Purpose Through Perspective : Recent Episodes
Mike Caforio
To encourage and motivate through the teaching of God’s Word. Life can be challenging. Keeping the proper perspective through our ups and downs is crucial. When we shift our way of thinking, we’ll see there is purpose in everything we experience in our lives.
Trust. Where do you go when you find yourself in a tough spot? What is your first line of defense? Who do run to first? We have many options to turn to today. A good friend, counselors, alcohol, sex, material things, Google. The options are endless. Where does God fit on this list? Is He an afterthought or your only resource? Let’s talk about it.
Convictions. Personal values. Morals. Faith in God. What do you value most in your life? Good health, a successful marriage, financial stability, living a life of truth, honor and integrity. What about your relationship with God? What place does He have in your life? If given the right circumstances or opportunities, would you ever find yourself in a place to sell out or compromise any of these things? They say that everyone has their price. Are their lines you are not willing to cross? Are your convictions open for business and are you willing to negotiate? Or are you too sold out to sell out? Let's talk about it.
Motives. Attitudes. Authenticity. Being real. Seeking attention and validation. The search for finding significance. Living in a world that has created a culture that provides platforms at our fingertips to feed this incessant and insatiable quest for attention and validation, how do we keep ourselves from falling into the trap of feeding off the attention we get through the applause of the world and keeping ourselves grounded in humility and being content, knowing where our true validation and self-worth is found. Do we influence through prideful arrogance or humble reverence? Let’s talk about it.
Pressure. Stress. Facing an unbearable situation. Doing the right thing knowing it will bring intense pain and discomfort. We’ve all heard the sayings, “No pain, no gain”; “No guts, no glory“; "Nothing ventured, nothing gained.“ All of those mantras are easier said than done. As Theodore Roosevelt said it, “nothing worth having comes easy.“ What do you do and how do you prepare yourself to do what’s right when you know that you’re going to pay a price? Let’s talk about it.
Truth. A word that was once straight forward and clear to understand but has now come into question and under scrutiny to be redefined. Moral standards that were once considered absolute have now become blurred and are now left up to our own individual interpretations. My truth, your truth, the truth. Is it possible to know what truth really is? Let’s talk about it.
Passion. Urgency. Desperation. Violence. The world we live in, seems to become more darker by the day. What was once considered disturbing and offensive has now become normalized and accepted. Truth is distorted to mean whatever we want it to mean. It seems that the loudest voice is the one that prevails. That being the case, desperate times call for desperate measures. In this episode of the Purpose Through Perspective podcast, we will discuss this life and death matter for the church to rise up once again to worship and serve God unhindered, unashamed, and unapologetically, even if it hurts. It’s time for the church, in the words of Jesus Himself, to get violent about the kingdom of heaven once again. Let’s talk about it! But before we do, let’s fix our focus, set our target, steady our aim and fire when ready because it's time to find our purpose, through, perspective.
Resolutions. The glorious tradition that comes about with the dawn of every new year. Aspirations of new beginnings bring with it the inspiration to make good on replacing old habits with new ones and the determination that with this new Hope, we have the motivation to see it through. With guns blazing, we begin only to find ourselves a short time later back where we started feeling deflated and defeated. Why is it that we have such a hard time with keeping our resolutions and following through to accomplish the goals we so desperately want to achieve? Let’s talk about it our very first episode of Season 2. But before we do, let’s fix our focus, set our target, steady our aim and fire when ready because it's time to find our purpose, through perspective.
Peace. Contentment. Fulfillment. Meaning. What comes to mind when you think of these things? Having a problem free life, good health, material things, fruitful relationships. What is your idea of what a life of peace and fulfillment would look like? In this episode we'll dive in and seek to find an answer to that question. How do I find peace and absolute contentment in this life? Let’s talk about it in this special holiday edition. But before we do, let’s fix our focus, set our target, steady our aim and fire when ready because it's time to find our purpose through perspective!
