How to Win the Fight for Your Soul and Why It Matters | EP 567

In this episode of Passion Struck, John dives deep into a critical conversation about the battle for our souls and the importance of reclaiming our purpose in a world that constantly distracts us from what truly matters. John shares his personal journey of disconnection, illustrating how the relentless pursuit of success and external validation can lead us to lose sight of our authentic selves. We explore the subtle ways we lose the fight for our souls—through distractions, people-pleasing, and the fear of stepping outside our comfort zones. John emphasizes that success without meaning is merely a distraction dressed as achievement, and he challenges listeners to reflect on who they are truly living for. Download the Episode Worksheet in the shownotes at: https://passionstruck.com/win-the-fight-for-your-soul-and-why-it-matters/What You'll Learn in This EpisodeThe Battle for Your Soul: Every day, distractions and societal pressures can lead to a gradual disconnection from your authentic self. This disconnection is subtle and often goes unnoticed until it becomes overwhelming. The Illusion of Success: The belief that success equates to fulfillment is a major lie. Many individuals achieve external success but still feel empty inside. True fulfillment comes from aligning your actions with your core values and purpose. Distraction and People-Pleasing: Constant distractions, whether digital or social, drain your energy and attention. People-pleasing behaviors further contribute to losing your identity, as you prioritize others' approval over your own desires. The Success Trap: Chasing external achievements can lead to a life devoid of meaning. The pursuit of more—whether it be money, status, or accolades—often results in dissatisfaction and a sense of emptiness. Fear and Comfort Zones: Fear of failure and the unknown can prevent individuals from pursuing what truly matters. Many remain stuck in their comfort zones, avoiding the discomfort necessary for growth. The Fight Framework: Jon introduces a five-step framework to reclaim your soul:Face the Truth: Identify your core values. Identify the Noise: Eliminate distractions that drain your energy. Grow Through Discomfort: Embrace challenges that foster growth. Harness Inner Strength: Discover your ikigai, or reason for being. Take Daily Action: Make purpose-driven choices every day. John encourages listeners to take immediate action by identifying one thing they will fight for today. This episode is not just about understanding the struggle; it's about taking steps to reclaim your life and soul. Join us as we embark on this journey of intentional living, and remember, your soul is worth fighting for. Next Episode Preview: Join me next week as I sit down with Dr. Ethan Kross, one of the world's leading experts on self-talk, to dive into his new book, Shift: Managing Your Emotions So They Do Not Manage You. We'll explore how the voice inside your head shapes your reality and learn powerful strategies to control your emotions and reclaim your inner strength. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this transformative conversation! How to Connect with John:Connect with John on Twitter at @John_RMiles and on Instagram at @John_R_Miles. Subscribe to our main YouTube Channel here and to our YouTube Clips Channel here. For more insights and resources, visit

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00John R. Miles?

  Coming up next on Passion Struck, most people don't even realize they're losing this battle. Every single day, the world is pulling you further away from what actually matters. And if you're not fighting for your soul, you're giving it away. So, how do you take it back? How do you stop drifting and reclaim your purpose before it's too late? That's exactly what I'm breaking down today. Welcome to Passion Struck. Hi, I'm your host, John R. Miles, and on the show, we decipher the secrets, tips, and guidance of the world's most inspiring people and turn their wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you. Our mission is to help you unlock the power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of

• 0:45John R. Miles?

  yourself. If you're new to the show, I offer advice and answer listener questions on Fridays. We have long-form interviews the rest of the week with guests ranging from astronauts to authors, CEOs, creators, innovators, scientists, military leaders, visionaries, and athletes. Now, let's go out there and become passion struck. Hey there, Passion Struck fam. Welcome to episode 567. I am so fired up here here. Whether you've been with me for a while, or this is your first time, this space is all about you. It's where we take on big ideas, make bold moves, and create lives that truly matter. If you're new here, let me just say, welcome to the family. We've

• 1:27John R. Miles?

  got over 560 episodes packed with inspiration and actionable advice. And I know, it can be hard to figure out where to start. That's why we've curated episode starter packs, curated playlists to help you dive into topics like mindset, resilience, alternative health, and leadership. You can find them at passionstruck.com/starterpacks or on Spotify. Oh, and don't miss my Live Intentionally newsletter. Every week, I send out tips, challenges, and tools to help you crush it in every area of your life. And if you haven't subscribed to the YouTube channels yet, what are you waiting for? Head over there for highlights, behind the scenes, and so much more. Before we dive in, let me catch you up on what's been happening this week. On Tuesday, I sat down with my friend, Dr.

