After IV

What is my purpose? How do I discern and start living into that purpose? April Peters, founder of Landing on Purpose, gives us some helpful tools for understanding and pursuing a life of purpose after graduation.

This one's for you, Alumni!

More from April & Landing on Purpose
  • Mention After IV and set up you free consultation!
  • Take 10% off at the Landing on Purpose Marketplace using code AFTERIV (valid through June 30th)
Related Episodes
Previous Episodes in this Series
Stay in Touch!
★ Support this podcast ★

Creators & Guests

Host
Jon Steele
Jon Steele, a 2011 InterVarsity alumnus from Minnesota State Mankato, lives in Mankato, MN with his wife Kaitlynn and their two daughters. He’s been on staff with InterVarsity since 2012 and has been hosting After IV since its debut in 2020. He is also the producer and primary editor for the podcast. Jon enjoys gaming, reading, and leading worship at his church.
Guest
April Peters
April is the founder of Landing on Purpose: helping you live a mission-focused life while delivering a mission-centered message.

What is After IV?

Hey, InterVarsity alumni! This is After IV, your podcast for navigating life after graduation. This is both an exciting and potentially tricky transition you’re making and you might feel a little unsure about the coming weeks and months. We’re here to provide you with expert advice, practical skills, and plenty of encouragement as you learn how to keep saying "Yes!" to Jesus in your new context. This is After IV, and this podcast is for you, alumni.

After IV
Finding Your Footing on Purpose
 
Podcast Intro – (Upbeat acoustic guitar music)

Jon Steele  0:09  
Hey everyone. I'm Jon Steele. And this is After IV a podcast for InterVarsity alumni life after college is hard. And even a great experience with your University chapter doesn't shield you from the challenges of transition. As we hear stories from real alumni learning how to make it in their posts InterVarsity reality. My hope is that this podcast will offer some encouragement, a few laughs and even some hope for the future. This is After IV. And these are your stories. 

Welcome

What's up alumni, welcome to After IV the podcast that's just for you. I'm your host, Jon Steele. I'm excited to be together for another episode. If it's your first time joining us, welcome to the podcast. I'm really glad that you made it and a special shout out once again to our newest 2023 grads. Welcome to the alumni community, and welcome to the podcast. As you may know, we're just a few weeks into our series finding your footing navigating the post graduation transition, we recognize that entering into life after graduation is an exciting time, but it can also feel a little overwhelming. So we wanted to assemble a few episodes to help provide useful skills and mental frameworks for you to use right off the bat after graduation. We've talked about transition itself and what it looks like to move from endings to this neutral zone between the old and new and into new beginnings. And last week, we got to hear from Nolan a senior from Purdue about his own experiences with transition as he approaches graduation. If you haven't had a chance, go back and give those episodes of Listen, our guests offer some fantastic insights. And you can find links to each one of them in the show notes. This week, we're talking about a topic we've all wrestled with at one time or another purpose. What was I made for? And how do I figure that out? Our guest this week, April Peters is the founder of landing on purpose. And she is passionate about helping people develop a focused mission statement that allows them to live into their God given purpose more effectively. Today, she's going to share some principles that will help us understand what purpose is and how it impacts more of our life than we probably realize. And she's gonna give us a couple helpful practices to start the process of clarifying our own purpose. Let's get to it. Here's April. And this one's for you alumni. 

Musical Interlude
 
Interview

Jon Steele
April, welcome to the podcast.

April Peters  2:29  
Hi, Jon. Thank you for having me.

Jon Steele  2:31  
Oh, I'm so glad that you're here today. I'm really excited for the conversation that we get to have talking about purpose and calling and what it looks like to clarify those things. So I'm looking forward to picking your brain. But first April, who are you? What do you do? What do you like? Help us get to know April.

April Peters  2:48  
Well, as you know, my name is April, I was born in Philadelphia, I lived in Paris, New York, New Jersey. And now back in PA I love to sing I love writing music. And when I actually get out there, I do love jacking and going to make sure that takes a little bit of something extra just to get outside. But once I'm out there, I love it. I love it.

Jon Steele  3:11  
That's fantastic. Okay, so you said you spent some time in Paris and that you are a singer. I have it on good authority that you've done some jazz singing in Paris, even.

April Peters  3:22  
Jon who's telling my secrets. Yes, I studied abroad in Paris. I did my masters there. And while I was there, I decided to not only immerse in the culture and the language, but also in the music scene there. And so I started singing and I actually sang at a little place called studio disease let's and it's very well known for its jazz scene and the talent that comes through there. And I was scouted by someone who asked me to perform at a little restaurant off the shelf at least say it was such an experience there. I also worked in fashion a little bit on the side. So I was doing my Masters but really making the most of that. That experience. Yeah.

