchor, not a destination, and it doesn't have to be chosen on day one.Chapters 00:00 The Quest for Fulfillment 03:35 Navigating Identity and Labels 06:40 The Journey of Corinne Gurgis 09:37 From Struggles to Success in Marketing 12:25 The Weight of Identity and Diagnosis 15:46 The Complexity of Acceptance 18:34 The Impact of Given vs. Chosen Identity 21:21 Lessons from Corporate Experiences 24:21 Finding Stability and Purpose 27:10 The Role of Curiosity in Identity 30:05 Embracing Change and Growth 35:20 The Journey of Self-Discovery and Identity 42:31 Navigating Trauma and Career Transitions 48:36 The Power of Mirrors in Personal Growth 55:19 Navigating Career Transitions: The Deliberate Leap 56:31 Finding Meaning in Marketing: A Personal Journey 59:58 The Balancing Act: Financial Stability and Dreams 01:00:51 Embracing Neurodivergence: The Pressure to Conform 01:01:34 Reclaiming Confidence: The Journey of Self-Discovery 01:05:55 Purpose and Identity: The Mirror of Experience 01:08:00 The Art of Storytelling: Rewriting Your Narrative 01:10:34 Purpose as an Anchor: Aligning Personal and Professional Life Links Work with CorinneCorinne on Social Media: @corinnethecoachNot Another Life Lesson / Corinne's YouTubeGet Aligned with ClarenceKeywords #identity #fulfillment #careerfulfillment #careeridentity #professionalidentity #ADHD #coach #coaching #personalidentity #confidence #clarity #neurodivergent #neurodivergence #neurodivergentwomen

    You Can't Perform Confidence: How Given and Chosen Identity Shape a Fulfilling Career

  2. Sep 29

    Looking Forward and Back: The Janus Plan's Case for Reflection, Intention, and Direction

    Summary On September 6, 1997, Jobert Abueva woke up in a Hong Kong hotel room unable to get out of bed, three and a half years into a nonstop global launch of Clairol Herbal Essences. That collapse became the origin of The Janus Plan, a six-step framework named for the two-faced Roman god of thresholds, built on the idea that real forward motion requires honestly closing the last chapter first. Together with host, Clarence Maur, the conversation moves through the burnout that reshaped Jobert's entire relationship with ambition, what it actually means to close a chapter versus simply moving on, the difference between losing an identity and losing yourself, the cost of suppressing a creative self for decades, and why moving your own goalposts isn't a failure of will but a failure of awareness. Takeaways Closing a chapter isn't the same as getting busy with the next one.Real closure means asking what worked, what to release, and what the actual lesson was.Losing a professional identity isn't the same as losing yourself.We chase success at significant costs, forgetting that we're human and have limits worth considering.Moving your own goalposts isn't a failure of commitment.The real problem with moving the goalposts is not having the self-awareness to notice they moved, and why.Intention starts with honest reflection.Purpose and intention aren't interchangeable.Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the Show and Listener Shoutouts 01:30 Addressing High Achievers Stuck in Transition 02:57 Meet Jobert Abueva: Author of The Janus Plan 05:06 The Hong Kong Hotel Room: Jobert's Burnout 09:10 Why We Ignore Burnout Signals: A Retrospective 11:02 Janus: God of Beginnings, Endings, and Transitions 14:15 Can Fulfillment Be Felt in the Moment? 18:18 Fulfillment as a Continuum: The Role of Intention 21:37 What Does Closing A Chapter Truly Mean? 24:44 The Inherent Self Beneath Lost Identity 27:41 When Your Creative Voice Goes Quiet 30:56 The Role of Feedback in Our Fulfillment Journey 36:52 Two Approaches to Life: Reflect or Build? 40:28 The Messy Threshold of Leaving Corporate Life 42:29 Returning to Corporate: A Sabbatical's Impact 48:12 The Awareness of Moving Your Own Goalposts 52:48 Understanding the Six Steps of The Janus Plan 56:09 Is Reflection Just Another High Achiever Metric? 57:33 The Evolving Relationship Between Purpose and Intention 1:00:20 Ambition, Reflection, Intention, Reinvention: A Journey 1:01:35 The Unanswered Question: Can I Do It? 1:04:19 Where to Find Jobert Abueva and The Janus Plan 1:06:08 Reflect, Intend, and Transform Your Life Links The Janus PlanJobert's TEDx TalkConnect with JobertConnect with ClarenceWork with ClarenceKeywords #thejanusplan #fulfillment #reflection #intention #burnout #career #careerbreak #identity #quittingcorporate #careertransition #careerchange #careerpivot #growth #purpose #findingfulfillment