• 2:10John R. Miles?

  Dave Vago, a leading neuroscientist and expert on mindfulness, to talk about the mind-body connection, how mindfulness rewires the brain, and the neuroscience of mattering. On Thursday, I had an incredible conversation with Francesca Sipma about breathwork, trauma healing, and how you can tap into your subconscious to unlock your full potential. And today, we're getting into something even bigger. This is a Momentum Friday episode, and you're about to hear something that might change your life. Because if you don't fight for your soul right now, you're losing it. You don't even realize it's happening, but every single day, the world is pulling you away from what truly matters. And if you're not intentional, if you don't take back control,

• 2:53John R. Miles?

  if you don't make the conscious choice to fight back, you'll wake up one day wondering, "How did I even get here?" Nearly everyone believes that success, productivity, and achievement are what drive us forward. We build our lives around the idea that if we just do more, earn more, and achieve more, we'll finally feel happy and fulfilled. But the truth, the harder we push ourselves to achieve, the more disconnected we become from ourselves, from others, and from the world around us. The problem isn't that we're striving for success. It's that we've lost the foundation that makes success meaningful, our sense of mattering. Without it, success becomes hollow. Productivity becomes burnout. Achievement becomes meaningless.

• 3:38John R. Miles?

  And that's exactly why we need to have this conversation right now. This brings us to the biggest lie we've been sold. We've been told that success equals fulfillment, that if we just chase the promotion, make more money, achieve more, be more, do more, if we check all the right boxes, if we gain the whole world, we'll finally feel like we've made it. Let's get real. How many people do you know who have it all, and yet, still feel empty? We're achieving, but we're not fulfilled. We're successful on the outside, but lost on the inside. And here's a truth bomb for you. Success without meaning is just distraction, dressed up As achievement.

• 4:21John R. Miles?

  And that brings me to something that hit me hard last week. I was sitting in countryside church in Clearwater on Sunday, listening to a sermon series on things worth fighting for. And at first, I'm just there, you know, taking it like usual. And then bam, something hit me so hard, I felt like the pastor was speaking directly to me. You know that moment when something just smacks you in the face? It makes you think, oh crap, I need to hear this. That was me. What hit me hard? The pastor was talking about what's worth fighting for. And I started to think about it. We fight for so many things in life. We fight for success. We fight to be liked. We fight to keep up.

• 5:06John R. Miles?

  But do we ever stop and ask ourselves, what is actually worth fighting for? And then it hit me. There is nothing more worth fighting for than your soul. Nothing. Because if we don't fight for our souls, we're giving them away, piece by piece, moment by moment, to things that don't even matter. And I know I'm not the only one who needs to hear this. Let's get brutally honest right now. How many of you feel like you're just going through the motions? Like you're doing everything right on paper, but deep down, you feel off? Like life is happening to you, instead of you actually living it? That's when I knew I had to talk about this.

• 5:50John R. Miles?

  Because if you're not actively fighting for your soul, you are losing it. So let's get real. How do we lose the fight for our souls? And more importantly, how do we take it back? We're breaking it down next. Thank you for choosing Passion Struck and choosing me to be your host and guide on your journey to creating an intentional life. Now, let that journey begin.

• 6:17John R. Miles?

  Let's talk about how we lose the fight for our souls because it's happening every single day. And the worst part, most of us don't even see it. We don't wake up one day and suddenly feel like we've lost ourselves. It happens slowly, one distraction at a time, one compromise at a time, one excuse at a time, until, before we even realize it, we've drifted so far from who we truly are, that we don't even recognize ourselves anymore. I know this because it happened to me. I didn't wake up one day and suddenly feel lost. That's not how disconnection works. It's not some dramatic moment where alarms go off and flashing lights warn you, "Hey,

• 7:02John R. Miles?

  you're losing yourself." No. Disconnection is quiet. It's subtle. It creeps in. At first, you barely even notice it. And then, one day, you wake up and it's everywhere. That's exactly what happened to me. I had just stepped into a bigger role, a job that felt more like climbing Everest than a promotion. I was now responsible for overseeing a $1.3 billion budget, leading teams responsible for software development, innovation, and data architecture. It was the kind of job that demanded everything and left nothing behind. But this isn't just about my role, and that's not why I'm talking about it. It's about yours too.

