A Practical Guide to the Finding Your Purpose in Life with Ian Chamandy of PurposeU

In this powerful self-development conversation, Ryann sits down with Ian Chamandy, Chief Purpose Officer of PurposeU, to explore the deeper purpose of life and why your answer to “What is my purpose?” can be expressed in just seven words or less. Ian breaks down a simple but transformative process for discovering your unique gift — the inner thread that’s been living inside you all along — and how it becomes a practical decision-making compass for motivation, success, and everyday alignment.

Together, they discuss why so many people struggle to name their purpose, how to find purpose and passion in life without overthinking it, and the confidence that comes from finally putting words to who you really are. This episode is a grounded, soulful guide for anyone longing for clarity in motherhood, work, relationships, or personal growth.

Keywords: purpose, what is my purpose, purpose of life, find your purpose, self development, motivation, success, how to find purpose and passion in life, Raising Wild Hearts, Ryann Watkin, PurposeU, emotional health, clarity, confidence, personal development podcast

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Transcript

Ryann: 0:00

Welcome to Raising Wild Hearts. I'm Ryan Watkin, and this is my weekly podcast where I share conversations that matter, soulful talks to help you create a fulfilling life, raise the next generation with patience, presence, and purpose, and stay deeply connected to yourself, to others, and the divine. Around here, we believe we can change the world by starting at home. Let's dive in. Welcome back to the Raising Wild Hearts Podcast. Today I am joined by Ian Shamunde, the chief purpose officer of Purpose U. Ian is known for helping people and organizations define their core purpose. Get this in seven words or less. A process that creates clarity, alignment, and deep meaning in everyday life. Ian's Purpose U online course guides people step by step to uncover that purpose and learn how to live by it. So I am obsessed with this idea. We were talking before we recorded, and you said purpose is practical. And I'm like, yes, because everybody listening wants to know like, how do I actually use this in my everyday life? And something that shocked me is I co-hosted an event recently. We had 40 plus women in the room. And I asked, does any, and this was midday after lots of talks and inspiration. And I said, Does anyone want to share their purpose statement? Or is anyone really clear about their meaning in life right now? Like, could because I kicked off with like, I believe we can change the world by starting at home. And so I wanted to hear these women and their feedback and their mission. And not one person raised their hand. And I was really shocked. I'm like, nobody even wanted to take a crack at it. So whether that was hesitancy and shyness or just a complete unwillingness to know or to take a look at it, I don't know. But why do you think so few people are actually aware of their purpose?

Ian: 1:54

I think there's two reasons. One is that they don't actually know what purpose is. And um, secondly, even if you know what purpose is, not what your purpose is, but what the definition of purpose is. And even if you do know the definition of purpose, you don't have a process for figuring out what yours is. And it is a process. You have to dig. It's not easy. And um, and and so I think the I think that that was the embarrassment of ignorance. And I don't mean ignorance in the pejorative sense. I mean just not knowing. And the irony of that is every single one of them, I would put my money on every single one of them, wanted to be able to answer your question. Yeah. But they couldn't because A, they don't know what purpose is, and B, they don't know how to find their purpose.

Ryann: 2:41

This is so good because I love words and I'm obsessed with the definition of words. So what is purpose?

