You can be aligned. You can be executing. And still be quietly running out of gas.

In this solo episode of Connecting with Purpose, Mark explores one of the most overlooked drivers of sustainable performance: capacity. Most leaders focus on strategy and execution. Few pay attention to the nervous system behind their leadership.

Capacity isn't just about time. It's about energy. When capacity erodes, leaders narrow their perspective, default to hero mode, become the bottleneck, and slowly drift toward burnout — even while appearing successful on the outside.

In this episode, you'll learn: ✔ Why sustainability is a performance strategy — not a wellness perk

✔ How exceeding capacity leads to anxiety, overwhelm, and "playing out of position"

✔ The connection between energy, perspective, and decision quality

✔ Four practical strategies you can apply immediately to increase your capacity

Mark breaks down four actionable frameworks:

1️⃣ Boundaries – Protect deep work, recovery, and strategic thinking

2️⃣ Align to Your Position – Play to strengths and stop operating out of alignment

3️⃣ Fuel the Tank – Optimize sleep, movement, and recovery fundamentals

4️⃣ Expand the Tank – Clarify purpose and zoom in/out to increase resilience

If you're a founder, executive, or high-performing leader who wants to avoid the Performance Precipice and build long-term impact, this episode will give you both clarity and tools.

Reflective Question: Where are you or your team operating beyond sustainable capacity right now — and which strategy would make the biggest difference this week?

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High-performing teams don't stall because they lack talent or effort. They stall when belief doesn't turn into alignment. In this solo episode, we explore the often-overlooked bridge between belief, identity, alignment, and trust — and why teams can be full of capable, values-driven people yet still struggle to move forward together.

Belief lives inside individuals. Alignment and trust live between them. That distinction changes everything.

You'll learn:

• Why shared belief does not automatically create shared understanding

• The simple exercise that instantly reveals whether your team is truly "on the same page"

• How alignment creates the conditions for trust — without trust falls or team-building gimmicks • Why misalignment drains energy, slows execution, and quietly erodes performance

• How to build alignment as an ongoing team capability, not a one-time strategy session

• How clarity of roles and interdependencies actually strengthens individual autonomy

Belief and identity give teams heart. Alignment and trust give them coherence and confidence. And coherence is what makes performance sustainable.

This episode lays the foundation for the next conversation: how aligned teams turn clarity into consistent execution through rhythm, focus, and practice. Because Ultimate Performance isn't built on talent alone. It's built on a system people believe in, align around, and commit to — together.

#highperformingteams #teamalignment #leadershipdevelopment #trustinteams #strategyexecution #purposedrivenleadership

Welcome back to Season 4 of Connecting with Purpose — where we put founders first and share the stories of the humans behind the business. In this episode, Mark sits down with Jasper Van Brakel, President & CEO of RSF Social Finance (Regenerative Social Finance), to explore what happens when purpose, capital, and systemic change come together.

If you're an impact-driven founder or leader navigating growth, funding, culture, and the messy middle of leadership, this conversation will resonate deeply. Jasper shares three defining "magic moments" that shaped his journey — from an early-career crossroads and a bold international leap, to leading through crisis during a financial turnaround and the early days of the pandemic. These experiences led him to a powerful realization: leadership isn't about going it alone — it's about purpose, perspective, and people.

Together, Mark and Jasper explore what regenerative finance really means, how to align money with mission, and why transforming finance can help transform the world of business. They also dive into practical leadership lessons for founders who want to scale impact without burning out themselves or their teams.

This episode is packed with wisdom on:

—Listening to your intuition while staying grounded in reality

—Building high-performing cultures rooted in care, clarity, and connection

—Creating agreements instead of expectations to drive ownership

—Leading through uncertainty without losing yourself

—Why a leader's biggest blind spot is their own "interior condition"

Jasper's mission is bold: to help make all finance regenerative — using capital as a tool to serve people, communities, and the future. For founders seeking funding that aligns with their values, and leaders striving to grow with integrity, this conversation offers both inspiration and practical insight. If you're building something meaningful and want your leadership, your capital, and your impact to move in the same direction — this episode is for you.

