SPARKED
We’re all in a moment. And, we’re asking the big questions. Especially about work. Should I join The Great Resignation? Should I stay and just keep on, keeping on. Or, reimagine, reinvent, maybe even start my own thing? Can I really expect more than just a paycheck and stability from work? How do I navigate the overwhelm, burnout, and work-life-bleed that’s turned work-from-home into never-stop-working? What about purpose, joy, excitement, time to breathe, and live? What about that nagging tension between money and meaning, the desire to feel secure and the quest to do something that makes you come alive - that sparks you? These are the questions we’ll be diving into on the SPARKED podcast. Every week, we invite a listener to share what’s going on in their work & life, then pose a specific question. Then, our host, award-winning author, advisor, and founder, Jonathan Fields, and a rotating lineup of wise mentors from the SPARKED Braintrust will share insights, ideas, strategies, resources and tips to help us all better align what we do with who we are, so we can find and do more of what makes us come alive.
Episodes
August 27, 2024 • 37 mins
Meet Barbara Ellen Leicht, a former classroom educator who listened to those inner whispers telling her it was time for a pivot. Despite initial self-doubt from straying from her expected path, Barbara persevered, cultivating a deeper understanding of her core strengths.
Today, she wears multiple hats as a career coach empowering others to confidently navigate their professional journeys and a higher education professional supporti...
Mark as Played
August 20, 2024 • 39 mins
In today’s episode, we’re digging into a story of listening to that nagging sense that you were meant for something more - following that deeper calling tugging at you to forge a path that truly aligns with your values and allows your unique gifts to shine.
My guest today is Dr. Sabba Quidwai, an educator, entrepreneur and leading voice on cultivating the human skills essential for an AI-driven world. From her childhood dreams of d...
Mark as Played
August 13, 2024 • 33 mins
My guest today is Philippe Lazaro, communications manager and storyteller at the non-profit Plant With Purpose. Despite initially taking on a traditional marketing role, Philippe found ways to interweave his creative passions as a filmmaker, illustrator, and performer into his work.
Rather than forcing himself into a ill-fitting mold, Philippe gently reshaped his position over 8 years to better align with his Sparketype profile wh...
Mark as Played
August 6, 2024 • 35 mins
Today, we are incredibly excited to be sharing our new feature on the Sparked podcast, Career Transformation Stories. We've invited guests to share inspiring stories of their career change from reimagining the work they’re currently doing so it feels so much more alive, to leaving behind unfulfilling jobs to find or create new, more inspired, energized, purposeful, meaningful and joy-filled paths. And we're exploring how their Spar...
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July 30, 2024 • 31 mins
Listener Marie asks, "When looking for niche job roles that match your criteria, how do you have patience in the process?"
Every week on the SPARKED podcast, we invite a listener to share what’s going on in their work & life, then pose a specific question to Jonathan Fields and a rotating lineup of wise and kind mentors - the SPARKED Braintrust.
In today’s episode we’re in conversation with:
SPARKED BRAINTRUST ADVISOR: Jenny Blake...
Mark as Played
July 23, 2024 • 40 mins
That little voice inside, you've heard it before, haven't you? Whispering "This place just isn't letting me thrive." Or maybe you've felt its opposite - those energizing moments when your values aligned perfectly and your whole self showed up effortlessly.
If those experiences resonate, pay attention. Because work culture shapes our daily experience, motivation and growth as human beings in powerful ways. Get it right, and you unlo...
Mark as Played
July 16, 2024 • 36 mins
How often have you felt diminished or dismissed, pigeonholed into some generational stereotype that fails to capture your true potential as a human being? Maybe you're a young striver constantly battling the "entitled Gen-Z or millennial" narrative. Or a seasoned veteran having to prove your relevance in a youth-obsessed culture.
If these experiences resonate, you're definitely not alone. Question is, what can you do about it? That...
Mark as Played
July 9, 2024 • 41 mins
Have you ever found yourself in a meeting, eyes wide, stomach dropping as a colleague says something that cuts right through you? Maybe it was an offhand comment laced with bias. Or a flat-out prejudiced belief masquerading as opinion. Perhaps it was the sting of outright bullying that left you feeling small and disrespected.
If you've been there, you know that awkward, powerless feeling all too well. But what if you had the tools ...
Mark as Played
July 2, 2024 • 44 mins
What if you could tap into a state of optimal productivity, creativity, and joy whenever you wanted?
I'm talking about flow - that magical feeling when you're so immersed in an activity that the rest of the world seems to melt away. For some of us, slipping into a flow state brings a rush of energy and laser-like focus. We can get more done in less time. New ideas and insights emerge effortlessly. And we feel lit up from the inside...
