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The Purpose Code with Dr. Jordan Grumet | Ep. 363
Episode 3639th January 2025 • Money Talk With Tiff • Tiffany Grant
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In this engaging episode of Money Talk With Tiff, host Tiffany Grant welcomes back Dr. Jordan Grumet, also fondly known as Doc G, to discuss his latest book, The Purpose Code. Previously featured on episode 322 where they explored the concept of "Redefining Rich" through Dr. Grumet’s experiences as a hospice doctor, this episode shifts focus to understanding and creating one's purpose.

Dr. Grumet delves into what he calls "purpose anxiety", the struggle many face in finding their purpose and how it can lead to anxiety and depression. He unpacks his approach to solving this paradox by advocating for an active creation of purpose rather than searching endlessly for it. Tiffany and Dr. Grumet talk about identifying "purpose anchors," small activities or interests that bring joy and meaning on a daily basis.

Throughout the conversation, they touch upon practical strategies to find these purpose anchors, how to overcome common obstacles in the journey of creating purpose, and how societal pressures can often derail us from our authentic paths.

Check out the full show notes: https://moneytalkwitht.com/podcast-show-notes/the-purpose-code/

Takeaways

  • Finding your purpose isn't about searching; it's about actively creating it through your passions.
  • Purpose can come from everyday activities that bring you joy, not just lofty goals.
  • People often feel pressure to find a singular purpose, leading to anxiety and frustration.
  • Purpose anchors are the small things that excite you and can guide your life direction.
  • Social media can skew our perception of purpose, making it seem glamorous instead of personal.
  • Reflecting on childhood interests can reveal valuable clues about your true purpose today.

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Copyright 2025 Tiffany Grant

Transcripts

Intro/Outro:

You know what it is? That's right. It's time to talk money with your money nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings and open those ears.

It's the Money Talk with Tiff podcast.

Tiffany Grant:

Hey, everyone. I am so excited because I have a repeat guest on the line. I have Dr.

Jordan Grummet, or Doc G as he's wonderfully called, to come on and talk to us about the Purpose Code. Now, if you feel like that name sounds familiar, that was on episode 322 where we talked about redefining Rich.

And if you haven't listened to that episode, I highly recommend going back because it was some gems where he talked about being a hospice doctor and what that looked like. But we're not going to get into that now. We're here to talk about something totally different. Hey, Doc G. How are you?

Dr. Jordan Grumet (Doc G):

I am so happy to be here and have this conversation with you.

Tiffany Grant:

Yes, for sure. And thank you so much for coming on again. You dropped so many gems last time, so let's just dive right in. What is the purpose code?

Dr. Jordan Grumet (Doc G):

Well, basically, I wrote a book called Taking Stock, and the main premise was that we had to put purpose before we built our financial framework.

And I went to market this book and I gave a bunch of talks about it, and I would get people coming to me after the talk, angry, and it really surprised me. They'd be sweating. They'd be a little bit. You know, they'd almost look pissed off and they'd say, stop telling me to find my purpose. I.

I don't know what my purpose is. I've been looking for it forever. I'm feeling really anxious and depressed because of it. Maybe there is no purpose.

I think you're hurting people by telling them to find their purpose. Now, the first time someone did this, I was like, okay, that's a one off. And it kept happening over and over again.

So I did a dive into the literature about purpose, and I found two things that contradict each other. One is the data showed very clearly that purpose is associated with health, happiness, and longevity. It was very, very clear. Tons of studies.

But I also found that 91% of people at some point in their life get what's called purpose anxiety. The idea of purpose actually makes them anxious and depressed and feel frustrated. So this was a paradox.

And so I wrote this book, the Purpose Code, to really help people imagine a better version of purpose where you get all the good stuff, all the happiness, longevity, and health, and let go of all the bad stuff, the anxiety and Depression.

Tiffany Grant:

Yes.

I love that because, you know, matter of fact, I've had a couple of conversations in my DMs recently with people like, I really have no idea what I'm here for. Like, I don't know what my skill set is. I don't know what my passion is.

And so tell us a little bit about how you get into helping people find their purpose in the purpose code.

Dr. Jordan Grumet (Doc G):

So two things. First of all, I often say you don't find purpose, you create it. So I really want to build for people this idea that it's an active process.

Let's start at the beginning, what you're talking about when people are like, I don't know what my purpose is. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. Part of the problem is we make this a really high stakes venture.

We make purpose this big audacious thing that you either find it and life is good and everything is great, or you don't find it and you die unhappy. And the truth of the matter is the stakes are not nearly that high. Purpose actually isn't big and audacious.

