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

What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

Release Date: 12/24/2025

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What's The Point? - Discover Your Purpose

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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 livable—and how purpose often shows up when something simply stops working.

What stood out in our conversation is Vanessa’s honesty about redefining success. She speaks openly about burnout, recalibration, and the courage it takes to slow down enough to listen. Her story reflects how people find meaning not by avoiding difficulty, but by paying attention to what those moments are asking of us.

We explore what it means to create sustainability—not just environmentally or professionally, but emotionally and personally. Vanessa describes learning to align her values with her daily choices, letting go of expectations that no longer fit, and building a life that can be sustained over time, not just admired from the outside.

This episode is a human story of growth, resilience, and intentional living. It’s about discovering what matters when life strips away certainty—and how purpose often reveals itself not in the breakthrough moment, but in the steady work of rebuilding.

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.

 

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Quick Episode Summary: 

  • 00:00 – Welcome + Introducing Vanessa Thompson
  • 01:00 – Vanessa’s early struggles and uncertainty
  • 03:00 – When life stops working the way you planned
  • 05:00 – Rethinking success and sustainability
  • 07:00 – Burnout as a wake-up call
  • 09:00 – Learning to pause and reassess
  • 11:00 – Letting go of old definitions of achievement
  • 13:00 – How purpose begins to take shape
  • 15:00 – Building work and life that can last
  • 18:00 – Alignment between values and daily choices
  • 20:00 – Why sustainability isn’t just environmental
  • 22:00 – Living with intention instead of urgency
  • 24:00 – What keeps Vanessa going now
  • 26:00 – Advice for those feeling stuck
  • 28:00 – Discovering what truly matters
  • 30:00 – Vanessa answers: “What’s the point?”