Bo Parfet was told he would never graduate high school. He struggled with dyslexia, ADHD, speech impediments, and years of feeling behind everyone else.

But those same struggles became the foundation for everything he’s accomplished today.

After building and exiting a successful real estate business, Bo realized success alone wasn’t enough…

A conversation with his wife, a hospice chaplain, forced him to rethink purpose, regret, and the kind of life he actually wanted to live.

Today, Bo helps lead a multi-billion-dollar investment firm focused on solving problems like housing affordability, loneliness, literacy, and community.

He’s climbed Mount Everest from both sides, helped restore eyesight for tens of thousands of people around the world, and is living a life centered around service instead of status.

This episode digs into adversity, authentic living, emotional healing, intentional parenting, faith-driven leadership, and why the people who impact the world most are usually the ones who learned how to suffer well.

0:00 Intro

05:58 Leadership and the Resilience of Failure

10:54 Finding Purpose and Living Authentically

15:01 Growth Through Setbacks and Adversity

20:25 Solving the Loneliness Crisis Through Community

26:01 Mountaineering, Healing, and Emotional Recovery

30:05 Restoring Sight and Creating Global Impact

36:16 Intentional Parenting and Rites of Passage

41:01 Service, Legacy, and Getting to Heaven Exhausted

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Bo

https://www.boparfet.com/

DLP Capital

https://dlpcapital.com

SEE International

https://www.seeintl.org

Mark Batterson books

https://www.markbatterson.com/books/

Follow @PhilOnPurpose

https://www.instagram.com/philonpurpose

https://www.facebook.com/philonpurpose

Kyle Ahrens spent five years inside Tom Izzo’s program at Michigan State where discipline was expected, accountability was constant, and nobody was allowed to coast.

Then injuries hit… He broke his foot, came back too early, broke it again, and lost an entire season after working all summer to earn his spot.

That experience reshaped the way he thinks about adversity, preparation, and what actually creates resilience over time.

Today, Kyle works in business, raises young kids, and still carries the same mindset that shaped him as an athlete.

This episode digs into why strong communities matter, why relationships make hard seasons survivable, and how small daily actions quietly shape who you become.

0:00 Intro

05:50 Balancing Hard Work With Family and Community

10:11 Building Teams Through Accountability

15:46 Relationship Driven Leadership

20:03 Applying Competitive Discipline to Business

24:45 Modeling Discipline for Kids

29:55 Relentlessness and Controlling the Controllables

34:55 Learning From Failure and Preparation

39:35 Courage Through Small Daily Actions

44:47 Mentorship, Transition, and Asking for Help

Resources Mentioned:

Michigan State University

https://msu.edu

Phelan Insurance

https://www.phelanins.com

Follow

@PhilOnPurpose

https://www.instagram.com/philonpurpose

https://www.facebook.com/philonpurpose

A 22-year-old suddenly passes away in a basement before a night out. No warning. No chance to do anything he planned…

That moment never left Matt King.

He’s a husband, a father of three young kids, a CEO, and a leader responsible for people, companies, and decisions that don’t slow down.

At the same time, he’s training for a 2000-mile ride from Mexico to Canada (despite never being a cyclist).

Along the way, he plans to stop in small towns and meet families dealing with loss, trauma, and situations they didn’t choose.

Some people carry regret from what they did. Others carry something heavier.

This episode forces a question most people avoid…and will put you face to face with it.

0:00 Intro

02:00 Who Is Matt King

04:46 The Graveyard and Unlived Potential

07:04 Regret vs Awareness

11:03 Asking for a Do Over

15:04 Letting Go of Other People’s Problems

19:13 Work, Fatherhood, and Example

22:03 Riding From Mexico to Canada

24:42 Supporting Families Along the Route

30:19 Living Fully With Limited Time

35:08 Leadership Through Questions

38:19 Training for a 2000-Mile Ride

40:52 Chosen Hard Versus Unchosen Hard

45:09 Back theRide

Resources Mentioned:

theRide

https://backtheride.com

Gobundance

https://gobundance.com/

Follow @PhilOnPurpose

https://www.instagram.com/philonpurpose

https://www.facebook.com/philonpurpose

A college senior sits with a professor and admits he has no clear career path. The advice is simple:

Watch who’s successful and do what they do.

Brian Seitz leaves that conversation and starts paying attention to one person in his hometown. It leads to a conversation in a local bar and a job (that he had no experience for).

What follows is years of rejection, relationship building, and learning how the business actually works. That same idea keeps showing up as the stakes get higher…

Who you follow early starts to shape how you hire, how you lead, and what you’re willing to change later.

If you’re choosing a path or leading a team, this sharpens how much the people you watch quietly define everything after.

0:00 Intro

01:31 Joining a Century-Old Business

03:08 Career Advice That Changed Direction

05:47 Defining Success Through Behavior

08:43 Early Sales and Rejection

12:46 Building a Client Base from Zero

16:50 Transition Into Ownership

18:47 Empowering the Right People

22:44 Protecting the Team Culture

25:46 Leading by Example at Work

29:44 Growth Requires the Right People

33:47 Changing Work to Support Family

40:46 What Success Looks Like Now

Connect with Brian:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-d-seitz-cic-64957379

Leugers Insurance Agency

https://leugersins.com/

Follow @PhilOnPurpose

https://www.instagram.com/philonpurpose

https://www.facebook.com/philonpurpose

Two in ten people love what they do. The other eight show up disconnected, going through the motions, or actively working against the team.

