SPARKED
We’re all in a moment. And, we’re asking the big questions. Especially about work. Should I join The Great Resignation? Should I stay and just keep on, keeping on. Or, reimagine, reinvent, maybe even start my own thing? Can I really expect more than just a paycheck and stability from work? How do I navigate the overwhelm, burnout, and work-life-bleed that’s turned work-from-home into never-stop-working? What about purpose, joy, excitement, time to breathe, and live? What about that nagging tension between money and meaning, the desire to feel secure and the quest to do something that makes you come alive - that sparks you? These are the questions we’ll be diving into on the SPARKED podcast. Every week, we invite a listener to share what’s going on in their work & life, then pose a specific question. Then, our host, award-winning author, advisor, and founder, Jonathan Fields, and a rotating lineup of wise mentors from the SPARKED Braintrust will share insights, ideas, strategies, resources and tips to help us all better align what we do with who we are, so we can find and do more of what makes us come alive.
Episodes
June 24, 2025 • 31 mins
Have you ever felt like the very identity that defined you was becoming a straightjacket? That the career path, role, or persona you'd so carefully crafted suddenly felt constraining rather than purposeful? If so, you've likely experienced the disorienting - yet potentially catalyzing - transition I'm exploring with my guest today.
I’m joined by Laura Gassner Otting. As an author, speaker, and entrepreneur who helped innovate Amer...
Mark as Played
June 17, 2025 • 66 mins
Have you ever found yourself dreading Monday, counting down the hours until Friday? And wondering, when did work get so devoid of joy and fun? When did we start sacrificing playfulness and authentic connection at the altar of professionalism? And is that really giving anyone, including your employer, what they want and need?
Today, we're cracking open the door to a more joyful, fulfilling work experience. One where you can bring y...
Mark as Played
June 10, 2025 • 26 mins
Have you ever felt like your ambition was unsustainable? That drive to achieve and succeed was slowly draining you, leaving you unfulfilled despite your accomplishments? What if there was a way to align your ambitions with your deepest motivations and capacity for a lifetime of thriving?
Today, we're turning our attention to the concept of sustainable ambition. We'll explore a fresh perspective that liberates ambition from its nar...
Mark as Played
June 3, 2025 • 41 mins
Ever felt the crushing weight of burnout slowly snuffing out your spark? That bone-deep exhaustion that leaves you questioning if this is really the path for you?
Imagine a world where you can thrive without feeling endlessly drained, where purpose and joy intertwine in beautiful harmony. Today, we're embarking on a profound exploration of burnout - its insidious roots, its soul-sapping consequences, and most importantly, how to ...
Mark as Played
May 27, 2025 • 36 mins
Have you ever felt stuck pursuing a path that didn't truly resonate with you? A career, creative endeavor or major life change that you committed to fully, told the world it’s what you were doing, and who you were now…only to realize it wasn't what you really wanted?
Today, we're going to explore a more forgiving approach - one that allows you to experiment and gather critical data before going all-in.
Imagine if you could "date...
Mark as Played
May 20, 2025 • 65 mins
Are you tired of feeling drained and unfocused at work? Do you wish you could harness your brain’s full creative potential without sacrificing productivity? In this thought-provoking conversation, Dr. Mithu Storoni, a neuroscience researcher and ophthalmic surgeon, reveals revolutionary insights from her book Hyperefficient: Optimize Your Brain to Transform the Way You Work.
Imagine a world where you can effortlessly align your ...
Mark as Played
May 13, 2025 • 39 mins
Ever felt like your emotions were running the show? One moment you're mindfully present, the next hijacked by anxiety over the future or paralyzed by regrets of the past. If this resonates, you're not alone.
But what if there was a way to cultivate profound emotional fitness - the ability to embrace the full range of your feelings while navigating life with resilience, empathy and playfulness?
My guest today is Dr. Emily Anhalt, ...
Mark as Played
May 6, 2025 • 34 mins
My guest today is Mitch Joel, a marketing visionary who has been at the forefront of exploring how generative AI can enhance rather than replace human creativity. When brands like Google, Starbucks, and GE want to leverage technology to connect with consumers, they call Mitch. He's the Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, and his books like "Six Pixels of Separation" and "CTRL ALT Delete" have established him as a leading voice on the inters...
Mark as Played
April 29, 2025 • 37 mins
Today’s Career Transformation Story features a trailblazer's journey from the apex of the corporate tech world to embracing the path of the solopreneur coach. It's a tale of reclaiming autonomy and giving voice to one's innermost callings.
