Second Calling

Bradley Wright PhD
  • 5.0 (57)
  • Careers

Second Calling is a podcast for professionals at an inflection point—when the path they have been following no longer feels quite right, but what comes next has not yet come into view. Host Bradley Wright, a sociologist who studies purpose and change, talks with people who have navigated meaningful professional transitions and with experts who can help us understand what those moments require. The show explores both the inner and practical work of a next chapter: recognizing when something is ending, loosening an identity built around the old path, imagining credible alternatives, testing possibilities, and moving toward work with greater purpose. Formerly The School of Purpose.

  1. 06/08/2022

    #100. Is Purpose a Mission Statement or an Action? Psychologist and Author Todd Kashdan

    How we understand purpose in life affects what we do to obtain it. How can we gain a more robust understanding of what purpose is?Todd Kashdan is a professor of psychology at George Mason University where he studies purpose and other facets of well-being. He's currently working on an article that reconceptualizes the concept of purpose. In this episode, he shares how we can think about purpose more accurately. In this episode, you'll learn about: Purpose as articulated understanding vs. behaviorRecognizing other people's purposeHow we spend our time, money, and energy point to what's purposeful to usDoes acting purposefully require making other people's lives better?Excavating our strengthsTodd's links WebsiteBooksInstagram***Want to connect? Email me at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com or connect on my LinkedIn page. Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

    #100. Is Purpose a Mission Statement or an Action? Psychologist and Author Todd Kashdan

  2. 06/01/2022

    #99. Fully Living Your Dream Life: 14-Year Sailing Family Jamie and Behan Gifford

    What would your life look like if you devoted everything to following your dreams?The Giffords did just that. In 2002, they realized they wanted something different than the typical American life of house and job. They created a six-year plan to live sailing about the world with their three children. Since 2008, they have done just that. As a family, they go where their sails take them.In this episode, you'll learn about: Converting "someday" plans to "now" plansMaking long-term plans for purposeCreating a map of dreamsHow friends and family can negatively react to our dreamsLearning how to adapt to changeGifford's Links:Sailing Totem WebsiteInstagramVoyaging with Kids Book***Want to connect? Email me at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com or connect on my LinkedIn page. Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

    #99. Fully Living Your Dream Life: 14-Year Sailing Family Jamie and Behan Gifford

  3. 04/27/2022

    #98. The Four Pillars of Purpose: YouMap Creator Kristin Sherry

    Purpose is idiosyncratic. Everyone has their own view on what matters most in their life. However, is it possible to create a single system that many people can use to find purpose?Kristin Sherry has spent years helping people find purpose. In that time, she's asked countless questions about what people find fulfilling in work. From her investigation, she has identified four essential aspects of career fit. If you have these four, you'll have a deep, rich, and meaningful career. In this episode of the School of Purpose podcast, Kristin shares her insight on finding purpose.In this episode, you'll learn about: The power of self-awareness for finding purposeHow others' concern for us can hinder usDeveloping skill stacks for purposeHow we can think of our strengths as weaknessesHow to uncover our valuesKristin's LinksWebsiteLinkedInBooks***Want to connect? Email me at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com or connect on my LinkedIn page. Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

    #98. The Four Pillars of Purpose: YouMap Creator Kristin Sherry

  4. 04/22/2022

    #97. How Colleges Creatively Guide Students into Purpose: Sociologist and Vice Provost Time Clydesdale

    Colleges have extraordinary responsibilities in the lives of their students. Sometimes overlooked is guiding students into purposeful careers.Tim Clydesdale is the author of The Purposeful Graduate. It's an evaluation of a large-scale program funded by the Lilly Foundation that paid for 88 colleges to create purpose programs for their students. In this episode, you'll learn the lessons from these programs, including  what worked and what didn't. In this episode, you'll learn about: Research on fostering purpose among college studentsThe power of narrative in exploring purposeThe longterm effect of college students finding purposeThe value of hands-on experience related to purposeThe best year in college for exploring matters of purposeTim's LinksWebsiteBooksThe Purposeful GraduateThe Twentysomething SoulThe First Year Out***Want to connect? Email me at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com or connect on my LinkedIn page. Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

    #97. How Colleges Creatively Guide Students into Purpose: Sociologist and Vice Provost Time Clydesdale