• 7:45John R. Miles?

  Maybe you're the call center worker, fielding yet another angry customer. Or the nurse, finishing a double shift, your feet aching from hours on the floor. Maybe you're the professor, standing before a lecture hall, wondering if your words will ever make a difference. Or the parent, juggling deadlines and dinner, barely catching your breath before the next demand. Whatever your world looks like, maybe you know the feeling, the grind, the endless push to do more, be more, deliver more, until, one day, the work that once gave you purpose starts stealing pieces of you instead.

• 8:24John R. Miles?

  At first, I thought I was fine. I was too busy putting out fires, building strategies, and convincing myself that this was just the cost of being successful. I poured myself into my work. I showed up early. I stayed late. I measured my worth in emails answered and projects completed. But slowly, the cracks began to show. The work that used to energize me now felt like it was draining me dry. The spark I once had for my career, for my life, was fading. And it wasn't just at work. The disconnection followed me home. My kids, nine and three at the time, were full of life,

• 9:05John R. Miles?

  but I was too drained to notice. I'd sit with them on the couch, physically present, but emotionally miles away. And even when I was with them, my mind was still at work, scrolling through the to-do lists and unfinished tasks. Looking back, I can see it for what it was, a quiet unraveling of my soul. And here's the truth. If you're not actively fighting for your soul, you're giving it away, piece by piece, to things that don't even matter. And that's exactly how it happens. This is how we lose the fight for our souls. Not all at once, but slowly, quietly, without realizing it. And the first way we lose it, through constant distraction.

• 9:48John R. Miles?

  We are more distracted than at any other point in human history. We wake up and immediately check our phones. We scroll mindlessly. We fill every second of silence with noise. And because we're constantly plugged into the world, we become disconnected from ourselves. Did you know that the average person spends over seven hours a day on screens? Yet we say we don't have time to think, reflect, or do the things that truly matter. But here's the real wake-up call. Distraction isn't just taking your time. It's stealing your clarity. It's making you numb. It's keeping you too busy to notice that you're losing yourself.

• 10:29John R. Miles?

  And this isn't just my opinion. In episode 301, I spoke with Dr. Gloria Gloria Mark, a chancellor's professor of informatics at the University of California Irvine, and one of the world's leading experts on attention. And what she shared with me, it will change the way you see your own mind. I asked Gloria, why is it that we often feel like we're in control of our lives in the physical world, but not in the digital world? And Gloria answered me, that's such a great question. There are different kinds of attention. Controlled attention is when your goal directed. Like if you're writing, your attention is focused on the task. But then there's automatic attention, which is outside of your control.

• 11:10John R. Miles?

  This is what happens when a notification pops up and an ad flashes on your screen. You can't help but react. And the problem? Our attention during the day is a mix of both. We think we're in control, but the truth is, we're being pulled in a thousand directions, often without even realizing it. And this is exactly the problem. We think we're in control, but we're not. Every time you get a notification, a blinking light, or a targeted ad, your attention shifts automatically. And before you even know it, you're scrolling through something that wasn't even important. It's not just distraction, it's designed. The digital world is built to steal your focus, not to help you keep it. And let me give you a real example of how deep this goes.

• 11:55John R. Miles?

  When I was the chief digital officer at Catalina Marketing, we partnered with Nielsen to track shopping behaviors and attention patterns. And let me tell you, what we were able to do should scare you. We could track when you were sitting at home watching TV. We could match what commercials you were seeing with what products you were browsing online. We could dynamically insert an ad onto your phone at that exact moment to grab your attention. This is how intrusive the digital world has become. Every single day, companies are fighting for your attention. And if you don't fight back, they win. But here's the thing, this isn't just about digital distractions. Distractions show up in other ways too.

• 12:39John R. Miles?