“Why? The king of all questions. In our last episode “Why?: The Longing To Understand”’ we started our discussion by talking about processing the personal difficulties we face when going through a trying situation and focused on how we should respond as we go through and come to the end of these hard experiences. In this episode of the Purpose through Perspective podcast, we’ll go even deeper and discuss the reality of suffering and attempt to find potential reasons why we go through some devastating situations in the first place and try to make sense of the madness. Is there an answer “why”? Let’s talk about it.
“Why? All of us at one time or another ask this question. This question is usually birthed out of a situation that is painful to bear and can spiral into a mindset of confusion, doubt and despair. In moments of experiencing intense pain, sickness or injustice, we seek to find answers or reasons to these circumstances that are beyond our understanding. In this episode of the Purpose through Perspective podcast, we’ll discuss how we should respond when experiencing pain and adversity?
Motivation. What gets you out of bed everyday? What is it that keeps you going forward day after day after day? How do you keep yourself engaged in the affairs of your life even when you feel like you're not making any progress? And what do you do when you feel like you start to feel like what you're doing doesn't matter or nothing you do is making a difference? When the best option may seem to be to throw in the towel and quit? Let's talk about and explore the reasons why we may consider giving up and the practical steps we can take to keep our head in the game and our feet in the fight!
Hardship. Trials. Pain. Suffering. These are all unpleasant experiences and circumstances that are unavoidable for all of us. Living in this broken world exposes us to walk through paths of loss, tragedy and situations that are unbearable to process. In this Special Edition of the Purpose Through Perspective podcast, we will take on this topic by discussing the most horrific, painful and unimaginable time of suffering one man endured. The most significant moment in human history. The ultimate paradox. When incomprehensible agony, brought unfathomable blessing to all who would receive it.
- Please be advised that some of the content being covered in this episode will be graphic.
Traditions. If we look at our lives, we all have beliefs or convictions that move us to live out certain customs and practices in our lives. Whether religious or just things we do because they were practices learned and handed down to us through our families, if you take a look at your life, you’ll be surprised to find that on one level or another, you probably have your own traditions and customs that you practice. The question we’ll be asking in this episode is “Do you know and understand why you practice the traditions you practice?” Especially religiously speaking. Are you following certain practices because of personal conviction or because someone told you this is what you have to do?
Letting go. What does it actually mean to let something go? Is it simply just a mental exercise. Or are there steps on our part that need to be taken to actually bring closure and healing to our process. In this episode of the Purpose Through Perspective podcast we will attempt to unpack this concept of what it truly means to let things go.
Time. We’re all given the same amount. How are we spending our time? Are we wise or wasteful? None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. In this episode, we discuss the importance of living strategically with a sense of priority, and expose the dangers of being led by distractions that ultimately lead to regrets.
Relationships. Whether we realize it or not, we’re all designed with a need for personal interaction with one another. Some intimate, some casual. There’s no way of getting around engaging in relationship to a certain degree. Connection is a crucial part of our personal survival and growth. In this episode of the Purpose Through Perspective podcast, we’ll not only talk about the importance of relationships, but mainly the importance of our standing within our relationships. And one relationship in particular , that if we’re not in right standing with, is literally a matter of life and death.
Happiness. What does that concept mean? Money, material things, good health, dream jobs, favorable circumstances. While all of these things may bring pleasure, do they leave us feeling fulfilled and content or are we still unsatisfied and empty? In this episode we'll discuss what true happiness is, what it isn't, and where we can find it. Hold on tight, because the answer to the question, how can I find true happiness in life, may surprise you.
Host Mike Caforio shares Part 2 of his story and discusses the power that we have in bringing encouragement, hope and inspiration to others as we share our story with those around us.
Our story has power. It's who we are. It's where we've been. It's what we've come through. In this episode I'd like to begin to share my story with you in hopes to inspire others to share the power of their story to others.