And in fact it's not usually goal oriented. The kind of purpose that makes us happy is actually things we love and enjoy the process of doing.

So instead of being scarce, like there's this one thing and I either find it and everything's great or I don't and I'm lost. I want it to appear a lot more abundant. Purpose is something that you can find in your everyday life. There's multiple, multiple versions of purpose.

You can't fail. You either do something and you like doing it, or you don't like doing it and you move on to the next thing.

And so it's not all or nothing the way people often look at purpose. Instead it's all or all. It's very abundance oriented. So the first thing I help people do is reorient the way they look at purpose.

Instead of big and audacious. We're looking for what I really call little P purpose, which is things you enjoy the process of doing.

And by reorienting people, we make it a much more joyful process.

Tiffany Grant:

Gotcha. And I love that perspective. I'm all about the mindset flips. And that was really helpful.

Even when I asked you the question and when you said that, I said, oh, you know, we're not really finding this, we're creating this. And I love that aspect of it because I feel like I am, I created my purpose here. You know, I'm here to teach people about money, business, career.

And I have a lot of fun doing it. It's because I'm make. I'm creating that purpose.

Dr. Jordan Grumet (Doc G):

And here's the thing. So I say you don't find purpose, but it is true. You have to get in touch with what I call purpose anchors.

So these are inklings or beckonings, things that really draw you in and get you excited. But then it's an active process of building purpose around those things. And so that's the differentiation I want to.

Yes, you do have to think about what's important to you, and those are those purpose anchors. But again, it's not as high stakes, high risk. You can have millions of purpose anchors. There are millions of things you can enjoy doing.

And then it's really a process of building that purpose around it. And that's what I want to remind people. Again, gets back to abundance.

Tiffany Grant:

And, you know, I'm glad you mentioned you could have multiple purpose anchors, because I feel like everything that I do is stuff that I enjoy. And I'm acting and I'm living in my purpose.

And a lot of people outside looking in, they're like, but Tiffany, you do so much like, you sure you're supposed to be doing all of that? But to your point, you can have multiple purpose anchors.

Dr. Jordan Grumet (Doc G):

Yeah. And they're not difficult to identify. So in the book, I talk about some real easy ways to identify your purpose anchors.

One is the life review, which I do with my hospice patients. But it really comes down to this question of regret. If you were lying on your deathbed and you kind of said to yourself, what do I really regret?

Never having the energy, correct courage or time to do well in someone who's dying. That's really sad because you don't have agency, energy, time to fix that.

But in a young, healthy person, regret is just another version of a purpose anchor. If you're regretting something, why don't you build a version of purpose around that? So that's one. Another way is to look at things like work.

Most people don't like their work, but probably could find one activity in work they like, and that might be the purpose anchor. Like, I like doing stock every Thursday because I'm alone and it's very organized and I like keeping track of everything.

And it's the one thing I like, even though I hate my job at the restaurant for the rest of the week. Well, that's something that you could build a purpose anchor around. There are joys of childhood.

A lot of us actually found purpose when we were kids, and then we abandon it to become what society tells us we're supposed to be or to get a job. But go back to your childhood. Look at your childhood room. What trophies did you have? What drawings, what posters were in your room?

Sometimes those can be anchors of purpose. And then there's the spaghetti method. You know, throw a bunch of stuff up against the wall and see what sticks.

If you have no idea what feels like purpose to you, volunteer for a bunch of stuff. Do stuff with people you normally wouldn't hang out with.

Maybe do things that make you feel a little anxious because they're new and see if any of it fits. Once you know what those purpose anchors are, then you can start building a life of purpose around them.

Tiffany Grant:

Yes, yes.

And I'm glad that you hit on number three, which is looking back at your childhood and your upbringing to see, because I tell people there are, like, repeating themes that you'll kind of see throughout your life. And I know, like, for me, I remember being as young as, like, five and cutting coupons, even though I wasn't using them, obviously.

But I just like going through the motions. And so now I look back and I'm like, oh, like, I was already kind of like personal finance oriented at that young age. And so.

And also, like, having businesses and stuff. I've always had a business since I was little. So it's like these reoccurring themes.

And I love how you frame that as purpose anchors, because I wholeheartedly feel that.

Dr. Jordan Grumet (Doc G):

And what I love about the coupons is when you were a kid, you didn't have a goal, you just did it because you liked doing it. Somehow, as we get older, it all becomes a goal. You don't build the business because you like to build the business.