  They show up when we numb ourselves with busyness. They show up when we... We fill every minute of our day with obligations that aren't even ours to carry. They show up when we make ourselves so busy, meeting everyone else's expectations, that we have no time left for what actually matters to us. And this is where people pleasing sneaks in. Because sometimes, the biggest distraction isn't digital. It's the distraction of constantly trying to prove ourselves. We aren't just handing over our attention to algorithms. We're handing over our identity to other people's opinions. We say yes, when we really mean no.

• 13:21John R. Miles?

  We chase likes, approval, and validation, instead of chasing what actually matters. We mold ourselves into the version of us that feels the safest. The one that won't be judged, won't be rejected, and won't be too much. We don't even realize we're doing it, until one day, we wake up and wonder, "Who am I even doing this for?" That's exactly what we're breaking down next. So here's the real question. Who are you actually living for? Are you living for yourself, or for everyone else's approval? Are you making decisions based on what you want? Or based on what will make people like you, accept you, and validate you?

• 14:05John R. Miles?

  Because here's the hard truth. You are sacrificing who you truly are, to become who the world wants you to be. And every time you do this, you lose a piece of your soul. Not in one big dramatic moment, but in a thousand tiny ways, every single day. And most of the time, we don't even realize we're doing it. It happens in the little things. Saying yes to something just because you don't want to disappoint someone. Changing your opinion because you don't want to start an argument. Hiding parts of yourself because you don't want to be judged. Holding back from doing something you actually want to do, because you're afraid of what people will think. And just like that, piece by piece, you trade your authenticity for approval.

• 14:49John R. Miles?

  And this is exactly what Dr. Ethan Kross, one of the world's leading experts on self-talk, And emotional control has studied. I spoke with Ethan about this in episode 245. And one of the most powerful things he told me was this. The way we talk to ourselves shapes the way we show up in the world. He shared how our inner voice, the voice in our head that narrates our life can either be our biggest coach or our worst enemy. Here's what Ethan told me. The things that people say to themselves in their worst moments. If you actually wrote them down and read them out loud, you'd be shocked. You'd never dream of saying those things to another human being, and yet we say them to ourselves all the time. And that hit me so hard.

• 15:35John R. Miles?

  Think about it. When you say yes to something you don't want to do, what's the voice in your head saying? Is it saying, I should do this so they like me? I don't want to disappoint them. If I say no, they'll be mad at me. That's people pleasing at its core. That's giving away your power to someone else's approval. And here's where things get even bigger. Ethan told me that the way we talk to ourselves isn't random. It's learned. It comes from years of conditioning. Years of thinking that we have to please everyone. Years of believing that our worth is tied to what other people think of us. Ethan told me that we have this toolbox of skills inside of us. But most people don't even realize that they have them.

• 16:21John R. Miles?

  Instead, we default to negative self-talk, thinking we have no control over our emotions. And that's exactly why we struggle with people pleasing. Because deep down, our inner voice is still trying to prove that we're good enough. And here's the wake up call. Are you living for you? Or are you living for everyone else's approval? And if this resonated with you, guess what? Ethan Kross is coming back on the show next week to talk about his brand new book, Shift, where we're going to go even deeper into how to control your emotions, silence negative self-talk, and take back your power. But here's the thing. Even if you stop people pleasing, there's another trap waiting for you.

• 17:04John R. Miles?

  Can break free from seeking external validation only to spend your life chasing the wrong goals? Because here's the real danger. When you spend your life trying to prove yourself to others, you stop asking what actually matters to you. You work harder, push further, and chase more. More success, more money, more achievement. But at the end of it all, does it actually make you happy? This is what Dr. Arthur Brooks, one of the world's leading experts on happiness and success, calls the success trap. Where you spend your whole life climbing the wrong mountain only to reach the top and feel completely empty. Arthur is a Harvard professor, bestselling author, and one of the most respected voices on what actually makes people happy.

• 17:48John R. Miles?

  And when we spoke about his book Strength to Strength in episode 272, he hit me with a truth bomb that I need you to hear. He who dies with the most toys dies. The question isn't, can you take it with you? Because you can't. But so many people act like they can. They keep running on this treadmill craving the next success, the next achievement, the next big win. But it never satisfies. Think about that. How much of your life have you been chasing the next thing? Telling yourself, once I get this, then I'll be happy. Here's the real problem.

• 18:27John R. Miles?