Ian: 2:48

Um, okay, so I'll tell you, first of all, what purpose isn't. If you went out on the street and you asked a hundred people what is purpose, they would likely say something like, either I don't know, or uh, why I exist. Now it is sort of why you exist, but how do you answer that question? The other thing purpose isn't, and I'm about to demonstrate that, is that it's not something out there. It's not something you're committed to. It's not, you know, climate change, it's not, you know, like political, it's not any of those kinds of things. It's not, it's not solving hunger. It's it's inside you. Your purpose is inside you. And that really got struck home to me about six or seven years ago when I stumbled upon a quote from Pablo Picasso, the artist, right? He said, the meaning of life is to find your gift. And your purpose is to share it with the world. So you were saying you're a words person, I'm a wordsperson too. And I said, that's too many words. And I said, you know, he's really just saying your purpose is to find your gift and share it with the world. Now, another way of saying that is figure out who the best possible you is and share that with the world. And so the challenge becomes then to define who the best possible you is. What is it about you that makes you, at your essence, uniquely remarkable? And everybody does have something, even identical twins have something that makes them uniquely and distinctly remarkable. And when you can define that in seven words or less, that's my standard for doing it. Why? Because it can always be done in seven words or less. Why would you write a paragraph or a page or a chapter to describe your purpose? And it's usually only done in two or three or four words, not seven. So when you when you can define your purpose that clearly, precisely, and compellingly, uh, you know, it does two things to you. First of all, it just elevates your confidence. Now, whatever your baseline confidence was, whether it was not good or good, you're going to go up a notch. You're going to go up, you know, from 1.0 to 2.0. Why? Because you know that you have a superpower and you know how to use it because you've been using it all your life. You just didn't know it. But now you can use it with intentionality. And no matter how much the world beats you down, they can't beat that superpower out of you. I'll give you an example. Mine is transforming confusion into clarity. That's my special skill. If you've got some a really intractable problem that you can't solve, I won't solve it for you, but I can, I can lead you through a conversation where we, whether that's just two of us or a whole group of us, figure out the answer. And I've got a special technique for doing that. And nobody can ever take that away from me. You know, no matter how how hard. So I have sort of an elevated baseline confidence because I know I have a superpower called transforming confusion into clarity. And then the other thing is it becomes a very powerful decision-making tool for you. And that's really the practical element of it, right? The what I'll call woo-woo element is this idea that you feel like you have a superpower to give to the world, and therefore you can make good things happen with it. And then the practical part is it just becomes a decision-making tool for you. It helps you make make decisions that are more aligned with who you are.

Ryann: 6:19

So you filter everything you do through this purpose statement, I'm imagining everything that goes on your calendar, every, you know, meeting you take, every action you do, are you filtering it through that purpose statement to make sure is this aligned with who I am and what I want?

Ian: 6:37

Absolutely. That is absolutely the tangible, practical way that it works. Yeah. And I'll give you an example. When you have to make a decision about something, um, let's say you get laid off. So you didn't do anything wrong, you're a good employee, but you know, just economic conditions, you're laid off. Now you have to go find another job. And you say, What am I gonna do? Now that's a big question with no parameters, no guidelines, no guardrails inside the question. But instead, if you were to ask the question, which of the options available to me out there are most aligned with my purpose, all of a sudden you have guardrails, parameters put on that question. And the pool of options narrows from anything to just these few things. And then you and then you do an analysis and you say which one most aligns with my purpose? And then you can choose, you know, whichever one you want, because all of them align with your purpose.

Ryann: 7:41

Yeah. Is purpose always about money or career?

Ian: 7:46

No, it's about decisions. Any decision, right? So, what are you gonna do in your retirement? What courses are you gonna take in university? How am I going to manage my divorce? How am I gonna deal with my empty nest?

Ryann: 7:59

Right. So if we think of like these seven or eight, I forget what there are, like, you know, categories of life. So we've got our spirituality, we've got our family, our relationships, our work, our finances, like all these areas of our life. It's factors in all of that.

Ian: 8:13

Every single one. So I uh when I was in university, um, I learned a great metaphor, and I can't tell you how many times if this guy got a nickel for every time I use his metaphor, he'd be rich and I'd be poor. So he was a computer science prof from Northwestern University, and he wrote a book called Girdle, Escher, and Bach. Girdle was a German mathematician who came up with a theorem that didn't just change math, it changed the world. Escher is the artist, you know, with the who does the the mind, the mind-bending optical illusion art. And Bach is a guy who, you know, wrote some pop tunes in his day on the piano. And he described them as three shadows cast from the same stone. And his effort in the book was to describe the stone. And I loved that metaphor. And I stole it. And so to me, your purpose is the stone in your life. And everything that you do and say is a shadow that is cast from that stone. And if I could just wave a magic wand, Ryan, and you would know your purpose in seven words or less in this moment. You would look back at your life and you would say, Yeah, I've been doing that all along. And in the places that I haven't been doing it, you know, that that aren't aligned with this, those were not positive experiences in my life.

Ryann: 9:34

Right.

Ian: 9:35

And as I look back, I could have said, I could have avoided those experiences if I had known my purpose, because very clearly they're not aligned.