You build the business because you want to make money, which is fine. But then you get caught up, so caught up in making money, you don't enjoy what you're doing every day.

And even if you do make the money, you've spent most of your time doing things you don't like doing. And then it's like, well, I made money, but now I need to make double the money. And so then you go back to doing a bunch of stuff you don't like.

Kids know how to enjoy the moment. They get lost in what I call flow. They get so busy doing things, they don't even notice time passing. Why don't we do that as adults?

And I think it has to do with our version of purpose. We choose a goal Oriented version of purpose instead of a process oriented version of purpose. That's what I call little P. Purpose.

And I think we should spend a lot more of our life doing that. And so for people like you, who have tons of visions about what purpose is, so you're always busy doing a bunch of stuff.

Well, that's winning the game. Because really, our goal is to fill up as much time as we can with stuff we love that lights us up.

And so the more of that stuff you have, the more of your day you're spending doing that stuff, and less of your time during your day that you're spending doing things you loathe. That's what winning the game looks like.

Tiffany Grant:

I absolutely like the whole time you were talking.

I'm so glad y'all can't see me because my head is literally about to fall off, like, nodding in agreement with everything you just said because that is so on point. So on point. It's for me, like you said, purpose comes from within.

And once we have these purpose anchors, we can create the life that we want to live. We can create that, you know, that. That cycle. And it's just so freeing. And it's so, like, I just love this.

And I'm sure I said that with the last episode with Doc G that I was like, not in my head until it fell off. But this is so real.

So let me ask you, as we're thinking about those things and we're going through the book, and we're like, okay, I can create my purpose. What are some things? Or what is one thing that can hold us back?

Like, after we figure out the purpose anchors, we've done all of this, and we're like, yep, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. And then sometimes we get stuck. What is one thing that might can get us stuck? As we're following this purpose code, I.

Dr. Jordan Grumet (Doc G):

Think there are a few things that people actually really get stuck on. One is that, again, they don't create their purpose. So this is a very active process. Purpose is about present and future, and it's about action.

And so you have to take action. So purpose is not going to build self. So that's one place people get stuck.

Another place people get stuck is that they find they're not enjoying it anymore, but they're afraid to move on to the next anchor to work on. So they start doing something. They think it's going to be joyful.

It is joyful for a certain amount of time, but it stops being joyful or it starts getting too goal oriented and then they lose the joy of doing it. One is you either have to divorce the goals or you have to move on to a different purpose anchor.

And last but not least, I think, you know, a big problem that we all face is when we find things that fill us up and pursue them, they often don't look like everyone else.

So if you're watching social media and TikTok and everyone is working on their six pack abs and they're working on their seven figure business and they're working on traveling to every country in the world, or you're looking at marketing and advertising which are trying to sell us something, trying to sell us a lifestyle by putting all these beautiful images in front of our faces.

It's really easy to co opt or try to take someone else's version of purpose, usually a version of purpose that's sold to us by people who are trying to make money off of us as opposed to stick to your version of purpose which may not appear as glamorous but actually lights you up. And so I think we're all at risk of that just because of our social media and advertising culture.

Tiffany Grant:

Yes, yes. I agree with all of that. Of like, you are preaching to the choir. I'm over here like yes. Hand up in the air like, yes.

But anyway, if people are listening to this and they're like, okay, I hear you Doc G. I'm ready to get this book or I'm ready to learn more about purpose. Where could they find you and where could they find this book?

Because it just released, what, a few days ago?

Dr. Jordan Grumet (Doc G):

So the book released January 7th and the best way to find me or the book is to go to jordangrumit.com that's J O R D A N G R u m et dot com.

There you can find links to buy both of my books, the Purpose Code and Taking Stock, as well as links to the other ways that I produce content, including the Earn and Invest podcast and the Purpose Code substack. It is all there@jordan grummet.com Perfect.

Tiffany Grant:

Perfect. And I'll make sure I have all of those links in the show notes per the usual.

So if you didn't catch all of that, check out those show notes and it'll all be there. Thank you so much, Doc G for gracing us with your presence once again and dropping all of these gems. I appreciate it. We appreciate it.

Dr. Jordan Grumet (Doc G):

Thank you for the great conversation.

Tiffany Grant:

Bye.

Intro/Outro:

Thank you for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with Tiff podcast this week, you can check Tip out every Thursday for a new Money Talk podcast.

But if you just can't wait until next week, you can listen to previous podcast episodes@moneytalkwitht.com or follow TIFF on all social media platforms @moneytalkwitht. Until next time. Spend wise by spending less than you make A word to the money wise is always sufficient.

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