    Looking Forward and Back: The Janus Plan's Case for Reflection, Intention, and Direction

  3. Sep 22

    From Contributor to Creator: Quitting Corporate to Find Fulfillment in Content

    Summary In this episode, Clarence sits down with lifelong friend John "Jopi" Consignado—Air Force veteran, former corporate HR leader, and now co-host of the Reddit on Wiki podcast—to trace his path from military service through corporate HR (Wyndham, AWS, Gartner) into full-time content creation. The conversation covers what drove John's leap from a stable HR career into podcasting and content creation, the personal losses (his father's death, back-to-back layoffs) that pushed him to commit to content full time, the discipline and skills that carried over from his military and HR background, and how he and his wife weathered near-broke early years before building a devoted fanbase—one that sold out a live show and drove fans to travel across the continent to meet them. They close on identity, immigrant expectations around achievement, and why John's decision to pursue a master's degree now is about reclaiming fulfillment on his own terms rather than checking a box for others. Takeaways The path to fulfillment is not a linear one, driven by personal experiences and our changing identity throughout the seasons of life.Loss and hardship have a way of clarifying what actually matters, forcing decisions we'd otherwise keep delaying.Transitioning from a traditional career to content creation comes with both challenges and rewards and requires personal growth and resilience.Skills rarely stay in the field where you learned them; discipline, empathy, and listening transfer across entirely different careers.Failure is data, not a verdict; the lesson matters more than the setback.Pursuing something for yourself, rather than to satisfy other people's expectations, is its own form of maturity.The people closest to you often see your next step before you do. Chapters 00:00 The Journey to Fulfillment03:06 From Corporate Contributor to Content Creator07:19 Navigating Life's Seasons16:16 The Impact of Career Transitions25:22 Reevaluating Success and Identity33:36 Identity and Pursuit of Growth34:43 Job, Identity, and Opportunity35:36 Success and Fulfillment in Content Creation36:46 Impact of Content Creation on Mental Health37:14 Defining Moments and Gratitude41:28 Skills from Military Service and HR Work42:07 Overcoming Challenges in Content Creation52:11 The Cringe Factor and Content Creation55:43 Content Creation as a Real Job58:13 Journey and Fulfillment in Life01:02:28 Importance of Altruism and Community01:04:45 Advice for Aspiring Content Creators01:05:38 Reflections on the Journey Links Reddit on Wiki Podcast@johnspovertyConnect with ClarenceTake the Alignment AssessmentWork with ClarenceKeywords #content #contentcreator #careerchange #careerpivot #humanresources #hr #podcast #podcasting #identity #immigrant

