Discovering the soul-enriching essence of purpose partners, I, Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson, venture beyond the pages of "Disrupting Burnout" to share an enlightening conversation about these life-altering connections. Imagine finding friendships that offer clarity and rejuvenation, much like a nourishing meal for the soul. That's precisely what I unravel with the story of my friendship with Tiesha Andrews, a bond that has become a beacon in my quest for balance. Together, we examine the stakes of adult friendships and the irreplaceable value of reciprocity and vulnerability within them, drawing inspiration from the biblical bond of Mary and Elizabeth.
As we navigate these waters, I open up about my decade-long friendship with Kris, whose discernment has been a guiding light through numerous seasons of my life. This episode is a heartfelt invitation to reflect on the individuals who bring fullness and clarity to your journey, those who stand by you as true purpose partners. Whether you're on a quest to find these profound connections or seeking to deepen existing ones, join me as we explore the transformative power of purpose partnerships in preventing burnout and igniting your inner brilliance. And for those eager to begin this quest, consider this conversation a guiding star, perhaps even sparking a prayer, on your path to finding the companionship that resonates with your spirit.
Discovering the soul-enriching essence of purpose partners, I, Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson, venture beyond the pages of "Disrupting Burnout" to share an enlightening conversation about these life-altering connections. Imagine finding friendships that offer clarity and rejuvenation, much like a nourishing meal for the soul. That's precisely what I unravel with the story of my friendship with Tiesha Andrews, a bond that has become a beacon in my quest for balance. Together, we examine the stakes of adult friendships and the irreplaceable value of reciprocity and vulnerability within them, drawing inspiration from the biblical bond of Mary and Elizabeth.
As we navigate these waters, I open up about my decade-long friendship with Kris, whose discernment has been a guiding light through numerous seasons of my life. This episode is a heartfelt invitation to reflect on the individuals who bring fullness and clarity to your journey, those who stand by you as true purpose partners. Whether you're on a quest to find these profound connections or seeking to deepen existing ones, join me as we explore the transformative power of purpose partnerships in preventing burnout and igniting your inner brilliance. And for those eager to begin this quest, consider this conversation a guiding star, perhaps even sparking a prayer, on your path to finding the companionship that resonates with your spirit.
Hey friend, I am Dr Patrice Buckner-Jackson, but you can call me PBJ. Welcome to another episode of the Disrupting Burnout podcast, where we are giving you the strategies for pouring out purpose without living through the consequences of burnout. Friend, you have joined us in the perfect time because for the next few episodes, we are walking through this beautiful book, my new book, disrupting Burnout. Listen, we are breaking this thing down chapter by chapter, section by section. All you have to do to be a part of our book club is read your book and join these episodes every week. That's it, friend. That's it. Grab a book if you don't have one, from Amazon or anywhere else. They sell books online.
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If you prefer audio, listen now, friend, hear me, I recorded every one of these chapters in my own voice and when I tell you it was just recorded to share with my preorder folks. It was just recorded to share with my pre-order folks, but the level of emotion and heart, and I added extra spoonfuls of PBJ throughout. So there are pieces in the audio book that are not in the printed version. All you have to do is upgrade your subscription. So these weekly episodes are absolutely free, as always, but if you want access to the full audio book. If you want access to bonus content for the price of one coffee a month. Now, friend, come on now. For the price of one coffee a month, you can upgrade, have the entire audio book read in my voice with all the emotion, with all the extra spoonfuls of PBJ going, and upgrade so that you can listen to it while we are walking through it.
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Are you ready for this book club? Listen, I got some things to share with you this week. I can't wait. Let's get started. Hey, friend, all right, welcome back. We are in the middle of our book club and we are reading through my new book, disrupting Burnout. And listen, we've only gotten through half of chapter one. So if you are just joining us, you are right in time. But, friend, I need to take a little detour right in time. But, friend, I need to take a little detour. Just hang in there with me, hold on, because I'm telling you.
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My book coach and other folks that I spoke to shared how, after they published their book, they immediately started taking notes and thinking of other things they could have said. And when I was told this, I was thinking, friend, all I want to do is finish this one. But if they were not telling the truth. I need to share something with you and honestly, I was thinking this has got to be in the book. I'm sure I put it somewhere in the book, friend. It's not in the book.
