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In this episode, I sit down with Garret Biss to talk about one of the most destabilizing experiences we can face: reaching the end of a major chapter and realizing we no longer know exactly who we are, what we want, or where we are going next. Mr. Biss experienced that firsthand after nearly 17 years in the Marine Corps. What looked from the outside like freedom and opportunity instead brought anxiety, depression, loss of identity, diminished purpose, and questions about what made life meaningful once the structure he had known for years disappeared.

Although we spend significant time discussing military-to-civilian transition, this conversation is for all major transitions- leaving a career, graduating from college, ending a relationship, changing industries, becoming a parent, retiring, or abandoning a path we invested years into can all create similar disruptions. 

Mr. Biss and I explore why human beings need more than income and external achievement—we also need connection, belonging, positive identity, meaning, purpose, and the ability to feel that our time is being invested in something worthwhile.

Mr. Biss also shares an unexpected chapter from his deployment to Afghanistan, where personal struggles and unusually large amounts of reflection led him to study happiness, fulfillment, positive psychology, philosophy, and human flourishing. That work eventually became The Spheres Approach to Happiness and Fulfillment. Years later, his own post-military struggles forced him to test many of those ideas personally. We discuss why principles for living well do not prevent hardship, but can become a compass when the storm actually arrives.

We also get into workaholism, burnout, career changes, sunk-cost thinking, entrepreneurship, recovery, and the difference between being externally productive and internally healthy. Mr. Biss explains why he ultimately walked away from a real-estate path he had invested heavily in and moved toward work that made him feel more alive and useful. Ultimately, this conversation challenges us to stop measuring success only by salary, titles, credentials, or how busy we appear—and instead ask whether the life we are building actually aligns with who we are becoming.

https://garretbiss.com/

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*Couple O' Nukes LLC and Mr. Whiskey are not licensed medical entities, nor do they take responsibility for any advice or information put forth by guests. Take all advice at your own risk.