  You spend years chasing goals that look good on paper but feel hollow in reality. You climb to the top of the ladder only to realize it was leaning against the wrong wall. Arthur explains that the reason for this is simple. Your brain is wired to keep you chasing, not to keep you satisfied. Here's what Arthur told me. Dopamine, the same neuromodulator that fuels addiction, is what drives success addiction too. It keeps you wanting more, but it never actually lets you feel satisfied. That's why you can accomplish everything you ever wanted and still feel like something is missing. So let me ask you, are you chasing what actually fulfills you?

• 19:11John R. Miles?

  Or just what looks good to other people? Success isn't the same as fulfillment. Achievement isn't the same as purpose. And more isn't the same as meaning. And Arthur Brooks says the happiest people have three things. Enjoyment, satisfaction, purpose. Not just success. So if you feel like you're grinding endlessly and still feeling empty, maybe it's time to stop asking how to be more successful and start asking what actually matters. But here's the problem. Once you realize you're chasing the wrong goals, there's something even more dangerous waiting for you. Fear. What if I walk away from this path and regret it? What if I fail?

• 19:56John R. Miles?

  What if I never figure out what actually fulfills me? And this is where most people get stuck. You realize you're chasing the wrong thing, but you're too afraid to climb back down and find the right mountain. And that's exactly what Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit, has spent her entire career studying. Angela told me that people think success is about talent. But the real secret, it's about grit. The ability to push through discomfort, even when it's hard. In our interview, Angela told me fear keeps people trapped in their comfort zones because they think failure means they're not good enough. But real success, the kind that actually matters, only happens when you build the grit to push through fear.

• 20:38John R. Miles?

  And this is why so many people stay stuck in the wrong life. Not because they aren't capable, but because they aren't willing to be uncomfortable. And the truth is, if you want to break free, you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. But here's the problem. Most people don't know how to push through fear. They get overwhelmed, they freeze, and they end up doing nothing. And this is where BJ Fogg, a leading behavioral scientist, has a game-changing insight. BJ Fogg's research proves that fear thrives on overwhelm. When a challenge feels too big, your brain shuts down. But if you start small, like ridiculously small, the fear starts to fade. As BJ told me in our interview,

• 21:22John R. Miles?

  the way to get unstuck isn't To take massive action, it's to start ridiculously small. Fear is a survival response, but when you take even one tiny step, your brain realizes, "Oh, this isn't as scary as I thought." And that's how momentum starts. So if fear is holding you back, the solution isn't waiting to feel ready. It's taking one small step today. That's how you stop staying small. That's how you step into something bigger. That's how you fight for your soul. And this, this is exactly what Jesus meant when he said in Matthew 1626, "What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

• 22:06John R. Miles?

  Is anything worth more than your soul?" The harder we cling to control, validation, and achievement, the more we lose ourselves. The more we chase shallow distractions, the emptier we feel. And this is why we have to fight, because the alternative is slowly losing ourselves without even realizing it. So now the question is, how do we take our soul back? How do we fight for it? That's exactly what we're about to break down next. So so far, we've talked about what's pulling you away from your soul, the distraction, the validation traps, the fear that keeps you small. Now we're stepping into the fight, because purpose isn't something you stumble upon.

• 22:51John R. Miles?

  It's something you win through daily choices. This is what I talk about all the time on this podcast, your microchoices. Let's start with this truth. Most people lose this battle without even realizing that they're fighting one. Not because they're weak, not because they're incapable, but because they never understood what they were up against. If you've ever felt like you were drifting, if you've ever looked around at your life and thought, "How did I even get here?" If you've ever wondered why no amount of success, validation, or achievement actually fills the emptiness inside, there's a reason for that, and science proves it. Let's start with Carl Jung, who spent his entire career

• 23:34John R. Miles?

  studying identity and he made a mind blowing discovery. We all have two selves, the authentic self, the real you, the version of you that's aligned, fulfilled and deeply connected to your purpose. And then we also have the false self, the version of you shaped by fear, expectations, and external validation, the one that's chasing approval instead of meaning. Every time you choose comfort over courage, every time you play small to fit in, every time you silence your gut to avoid judgment, you're strengthening the false self. The problem, most people aren't even aware they're doing it. And if you don't actively fight for your authentic self, you unconsciously default

• 24:16John R. Miles?

  to the false self, which means the real you, the one that wants more, the one that craves purpose, it slowly disappears. This is why you feel lost, not because you're broken, but because you've been living someone else's story. And that's only part of the problem. Now let's talk about why it's so freaking hard to fight for what matters. Have you ever felt mentally drained by the end of the day? Even if you didn't do anything meaningful? Have you ever felt like you just can't focus on what actually matters? That's not a personal failure. That's science working against you. Roy Baumeister's groundbreaking study on willpower changed everything we know about decision making. Here's what he discovered.