My guest today is Christian Röpke, who spent over a decade rising through AI leadership roles like Head of AI and Chief Technology Officer at startups in Berlin's white-hot tech scene. Despite t...
Mark as Played
April 22, 2025 • 110 mins
Learn more about working with Jonathan to craft your 2×20 Project™.
A few months ago, I introduced my personal 2×20 Project™ – taking two years to intentionally design my ideal life for the next twenty. If you missed that powerful first discussion, you’ll want to start there.
Now, I’m back with an unfiltered update. What if you could take two years to actively craft a path centered around your deepest values like health, passion, ...
Mark as Played
April 15, 2025 • 63 mins
What if you could transform uncertainty from a source of anxiety into fuel for discovery? That’s the invitation former Google executive turned neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff extends in this illuminating conversation about living life as a series of tiny experiments.
Drawing from her own journey – from prestigious tech career to startup founder to neuroscience researcher – and insights from her new book “Tiny Experiments: How to...
Mark as Played
April 8, 2025 • 35 mins
Have you ever felt like the traditional job search process just isn't working for you? That sending out resume after resume into a black hole, praying for any response, is a soul-crushing cycle of rejection and disappointment? If so, you’re not alone. What if there was a way to rethink the job hunt? That’s where we're heading in today’s Sparked Hot Take.
Joining me is Madeline Mann, a human resources leader and career strategist wh...
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April 1, 2025 • 41 mins
In today’s Career Transformation Story, we're diving deep into one woman's incredible career transition from elite design consultant to launching her own business helping impact-driven organizations tackle their biggest challenges.
My guest today is Kat Thackray, founder of a cutting-edge consultancy, People Equals Purpose, focused on transforming team dynamics and organizational culture.
Kat Thackray’s Sparketypes: Primary Sparke...
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March 25, 2025 • 66 mins
Turns out strategy isn’t just for business, it’s for life. And that’s what we’re diving into with an old friend today, Seth Godin. Seth is an author, entrepreneur, and teacher who has spent decades helping people find clarity and take purposeful action. In his latest book This Is Strategy: Make Better Plans, Seth challenges us to abandon outdated systems and instant gratification in favor of smart, purposeful choices that shape a b...
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March 18, 2025 • 41 mins
Can social conditioning, past experiences, and external pressure affect the way we explore figuring out our Sparketype? Or, for that matter, any metric we might look to, as a way to help figure out what drives us? And how do we turn down the volume on social conditioning and perceived expectations, determine what our “truest truths” really are, and express ourselves in a more aligned way? Today’s listener, Sarah, asks these interes...
Mark as Played
March 11, 2025 • 35 mins
In today’s Career Transformation Story, we meet Lea Holzfurtner, a clinical sexologist, author, and reality TV host based in Berlin. Lea spent seven years ascending the ranks in financial services and martech companies, earning an MBA along the way. Yet, a lifelong fascination with the intricacies of human sexuality refused to be ignored. Through years of evening study, she steadily built expertise in psychology and sexology, letti...
Mark as Played
March 4, 2025 • 45 mins
Ambition is such a loaded word. It’s often associated with a relentless drive to succeed, trampling over others as you scrap your way to the top, ignoring your wellbeing, relationships, and any sense of groundedness, meaning, peace or joy along the way. It’s what helps you achieve success, we’re told. But, what it that was not only wrong, but it also kept you from the work, the relationships, the health, the life–a different kind o...
Mark as Played
February 25, 2025 • 33 mins
Coaches & Leaders: Tap a Game-Changing Credential - The Certified Sparketype® Advisor Training.
Differentiate yourself as a certified professional with a powerful command of the Sparketype® body of knowledge, professional-level tools, processes, engagement formats, and strategies, while equipping yourself to guide individuals, groups and teams through change with confidence and clarity. Learn more & apply to the Certified Sparkety...
Mark as Played
February 18, 2025 • 33 mins
In today’s Career Transformation Story, we uncover a profound journey of reclaiming one's creative spark and finding fulfillment through empowering others. It's a tale that takes us from the technical realms of aerospace engineering to the "social engineering" of company culture.
My guest today is Adam Kolozetti, co-founder of Enta Solutions - a consultancy fusing team building, process improvement, and video storytelling. But Adam...
Mark as Played
February 11, 2025 • 44 mins
Ever feel like the rise of virtual communication has turned your workdays into a jumble of endless emails, frantic messages, and back-to-back video calls? One minute you're on a Zoom wrangling meeting attendees, the next you're desperately trying to craft the perfect Slack message before your manager thinks you've gone AWOL?
If so, you’re not alone. The chaotic world of remote and hybrid work can leave our heads spinning. But what ...
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