Connect with Jasper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasper-van-brakel-147434/

Learn more about PurposeFused and Connecting with Purpose: https://www.purposefused.com/

Subscribe for more founder-first leadership conversations: @connectingwithpurpose-est2021

#ConnectingWithPurpose #PurposeFused #RegenerativeFinance #ImpactInvesting #MissionAlignedCapital #FounderLeadership #PurposeDrivenLeadership #SystemsChange #SocialFinance #LeadershipDevelopment

If you're listening to this in mid-January, you may recognize this moment. You set goals. You clarified priorities. You stepped into the year with intention. And now… you're back in meetings. Back in execution. Back in the reality that can quietly pull you away from what mattered most just weeks ago.

In this solo episode, Mark explores why January is not a motivation problem — it's an alignment moment. As the noise increases and familiar patterns re-emerge, leaders often begin to drift. Not because they lack discipline or drive, but because something deeper has gone quiet. That "something" is Belief and Identity — two fundamentals at the core of Ultimate Performance.

In this episode, Mark breaks down:

—Why early January is about possibility, but mid-January tests what truly holds

—How belief shapes where you're going — and why it often fades under pressure

—Why identity determines behavior when things get hard

—How leaders unintentionally operate from outdated identities

—A practical re-anchoring reset you can use right now

Mark also shares a personal example from his own training journey, illustrating how identity — not goals alone — sustains performance when motivation dips.

If January feels heavier than expected, this episode offers a grounded reminder: you may not be off track — you may just need to re-anchor who you're being.

If this resonated, share it with a leader who might be quietly drifting and could benefit from a moment of clarity.

Thanks for listening to Connecting with Purpose.

Learn more - PurposeFused: https://www.purposefused.com/

Mark Griffin: / markgriffinpurposefused

In this episode of Connecting with Purpose, Mark Griffin sits down with Keith Bearden, CEO of Alter Eco Foods—the company behind some of the cleanest, greenest (and frankly, most addictive) chocolate bars, truffles, granola, and quinoa on the planet.

Keith shares how a childhood shaped by a small Tennessee farm and a grandfather who quietly practiced servant leadership set the foundation for a career defined by courage, empathy, and impact. From becoming Dow Chemical's youngest expat in Antwerp, to walking away from executive roles that no longer aligned with his integrity, to eventually leading Alter Eco and championing regenerative agriculture, Keith has consistently chosen purpose over comfort.

You'll hear Keith and Mark explore:

—The three "magic moments" that shaped Keith's leadership philosophy

—How courage, empathy, and adventure have guided his biggest career decisions —What it feels like to hit the performance precipice and how to navigate out of empty achievement

—How consulting and entrepreneurship helped him clarify his true purpose

—Why regenerative agriculture, dynamic agroforestry, and fair trade are non-negotiable for Alter Eco

—The real-world headwinds of building an impact-led CPG brand in today's economic and political climate

—How consumers can "vote with their dollars" and move entire industries toward sustainability

If you're a founder, executive, or purpose-driven leader wrestling with big decisions and how to grow your impact without losing yourself in the process—this conversation offers both a reality check and a roadmap.

📌 If this episode resonates, help more leaders find it:

—Like the video

—Subscribe to our channel: @connectingwithpurpose-est2021

—Share it with a leader who's questioning what success really means

Connect with Keith Bearden: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-bearden-736821/

And if you're ready to go deeper into aligning performance with humanity, explore more conversations, tools, and resources from PurposeFused:https://www.purposefused.com/

@PurposeDrivenLeadership, @LeadershipWithPurpose, @IdentityAndImpact, @LeadershipTransformation, @HighPerformanceLeadership, @PurposeAtWork, @LeadingWithClarity, @ImpactDrivenLeaders, @LeadershipJourney

As we step into a new year, most leaders are refining goals, strategies, and growth plans. But beneath all of that sits something far more fundamental — and far less discussed.

Belief. and Identity.

In this solo episode, Mark Griffin explores the quiet foundations of Ultimate Performance and why so many founders and senior leaders feel growing pressure even when the business is succeeding.

Drawing from his work with growth-stage founders, CEOs, and leadership teams, Mark unpacks:

—Why belief is not optimism or motivation, but a decision grounded in purpose

—How outdated leadership identities quietly become constraints as complexity grows

—The difference between confidence and clarity — and why clarity is what actually drives performance

—How conviction and commitment show up behaviorally, not aspirationally

This conversation is for leaders who sense they're approaching an inflection point — where effort alone is no longer the answer, and alignment inside the leader must precede alignment across the organization. Ultimate Performance isn't about doing more. It's about coherence — belief, identity, and action working together under pressure.