• 25:00John R. Miles?

  Willpower is a limited resource. Every decision you make drains it. The more unnecessary decisions you make, the less energy you have left for what actually matters. And this is why we're losing the battle for our souls. Because every single day, we're making hundreds of tiny, meaningless decisions. What to scroll, what to check, what to respond to, what to post. By the time we get to the things that actually matter, our purpose, our goals, our families, our soul, we're too exhausted to fight for them. And if you don't control your attention, someone else will. So let's put this together. Carl Jung proves that we default to a

• 25:44John R. Miles?

  False self when we're not intentional. Baumeister proves that our energy is being drained by distractions. And now, research from Japan gives us a model for how to get that energy back. This is where the concept of ikigai comes in. The Japanese call it reason for being. And it's about aligning your energy with what actually fulfills you. Imagine if every decision you made fueled you instead of drained you. Imagine if your work, your goals, your daily actions actually made you feel more alive. That's what ikigai is all about. And that's exactly what we're fighting for. Because if you don't claim this for yourself, the world will claim it for you. Here's the deal, you don't need to just find your purpose. You don't just stumble into meaning.

• 26:29John R. Miles?

  You have to fight for it. You have to wake up every single day and choose to fight for your focus. Fight for your time. Fight for your energy. Fight for your soul. And if you don't, if you don't fight for what matters, distraction wins. Fear wins. The world wins. And that's why we need to have a game plan, a system, a framework. This is the fight framework. This is how you take your soul back. Five steps, five daily choices, five ways to make sure that you're fighting for the right things. And here's how it works. Listen up. Fight. Each letter stands for a decision that you have to make every single day.

• 27:13John R. Miles?

  Let's break it down. F is for face the truth. Step one, you have to face the truth. Because you can't fight for something you don't even understand. Here's what you need to get real about. What do you actually stand for? What actually matters to you? Not what looks good, not what people expect, but what is real for you? Because if you don't define your values, the world will define them for you. And you will wake up one day living someone else's life. So here's an action step that you can take. Write down your three values. Not the ones that sound impressive, the ones that actually feel true. If you don't stand for Something, you will fall for anything.

• 27:57John R. Miles?

  This is the first battle. Face the truth. Then there's I. Identify the noise. Now, once you know what matters, you have to protect it. And that means step two. Cut the noise. Every unnecessary decision you make is draining your energy. Every useless notification. Every random scroll. Every email that doesn't matter. It's stealing your ability to focus. I talked about this in last week's episode. Roy Baumeister proved it. Every decision you make depletes your willpower. And by the time you get to the things that actually matter. You're exhausted. So what are you going to do about it? Your brain is a weapon, but only if you stop letting distractions hijack it.

• 28:41John R. Miles?

  So here's an action step you can take. Identify one, just one distraction that you will eliminate today. You want to get your power back? Start here. Take your attention back. And this leads us to G. Grow through discomfort. Okay, so now you've cleared out the distractions. Great. But here's where most people quit. Because let's be real. Growth isn't fun. It's uncomfortable. It's messy. It's hard. And this leads us to step three. Do the hard thing. Angela Duckworth's research proves it. The number one predictor of success is not talent. It's grit. And grit isn't built by doing the hard things when you don't feel like it. You don't grow in the easy moments.

• 29:25John R. Miles?

  You grow when it sucks. So here's an action step. Pick one thing you've been avoiding and do it today. If it makes you uncomfortable, good. That's where the magic happens. And this leads us to H. Harness inner strength. All right, here's where everything starts to click. Step four. Find your reason for being. Because if you don't have a reason for what you're doing. You will burn out. This is where ikigai comes in. In Japan, ikigai means reason for being. Studies show that people who have ikigai live longer, are happier, and have more resilience. The happiest, most fulfilled people are Aren't the richest or most successful. They're the ones who are living in alignment with what actually matters to them.