Jon Steele  4:06  
Wow, what a time of life to get to experience a special place to get to do it. Well, April, life is jazz. I found ya dissonant sounds, improvisation, things that don't seem like they should work together. You look back on the whole thing. And you're like, there was a thread going through this whole thing that started to connect so many of these pieces. And in context, it makes sense. Even if in the moment we were like, where are we going? And April? So we we really like to tell stories on this podcast in particular stories about transition to life after graduation. And since we're talking about calling and purpose today, what assumptions or expectations did you have about your own calling? And then as you've traveled through life, how has reality measured up to those early expectations that you had?

April Peters  4:57  
I would say that as I was approaching undergrad graduation, I had in hand, a list of things that I wanted to accomplish a little checklist. For me it was accomplishments, but also just dreams, you know, things that I had in mind to do. And as I was approaching graduating from my undergraduate University, I was planning to get my Master's abroad, and really immerse in the French language. And I thought, perhaps I'll make a life there. I will not only study there, but develop a plan to live abroad for a period of time. I was excited about being a singer and a performer. I was excited about doing something meaningful in the kingdom. And I just had all of these ideas and dreams and had experimented with some of it while I was on campus. And I had no idea what was approaching. About one month before my graduation before I'm walking, my mom passed away. Whoa, yes. And, you know, when when you ask this question about what measured up to the expectations, my mom and I had planned for her to come out and visit me when I studied abroad, and we would travel, and I'm getting ready to graduate and she passes away. And what I had to do to navigate that grief, it was such an experience of God's power and strength through the hard times, and pushing forward. I have family who said, you still need to go forward and do this program. I couldn't even conceive of it, just want to stay home, you want to lay down, you want to cry, you know, and I did those things. I cried, I aggrieved. And my family really encouraged me to still do the master's program. But I felt like I'll just do the summer, and then I'll come back. And I decided to live with a family because I thought family was going to be a more supportive environment for me, rather than living in my own apartment. And that didn't work out. And I moved on my own. And the landlord of that apartment was not doing all that they were supposed to be doing in terms of declaring the apartment to the government. And I didn't know that. So I had to move from there, goodness. And then I moved in to an apartment with a woman, I met a church there in France, and she was going through depression, and I didn't know it. I said, Lord, not this year, not this year. So I'm a walking poster board for when things didn't work out the way you thought they would. But I had the most amazing experience. And I learned to worship God in the good and the bad. And I'm going to tell the listeners this, don't think about the some of your experiences as having to do with you and you alone. You said this to us, like we look back and we realize that it makes sense. All those cords in opposition. They're making sense now. Because of all that I experienced at that time, the grief, the turmoil, the pain, the questions. And when I looked back, and when I started getting mentees working in a company and I had interns and I began to talk to younger people, all of what I had experienced became useful for them. And I could say, oh, yeah, I know what you're talking about. I know what you're going through. And this is what happened and what God did in it. Because I don't look at that experience. And I only see the negative things. I actually see the hope and the wonderful journey that I had in it.

Jon Steele  8:46  
Yes, April, it sounds like in the midst of this that you were learning incredibly important things that would be beneficial, not only for you, but for others down the road. Can you start to just tell us a little bit about the work that you're doing right now coming out of all of these experiences to help other people live into the purpose that God has created them for?

April Peters  9:07  
Absolutely. You know, I always knew that I had a teaching gift. I had done a spiritual gifts inventory many, many years ago. And teaching was one of the spiritual gifts at the top. And I ran from traditional classroom teaching. I did not want to be a classroom teacher. And it was actually French that brought me into the classroom, oddly enough, right like that, oh, no, I don't want to be there. But I found an opportunity that I felt a great fit for and I became a classroom teacher. And I went from teaching in that classroom in a high school to another school that was really experiencing a lot of trauma. And in a city that really reminded me of the city I grew up in. And I had a little bit of an inkling of what I was walking into. But I didn't realize all that it was going to I require from me and 2016, I needed a solution to figuring out as someone who has music gifts, creative gifts, writing gifts, teaching gifts, I used to do PR, I felt like I was in a lot of different careers. How do I express my story as a whole person, right? Sometimes we can feel like we're living dichotomized lives, we have all these hats that we're wearing. I sense the problem that are so many who are living dichotomized lives or just kind of showing up in different ways in different spaces, but want to really feel that their life is one whole message. And the Lord gave me this, I studied bios of really influential people who are in the kingdom. And I looked at these files, and I noticed common denominators. And they pointed to what I call the thesis for your life, the thing that speaks to who you are, what you bring to the table, and the audience to whom you're called. So I wrote down these five common denominators, began to answer the questions myself, and then structuring the single sentence mission statement. And that unique single sentence mission statement became the thesis for my new bio, and it had nothing to do with a list of accomplishments, it really had everything to do with what God has called me to, and how everything else fits in that. And so landing on purpose comes up because after developing this, I was a college and career teacher at the time, I noticed here are my students getting ready to talk about colleges? And I'm like, how are they even going to think about that, when they don't know who they are, they need to be rooted and grounded in their mission. And I took them through the landing on purpose method. And it was so refreshing to see these students finally feel just excited, not just, you know, the day to day but where they're going. And it wasn't about what they were going to be when they grow up. This was really focused on Who are you? What are the patterns? Are you for your life? And how do they now connect to that mission that you are drawn and call to? And how is God redeeming your story, so that you are able to help redeem others?

