Libsyn Directory

99. Young Salt at 60: Deborah Hammett on Reinvention, Resilience, and the Freedom of the Sea

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

Release Date: 05/09/2025

116. The Fight Within Us: Gavin Lance Topp on Purpose, Sobriety, and Becoming a Man

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

In this episode of What’s the Point?, I sit down with Gavin Lance Topp, a former professional boxer whose life has been shaped as much by the battles outside the ring as the ones inside it. Gavin’s story is a powerful exploration of purpose, identity, and the fight within us all. Growing up in Australia and moving often as a child, Gavin found structure and validation in boxing. What began as an outlet for rage and energy became a disciplined pursuit that carried him from amateur fights to becoming the Australian Junior Middleweight Champion and eventually earning a world ranking. But as...

115. From Struggle to Sustainability: How Purpose Takes Shape with Vanessa Thompson

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

In this episode of What’s the Point?, I’m joined by Vanessa Thompson, whose story is a clear reminder that purpose doesn’t usually arrive fully formed. More often, it takes shape slowly—through struggle, uncertainty, and hard-earned clarity. Vanessa shares her journey through seasons of instability and questioning, moments where the path forward wasn’t obvious, and how those experiences ultimately reshaped how she thinks about work, success, and sustainability. We talk about how easy it is to chase outcomes without pausing to ask whether the life we’re building is actually...

114. Painting the World Our Children Will Inherit: Purpose, Art, and Community with Cbabi Bayoc

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

In this episode of What’s the Point, I sit down with artist Cbabi Bayoc, a painter, muralist, illustrator, and author whose work is rooted in one powerful idea: painting the world he wants his children—and all of our children—to thrive in. Cbabi shares how his art has always been about people. Faces. Emotion. Community. From his early days studying at Grambling State University to drawing caricatures at Six Flags, he learned to observe humanity closely, to listen, and to let people teach him through their reactions. What could have been discouraging moments became lessons in humility,...

113. Grit, Grace, and Becoming: How Tracy Spears Found Strength Through Truth, Belonging & Leadership

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

When you sit down with someone who has lived a big life, you can feel it instantly. That’s exactly what happened in today’s conversation with Tracy Spears—author, speaker, leadership coach, and co-founder of the Exceptional Leaders Lab. Her story is one of grit earned the hard way, grace discovered over time, and the lifelong work of becoming who we actually are. Tracy’s journey begins in a trailer park in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where early messages about work ethic, worthiness, and performing for belonging shaped her worldview. She openly shares how one sentence from her father in third...

112. Healing Our Relationship With Nature: Purpose, Restoration, and Hope with Tim Christophersen

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

In this episode of What’s the Point, I sit down with Tim Christophersen, one of the world’s leading voices in nature restoration and conservation, to explore what really drives us as humans and how we find meaning in our relationship with the natural world. Tim’s journey is a powerful human story of growth, purpose, and responsibility — and it’s bigger than politics, bigger than hot-button climate debates, and deeper than soundbites. Tim shares how his love of nature began as a young boy walking through forests in Germany with his grandfather, quietly building the foundation for a...

111. Finding Meaning Through Resilience and Kindness with Noemi Beres

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

In this episode of What’s the Point, I sit down with Noemi Beres, a woman whose life story is a powerful reflection of resilience, kindness, and purpose. From growing up in Hungary in a modest but deeply loving family, to becoming an entrepreneur, connector, and creative force, Noemi shares what keeps her going and how she discovered what truly matters. Noemi opens up about her childhood, shaped by hardworking parents and the strong values of Eastern Europe. She shares how her family’s history — stories of survival, perseverance, and hope — gave her the foundation to keep going, even...

110. The Sweet Work of Meaning: Family, Craft, and Purpose with Shawn & Lawren Askinosie

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

On today’s episode of What’s the Point, we explore how meaning is created—slowly, intentionally, and lovingly—through the everyday work of craft, family, and purpose. Bill welcomes Shawn and Lawren Askinosie, the father–daughter team behind Askinosie Chocolate, one of America’s most respected bean-to-bar chocolate companies. Their story is more than a business profile—it’s a human story of growth, legacy, and discovering what truly matters. Shawn left a long and intense career as a criminal defense attorney to pursue chocolate making—a leap that few understood at the time....

109. From Rant to Resolve: How Unity Became His Purpose

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

Discovering meaning and purpose by choosing connection over division — how one leader turned a moment of frustration into a nationwide movement for unity. After three decades in high-powered business and private equity, Adam Mizel found himself yelling at the TV in 2020, watching the world unravel. That moment sparked an unexpected transformation—from executive to bridge-builder. Today, he’s the co-founder and CEO of US United, a growing movement focused on creating unity through human connection, community action, and service. In this episode of What’s The Point, Bill Ellis and Adam...

108. The Journey, Not the Destination: John Golden on Authentic Leadership and Self-Awareness

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

In this episode of What’s the Point?, Bill Ellis welcomes John Golden—strategist, podcaster, martial arts practitioner, and Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Pipeliner CRM. John’s story stretches from growing up in Ireland to building a career in the U.S. that blends sales leadership, publishing, and purpose-driven business. Through their conversation, John emphasizes why embracing the journey matters more than obsessing over the destination. He shares how self-awareness, core values, and non-negotiables can guide decisions, why comparison is a trap, and how authenticity is the...

107. Building Trust That Lasts: How Unity and Service Can Transform Communities, Companies, and Culture with Chip Webster

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

Trust. It’s something we all crave, yet so many of us feel it slipping away. In today’s conversation, I sit down with Chip Webster, founder of Unity and Service and author of Unity and Service: A Pathway to Responsible Citizenship. Chip has spent decades observing how trust is built—and broken—in boardrooms, neighborhoods, and across our country. His mission is simple: rebuild unity one act of service at a time. We dive deep into the cultural shift that’s left many of us disconnected and cynical. Chip challenges us to get off the couch, engage with our neighbors, and remember that...

More Episodes

Redefining Retirement, One Wave at a Time
In this episode of What’s the Point?, Bill Ellis welcomes Deborah Hammett, retired educator turned solo sailor and author of Young Salt at 60. After a 30+ year career as an elementary school teacher and principal on Martha’s Vineyard, Deborah did something few would expect—she learned to sail at age 60 and now lives aboard her boat, Maia, navigating the East Coast and The Bahamas.

Deborah’s story is about more than sailing—it’s about reinvention, lifelong learning, and answering the question: what’s next? From her early dreams of changing society through education to navigating the open ocean with no prior experience, Deborah exemplifies the power of purpose-driven pivots later in life.

Episode Highlights & Key Takeaways:

From Classroom to Cockpit: How Deborah transitioned from public education to full-time sailing.
Tears Are Not a Strategy: Lessons in resilience she passed on to students—and learned herself.
Raising Kids and Building Community: Why Martha’s Vineyard became her home and launching point.
Learning to Sail at 60: The hilarious and humbling early days of flipping lasers and falling in the marina.
Solo Sailing as a Lifestyle: How she learned to manage a 36-foot keelboat and navigate weather, tides, and repairs.
Mechanical Mastery: From bilge pumps to solar panels—how Deborah learned the technical side of boat life.
Unlearning Bias: Facing internal biases and gender assumptions as a female captain.
What’s the Point of Retirement?: Why Deborah believes your post-career years can hold just as much growth—and adventure—as the decades before.

Connect with Bill:

Links for This Episode:

Book: Young Salt at 60 (available wherever books are sold)

Quick Episode Summary:

0:00 Welcome and intro to Deborah Hammett’s unique journey
1:00 What inspired her to take up sailing at 60
3:00 Reflecting on three decades as a teacher and principal
6:00 Life on Martha’s Vineyard and how the ocean called to her
10:00 Family, independence, and growing up with grit
12:00 Teaching kids confidence, curiosity, and how to fail forward
14:00 Challenges with the teacher’s union and burnout at the end of her career
18:00 “Believe in Yourself”: The message her former students still remember
20:00 Life after retirement—travel, divorce, and the courage to start over
24:00 Discovering sailing and falling (literally) into a new life on the water
29:00 Buying Maia, learning the ropes, and sailing solo
32:00 Navigating weather windows and the unpredictability of boat life
34:00 Writing Young Salt at 60 to inspire others to take bold steps
35:00 Why staying active and learning new things keeps you young
38:00 The steepest learning curve: understanding mechanics and repairs
41:00 Self-discovery through travel—and confronting her own biases
43:00 Her answer to “What’s the Point?”: Use your post-career years for something big

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