Ryann: 9:42

Yeah, right. Okay, so I think I have a pretty clear idea of what my purpose is, but to be clear, it's not a belief. So I say, and like the North Star that guides this podcast is I believe we can change the world by starting at home. If I shifted that to a purpose statement, it would be something like changing the world by starting at home, right? And I think about that and I'm like, yes and no. And so my question is for those of us who are multi-passionate and have many varied interests, is it gonna evolve? And how often do we take a look and like go back to the drawing board to kind of zhuzh this purpose statement up?

Ian: 10:18

Once you nail it, it doesn't evolve. Uh I'm sorry, it could evolve, but you're going to fine-tune it. So mine evolved, right? Mine for years and years and years was from confusion to clarity. And then I designed the course. And I have to take the course to make sure it works while I'm designing it, right? And I changed it to transforming confusion into clarity. Now that may seem like a small difference, but from confusion to clarity, I loved. But transforming is more dynamic to me.

Ryann: 10:48

It's a cool word. Yeah, I love that word.

Ian: 10:51

And especially in that sentence. So I changed it. I changed it two years ago when I resigned the course. Let me ask you this question. Why, when you stated where you are right now with your purpose statement, did you say kinda yeah, kinda no?

Ryann: 11:05

Why did I say kinda yeah, kinda no?

Ian: 11:07

Because I This will be instructive, by the way.

Ryann: 11:09

Yes, I get that. Great question. So because I am a perfectionist, because I don't want to be pigeonholed into something, because I don't want to feel limited by this, like, you know, short statement. I want it to really encompass all of who I truly am. And when I think about, okay, changing the world by starting at home, what about when I'm outside the home? Okay, well, it still applies, right? I really believe and the the essence of it is like, and I think I could peel back the layers of the onion even more. The essence of it is that it's not just changing the world by starting at home here in my home. It's at home here in my own mind and heart. Like that's how I truly believe. Like peace begins with me. Like, okay, and then somebody I picture somebody like countering in a debate. Like, well, what about, you know, the wars happening and hunger and homelessness and all of those? How do you change that by starting at home in your own mind and heart? And what I would say to that is that the only thing we have control over is the reactions, the responses, the way that we show up in our little corner of the world. Like that's it. So tell me what you see based on that.

Ian: 12:27

The two criteria is is it so logical that is self-evident to you and others? Secondly, does it resonate on a deep emotional level with you and with others? Now, it's not always going to resonate on a deep emotional level. But so for instance, with me, transforming confusion into clarity, if you have a team at work, or you know, you're doing a community project or whatever, and you have a problem that you just can't crack, then transforming confusion into clarity in that, in that context is going to resonate with you. If we're just yaking in a dog park, you know, while we're running our dogs, it's not gonna resonate with you. So I guess my question back to you is does it, is it kind of, but not there because it is not yet so logical that it is self-evident? And secondly, does it does that statement resonate on a deep emotional level with you and others? And and here's one more element. If it doesn't do number one, it can't do number two. If you don't have the right words that so that it's so logical that it's self-evident, then it won't, it won't resonate with you on a deep emotional level.

Ryann: 13:39

See, as I continued to like blah, blah, blah it out, I did feel that emotion. But, you know, so like as I had to just add more words to it. So therein lies the problem where people are going, how do I do this in seven words or less? And why is that brevity so important too?

Ian: 14:00

So the reason it's so important is what I call the three easies. It's easy to understand, right? Transforming confusion into clarity. That's pretty self-evident. It's easy to remember. Why? Because it's easy to understand. So you remember it, and then it's easy to repeat. So, Ryan, if you meet somebody later in the day and they say, you know, we're having this problem, and every time we try to solve it, we just put it on the shelf for the next time we discuss it. We keep kicking it down the road. What more do you need to hear about my purpose for you to say to them, hey, I know this guy. Now you're not going to be able to explain to them in depth how I can help them, but you can say, I know this guy, and his superpower is transforming confusion into clarity. It sounds like that's what you need. And your friend would say, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's exactly what I need right now. We stop kicking this down the road. You don't need to hear anything more from me to make that pitch. Then I get an email from that person, and you know, you've had a 30-second conversation as an as an evangelist for me. And you the reason you could do it was because my purpose was defined in seven words or less, and and had the three easies. Easy to understand, easy to remember, easy to repeat.

Ryann: 15:13

This will be really helpful at like a cocktail party or a networking event. Because when you have this nailed down so specifically, you mentioned confidence. I just imagine people being like, What do you do? And you being like, I transform confusion into clarity. Oh, really? What does that mean? Tell me more about that, right?