Jon Steele  12:26  
Well, and it sounds like you're even living out some of that experience of the things that you have been called to the concepts that you have been created for the way that God has been shaping you that it's more than just the context that you're doing it in, it's more than just the particular people group that you are sharing this with. You're saying like a school, this is where I had never would have expected. But this is the context for now, where the way that God has created you the ways that he's been shaping you the experiences that you've been having, where you can live into this purpose in a context you never would have expected, but that it can be fulfilling, it can be vibrant, it can be meaningful, even though it's with people in a place that you never would have chosen to start with.

April Peters  13:07  
Exactly, Jon, let's bring that home, landing on purpose and developing that mission statement. This is not about where you work, you take your mission statement, wherever you go, you bring that to the table. And so often we get hung up on Well, I'm not in the place that I want to be yet. I'm not in the career that I long for, I'm not launched yet in this particular position or opportunity or in the mission field, and I want to be your mission statement. It's you coming alive in that space with all that you have to bring everything that God has given you. And it is not a deterrent from being activated and launched from where you are, I think that is so important. So often we feel like oh, I've got to leave here to actually do this, you know, and that's not the case. The way that we work with our clients is we really show them how they can in the transition in those spaces of flux. Like where you're moving from one place to another how you are moving and operating in your mission statement is so key. It doesn't happen later. It's a now thing. It's a today thing. Really our purpose is here, we're here to please God right to worship him. Yes, to bring glory to Him. That never changes, right? Our purpose is constant. And what is so cool about learning on purpose is that we focus on the single sentence mission statement, because it's the mission that evolves. It doesn't necessarily change. But there's levels to this as the first partaker that mission statement is still relevant for me today.

Jon Steele  14:47  
On our podcast, we've talked a number of times about people going through the decade of their 20s that it's a time for experiencing lots of things. We have a lot of invitations that are thrown our way. There's a lot that we don't know about ourselves and our likes and our giftings and our abilities and having something like a personal mission statement feels like something that can be a helpful filter. So the things that you're like, you know, that might be a good fit. Let me try it. But I've got this mission statement as my filter, I give it a try. And it's like, yeah, actually, this is helping me clarify further or Nope, this isn't that we can use that as sort of a platform for having those experiences and knowing what categories to put them into.

April Peters  15:23  
Jon! Jon! do you want to help me? Do you want to be part of landing on purpose, you are speaking the language, this is so good, because you use so many of the words that we use, landing on purpose is a safe space, first of all, for people to get clear, get on mission and get going. It's a focus tool. And I think what differentiates landing on purpose from so many wonderful programs is that it is a tool. It's not just, you sit down and you're talking to someone and you're writing out stuff. And then your process, you actually have tools with instructions that help you get out what you don't know is there we call it mining the story. Interesting, we find what's inside of the person through the questions, the stuff that they don't even realize. And we do that in a non invasive way. So by the time they're done, they are now able to map what we use our mapping tool to map those those answers. So they can see them clearly and see the story. So that's the telling the story portion. And then we get into structuring the mission statement, which has also spent structions. Related to that, because it's important that it be single sentence. It's important that I think, for the individual, but I think of teams and organizations that I work with as well, where they need to have that specific pitch, right, that pitch point like this is who we are, and be able to say that very quickly and succinctly. And I think that's super helpful for individuals to write to have a point of pitch like this is who I am, this is what I'm about. And it's a clarifier exactly the way you said it, I always ask my clients, have you revisited your statement? Are you using it as a filter for decision making, we help people make clearer decisions. Because when you have this mission statement, this is what I like to tell people feed fuel or fund. If it doesn't feed, fuel or fund the mission? I say no. If it doesn't fit that description, then that is probably a no for me. I don't need to participate in that.

