WEBVTT

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What's going on, Pursuers? Welcome to The Pursuit

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of Calling, the podcast that provides you with

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the strategies and tools needed to successfully

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discover and pursue your calling. Whether it's

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through inspiring stories, thought -provoking

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interviews, or quick, insightful episodes on

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personal growth and development, we've got you

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covered. I'm your host, Thomas Carney. Enjoy

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the episode. All right, Hazel, welcome to the

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Pursuit of Calling podcast. Thank you, Thomas.

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For sure. And before I give a quick intro for

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Hazel, I do have some quick shameless plugs.

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If you didn't know, I do a free discovery coaching

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call for everyone that wants to try out my coaching.

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So go ahead. You can click the link in the show

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notes or in the subscription of the YouTube video

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and check that out. And I also got on the merch

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store this 20 % off right now on your first order.

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I just upped that right before this recording.

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So go ahead and get that using code PURSUE20.

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And go ahead and get your merch now. So, Hazel.

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Thank you for joining me again on the Pursuit

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of Common Podcast. And Hazel is a Navy veteran

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with nearly... two decades of leadership experience,

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and a deep passion for helping others. After

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spending 20 years mentoring and training service

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members, Hazel stepped into her God -given calling

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as a life and leadership coach. She's the founder

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of Always Equipped and helps young adults and

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emerging leaders discover their purpose, find

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their lane, and lead with confidence, both in

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the marketplace and in ministry. So Hazel, again,

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thank you. Wow. My God. Thank you, Thomas. Thank

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you for having me on your podcast. I intend to

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bless the podcast today. So thank you. It's an

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honor to be alongside of you today, brother.

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For sure. For sure. And I appreciate your yes.

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So for those who don't know you, Hazel, who is

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Hazel Stevens? That was a brilliant introduction.

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You had me smiling the whole time. First and

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foremost, I am a God -fearing woman. God -fearing

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woman. As you said, I wear many hats, but my

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passion right now is helping people awaken to

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who they've been called to be. So I am still

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active duty right now. I intend to retire here

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in less than eight months. So the veteran status

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is coming very, very soon. I'm just a humble

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servant, a disciple just like everybody else

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who's activated in their calling. The purpose,

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I'm excited about that. I'm 100 % committed to

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that. And that is the primary mission right now

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is to stay anchored into that. Awesome. So you

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describe yourself as a God -fearing woman, right?

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and a coach helping others discover their purpose.

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When did you first sense God's calling on your

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life to do this kind of work? I would say, so

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what I've learned, Thomas, is purpose is not

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discovered in motion. It's revealed in stillness.

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So if you remember the popular saying that goes,

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If you want to make God laugh, tell him your

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plan. Yep. That was me. That was me. So right

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before COVID, I thought I had it all figured

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out. The plan was to stay in LA. I was living

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in LA at the time. I had just bought my first

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home. My future was going to be that life, to

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live the Hollywood LA life. I was going to retire

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out there. And do some other things that really

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didn't align with the purpose. It was what I

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wanted to do. And I couldn't understand why nothing

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was aligning the way I needed to align. It was

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just way too many anomalies that was thrown into

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it. Long story short, I went through a season.

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I wouldn't say it was a Job season. But I went

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through a season of... transformation. I was

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like in the stages of becoming a butterfly, right?

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So I'm still like in a cocoon phase and I didn't

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understand what was happening. So I've been in

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and out of church, you know, all of my life.

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And I don't think I was a hundred percent dedicated

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to that until I hit that season. So that definitely

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set me down and I was forced to consecrate. And

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I went through a huge stillness period. And I

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came out refreshed, renewed. I rededicated my

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life. I got baptized at the beginning of 2025.

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This stillness, this consecration period took

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about a year, may I add. But I came out with

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so much clarity, so much purpose. And that is

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the goal. I am no longer in California. That

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dream of mine has been put to bed. And I am over

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here in Florida now, the Sunshine State. It's

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making a full turn. I remember the days when

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I first joined the Navy. I would always say to

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myself, I'm going to retire in Florida. Didn't

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know why. Didn't have any memories of being here

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before. It was almost as if I was pulling into

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a consciousness that I hadn't hit yet. So that

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season birthed the new version of who I am today,

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who is focused on what God has me focused on.

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It wasn't my plan. It was God's plan for me.

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And it's just been brilliant. Like you said,

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it's been 20 years that I've been in the Navy.

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That's a career. That's a huge career. So I thought

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I was done. I'm about to be retired before I'm

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40. But my pastor always says, and he says it

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brilliant, nothing is lost in the kingdom. What

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you call the career was actually a classroom.