Ian: 15:33

Okay, look at how you reacted there. You're right. That's really important.

Ryann: 15:36

Yeah.

Ian: 15:37

So when you've nailed your purpose statement and you say it, people go, That's interesting. Tell me more. They're not, they're not asking out of confusion. They're not asking because you're not clear.

Ryann: 15:50

Curiosity.

Ian: 15:50

They're asking because they're intrigued.

Ryann: 15:52

Yeah.

Ian: 15:53

You've piqued their interest. The headline in the newspaper work. Now you're going to read the article.

Ryann: 15:58

Yep. So I'm back to the drawing board, perhaps, with my purpose statement. And where does somebody who's a little confused, like me, but maybe not fully confused? Like, where do we start?

Ian: 16:10

The question I usually get people to contemplate to get them thinking in the right direction is if that you do and say is a means to an end, what's the end? And then what it does is it gets you to recognize that everything that's going on in your life is happening at this level, but there's actually a level above it that guides it, right? Everything you do and say, you know, going to work, being a mother, a father, you know, all that stuff, having your kids in sports, whatever it is, being a mountain climber. Those are shadows that are cast from the stone. So when I say if everything you do is a means to an end, what's the end? It makes you start thinking about the stone. What's the what are the common threads in all of these things? So that you can do, you know, to really sort of nail it. What I've what I've tried to do is make it as easy as possible for you. But we are talking about digging into you. That's a complex organism, right? So the first part of the course gets you to go through a process where you break down two accomplishments in your life, two things that you're proud of. And I get you to break those down until they produce at the end of that first segment three buckets: your beliefs, your wants, and your talents. And who you are, what makes you uniquely remarkable, is whatever your unique combination of beliefs, wants, and talents is. So now we've got the building blocks of Ryan, right? The psychological building blocks of Ryan. Now, as I lead you through that process, I'm sitting on one side of you holding your hand, and our AI assistant is sitting on the other side holding your other hand. The AI assistant is called Wordsmith because it does two things. It um, you know, when you're trying when you're answering questions in the exercises, if you're not happy with the words, it will help you find better words for that answer. And then the second thing that it does is it can see things that you can't see. So when we get a bunch of raw data, like your your sets of beliefs, wants, and talents, we can get we can get wordsmith to look at that and say, what do you see here that I don't see? And that's, you know, that's the next step in getting to your purpose statement. Now, when I'm sitting beside you on one side holding your hand, I think we have like 27 videos. They're all two minutes, four minutes, five minutes, nothing, nothing. But they give you very detailed and substantive instructions. So you go to video one, you get detailed and uh comprehensive instructions, then you go to the exercise space where Wordsmith is waiting for you to help you answer, do the first exercise and answer the first question. Then you go back and watch video two, then you go back to Wordsmith and you blah, blah, blah. So that's how the that's how the course works. And in the end, you have your your purpose defined in seven words or less, and you have your purpose pitch, which is a three-sentence paragraph that tells the story of your purpose. So, like you said, Ryan, when you're at a when you're at that cocktail party and and then you go, oh, what does that mean? Well, next out of your mouth is your purpose pitch.

Ryann: 19:23

So what part does challenge, trauma, pain have to do with purpose, if any?

Ian: 19:31

Everything in your life informs who you are. Those, you know, those are sort of negative areas of your life, right? What we do is we look for the most positive areas of your life because that's where your purpose is raging at the time, right? Like if you're involved in a project, either you're you're doing it yourself, you're running it, or you're a cast of thousands. If you're proud of it, then that's a really positive experience in your life. And you know that in those situations where you did something that you were really proud of, you were in that flow state. It was like, this isn't work. This is play, right? I'm getting to play, and look what I'm accomplishing here. So there are very positive times in your life that we deconstruct in order to come up with your purpose because that's where it's raging.