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So we need to take a pause for the cause right now and I need to talk to you about identifying your purpose partners. So if you participated in my virtual book launch, then you heard the panel and you heard me refer to those women as my purpose partners. If you weren't a part of the virtual book launch, then you can go back to episode 102 and you will get a little snippet of that experience and hear me refer to them as purpose partners. And I'm here to tell you that I don't know if I've ever said that term before. That wasn't a planned part of the panel discussion. It just kind of flowed out of me as we were having discussion. But since then, so many of you have responded, have shared with me that. One PBJ. What is a purpose partner? Two, I don't think I have that, and how do I find that? So, as much as I wanted to continue the program as planned, I have to stop here because I've heard from so many of you concerning your need for purpose partners. So today, on episode 104, I want to talk to you more about what is a purpose partner and how do you identify your purpose partners. So let's start by defining a purpose partner, and I'll do that by sharing an experience that I have with one of my purpose partners, one of the ladies on the panel that night, taisha Andrews.
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So Taisha and I met a in a mastermind group that we were a part of, so a community of women. We were working on some things together with our coach, patrice Washington, and Taisha and I officially met in that group. We had seen each other before at a conference but didn't really have an opportunity to interact. But during this mastermind, as we met as a group and had discussions, I just noticed that whenever she would comment or share, I felt connected to what she was saying. It really seemed like we had a lot in common concerning our faith and our outlook on life, and this group was full of dynamic women, and this group was full of dynamic women, right. So I'm not saying that Taisha was the only person there who I connected with. Any one of those women I could go back to right now and check on them and I do and talk to them and we have a connection.
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But there was something different concerning Taisha. At the same time that I was in this group and getting to know Taisha and the other women, I was feeling a void. I was feeling like I was missing something. And, I'll be honest, I have friends, I have wonderful women in my life. All right, friend, I'm just popping in really quick because I need your help. Would you go over to Amazon right now and leave a quick review for Disrupting Burnout? You don't have to finish the whole book to leave a review, and it doesn't have to be long or fancy, just your honest take on the book. I know that there's some algorithm fairies out there. If you leave enough reviews, they will share this book with other readers who need it. So would you help me out? Would you help our friends out who haven't heard about Disrupting Burnout yet? Go over to Amazon and leave your honest review for Disrupting Burnout. I appreciate you. All right, let's get back to the episode.
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But for some reason, I felt like something was missing. It was almost like I needed to fill a specific void, and the best way that I can explain it is if your body is deficient in a certain vitamin. If your body is deficient in a certain vitamin, you may start to crave foods that have that vitamin in it. So if you are vitamin C deficient, you may start to crave strawberries or oranges or other citrus fruit because they are rich in vitamin C. I felt like my soul was longing for something that I didn't have, and again, this is nothing against the wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, powerful women that I have in my life. I have other purpose partners, but in this particular season I was feeling like something or someone was missing and there was a loneliness that was on me and I remember thinking man, I just feel like I want to reach out to Taisha to see if she wants to be my friend. Now.
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Friendship as an adult is very interesting because, you know, if I were talking to my three-year-old nephew or my six-year-old niece, it would be easy for me to say just say hello, tell them your name, you know, and make friends. But as an adult it just feels like the stakes are so much higher. Either way, reached out to Taisha, we connected and we started communicating back and forth on a daily basis, so we don't talk on the phone every now and then we might hop on a Zoom, but normally we just kind of send messages back and forth to each other all day long and when I tell you this relationship has filled a space that I didn't know I needed filled, I have a space to be completely me, full of everything that I bring, whether it's super spiritual or super carnal. That day, if it's, you know, I'm feeling full or I'm feeling empty. It doesn't matter who I am or what I bring. There's a safe space for me to be that in this relationship. So I and again, I don't know how long we'll be trading messages back and forth and communicating the way that we're communicating now, but I know over the last year it's been what my soul has needed and I still have friends and I still have other purpose partners that fill other voids in my life.
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But this relationship came in the right time just for me, what I needed, and also for her. It's not just about me, but it's also about how I serve her. There's reciprocity in it. So there's a give and there's a take and I'm in a space that I can receive, even if she needs to tell me a hard thing or something that I don't want to hear. And she's the same way, we don't question each other's heart for the other person because we know that heart.
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So I just wanted to share with you that experience of identifying one of my purpose partners, because sometimes you're looking at the circle that you're already connected to. You're looking at people you already know, You're looking at family members, you're looking at people who were your friends in different seasons, or maybe you feel like that friendship is coming to an end and you're nervous about letting it go, even though your heart is telling you it's time to let go. You don't know how to let go because you don't know who will be there for you or who will be there next. Right, I want you to know that your purpose partner may or may not be in your circle right now. Your purpose partner may be a stranger, it may be someone you don't know well, it may be someone you've just crossed paths with, or maybe someone you just met, but for some reason you feel a connection. For some reason there's something there that tells you that there is a connection there.