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So the things that I learned, the patience that

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I learned, the leadership experience that I had,

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all the discipline that I've learned, the independence.

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the mentoring, the developing people throughout

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the military, all of those things, those traits,

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those skill sets that I learned, nothing is lost

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in the kingdom. God is like, that was just a

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classroom. I'm taking that and applying it to

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the next season of your life, which is going

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to feed your purpose. So here I am. Yeah. I like

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what you said there. The first thing that you

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said that I have in my notes is purpose is found

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in stillness. I'm interested to honestly hear

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a little bit more about that. If you're okay

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with diving into that a little bit deeper. Okay.

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Yes, yes. So you have to silence the noise. I

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don't believe that purpose is found. You don't

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find it, you discover it. You don't discover

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it, you don't find it, you uncover it. It's already

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within you. All of us were destined for a purpose.

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We were designed for purpose. We all have a purpose.

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Our presence has a purpose. So it's already within

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you. And that's what I get the honor to do when

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I'm coaching and when I come alongside of individuals

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is helping them uncover. What God has already

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placed within them. So a lot of that, it doesn't

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happen with too much busyness and too much motion.

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Once you begin concentrating, once you get still

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and have those conversations and silence everything

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out, you hear God's voice and you can kind of

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uncover what it is. Why am I here? Mark Twain

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puts it this way. There's two times you're born.

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There's two days you're born. The first day is

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your birth date from your mom. And the second

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is the day you find out why. The why is the purpose.

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That's really good. It's actually kind of funny

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that you... You just said the phrase, why are

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you here? And for the OGs that have been listening

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to this podcast for a while, it used to be called

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Technically Short and it was with a roommate.

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And that name was just a play on our names. It

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was just that we did it for fun. And we ended

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up doing a series that we didn't have an end

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date for that was called Why Are You Here? And

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we talked to a bunch of different people. from

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our from our church we uh a bunch of different

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perspectives on purpose and calling and what

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all that meant to like our mentors and to our

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friends and it's it's what shape what ended up

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shaping what this podcast is now and when my

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roommate he went to the army and he was like

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whenever you he goes you can take it you can

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do what you want with it and so then i i took

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it and apply i merged it with my coaching and

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took that and then i've That's where the title

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Pursuit of Calling came from because I was like,

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I don't want to talk about anything else. And

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I like what you said, like the purpose is already

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within you. It's already like God has that divine

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calling, that divine purpose for your life, for

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you. When you discover what that purpose is and

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you learn to see life through that lens, through

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listening to what you said, through the stillness

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and through listening and through like understanding

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like. God's been using other people to point

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me this way all this time. Like people will point

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out the gold within you. Will say like, hey,

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you're really good in this area. You might brush

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it off. Be like, oh, that's just me. This is

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how I am. That just comes to me naturally. And

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I think that's a great, and that's like a great

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indication as to what, like what you're calling

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could be based on other things, based on a few

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other things in your life. But there's like.

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Because not everyone is called to be an entrepreneur.

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Not everyone is called to be a coach. And not

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everyone is called to go to college and pursue

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a career that way. And whenever you realize that

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you don't have to do just what society tells

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you to do because that's what I did. I went to

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college. I got a job. And I was like, man, I

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did it. So I did it. I got my job. And then a

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couple years in, I was like, man, this it? So

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no, a long way to say, yes, everything you're

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saying. And again, I'm really happy to have you

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on the show. Everything you're saying, it resonates

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with the people. I would say it resonates with

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the listeners of this podcast really well. Beautiful.

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Thank you for that. And I'm glad that you mentioned

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that, Thomas, because I think a lot of people

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conflate the two. They conflate what purpose

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and calling is. So purpose is why you exist.

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That's the reason God created us. Your calling

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is how you carry that out in a particular season.

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Oh, yeah. So that's going to be associated with

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the rose. So your calling, because it could be

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seasonal, your calling can shift, but your purpose

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stays the same. So I like to put it like this.

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Your calling is the invitation. It's a verb.

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God is calling you into the certain road to fulfill

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your purpose. So your calling is the invitation.

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Your purpose is the assignment. So this season,

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I answered the call. To go very deep on life

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and leadership coaching. Yeah. Last season, that

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wasn't the case at all. I was knee deep into

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being a personal trainer in LA. Okay. So the

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purpose doesn't change. Right. The calling changes

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and the calling is seasonal. So in order to fill

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your purpose, essentially that's going to be

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measured by how many roles you accept. that God

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is calling you to. So that's why people can't

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marry a certain role because it's seasonal. When

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God calls you to lay that role down, who are

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you? What do you have? So to fulfill your purpose

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is going to be contingent on how many times you

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say yes to the roles that God throw at us. Yeah.