    From Contributor to Creator: Quitting Corporate to Find Fulfillment in Content

  4. Sep 15

    The Entrepreneurship of Life: Finding Fulfillment Through A Portfolio Career

    Summary In this episode, host Clarence Maur explores the concept of fulfillment through non-traditional pathways, such as the portfolio career. Cliff Beach, award-winning musician, author of the Side Hustle and Flow series, radio host, and business executive, joins the show to unpack what he calls "the entrepreneurship of life": the idea that whether you're building your own dream or someone else's, fulfillment comes down to mindset, not job title. Through his story, Cliff traces his own portfolio career across music, marketing, media, and entrepreneurship, drawing examples from some of the most prolific companies and public figures to make the case that growth-minded people treat the impossible as a starting point, not a stop sign. Takeaways Fulfillment isn't a fixed state, but a pursuit that constantly evolves.You're either building your own dream or building someone else's, and neither choice is inherently better.Growth mindset means believing in limitless potential; a scarcity mindset assumes there's no "more" to reach for.Some of the biggest breakthroughs only worked because people kept asking "why not?" long after everyone else gave up.You don't need a full 100% commitment to a passion for it to be worthwhile.High achievers often sacrifice health for output, and forsaking your body eventually turns you into a liability, not an asset.Being present is a discipline: don't spend vacation thinking about work, or work wishing you were on vacation.Nobody is truly self-made; meaningful growth requires the vulnerability of relying on other people.You can find fulfillment through non-traditional pathways that allow you to pursue multiple passions.Everyone's lives are already naturally a portfolio. Chapters 00:00 Exploring Fulfillment Through Non-Traditional Pathways 03:43 Understanding Fulfillment as an Evolving Journey 07:16 From Childhood to Purpose: A Journey of Growth 12:57 Overcoming Limits and Setting Ambitious Goals 16:48 Embracing the Entrepreneurial Mindset for Life 22:50 Why A Musician Pursued an MBA for Longevity 26:21 Balancing Passion with Business in Your Career 32:34 From Imposter to Author: The Writing Journey 39:12 Cultivating Hustle and Building A Portfolio Career 46:51 Recognizing the Need for A Portfolio Approach 52:05 Is A Growth Mindset Necessary for True Fulfillment? 55:10 The Overachiever's Struggle to Find A Partner 01:00:11 Don't Forsake Your Body: Hustle Healthier Links Connect with CliffConnect with ClarenceTake Clarence's Alignment Assessment Keywords #fulfillment #portfoliocareer #entrepreneurship #alignment #purposedriven #career #growthmindset #transformation #sidehustle

    The Entrepreneurship of Life: Finding Fulfillment Through A Portfolio Career

  5. Sep 8

    Finding Fulfillment: Where Talent, Opportunity, and Technology Intersect

    Summary In this episode, Clarence Maur delves into the intersection of personal talent and timely opportunity as the foundation for fulfillment. Together with Gerard Holland, they explore the impact of AI technology on career sustainability and the importance of a curious attitude and continuous learning as the pathways to fulfillment are redefined in the modern workplace. The discussion also highlights the significance of building sustainable employment and the multiplier effect of creating positive impact, the changing nature of career fulfillment, and the need for resilience and curiosity in navigating the evolving landscape. Takeaways Fulfillment sits at the intersection of personal talent and timely opportunity.Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and technology is the key to closing the gap.The attitude of curiosity and a willingness to learn and adapt is crucial for career sustainability.Curiosity as a key characteristic for navigating the changing landscapeThe importance of putting in the work and effort to create opportunities Chapters 00:00 Building Sustainable Employment and Impact38:33 The Advantage of Experience41:30 The Two Buckets of People44:15 The Impact of AI on the Job Market48:51 Global Resourcing and Workforce Changes01:00:54 Structural Changes for AI Adoption01:03:13 The Future of Career Fulfillment01:09:03 Building Resilience in Times of Change Links Gerard on LinkedInAbout TalentMatch AfricaClarence on LinkedInTake the Alignment AssessmentWork with Clarence Keywords #career #business #fulfillment #personaldevelopment #artificialintelligence #ai #leadership #growth #careerdevelopment

