Chris Chamberlin - Making Your Purpose Your Real Life Mission

In episode 3 of our 'Unleashing Superpowers' season, we are talking to Chris Chamberlin, General Manager of EFFECT Partners.  Chris spent 20 years in marketing and communication agencies but has always been about climate change and environmental causes. 

However, in May 2017, he went through a huge life pivot when he left the agency world behind to become the Sustainability Manager for U2’s Joshua Tree 2017 world tour.

In this interview, Chris tells his real-life story as a Maverick following the call of his heart, facing the fears that letting go of a mainstream career can bring and orienting his life to his calling.  His story is enough to inspire anyone wanting to make their own rules.

In our conversation, some of the highlights that we talked about include:

• Facing the ‘moment’  when you think “What am I here to do? What is my next chapter? What do I want to do from here?”
• The journey to align personal purpose with professional direction
• Finding the ‘dream summer job’
• The importance of having the support of your family in going through a pivot moment
• The Risk/Reward strategy - what is the highest risk and highest reward option in front of you that will give you the most satisfaction?
• Following the ‘feel good’ - instead of trying to figure out how to manage the transition, following the motivation of what feels good
• That often the opportunity doesn’t appear until you make the decision to change
• What it is like to decide to change you life without a safety net
• The daily reality, challenges and rewards of the ‘dream job’
• That as far as the state of the world goes, there are reasons to be optimistic
• How start-ups and innovative business models and a ‘heck of a lot of fun’ may be the answer to some of the most pressing environmental issues
• The financial handcuffs vs purpose-driven living - how the shift to being purpose-driven can shift the meaning and value of money
• Finding your ‘ikigai’ as the guide for navigating life pivots and changes…and finding joy and happiness

Note - Chris' new business partner, Mike Martin, was our very first podcast guest! Mike is a sustainability pioneer and has worked with some of the biggest names in music to create change around environmental issues.  Click here to listen to Mike's interview.

Show References

David Yeung and Green Monday

Magic Giant