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And now that we're diving into this a little

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bit, with this podcast being called The Pursuit

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of Calling, what would you say your calling is

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right now? If you say it would be the coaching

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or how about we dive in? You can also talk about

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the purpose as well. Okay. So my calling right

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now, Thomas, is to equip and empower people.

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to live and lead in purpose. So I do that by

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aligning their mindset, their purpose and their

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leadership impact so that they can too answer

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the call and fulfill the purpose that God has

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on their life and be the best version of themselves

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while doing it. So essentially it's to help them

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stop. Watch this. Living beneath who they were

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created to be. Ooh, yeah, yeah. Man. Hmm. That's

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what I'm passionate about. Yeah. Hmm. What's

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a sign that you're living beneath who you're

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created to be? Unfulfillment. Hmm. That's good.

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People conflate the two. They conflate success

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with fulfillment. Yeah. It's two different. Right?

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Yeah. It's different. Yeah, it is. You're right.

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Fulfillment is not tied to your finances. Right.

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Fulfillment is tied to your purpose. So God did

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us a favor so that we will always chase our purpose.

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He wrapped our fulfillment into the purpose.

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So meaning, and my coach and my pastor, he says

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this brilliantly, you will never be fully fulfilled

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until you're walking into your purpose. portion

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of you will always feel like there's something

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missing because it's not tied to your finances

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that's good that's man okay now that's like you

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could have like you could have said unfulfillment

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and just let it and let that sit and i i i i

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was like oh it's like that is so simple like

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it's like uh And like, no, man, okay, cool. I

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could have come through Holy Spirit because I

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could have. Yeah, for sure. But I felt that prompt

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and that knowledge. No, no, everything else you

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said was good too. You just said unfulfillment

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and I was like, oh, yeah, that makes a whole

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lot of sense. I hope that freed somebody. Oh,

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I hope so too. So you talk about helping. young

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adults specifically, we talked about that in

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our pre -interview, between 18 and 35, find their

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purpose and grow as leaders. What do you see

00:17:47.069 --> 00:17:49.309
as the biggest barriers holding this generation

00:17:49.309 --> 00:17:58.049
back? Oh, that's a good question. That is a good

00:17:58.049 --> 00:18:03.849
question. I do a lot of training around bridging

00:18:03.849 --> 00:18:06.950
the communication gap. With multi -generational

00:18:06.950 --> 00:18:10.009
teams and organizations. So that's a great question.

00:18:10.809 --> 00:18:14.170
Off the top of my head, I would say I typically

00:18:14.170 --> 00:18:20.269
see three barriers to that. So I would say confusion,

00:18:20.490 --> 00:18:26.569
comparison and comfort. So most people are confused

00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:30.150
about who they are. They're not clear. They haven't

00:18:30.150 --> 00:18:33.849
uncovered their purpose. Yeah. Right. The comparison

00:18:33.849 --> 00:18:37.369
part. What we're seeing, and oh my God, this

00:18:37.369 --> 00:18:41.470
is so prominent today. A lot of people are comparing

00:18:41.470 --> 00:18:45.910
themselves, their struggles in their life, their

00:18:45.910 --> 00:18:50.430
day -to -day life to other people. Yeah. And

00:18:50.430 --> 00:18:53.250
watch this. These people that they're comparing

00:18:53.250 --> 00:18:57.789
themselves to aren't real. They're Instagram

00:18:57.789 --> 00:19:04.519
reels. Yep, yep. And with AI emerging. It's hard

00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:08.640
to identify what could be. Hard to identify what's

00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:12.880
actually real. So we see a lot of people falling

00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:17.319
into the spirit of comparison. And Dr. Daniels

00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:21.059
puts it like this. He says, comparison turns

00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:27.900
your calling into a competition. And then lastly,

00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:34.069
comfort. People, from what I've seen, This is

00:19:34.069 --> 00:19:37.109
just this is just Hazel are too comfortable where

00:19:37.109 --> 00:19:41.630
they are to step into what God has called them

00:19:41.630 --> 00:19:47.009
to be. Your purpose is going to cost you your

00:19:47.009 --> 00:19:51.970
comfort. So those are the barriers that I see

00:19:51.970 --> 00:19:54.289
off the top of my head. Those three. There's

00:19:54.289 --> 00:19:58.029
there's a lot of others. But those three confusion,

00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:02.839
comparison and comfort. A hundred percent. could

00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:11.079
hold them back the comfort one's huge it's you

00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:13.519
said being too comfortable where they you get

00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:15.339
too comfortable so then you're kind of ignoring