    Finding Fulfillment: Where Talent, Opportunity, and Technology Intersect

  6. Sep 1

    It's Not Discipline, It's Identity: The Real Reason Habits Don't Stick

    Summary In this episode, Clarence delves into the role of identity in habit change in the pursuit of fulfillment. Connie Kwan, founder of StoryHabits and CEO of Product Maestro, joins Clarence to unpack why habit change so often fails. Not from a lack of discipline, but because the habit isn't anchored to an identity the person already holds. Drawing on her time leading product at a smoking-cessation company and her own winding career across product leadership, journalism, and entrepreneurship, Connie walks through her STORY framework for finding a habit anchor that actually sticks, why external rewards can undermine internal motivation, and how this plays out in a job market where old habits (like scattershot applications) no longer work. The conversation also digs into identity as something plural and shifting across a lifetime, and the conscious choice involved in deciding which version of yourself to become next. Takeaways Finding fulfillment is a continuous journey that requires the right habits that support the process.Habits fail because they're anchored to an aspiration instead of an identity you already hold.The clearest predictor of whether a hard habit change will stick is the story behind it.Identity and self-awareness are crucial in understanding and navigating one's habits and choices.A lot of identity misalignment lives in the gap between your internal values and how you present yourself outwardly.A mirror, whether that's a coach, a spouse, or an AI tool, is a required part of the process, not a shortcut.The job market and job-seeking habits are evolving, requiring a shift from a scatter approach to a more targeted and intentional approach. Chapters 00:00 The Pursuit of Fulfillment03:13 Identity and Habit Change13:17 Career Trajectory and Multipassionate Pursuits22:20 The Power of Storytelling in Habit Change28:16 Anchoring New Habits to Existing Values30:42 Understanding Personal Programming34:01 Anchoring Habits to Values39:15 Identity and Fulfillment43:52 Identity and Purpose50:26 Multiple Purposes and Identities59:36 Cherry Picking Identity01:00:53 Identity and Labels01:01:32 Uncovering Internal Narratives01:02:38 Choosing Suffering and Identity01:03:00 Inventory of Fulfillment01:04:17 Choosing Your Suffering01:05:23 New Possibilities and Identity01:06:15 Conscious Choice in Identity01:07:41 Reevaluating Comfort and Freedom01:09:11 Building New Habits01:13:09 Changing Job-Seeking Habits01:18:45 Prioritizing Habit Change01:22:14 Empowerment Through Habits01:23:39 Job and Identity Alignment Links About Connie's BookConnie's SubstackConnect with ConnieConnect with ClarenceTake My Alignment Assessment Keywords #identity #habits #habitchange #story #storytelling #storyhabits #behavior #purpose

    It's Not Discipline, It's Identity: The Real Reason Habits Don't Stick

  7. Aug 25

    Decoding Purpose: The Foundation of a Fulfilling Career

    Summary The impact of the global pandemic and the Great Resignation have led to a search for meaning and a shift in the value of living purpose-driven lives. In this season of The Aligned › Engaged › Fulfilled Podcast, we're exploring the one thing we're all in search of: fulfillment. To kick off the season, Suneet Bhatt shares his journey to purpose and discusses the urgency of purpose in the current human experience. The conversation delves into the foundational importance of understanding one's purpose and the alignment of values. It explores the process of uncovering patterns and strengths, building momentum, getting unstuck, and finding self-forgiveness. Takeaways Most purpose frameworks fail because they assume self-awareness that most people don't have yet.You have to know yourself before you can make sense of your purpose.People reach for purpose frameworks in moments of crisis, not clarity, and end up chasing whatever feels urgent rather than what actually sustains them.The thing we're actually meant to do for others is often the thing we're most blind to in ourselves.We don't see ourselves clearly in the mirror because we're not seeing the reflection. We're seeing it filtered through unprocessed baggage, regrets, and uncounted wins.Purpose and fulfillment are not the same thing: purpose leads the horse to water, fulfillment is the choice to drink.Alignment isn't a state you reach once and stay in. It's an ongoing process of realigning as you grow, change, and evolve.Happiness isn't the goal—it's the precursor to purpose, and it works best as a reflection on what's already made you happy, not a prediction of what will. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Season 301:29 The Impact of the Global Pandemic02:29 The Great Resignation and the Search for Meaning03:28 Understanding Purpose as an Anchor04:53 Suneet Bhatt's Journey to Purpose05:36 The Shift in Value of Living Purpose-Driven Lives13:02 The Human Forces and the Urgency of Purpose20:46 The Purpose Paradox and the Mirror Concept26:23 Making Sense of Yourself Before Purpose34:55 The Missing Prerequisite: Alignment35:54 The Foundation of Purpose36:23 Uncovering Patterns and Strengths37:16 Building Momentum38:33 Getting Unstuck and Moving Forward40:19 Self-Forgiveness and Setting Intentions42:05 Finding Your Kiran43:04 Purpose as Evolutionary and Iterative44:32 The Precursor to Purpose47:45 Happiness as a Precursor to Purpose01:06:04 Creating a Purpose-Driven Culture Links Suneet Bhatt on LinkedInGet Your Copy of "Making Sense of Purpose"Work with SuneetClarence on LinkedInGet Aligned with ClarenceTake the Alignment Assessment Keywords #purpose #fulfillment #alignment #self-awareness #leadership