• 30:11John R. Miles?

  But purpose isn't found, it's chosen. And here's an action step you can take. Ask yourself, if I had to spend the rest of my life doing one thing that truly mattered to me, what would it be? Stop waiting to feel ready. Pick something, commit to it, and build your life around what actually fuels you. And then lastly, T, take daily action. The final step, and this is where most people get it wrong. They think purpose is a one-time decision. No, it's a daily choice. Step five, repeat every single day. This is not a one-time choice. This is not something that you do just once and forget about it. Neuroscience proves it. Your brain is constantly rewiring itself.

• 30:56John R. Miles?

  Every time that you choose meaning over distraction, the neural pathway gets stronger. Over time, purpose and focus stop being a struggle. They become second nature. Your soul isn't one in a single moment. It's one through thousands of small intentional choices. So here's an action step. Set a non-negotiable five-minute action you will take every day. No excuses. You don't wait to feel ready. You act and the motivation follows. And here's a final challenge. What will you fight for today? So now you have the battle plan. You know how this fight works. The question is, are you actually going to step into it?

• 31:39John R. Miles?

  Because this isn't just about knowing the information. This isn't just about understanding why you've been stuck. This is about what you do next. So here's the deal. We've walked through the entire fight framework. This battle, it's not just about productivity, success, or focus. It's deeper than that. It's about your soul. And this isn't a new fight. This has been the struggle for generations. Even Jesus warned us about it in Matthew 1626. What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything? Worth more than your own soul. Think about that. You can have it all. Status, money, success.

• 32:21John R. Miles?

  But if you lose your soul, your very self in the process. What's the point? That's why this fight matters. Because the world will pull you in a thousand directions. It will sell you on distractions. It will make you believe that chasing more is the goal. But Jesus makes it clear. It's your soul that's at stake. So here's my challenge to you. What's one thing? One thing you will fight for today? What's one step that you will take right now? Because this is your life, your work, your purpose. And it's waiting for you to take action. Make the choice. Take the step. Start the fight. Because your soul is worth it.

• 33:06John R. Miles?

  And that's a wrap on today's episode. But listen, this isn't just another podcast you can tune into and forget about. You're here because you're ready to take action. You're ready to fight for what truly matters. And that fires me up. If this episode sparked something in you. If it made you pause and rethink what you're chasing. Don't let it stop here. Here's what you can do right now. Leave a five star review. It takes 30 seconds and it helps bring this message to the people who need it most. But more importantly, share this episode. Think about someone who needs to hear this. A friend, a colleague, a family member. Be the one who helps them take that first step. Want to go even deeper?

• 33:50John R. Miles?

  I don't just talk about these ideas on the podcast. I bring them to teams, leaders and organizations around the world. If today's conversation hit home and you think your group could benefit, let's connect. Through keynotes, workshops and events, I help ignite purpose, focus and intentionality where it matters most. Head over to johnrmiles.com/speaking to learn more. Next week, I am sitting down with Ethan Cross, who I mentioned earlier in the episode. One of the world's leading experts on the science of self-talk. We're diving into his new book, Shift. And trust This is a conversation that will change the way you think about the voice inside your head.

• 34:29Speaker 01

  We are challenged throughout our lives, whether it's a deployment under hostile conditions on the world stage, a difficult home situation, or problems at work. Life is constantly throwing curveballs at us. Sometimes it's not just that we don't hit the pitch. Sometimes we have the equivalent of Nolan Ryan throwing fastballs at our heads is the way it sometimes feels. And he's hitting us too. And we need to understand how to get better at bats when that happens and how to not get injured.

• 35:04John R. Miles?

  Here's the deal. You're not just consuming content. When you're listening to this podcast, you're investing in yourself. And that's what Passion Struck is all about. So take what you've learned today, apply it and keep showing up for yourself. Because no one else can do that for you. And remember, the fee for the show was simple. If you've got value, share it, post it, text it, email it. Get it into the hands of someone who needs it. Until next time, keep chasing the stuff that matters. Keep taking bold steps and as always, live life Passion Struck.