00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:19.319
the call okay like yes you're like i like i'm

00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:22.759
good where i'm at god like i i'm happy here i'm

00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:24.720
comfortable i don't have to worry like maybe

00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:28.420
i don't gotta worry about money like oh my god

00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:32.410
that's good thomas that's good But yet God's

00:20:32.410 --> 00:20:35.849
like, hey, God's like, could be like, he asked

00:20:35.849 --> 00:20:40.549
the young rich ruler. In scripture, he asked

00:20:40.549 --> 00:20:43.190
the young rich ruler to, the only thing he had

00:20:43.190 --> 00:20:46.569
to do, what do I need to do to like really follow

00:20:46.569 --> 00:20:52.890
you? He goes, sell everything. Yes. Let's do

00:20:52.890 --> 00:20:55.250
a character check really quick. What's that?

00:20:55.789 --> 00:20:58.089
That's what he was saying, you know, modern day.

00:20:59.139 --> 00:21:01.200
Yeah. He already knew the answer. He already

00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:03.779
knew what he was going to do. He's God. Right.

00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:09.559
And it's like... And then the only thing we get

00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:11.140
to know about the young rich ruler after that

00:21:11.140 --> 00:21:14.160
is that he walked away sad. We don't know what

00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:18.900
he actually ended up doing. But, man, it's like...

00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:24.160
Yeah, we get so wrapped up in success and our

00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:26.900
own comfort that we forget that life is supposed

00:21:26.900 --> 00:21:30.599
to be uncomfortable. The one thing I like to

00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:32.259
say on this podcast a lot is that your calling

00:21:32.259 --> 00:21:37.559
isn't for you. 100%. You're going to grow, right?

00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:39.559
You're going to grow as you pursue your calling.

00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:46.160
You're going to garner some benefits. But if

00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:48.059
you're only seeing it through the lens, your

00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:50.119
life through the lens, I just want to build myself

00:21:50.119 --> 00:21:56.200
up, then you're at best not affecting the people

00:21:56.200 --> 00:21:58.400
around you at all. And at worst, you're hurting

00:21:58.400 --> 00:22:02.559
them. Oh my God. I'm glad that you said that.

00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:05.680
Right. Um, because it's so true. True blood says

00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:10.440
this intentional mediocrity is sin. Right. I

00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:13.720
say, and it's one of my signature taglines, right?

00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:17.359
Intentional mediocrity isn't harmless. It's a

00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:22.180
betrayal to your purpose. So when we settle for

00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:25.160
good enough, that's that comfort. When we settle

00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:28.880
for good enough. We're rejecting the excellence

00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:32.440
and the intention that God placed within us.

00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:36.680
And like you said, it's not just a personal loss.

00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:41.200
It's a loss to everyone that's assigned to your

00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:47.420
purpose. So it's not just about you. Your gifts

00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:50.799
aren't for you. A tree does not eat its own fruit.

00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:57.490
That's good. That's good. So that's, that's the

00:22:57.490 --> 00:23:00.829
comfort part. And yes, that, that, that could

00:23:00.829 --> 00:23:06.369
become a barrier and we're seeing it. Yeah. Oh,

00:23:06.509 --> 00:23:12.569
I'm going to start wrapping up with a few of

00:23:12.569 --> 00:23:16.710
the two final questions. This has been a fantastic

00:23:16.710 --> 00:23:20.490
conversation and I'm really happy that again,

00:23:20.569 --> 00:23:22.490
thank you for being on the show. I know I got

00:23:22.490 --> 00:23:28.289
two more questions. I say it again. But for the

00:23:28.289 --> 00:23:33.190
listeners and for myself, what would be, based

00:23:33.190 --> 00:23:35.450
on this conversation, based on what you would

00:23:35.450 --> 00:23:37.650
typically recommend people, what would be the

00:23:37.650 --> 00:23:41.390
top resource that you would usually recommend

00:23:41.390 --> 00:23:44.690
to somebody to help them grow and, like you said,

00:23:44.769 --> 00:23:47.529
help them maybe bridge that generational gap

00:23:47.529 --> 00:23:48.930
or anything else that we talked about today?

00:23:49.849 --> 00:23:54.970
Okay. One of the resources that I would recommend,

00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:57.759
If we're talking personal development, as you

00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:59.039
know, that's near and dear to my heart. I do

00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:02.119
a lot of coaching around that. A timeless resource,

00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:06.180
I would say, is the 15 Laws of Growth by John

00:24:06.180 --> 00:24:10.420
Maxwell. That's huge. I do a mastermind all throughout

00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:12.400
the year surrounding that where we're training

00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:15.420
and exerting and extracting principles from that

00:24:15.420 --> 00:24:20.319
to help people be more intentional about what

00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:23.119
they're going to do. The next resource I would

00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:27.160
say. Since we're talking about calling and purpose,

00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:34.720
Dr. Darius Daniels, my coach, he has a great,

00:24:34.819 --> 00:24:39.160
brilliant book titled Your Purpose is Calling.

00:24:39.619 --> 00:24:42.460
That is what's on my nightstand. And this is

00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:45.920
my second time reading it. So that's a huge reminder

00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:49.559
that your purpose is calling. Answer. It's an

00:24:49.559 --> 00:24:53.269
invitation. It's time to lock in. you know, answered.

00:24:54.450 --> 00:24:56.509
No, I appreciate those. I'm going to link both

00:24:56.509 --> 00:25:00.069
those in the show notes. And I think it's funny.

00:25:00.170 --> 00:25:02.009
Most of the people I have on the podcast, well,

00:25:02.089 --> 00:25:03.809
every, every guest I've had for the last couple

00:25:03.809 --> 00:25:05.890
of months have been from the Mac from Maxwell.

00:25:07.529 --> 00:25:10.829
And most people do recommend 15 laws of growth.

00:25:11.009 --> 00:25:13.509
So I'd say you might want to go buy that book

00:25:13.509 --> 00:25:19.029
guys. It's so practical. It's so good. And final

00:25:19.029 --> 00:25:22.369
question for you. This is for me, and actually

00:25:22.369 --> 00:25:23.569
it's for my listeners too if they want to go

00:25:23.569 --> 00:25:25.869
check them out. But who do you know that I should

00:25:25.869 --> 00:25:27.329
know? This is a great question I learned from

00:25:27.329 --> 00:25:31.430
John just through his content, through getting

00:25:31.430 --> 00:25:33.250
to know him. And this is a great question that

00:25:33.250 --> 00:25:36.750
I like to ask to find more guests for the podcast,

00:25:36.869 --> 00:25:41.230
network a little bit more, and grow. Oh, 100%.

00:25:41.230 --> 00:25:46.769
I would say I recommend connecting Thomas with

00:25:46.769 --> 00:25:49.289
other transformational coaches. You're already

00:25:49.289 --> 00:25:52.039
activated. that and you're you know you're active

00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:55.000
in that and other thought leaders you know who

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.759
are faith you know driven and purpose -centered

00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:03.539
so and i have about a dozen of them that you

00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:06.200
know i'm going to recommend to you uh and lay

00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:10.740
before you here in a few hours um on you know

00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:12.440
week one of the mastermind they don't know that

00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:16.099
you're a surprise guest yet um so i would say

00:26:16.099 --> 00:26:21.750
i would start there um And then anyone from Dr.

00:26:21.950 --> 00:26:25.049
Daniels Premier Coaching Network. Right. So so

00:26:25.049 --> 00:26:27.809
all of us were individuals who are committed

00:26:27.809 --> 00:26:31.910
to equipping other people to lead from purpose,

00:26:31.950 --> 00:26:35.329
not pressure. So I have a few people that I'm

00:26:35.329 --> 00:26:38.190
going to connect you with on the mastermind.

00:26:38.630 --> 00:26:43.609
Great for that. Yes. Awesome. I appreciate that.

00:26:43.670 --> 00:26:45.890
Like I said, he's my coach, so he's he's a great

00:26:45.890 --> 00:26:48.940
one to follow. uh dr darius daniels he's one

00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:52.660
of the greatest communicators right now of our

00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:57.539
time oh i really appreciate that and yeah i'm

00:26:57.539 --> 00:26:59.299
excited for the masterminds just in a couple

00:26:59.299 --> 00:27:04.119
hours so i'm ready for it um yes yes well guys

00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:07.019
thank you for listening to this episode of the

00:27:07.019 --> 00:27:09.839
pursuit of calling podcast if you enjoyed it

00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:11.559
and if you got something out of it first share

00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:14.279
it with sure share it if you believe this is

00:27:14.279 --> 00:27:18.099
going to help somebody that would benefit from

00:27:18.099 --> 00:27:20.940
anything that we talked about today then share

00:27:20.940 --> 00:27:22.839
it out on every social media platform that you

00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:26.420
use on any and whatever major podcasting platform

00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:28.500
that you use go ahead and give this podcast a

00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:32.400
five -star review and a comment that helps you

00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:34.619
know helps algorithm helps and helps algorithm

00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:36.819
and helps other people know what you think about

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the podcast so all right guys keep receiving

00:27:39.579 --> 00:27:41.880
your calling and i'll see you next time bye