Ryann: 20:17

I love that. I am reading a book called The Mastery of Self. And in that book, it gives an example of like kind of a statement where there's a difference. So, this event that I did, I started off with this like hard story about my childhood and da-da-da. And I really, after reading this book, thought if you took every single sentence you wrote out and you flipped it to the positive. So, for example, you know, my parents got divorced when I was three, and oh gosh, that was hard. No, like, okay, my parents got divorced when I was three, and my mom really taught me like not to settle and to be, you know, really like, you know, stay true to who I am and, you know, get treated well. So I was like, oh God, this is so interesting. And so I love that this is not diving into all like the muck and the mire. Like, I love that we're staying on the lighter side of things because that really is like if we can invite more of that positivity into life. And I'm not talking like brushing stuff under the rug, no, like we all need therapy, right? But I'm talking about like really focusing on like those events and things that you're proud of. So I think that's a great place for people to start. Like, what am I proud of right now? Right. Like in this season of life, even.

Ian: 21:35

So when you say I'm making a decision that is aligned with my purpose, what you're really doing is you're saying, I'm making decisions that are aligned with my beliefs, wants, and talents. And that's why you get the intellectual and emotional resonance, because it aligns with your beliefs, wants, and talents. The more you can make decisions that are aligned with your beliefs, wants, and talents, those are good decisions. And even if you're using your purpose as a decision-making tool to get you out of a distressing situation, every step out of the distressing situation, you're still distressed, but you're less and less and less. You're you're you're climbing out, right? You're getting to a better place.

Ryann: 22:20

That's what I was gonna ask you, actually. Like, so we know our purpose statement. Let's assume that we're walking around like having this statement in our back pockets. Like when we're having challenges, stressful, chaotic seasons of life, how do we use that as like a life preserver? Like, how do we actually hold on to that to keep taking that one step forward?

Ian: 22:41

Well, um, so it it all goes back to the two cores, right? The second, the first one being it elevates your confidence, the second one being it's a decision-making tool. So I'll give you an example of a distressing situation that I experienced very near the beginning of my career. I worked as an account executive in an advertising agency. I am built entirely wrong to be an account executive at an advertising agency. So it will not shock you to hear that I sucked at that position and I got fired as a result of sucking at that position. And I was my ego was crushed and I was panicked because it's like, what do I do now? I didn't know transforming confusion into clarity back then. But what I would have done is I would have started saying I would have said two things. One is, that job did not allow me to transform confusion into clarity, right? That job was for someone whose primary talent was keeping order in chaos. That's not me. And so I what I would have done is I would have said, what I did say was, what am I gonna do next? What I what I could have said is, what options are there out there for me to transform confusion into clarity? Doesn't solve my problem right away. But now I'm looking in the right direction, right? Now I feel like I'm moving, although I'm still depressed and, you know, panicky and whatever, I'm moving in the right direction. Might be slowly at first, but I'm moving. I'm not stuck. And I know it's the right direction, and it's going to get me somewhere that is going to be better than where I was.

Ryann: 24:31

Yeah. Love this. So, how do you see this purpose statement, this work that you're doing at Purpose U? How do you see it impacting families, communities, and future generations, really?

Ian: 24:44

There's the individual way, and then there's the community way. The individual way is I'm convinced that, you know, there's 8 billion people in the world, and I'm convinced that half of them are walking around thinking that there is nothing special about them. And because there's nothing special about them, they can't accomplish anything special and they don't deserve anything special. And like I said to you before, Ryan, you know, until you can show me two people who have the exact same set of beliefs, wants, and talents, like even twins don't, then you are going to have something that makes you uniquely remarkable. And if you can walk around, A, with your chin held a little higher, and B with the realization that you can make positive change. And here's the community part. When you know what your superpower is, what your purpose is, then you can go out and you can give that to the community. You can look for opportunities to exercise that in the community. And you're only going to be looking for opportunities that allow you to exercise that, not just opportunities in general, just that. And then once you find those, you're going to be able to make a difference there. You're going to be able to make a difference because that's your superpower. You're giving them your superpower.

Ryann: 26:00

Yeah. So good. Ian, thank you so much for joining us today. If you are listening and feeling the nudge like I am, to explore your own seven-word or less purpose, head over to purpose you.ai to learn more about Ian's course. Of course, follow along on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your shows for more great conversations like this. Thanks for exploring purpose with us today. And until next time, go love someone well. All right, that's it for today. As always, thanks for being here, friend. Remember, changing the world starts in the small and soulful, the quiet and the mundane, around the dinner table, on walks, and most importantly, inside your own heart. Make sure you're following the podcast or subscribed on YouTube. And if you feel inspired right now, share the link to this episode with a friend or write a review on Apple Podcasts. It means the world. Until next time, take care of yourself and go love someone well.