  5. 04/13/2022

    #96. Finding Purpose after Severe Trauma: Author and Survivor Michael Unbroken

    Severe childhood trauma changes one's life--often for the worse. Sometimes, however, it has a redemptive effect as it leads one into purpose.Michael Unbroken experienced a level of trauma in childhood that's difficult to fathom. Yet, today he feels fully alive and health, and he works with people around the world to help them overcome their own trauma. He's used the pain in the past as a prompt for purpose. In this episode he tells his story.In this episode, you'll learn about: How to find clarity in lifeHow to tap into what's next in your lifeAgency and purposeThe need to start with values in finding purposeThe importance of specificity in purposeMichael's linksLinkedInInstagramPodcastWebsite***Want to connect? Email me at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com or connect on my LinkedIn page. Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

    #96. Finding Purpose after Severe Trauma: Author and Survivor Michael Unbroken

  6. 04/08/2022

    #95. From $500 Million to Prison to Purpose: Author and Musician John Lefebvre

    How do you make sense of the world when you had a lot and then lost just about all of it?John Lefebvre co-founded Neteller, a publicly traded online payment company often used by gamblers. In 2007, John ran into legal problems and lost almost $500 million dollars that he had earned by starting the company. He went to jail and started his life again in hi mid-fifties. Now John writes and advocates for good in the world, including addressing climate change. In this episode, he shares his journey and the lessons that he learned along the way. John's linksAll's WellGood with MoneyDeSmog.com***Want to connect? Email me at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com or connect on my LinkedIn page. Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

    #95. From $500 Million to Prison to Purpose: Author and Musician John Lefebvre

  7. 03/30/2022

    #94. How Adolescents Find Purpose in Life: Developmental Psychologist Kendall Cotton Bronk

    Young people face many difficult decisions in their transition to adulthood. Chief among them is identifying what matters most in life so as to live with purpose.  Some young people do this successfully. How do they do it? How do then differ from other young people? Kendall Cotton Bronk has studied purpose for decades. She has interviewed thousands of adolescents about their path into purpose.  In her work, she has identified key factors that enable young people to find purpose. In this episode, she shares these factors along with how we can apply them in our own lives.  In this episode, you'll learn about Purpose as a multifaceted conceptPurpose coming from withinA one hour conversation shown to increase people's sense of purposeHow to synthesize purpose experiencesFive steps for helping people find purposeKendall's links:Moral Development LabFaculty page ***Want to connect? Email me at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com or connect on my LinkedIn page. Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

    #94. How Adolescents Find Purpose in Life: Developmental Psychologist Kendall Cotton Bronk

  8. 03/23/2022

    #93. Telling Our Own Stories of Purpose: Experience Designer and Executive Coach Julia Winston

    When it comes to purpose, we often think of making goals. However, we live our lives in terms of stories. Especially important are the stories that we tell ourselves about our lives.Julia Winston guides people in creating the stories of their lives. She walks them through a process of intentional story making that is rooted in life purpose. This gives a dramatic arc to our lives that takes us even deeper into purpose. In this episode, you'll learn about: Stories versus goalsThe role of intentions in finding purposeCasting our own lives as storiesApplying experience design to finding purposeHow to create illuminating momentsJulia's links:WebsiteLinkedInPodcast ***Want to connect? Email me at bradleywrightphd@gmail.com or connect on my LinkedIn page. Want to start your own podcast? This podcast is edited and produced (and music too) by Josh Gilbert. Contact him at   joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com. He specializes in working with early podcasters.

    #93. Telling Our Own Stories of Purpose: Experience Designer and Executive Coach Julia Winston
See All (100)

5
out of 5
57 Ratings

About

Second Calling is a podcast for professionals at an inflection point—when the path they have been following no longer feels quite right, but what comes next has not yet come into view. Host Bradley Wright, a sociologist who studies purpose and change, talks with people who have navigated meaningful professional transitions and with experts who can help us understand what those moments require. The show explores both the inner and practical work of a next chapter: recognizing when something is ending, loosening an identity built around the old path, imagining credible alternatives, testing possibilities, and moving toward work with greater purpose. Formerly The School of Purpose.

Information

  • Creator
    Bradley Wright PhD
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2022
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Bradley Wright, Life Purpose Lab
  • Show Website
    Second Calling