Jon Steele  17:34  
It makes me really glad that you said yes doing this podcast. It must fit somewhere in one of those.

April Peters  17:40  
Because that's the that's the cool thing that it could be one out of the three and still be so beneficial to somebody. So for folks who say, Well, this opportunity is not going to pay me but is it feeding you? Is it fueling you? Is it fire to what God is doing in you and wants to progress, then that's a yes. Right. And sometimes it's the you know, I don't really like this job in terms of just Oh, I'm just so tired. But this is all I have right now. Well let that be the funding for your vision for the short time. Put down your tents, just for this moment, don't get stuck there. But allow really have a plan that it's finding the vision where I want to go. So I'm going to be deliberate and intentional while I'm here to make it about that. And that will excite me because now I have a bigger vision and dream that keeps me and helps me come to work and having integrity while I'm here.

Jon Steele  18:36  
Yes. You're not just languishing away in a job. That's like how long Lord, must I do this until I find the next thing? Instead? You're like, No, this actually, it's it's not the thing itself, but it serves the purpose of the thing and the direction that I'm going. That's fantastic. Okay, so April, I know that you have lots of resources that people could jump into, but do you have a couple of freebies for us that people could start doing to start? Like what are some? What are some recommendations that you have for alumni right after graduation that they need to start doing today to start clarifying that purpose?

April Peters  19:11  
That's an excellent question. So I always start with values. What are your top three values? Jot them down, jot them down, it starts there. That's exactly where we start. We start with the value points. Because so often we're doing things that are not connected to our value system. And so if we could just have them start with the top three, first three things that come to mind, often we overthink, right? So just the first three things that come to mind, write them down. Now, I will say that I was teaching you know, high school students some time ago, just a few years ago, and they said their phone and I said hold on. Phone is not a value. What do you mean what let's go deeper. Right? And what we realize is that for that generation, the phone holds something right? What is it holding? What is it representing for them? Right in terms of identity or in terms of relationships? And so go a little bit deeper than objects really think about what are your values? Who, right, not just a what, but who do you value and chances are, because that is part of the beginning point of our journey, chances are that everything after that, especially when you walk through the methodology is connected right back to that value system. And we can really map the journey of a person by looking at their values, you can either determine and see whether or not they are on the trajectory of honoring those values, or if they have been completely misaligned this entire time. So they can look into what are my values? And then say, Hey, have I really been doing things that are in alignment with that? Or have I been misaligned, I think that's a great starter question. And then reach out to landing on purpose.com. We have a free consultation just for your listeners that I've already posted to the website. So they can go to landingonpurpose.com and schedule the consultation right into my calendar. And let's talk about where you are and where you want to go. And I'm also offering a percentage off for every listener as well, oh, my goodness, I know, I'm excited. Come and get anything you want. And you'll get a percentage off.

Jon Steele  21:31  
Oh, that's awesome. We'll make sure all of this makes it into the show notes. So people can just click and go. Okay, so we're giving some next steps here. This is awesome. I love it. But for the sake of time, and for the sake of not spoiling any punch lines that I would rather people get to work through with you and your team. Let's just leave it at this. If you could give one parting word of advice with an alum who's listening right now? And who's stepping into this new season of life? What is that one final piece of advice that you would give to them?

April Peters  22:01  
My advice would be, be kind to yourself. Be kind. Jon, as you were talking and as I was sharing, and I was like, Yeah, I'm probably really hopefully connecting to that person who has so many interests and creative skills and dreams. And I just want to say Be kind to yourself, because the journey is so worth it. The journey is really, really worth it. And a lot of the confusion that some of you are feeling right now, some of you are wondering like, what is this going to amount to some of you have your three to five year plan? Throw it out? No, no way. No, no, okay, you could keep it but just recognize that you need to be kind and recognize that. In the end, who was guiding you who was steering the ship, right is the captain of your soul. It's not your plans. It's not your desires. Because ultimately, what God wants for us is so much better than anything we could think or imagine or conceive of. And so if he is the captain of our soul, we have to surrender our plans to him. And with everything good and bad that I have experienced. I have so much joy. I am so excited and thankful for every step of the way. Even the times when I used to just oh, what's gonna happen? Oh, you know, I remember wanting a job and having a little side job. But that wasn't what I wanted full time and just not getting the answers back that I wanted and just oh, what's going to happen? Oh, you know, just always thinking, you know, not the worst but thinking win win win. And I remember a friend of mine said you better enjoy this time of rest that God is giving you instead of resting I was frightening. And she said you're going to get busy soon and you're going to wish that you had enjoy this time of rest the reason why it's not moving the way you want to is because you're being restored this is a time of replenishment so the time to wait and so in the waiting in the waiting really resting in the in the Lord really trust him with your desires and your dreams and recognize that he's just he's good. That's his identity is good. So in no way is he looking to give you a gotcha moment. Right? It's gonna always amount to you're good. All things work together for the good of them that love God and are called according to His purpose, all things, all things and I'm gonna tell you, I'm saying this because not only because I believe it, but because I live it. It's good. And the more the older that I get Jon, the more I see. And the more I realized, oh my gosh, you were trippin. Like why were you worried about that? Why were you worried about that, because it all came together, it's all coming together. And you don't need to worry.

