113. Grit, Grace, and Becoming: How Tracy Spears Found Strength Through Truth, Belonging & Leadership
What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose
Release Date: 12/10/2025
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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
info_outlineWhen 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 grade set the tone for her internal drive—and how that drive later became both a superpower and a liability.
What moved me most in this conversation is Tracy’s willingness to revisit the moments that hurt the most: being disowned by her parents at age 22, hiding parts of herself to survive in corporate America, and the sting of being fired after 29 years with a company she once considered home. She speaks about all of it with a raw honesty that reminds us how human stories of growth are often rooted in pain we never planned for.
But this isn’t a story about loss. It’s a story about choosing agency. Tracy talks about redefining belonging—shifting from trying to “fit” into prescribed structures toward intentionally choosing the people and environments that allow her to be fully herself. That evolution didn’t happen overnight, but it shaped the leader she became: someone who listens deeply, leads with humanity, and asks powerful questions like “What do you want?”—questions that have helped countless people discover what really matters.
We also explore the courage it takes to hold both grit and grace at the same time. Tracy discusses overcoming her inner critic, reframing past decisions with compassion, and becoming the kind of leader who creates space for others to shine. She offers insights on purpose, identity, influence, and why she now believes her true work is helping others find meaning in their own story.
This episode is full of wisdom—earned, honest, and generously shared. If you’re navigating transition, searching for purpose, or learning to trust your own becoming, Tracy’s story will speak directly to you.
What’s The Point? is a podcast hosted by Bill Ellis featuring real conversations with people who’ve figured out what matters—their purpose. Each episode explores what motivates them and how they find meaning in what they do
Connect with Bill:
- bill@billellis.com
- www.billellis.com
- www.brandingforresults.com
- IG - @wcellis
- Facebook - @CoachBillEllis
- Facebook - @bill.ellis
- LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/wcellis
- Book: Women Who Won
Links for This Episode:
CONTACT INFO:
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Email tracy@tracyspears.com
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SOCIAL MEDIA INFO:
- LinkedIn - @tracylspears
- Facebook - @tracyspearsspeaker
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Quick Episode Summary:
- 00:00 – Welcome + Introducing Tracy Spears
- 01:00 – From athletics to leadership: who Tracy is today
- 02:40 – Grit, grace, and learning from what goes wrong
- 03:45 – Early years: growing up in a Tulsa trailer park
- 05:10 – The moment that shaped her life at age nine
- 07:00 – The teachers and community that helped her belong
- 09:00 – Building confidence, battling the inner critic
- 11:00 – Becoming a college athlete + lessons from softball
- 14:00 – Learning adaptability: the “utility player” mindset
- 15:00 – Major turning points: injury, coming out, being fired
- 18:00 – Getting fired after 29 years—and what came next
- 21:30 – What belonging really means (and what it doesn’t)
- 24:00 – Performing for worth vs. living from who you are
- 29:00 – Reclaiming agency + choosing where we belong
- 30:30 – Leadership lessons: shifting from self-focus to service
- 33:00 – What do you really want? The power of the question
- 36:00 – Reframing “what happened” vs. “what I learned”
- 40:00 – Producers vs. leaders + the toolbox analogy
- 45:00 – Developing an inner coach instead of an inner critic
- 48:00 – True humility + accepting our gifts
- 49:00 – What brings Tracy joy now
- 51:00 – Travel, culture, and expanding our worldview
- 53:00 – Final reflection: becoming, belonging & purpose
- 54:00 – Tracy answers “What’s the Point?”