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It reminds me in the Bible of when Mary was pregnant with Jesus and she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. And the Bible says at the sound of Mary's voice, the baby that was inside of Elizabeth. So Elizabeth was pregnant with John and Mary was pregnant with Jesus. And at the sound of Mary's greeting, the baby on the inside of Elizabeth started to leap. And Mary didn't have to explain her situation, she didn't have to come and say, hey, listen, I'm carrying this baby and it's from the Holy Spirit. And Joseph don't understand. And she didn't have to go into that. At the sound of her voice, elizabeth immediately knew. She immediately knew what was going on. She immediately recognized the season. She recognized Mary's season.
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Who in your life can truly see you season? Who in your life can truly see you? Who in your life truly sees you and recognizes your season and where you are and what's going on with you? Your purpose partner is beyond friendship. Looking at Taisha and I, both of us have other people in our lives that we would call best friend. Both of us have other people in our lives that we would call friends. But there's a special anointing on this relationship in this season. There's a special connection on this relationship in this season and I'm grateful that we are both in a place that we can be open to it, to receive it. So who would be your purpose partners. Who are the people that you connect with and the goodness that's on the inside of you begins to leap. Who are the people that you connect with and you leave full. No matter what you're talking about, no matter what the connection is, you leave full, you leave refreshed, you leave with clarity, you leave feeling better. Who are those people in your life that, when you get together, even if you don't talk every day or even every week, every time you connect it's like you never missed a beat and you never missed a day.
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Who are your purpose partners? In identifying your purpose partners, I want you to recognize that, like I said, they're more than a friend. I have another purpose partner, my friend Chris. We've been friends for over a decade now and Chris has a unique anointing of discernment. I believe that every child of God has some level of discernment, but my sister Chris has a deep level of discernment. But my sister Chris has a deep level of discernment, a perfect example of her discernment in my life.
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Yesterday was Sunday, not yesterday, this weekend. So this Sunday and over the last couple of weeks I've been dealing with something, and this Sunday in particular, I was in church and a particular song just washed over me and spoke to me and ministered to my heart and it was exactly what I needed to hear. It was what I needed in that moment. Left church, got in the car we were headed to lunch, looked at my phone and I had a text message from Chris and she spoke one line of the song and then she attached the song to the text message. I had not told Chris what is going on or what I'm going through. I had not had time to tell her that they sang the song in church today and it really ministered to me. We are two hours away from each other so there was no way that she would have any idea that I had had an experience with that song in the service. But in her heart she just knew it was for me.
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So Chris is not just my friend, but there's a spiritual connection. There's a spiritual connection where I don't have to say it, I don't have to speak it, I don't have to tell her. Somehow she knows that even in moments where I'm like I'm not going to bother her, today, I'm not going to bother Chris, I'm just going to walk through it. She will text or she will call and she'll say hey, what's going on. Your purpose partners will feel you in the spirit without you having to say anything, will feel you in the spirit without you having to say anything, you won't have to explain, you won't have to tell them, you may not even have to call, and I'm not saying don't, right, like, don't make it hard for people to love you and serve you. But your purpose partners will know without you having to go into tremendous detail.
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I also want to talk about the risk of reaching out and making yourself vulnerable. First, the risk of even reaching out to say, hey, can we connect, can we have a call, can we go to coffee? I understand, as I said earlier, as an adult, it just feels differently, right, like if we were talking to little ones, we would just say, hey, you know, tell them your name, invite them to play, it's all good, it's all good, just give it a try. But somehow, as adults, it just feels and I don't know if that's shame or what, but it just feels more vulnerable to extend yourself and the real fear that they may not want to connect with you or may not feel the same way, or may not have capacity or space for you. All of these things, I think, hold us back from relationships that we really need, but also people who really need you, because keep in mind your purpose partners. It's a reciprocal relationship, it's a back and forth, so it's not just you weighing on that person and you pulling on that person, but you pour into them as well. So if you need them, I guarantee you, friend, they need you. So I want to encourage you to take the step and take the risk and don't be married to the outcome right Like I've found in this walk with God and this is just my experience.
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I haven't. I haven't had a burning bush experience right when I walk out and the Lord is like hey, take off your shoes, because this is holy ground. First of all, I'm good Lord. If you don't ever talk to me like that, I'm okay. Just let's just keep it the way it is. I'm all right with that. Right. That's not the way I normally hear him. When I hear the Lord, it's like a feeling or an unction or something, an idea. Sometimes I think, and it's like is this the Lord, Is it God? And I'll be honest, many times I don't know for sure. It was God.