Jon Steele  25:23  
Well, April, if I had hoped for something that would speak to the idea of purpose, and how we can not only give mental frameworks, ways of thinking, but also some practical next steps that you can sit down and take a pencil and a piece of paper and start writing. This has been such a wonderful combination of both of those things. And there's still more like, that's what's so great is that there's more if people go check out your website, again, it'll be in the show notes, they can find it there and schedule time with you that there's more to experience in the midst of this. This has been incredibly encouraging for me, as I've gotten to listen, thank you so much for joining us today for sharing your heart and your wisdom and your own story as you've worked on clarifying purpose and pursuing purpose. So thank you so much. And once again, I'm just really glad that this fit into your framework of fuel and fun. Yes, exactly. We're in there. That's awesome. Thank you so much, April, for joining us today.

April Peters  26:22  
Jon, thank you so much. And thank you to the actor. For listeners. This is an amazing podcast, and you are an amazing host. I just enjoy recitation. And I hope that it was helpful to everyone else.

Musical Interlude
 
Wrap up

Jon Steele  26:36  
There are a few things that stand out to me from this conversation that I think could be easy to miss or forget about without taking a moment to review. First is actually one of the last things April mentioned. And that's that all things are being used by God for your good. He is informing your purpose and developing you to participate in his world changing work through each life event you experience, even the transition you find yourself in right now as you move on after graduation. And those experiences and that work he's preparing you for might not quite line up with your current five year plan. Be prepared for some course corrections, but also be prepared for a purpose that is more meaningful than you could have ever imagined for yourself. Another thing, your purpose does not begin and end with your work. You aren't just clarifying the right field to invest the next 40 or 50 years of your life into your purpose. And the mission of your life certainly impacts that. But it also impacts the way you do life with your family, the way you interact with your neighbors, the way you vote, spend your money and interpret the circumstances around you. Which leads me to one last thing, though there are certainly 20 others that we could pull out from this conversation. And that's that clarifying your purpose takes some intentional time and effort. It requires some thoughtfulness on your part. So please start with the tools that April gave us today. Sit down and take some time to think about your values. What are those top three things that matter the most to you think about why they matter and the places in your life where you can see them at play. And although you'll be able to better learn how to implement them. As you find more clarity around your purpose. Consider how you can apply those three F's that April mentioned, as you think about your current life practices, do the things that you're doing or considering doing feed, fuel or fund your values and your growing sense of purpose and mission? Are there ways you can start to filter out unhelpful practices while leaning into the ones that lead you to a closer walk with Jesus and a mission oriented life. And just as April already invited us, if you're listening to this episode and saying I'm ready for some focused coaching around clarifying my purpose, so that I can live into the mission that God has given me, then take advantage of the opportunity to set up your free consultation with April and take a look at her marketplace where you can get 10% off all offers and products using code After IV. That's A F T E R I V in all caps. That code is valid through June 30. And you can find links in the show notes to help you get started. April, thank you so much for joining us this week and for helping us take these important steps toward clarifying our purpose. And thank you alumni for tuning in. Come back next time as we talk about a topic that makes all of us quaking our boots just a little bit living with roommates after graduation and scarier yet living with roommates. You don't already know my friend Nicole is going to join me and we're going to share some stories of success and failure from our own days of living with roommates after graduation. I'll tell you now one story includes a plunger, some gift wrap, and a whole lot of passive aggression. Come back next time your future roommates and even your future self will be glad that you did. 

Podcast Outro – (Upbeat acoustic guitar music)

Thanks so much for joining us today. Alumni if there was anything that you learned really enjoyed or they encouraged you from today's episode, would you send us a DM or tag us in story, we'd love to hear about it. You can find us @afterivpod on Instagram and Facebook. And if you haven't already, take just a second to unlock your phone and subscribe to the podcast. If your platform lets you leave us a rating and a review. And if you like what we're doing here, share us with your InterVarsity or other post graduation friends. Thanks again for listening. And I will see you in the after, Alumni!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai