The Study of Purpose: Recent Episodes
Aaron Feigelman & Riley Kuffner
By the end of college, we were tired of hearing cliche quotes about the importance of purpose. Sure, if you know your purpose, it's inspirational, but who really does? Finding our purpose seemed daunting, if not impossible.
So, we decided to create The Study of Purpose: our lifelong initiative to talk to people around the world who have gone on journeys of self-discovery to find what purpose means to them. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aaron-feig-riley-kuffner/support
John Collins is a nuclear physicist, an inventor, and an expert on commercializing disruptive innovations. He also just might be be the most curious person on earth. Born and raised in an impoverished area of London, John had 33 hobbies between the ages of 11 and 19 ranging from computer programming and electronics design to stone polishing. Despite his technical talents, John opted to study psychology at university after hearing rave stories about the field from a sex therapist friend of his. After having his fun in undergrad, John got a PhD in nuclear physics and went on to invent the world’s first lab-grown diamond at De Beers. Nowadays his life is focused on helping scientists commercialize their research in artificial intelligence and synthetic biology. And of course, he is hyper-focused on his purpose: to help others achieve their purpose.
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Kibwe Chase-Marshall is real — but to the average person, his identity may only exist in theory. As an Ivy-educated, gay, gender-presentation-non-conforming, Black professional working in the fashion industry, his profile is hardly par-for-the-course. Navigating assumptions about him hasn't been easy, but he's dedicated to claiming his space, on his own terms. Upon emigrating with his mother (an assumption defying Black female architect) from Trinidad to Washington, DC at 3 years old he was immersed in art, creativity, and design throughout his childhood. Bitten by the fashion bug in high school, Kibwe would accept his first design position (in Michael Kors' studio) at the age of 19. Since then, he’s forged a career in design and editorial, having developed product for collection and mass-level apparel brands and written as a contributor for Elle.com, Papermag, and Town & Country. Recently, he co-founded the Kelly Initiative (@TheKellyInitiative), a coalition of Black fashion professionals who are speaking up about the employment discrimination they face and positing an action plan to mitigate it. Kibwe is a champion in all aspects of his life.
Enjoy!
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Charlotte Cramer can be best described as a no-BS, purpose-driven realist. During the day, Charlotte works as a marketer for companies like Google and Vice, and at night she works on her own purpose-driven side projects.
In 2015, she launched her first side project, Crack and Cider — a store where people could buy essential items for homeless people. The project was a success, which led her to launching it in London, San Francisco, and other cities across the globe. Charlotte fundamentally believes that to live a purposeful life, you don’t need to have a purpose-driven job — you can cultivate purpose through side projects. She has distilled her learnings into her brand new book The Purpose Myth: Change The World, Not Your Job. With her unique background in neuroscience, marketing, and side projects, Charlotte provides a digestible and compelling step-by-step guide on how to build purpose-driven side projects from the ground up.
Enjoy!
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Jee Kim is a NYC-based movement-builder who has spent his life perfecting the art of crafting narratives that catalyze social change. For him, well-crafted narratives serve as the lubricant that powers social movements. Jee fundamentally believes that socioeconomic inequality is not a natural state, and he has devoted his career to proving his thesis correct. Currently, he is a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, after having previously founded 18 Million Rising - a platform built to increase the political power of Asian Americans.
Enjoy!
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Can capitalism be used as a force for good? Our guest this week, Marcel Fukayama, has devoted his life to answer this question. His answer: yes, but it must be reformed! Marcel has spent the majority of his life using market-driven solutions as a tool to solve social and environmental problems in his home country, Brazil. Since creating one of Brazil’s first internet cafes during the 1990s at age 17, Marcel has been closely involved with establishing the B Corp movement in South America. This is a global movement redefining capitalism - one that prioritizes social benefit of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Currently, he spends his time directing the South American B Corp system and investing in and advising impact-driven startups.
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Why do certain people appear to attract luck in their lives? How do we maximize our chances of being at the right place at the right time? According to Christian Busch, our guest this week, it’s all about your mental framework - your serendipity mindset. Christian is a professor of global affairs at NYU and is an impact entrepreneur. Above all, he’s obsessed with maximizing serendipity. He’s the author of Serendipity Mindset: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck. During our conversation, we dive into his rebellious upbringing, his near death experiences, and his passion for connecting people and seemingly disparate ideas to create new synergies.
Enjoy!
Show Notes:
-Leaders on Purpose
-Sandbox Network
-The Serendipity Mindset: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck
-Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl
-The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
-Oli Barrett
-The Social Dilemma
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Britt Browne embodies the adage “follow your heart.” Trained as an artist and currently residing in Los Angeles, Britt operates at the nexus of art and farming. In the art and fashion world, she has worked in art direction and trend forecasting for companies like Abercrombie & Fitch and W Magazine. Outside of fashion, her paintings, textiles, and films have been displayed at museums like the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Right now, she is focusing her efforts on her newest venture: Finca Tierra Negra - the confluence of art and composting.
Enjoy!
Show Notes
- Follow Britt on instagram: @britt_browne and @fincatierranegra
- Finca Tierra Negra
- Britt Browne Art
- Ishmael Book
- Tehachapi Heritage Grain Project
- LALA Farm
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aaron-feig-riley-kuffner/support
Sumitra Rajkumar is a social justice leader and somatic therapy practitioner. Born in Chennai, South India and raised in Dubai, Sumitra spent her years after college in the 90's working on social justice initiatives in NYC. She started on the streets, worked on youth organizing for political education, and eventually held leadership roles in social justice groups like Social Justice Leadership.
Along the way, she noticed something very concerning - many of her fellow social justice activists were experiencing psychological trauma. So, she decided to devote her life to solving this problem. Her solution: somatic therapy.
A relatively new therapy, somatic therapy can be understood as a purpose-centered, body-focused therapy. Imagine meditation - but with a HUGE focus on using the body as a means of focusing on the present moment.
Enjoy!
Show notes:
- Shooting of Amadou Diallo
- Paulo Freire
- Augusto Boal
- Global Action Project
- Somatics
- Sumitra’s Somatic Session
- Generative Somatics
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
- Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing, and Social Justice
- Burn!
- Battle of Algiers
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aaron-feig-riley-kuffner/support
Char Miller is a professor and director of environmental analysis at Pomona College in Claremont, California. Beyond being a devoted educator to the next generation of environmentalists, Char is an expert on U.S forest management, California wildfires, water scarcity, and environmental history. When Char isn't teaching, he's writing. In the past 2 years, he's released books covering water management, marijuana policy and politics, and a collection of essays about Theodore Roosevelt.
In this episode, we dig into:
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what it means to be an effective teacher
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the status of wildfires in the USA
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why history serves as the ultimate guide for solving existential crises
Show Notes:
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Gentleman's Agreement
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Tongva People of LA Basin
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Gifford Pinchot
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The Nature of Hope: Grassroots Organizing, Environmental Justice, and Political Change (Intersection in Environmental Justice), Char Miller
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Dakota Access Pipeline
-
Bill McKibben
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aaron-feig-riley-kuffner/support
This week, Riley and Aaron interview Terry Kramer, the director of the Easton Technology Management Center at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Terry epitomizes the phrase "a man with a plan."
As a young teenager, his plan was to work odd jobs until he could afford a $25,000+ Pontiac Firebird upon graduating high school. He stuck to it and rode that thing all the way to Harvard Business School! During his undergrad at UCLA, Terry planned out his life: first, reach success in business, and then give back to society through civic service and teaching. Unlike the average hungover college student we all know too well, Terry completely followed his plan from then to now. After a successful career as an executive at Vodafone, Terry served as an ambassador under the Obama Administration in 2012. Shortly after, Terry began his teaching career at UCLA Anderson, where he has prepared students to navigate the complex relationship between technology and society, focusing on autonomous vehicles and data privacy.
Enjoy!
Show Notes:
- Skylo Technologies
- Pontiac Firebird
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Arun Sarin
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Barack Obama
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Martin Luther King Jr.
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Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari
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From the Ground Up: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America by Howard Schultz
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aaron-feig-riley-kuffner/support
Born and raised in Brazil, Joao Paulo Pacifico spearheaded a unique corporate culture in Brazil through the development of his company Gaia Group. Unhappy with the profit-focused culture of finance, Joao pioneered his financial securitization company in 2009 with the mission to put people and the planet ahead of profits. When he's not running Gaia Group, he's producing motivational content on LinkedIn, where he focuses on maximizing purpose and happiness within company cultures.
We'd also like to thank our guest Vitor Takasu for assisting us with the interview.
Show Notes:
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Richard Branson - Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur
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Martin Seligman - Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
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Richard Branson - The Virgin Way: If It's Not Fun, It's Not Worth Doing
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Tony Hsieh - Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
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Robert Emmons - Gratitude
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Adam Braun - The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change
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James Carse - Finite and Infinite Games
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Simon Sinek - The Infinite Game
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Born and raised in a low-income area of Sao Paulo, Gustavo Fuga started 4YOU2 at age 18 after learning that 97% of Brazilians didn't know english - including himself. With no money to his name, he aimed to create the world's first low-cost english school. Today, he is 8 years into his mission and has since created over 8 english schools in Brazil and is in the process of opening over 30 more.
We sit down with Gustavo to discuss his thoughts on:
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social entrepreneurship
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risk taking and motivation
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the value of therapy
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the importance of self discovery
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aaron-feig-riley-kuffner/support
This week, we sit down with our cohost Aaron Feigelman to discuss his background and philosophies around which he centers his life. Enjoy!
Show Notes:
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Sustainable Summer: https://sustainablesummer.org/
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Benicia Solar Initiative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGbum3RONUA
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Helios Project: https://www.heliosproject.net/
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Benjamin Franklin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
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William Faulkner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Faulkner
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John von Neumann: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann
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Adam Grant’s Originals: https://www.adamgrant.net/originals
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Leonardo da Vinci: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aaron-feig-riley-kuffner/support
In this week's episode, we dig into Riley's background and what purpose means to him. Enjoy!
Show Notes:
⁃ Steve Jobs interview (https://youtu.be/kYfNvmF0Bqw)
⁃ Servant Leadership (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_leadership)
⁃ Bruin Home Solutions (http://bruinhomesolutions.com/)
⁃ Avery Brundage (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avery_Brundage)
⁃ Solar Decathlon Competition (https://www.solardecathlon.gov)
⁃ Wage Slaves (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_slavery)
⁃ Miravel (https://miravel.com/)
⁃ Brave New World (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World)
⁃ Fahrenheit 451 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451)
⁃ Animal Farm (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm)
⁃ The Odyssey (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey)
⁃ Archimedes Corkscrew (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes'_screw)
⁃ Self-Actualization (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-actualization)
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Riley and Aaron introduce the vision behind The Study of Purpose - a lifelong project focused on understanding how society defines and is motivated by purpose. Thanks for listening!
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aaron-feig-riley-kuffner/support