    Decoding Purpose: The Foundation of a Fulfilling Career

  8. Jun 2

    The Global Engagement Crisis: Gallup's 2026 Workplace Report Through an Alignment Lens

    Summary All season, we explored what it actually takes for a human being to engage with their work. For the Season 2 finale, Clarence goes solo—no guest, just the data and the alignment lens. He breaks down Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace Report and connects its most important findings to everything Season 2 has been building toward. The result is a perspective the report itself doesn't offer: a clear, honest argument for why the global engagement crisis isn't a motivation problem, but a structural misalignment problem. And those, he argues, are solved very differently. Takeaways Global employee engagement fell to 20% in 2025, the first two-consecutive-year decline in Gallup's entire tracking history.Disengagement isn't a motivation problem. When no region of the world improves, that's a structural misalignment problem.Alignment starts at the base of Maslow's pyramid. Compensation and safety needs must be met before engagement is even possible.Manager engagement has dropped nine points since 2022, erasing the engagement premium managers once held over individual contributors.70% of team engagement is attributable to the manager, making the manager collapse the single most consequential finding in the report.AI adoption inside organizations isn't a technology problem. It's a human conditions problem. The strongest predictor of adoption is whether the manager champions it.The US job market is frozen, trapping people in misaligned roles with no clear path out.Leaders are lonelier, heavier, and more emotionally burdened than their headline wellbeing scores suggest and that burden flows downstream.Equity is the structural condition that determines whether the conditions for alignment are equally available to everyone in the room.The gap between 22% and 79% manager engagement isn't a talent gap. It's a decision gap between organizations that build the conditions for alignment and those that hope engagement shows up on its own. Chapters 00:00 The Crisis of Connection09:42 Manager Engagement and Team Alignment18:19 AI Investment and Organizational Impact24:30 The Frozen Job Market and Misalignment30:14 Leadership, Stress, and Emotional Burden Links Clarence on LinkedInTake the Alignment AssessmentSchedule a ConsultationGallup 2026 State of the Global Workplace ReportSubscribe & Listen to the Podcast Keywords #employee engagement #Gallup #workplace #managerengagement #futureofwork #AI #employeeengagement #leadership #wellbeing #jobmarket

    The Global Engagement Crisis: Gallup's 2026 Workplace Report Through an Alignment Lens
See All (38)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Why do smart, capable, good people still feel misaligned with the work they do? That's the question Clarence Maur has been exploring across every conversation on Aligned > Engaged > Fulfilled—with compensation experts, leadership professors, brand strategists, career coaches, and executives who've been on both sides of the table. This isn't a podcast about careers or business. It's about the human forces underneath both—and what it actually takes to move from just showing up, to truly thriving. If you've ever felt the gap between the work you do and the life you want, you're in the right place.

Information

  • Creator
    Clarence Maur Bongalos
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Clarence Maur Bongalos