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Until I've taken a step, I can mull over it, think about it, you know, run it through my mind over and, over and over, but none of that gives me clarity. I really don't get clarity until I actually take a step, a baby step, and that step may be reaching out and asking that person if they have time for a call, or inviting somebody to coffee, or, you know, whatever that baby step may be, sending them a quick video to say, hey, hope you're having a good day. I was just thinking about you today. I don't need anything, I just wanted to say hello. You know, whatever that baby step is, and after you take that baby step, you'll know if you feel safe to take another step, whether they respond or and if they respond, what is their response and how does that feel. Then you'll know, you'll, you'll have some confirmation or at least some peace about what your next step is, and that next step may be let's take it further, or that next step may be. Maybe that wasn't what I thought, okay, but at least you know when I tell you it is worth the risk. It is worth the risk.
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We were not created to do life alone, created to do life alone. We are heard beings. We have to find our people. We have to find our crew. We are not supposed to be in isolation. We're not supposed to be alone. I'm not saying you need 25 people, but you need somebody. You need somebody to do this life with. You need somebody to pursue purpose with. You need somebody in your life to lean on, depend on, to share with. That's just who we are. That's how we were created. So it is worth the risk for you to extend yourself and if that is not your person, count it as a win. Now you know. Now you know and you can continue to pray about and seek God and ask him to reveal who your person or who your people are.
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Before we go, I do want to address transitions. Before we go, I do want to address transitions. Earlier I mentioned I don't know how long Taisha and I will be trading messages back and forth. You know I love it. I look forward to it every day. Sometimes we take the weekend off, but even when we do that Monday, I'm like okay, where's my video? Sis? Like what's going on? And she says the same thing to me. I appreciate this and I know in this season it's serving both of us, but I don't expect us to do this for the rest of our lives. I'm not putting an end date to it, but I'm also not expecting it to be forever.
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I've lived long enough to understand that seasons change, friendships change and relationships change, and it's okay to release what served you in the past that's no longer serving you now. It's okay to grow, it's okay to stretch, it's okay to move, it's okay to need something different. And it doesn't mean anything is wrong with the people or anything was wrong with the relationship. It just means that the season changed and I think we have to get better at transitions, especially as adults. I think we have to get better at life transitions, at relationship transitions and recognizing when the alignment is not the same as it was and it's time to move on. It's okay.
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Every connection is not a lifelong connection and I'm not talking about covenant here, I'm talking about relationship. I'm about covenant here, I'm talking about relationship, I'm talking about friendship, I'm talking about partnership. Every relationship is not lifelong and if it no longer serves you, that means there's somebody else for them in this season. If it no longer serves you, that means there's somebody else for you in this season. Sometimes in transition we tell ourselves well, it's just me and God, I guess I'm supposed to be alone right now.
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I don't think you're every season of your life, so I want to encourage you, start with prayer. Start with prayer If you find yourself in a lonely place, if you find yourself seeking who are my purpose partners, if you recognize that you have friends and they are good people, but you don't have that push, you don't have that spiritual connection, you don't have that purpose leaping in your belly. When you connect with your people, then I'm here to tell you that there is someone who is assigned to you in this season that will cause your purpose to leap. And I don't want you to miss out on that, because when I tell you that that experience is not like any other, it's not like it's different, it's a different experience and it's worth it and it is needed. So, friend, I want to encourage you to identify your purpose partners. Who is the person or the people who are assigned to help you bring forth purpose in this season?
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Not just one-sided relationships. I have a counselor, I have a therapist, but that's a one-sided relationship. I have a husband, I have friends, and all of those are wonderful, but, man, they didn't fill this void of what Taisha has brought, or what Dr Ramona has brought, or what Chris has brought, because those connections, they cause everything in me to leap and when I feel like I'm losing hope, they cause my hope to wake up again. When I feel like I might be confused or I'm on the wrong track, they bring clarity to my life and remind me of who I am. When I feel misunderstood or that I don't fit, they remind me that I have community and I have people and I am more than enough. You need purpose partners, all right.
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So listen, if there is a part two to disrupting burnout and if you're, if I'm honest, I'm already thinking about the next book. Y'all pray for me. Why am I thinking about the next book? We just published this one. I'm not going to do it right now, but I'll be honest. I do have another book brewing inside of me. I'll keep you updated on that, but let's stay focused. If I had to write this book again, I would add a chapter on identifying your purpose partners. That's how critical they are to your brilliance and that's how critical they are to your brilliance and that's how critical they are to you disrupting the cycle of burnout. All right, friend, start in prayer, take it to God and see what he'll share with you. As always, you are powerful, you are significant and you are loved. Love always, pbj.