Mark as Played
June 25, 2024 • 33 mins
This week on the SPARKED podcast, we invited a listener to share what’s going on in their work & life, then pose a specific question to Jonathan Fields and a rotating lineup of wise and kind mentors - the SPARKED Braintrust.
In today’s episode we’re in conversation with:
SPARKED BRAINTRUST ADVISOR: Jadah Sellner | Website
Jadah is a multi-time founder and CEO of Jadah Sellner Media, the co-creator of the Simple Green Smoothies soc...
Mark as Played
June 18, 2024 • 33 mins
Have you ever felt like you just don't quite fit into the culture of your workplace? That the way you naturally communicate, in a quieter mode, doesn't align with what's expected and rewarded in a loud culture? If this resonates with you, then you'll want to listen closely to our conversation today, with guest Jessica Chen, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, author, speaker, and CEO of the global business communication company Soulc...
Mark as Played
June 11, 2024 • 36 mins
Have you ever felt like you're being pulled in a million directions, stretched incredibly thin as you try to juggle all the expectations of career, family, and personal fulfillment? Have you struggled with the narrative that women can "have it all" if they just lean in and work hard enough?
In today's episode, we challenge this myth of "making it" and explore why it may be causing more harm than good, especially for women. My guest...
Mark as Played
June 4, 2024 • 45 mins
Have you ever felt that the cutthroat, win-at-all-costs mentality celebrated in business today leaves you feeling empty instead of fulfilled?
In chasing status and wealth above all else, are we sacrificing our humanity along the way? How can we redefine success to prioritize significance over promotion and real human connection over control?
My guest today, James Rhee, proposes a radically more holistic vision of business and lif...
Mark as Played
May 28, 2024 • 32 mins
This week on the SPARKED podcast, we invite a listener to share what’s going on in their work & life, then pose a specific question to Jonathan Fields and a rotating lineup of wise and kind mentors - the SPARKED Braintrust.
In today’s episode we’re in conversation with:
SPARKED BRAINTRUST ADVISOR: Jenny Blake | Website
Jenny is the bestselling author of Life After College, her groundbreaking books PIVOT, and Free Time, and also an...
Mark as Played
May 21, 2024 • 30 mins
* Discover Your Sparketype here *
What if you've been searching for purpose, passion, joy and energy in all the wrong places? Or, if you’re limiting yourself to “having” to find only in the thing you get paid to do.
In today's SPARKED Hot Take, we challenge the notion that meaning at work only comes from your job. Sure, when you can find it in your job, that’s amazing. And we’ve created lots of tools to help you do that. But, we’ve...
Mark as Played
May 14, 2024 • 47 mins
You may not think of your work as your religion, but for many, it’s trying to become exactly that! Without us even realizing it. Question is – is that a good thing? A bad thing? Or just a thing?
Today’s guest, sociologist, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, and Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion, Carolyn Chen, has a lot to say about this silent, yet deeply impactful, phenomenon. She spen...
Mark as Played
May 7, 2024 • 38 mins
What if much of what you’ve been told about how to come alive and get ahead in work was, well, wrong? That’s what today’s guest, Bonnie Hammer argues. And she’d know. As the Vice Chair of NBCUniversal, with decades at the highest levels of business, she’s the author of the new book 15 Lies: How Women are Taught to Fail and the Truth That Sets Them Free.
In our conversation, Bonnie stresses the difference between common platitudes ...
Mark as Played
April 30, 2024 • 30 mins
* Discover Your Sparketype here *
We all want to feel more alive in work, and also in life. But, how? Where do we even begin.
I'm sure you've noticed there are certain activities that light you up at work. When you're doing them, you lose track of time, enter a state of flow, and feel deeply energized, like you’re fueled by purpose, meaning and joy.. But there are also tasks that drain you, no matter how motivated you are.
Turns o...
Mark as Played
April 23, 2024 • 38 mins
Are you unintentionally shutting down those around, so you you never get the benefit of their wisdom? Or, are you the one being shut down? In work, in relationships, in life?
Have you ever wondered what your coworkers, friends, or even kids really think but don’t say? I’m sure you’ve experienced those rare moments when someone finally opened up and offered a perspective that shifted your whole view. But what about all the times the...
Mark as Played
April 16, 2024 • 35 mins
This week on the SPARKED podcast, we invite a listener to share what’s going on in their work & life, then pose a specific question to Jonathan Fields and a rotating lineup of wise and kind mentors - the SPARKED Braintrust.
In today’s episode we’re in conversation with:
SPARKED BRAINTRUST ADVISOR: Jenny Blake | Website
Jenny is a podcaster, career and business strategist, and an award-winning author of three books: Life After Coll...
Mark as Played
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