Jeremy Pietrocini pulls from Gallup data to show how leaders misread this problem. They try to fix teams instead of looking at the energy they bring into the room each day. He and Phil discuss the difference between employees who are simply present and those who are actively disengaged (the ones who would make the organization more productive if they stayed home).

The shift starts when leaders examine their own state. A leader who is fully charged creates trust, stability, and hope. A leader who is drained creates fear, confusion, and withdrawal.

Jeremy ties this to simple patterns like how leaders listen, how they create freedom, and whether people feel safe to show up as themselves.

The result is a move from compliance to real engagement, where people bring effort, ownership, and energy because they feel it from the person leading them.

0:00 Intro

02:10 Jeremy’s Backstory

05:10 The Leadership Reality of Disengagement

08:18 What Drives Engagement

11:00 Aliveness as the Real Leadership Test

14:15 What to Do When You’re Running on Empty

18:00 Trust, Compassion, Stability, and Hope

22:24 Work Life Integration vs. Balance

27:19 Listen, Love, Liberate

33:15 Freedom Inside Organizations

38:21 Authentic Leadership and Psychological Safety

43:52 Faith and Leadership at Work

51:23 RECREATE Work’s Mission

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Jeremy:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-pietrocini

RECREATE Work:

https://recreatework.com

Gallup:

https://www.gallup.com

CliftonStrengths:

https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths

📚 Fully Charged by Tom Rath

📚 Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie

📚 First Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

📚 Beyond High Performance by Jason Jaggard

📚 12: The Elements of Great Managing

Follow @PhilOnPurpose

https://www.instagram.com/philonpurpose

https://www.facebook.com/philonpupose

Tom Burden built the company, got the recognition, and stepped onto Shark Tank at age 26…

But it still didn’t settle anything internally.

Even at that level, he found himself dealing with imposter syndrome and a persistent sense that something wasn’t adding up.

So the question became: what actually changes that?

Today, Phil and Tom unpack why success doesn’t resolve unworthiness, and how it often deepens the need to prove yourself.

0:00 Intro

04:29 Preparation for Shark Tank

15:58 Using Value Instead of Money

19:12 Origins of Grind Culture

22:54 Healthy Motivation for Improvement

27:48 Learning Through Failure

28:51 Awareness as a Foundation

35:46 Finding Direction Through Presence

41:43 Future Based Thinking and Anxiety

48:24 Purpose in the Present

Resources Mentioned:

🎙️ Intuition of a CEO YouTube Channel

www.youtube.com/@tom.theburden

📚 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Follow @PhilOnPurpose

https://www.instagram.com/philonpurpose

https://www.facebook.com/philonpupose

Leadership is often pursued through success, but sustained through suffering.

Dr. Daniel Tataje joins Phil to trace his path from building a fast growing dental organization to confronting the cost of neglecting his role at home.

He describes chasing success until it lost meaning, facing breakdown in his family, and rebuilding through discipline, self denial, and a reframed understanding of love as sacrifice.

Rather than systems or tactics, this conversation is grounded in responsibility, trust, and the internal standard required to lead without choosing comfort.

0:00 Intro

01:24 Daniel’s Background and Business Journey

04:12 Building a Business on Integrity and Trust

06:07 Wealth vs. Impact in Business

10:39 Chasing the Fake Rabbit of Success

13:18 Family Struggles and Blind Spots

15:36 The Fitness Program That Sparked Transformation

18:53 Learning to Suffer and Lead

26:15 Leadership Impact on Family and Business

30:29 Discipline Is Not Optional

37:13 Fathers for Christ Program

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Dr. Daniel Tataje:

https://danieltataje.com

Mercy Dental Group:

https://www.mercydentalwi.com/

Fathers for Christ:

https://www.fathersforchrist.com/

Follow @PhilOnPurpose

https://www.instagram.com/philonpurpose

https://www.facebook.com/philonpupose

Here’s a question most people don’t actually answer:

What level are you leading at?

Early in his career, Phil could get work done just by writing instructions and handing them off. The job got done, but not much beyond it.

Most leaders never move past that pattern (even when they start getting results). That’s where the ceiling shows up.

In this episode, Phil walks through the five levels of leadership, but spends most of the time on one problem:

Why results become the stopping point…and what has to change if you want your leadership to actually scale beyond you.

0:00 Intro

0:29 What Level Are You Leading At?

04:04 Moving from Position to Relationship

05:29 Character, Competence, and Connection

11:14 Why Leaders Get Stuck at Results

12:33 Developing People and Scaling Impact

22:19 Assessing Your Leadership Level and Growth Plan

Resources Mentioned:

📚 The 5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell

Focus 3 Leadership training

Follow @PhilOnPurpose

https://www.instagram.com/philonpurpose

https://www.facebook.com/philonpurpose