416: How Can We Make Work Feel and Be More Meaningful?
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Guest
After 11 years at IBM, Brooke Erol left a “great job on paper” to pursue a more aligned, purpose-driven life. She founded Your Best Life Inc. to help professionals find meaning at work, and later Purposeful Business to support leaders in building people-centered organizations. She is the author of More Than A Paycheck and Create a Life You Love, and speaks globally on leadership and purposeful work.
Summary
In this conversation, career coach and author Brooke Erol explores the changing nature of work, fulfillment, and identity in an era shaped by burnout, layoffs, and artificial intelligence. Drawing from her own experience at IBM, she reflects on realizing early in her career that many people were “chasing the weekend” rather than finding meaning in their work. That realization eventually led her to write More Than a Paycheck, a guide designed to help individuals develop greater self-awareness and agency in their careers.
Brooke argues that self-awareness is foundational to meaningful work, yet modern life leaves little room for reflection. She encourages people to intentionally create time to examine what energizes them, what no longer serves them, and which limiting beliefs may be shaping their choices. Throughout the discussion, she emphasizes that traditional career formulas—go to college, get a corporate job, retire happily—are no longer reliable in today’s unstable job market.
The conversation also examines the disruptive impact of AI, especially on younger workers and recent graduates, while highlighting the growing value of trade and skilled labor careers. Brooke encourages people to remain adaptable, continuously learn new skills, and consider side projects or entrepreneurial paths alongside traditional employment.
The discussion closes with reflections on retirement, purpose, and identity. Brooke and Jeff agree that fulfillment comes not from stopping work entirely, but from continuing to contribute, learn, connect, and pursue activities that make life meaningful.
The Essential Point
Brooke’s central message is that people must take greater ownership of their careers and lives by developing self-awareness, questioning inherited assumptions about work, and intentionally pursuing work that aligns with who they are.
She also stresses that fulfillment and purpose are not luxuries reserved for retirement—they are essential parts of a healthy, sustainable life at every stage.
Social Media
Website: www.yourbestlifeinc.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careeryoulove/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ozlemerol
LinkedIn Newsletter: Career Path YOU Love: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7234651608981065729/
All My Books Page: https://www.yourbestlifeinc.com/books
More Than a Paycheck: https://www.yourbestlifeinc.com/books/morethanapaycheck
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
About Jeff
Jeff Ikler is the Director of Quetico Leadership and Career Coaching. “Quetico” (KWEH-teh-co). He works with leaders in all aspects of life to identify and overcome obstacles in their desired future. He came to the field of coaching after a 35-year career in educational publishing. Prior to his career in educational publishing, Jeff taught high school U.S. history and government.
Jeff has hosted the “Getting Unstuck—Cultivating Curiosity” podcast for 5 years. The guests and topics he explores are designed to help listeners think differently about the familiar and welcome the new as something to consider. He is also the co-host of the Cultivating Resilience – A Whole Community Approach to Alleviating Trauma in Schools, which promotes mental health and overall wellness.
Jeff co-authored Shifting: How School Leaders Can Create a Culture of Change. Shifting integrates leadership development and change mechanics in a three-part change framework to help guide school leaders and their teams toward productive change.
Show Credits
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"Getting Unstuck" theme music: Original composition of "Allegro ben ritmato e deciso" by George Gershwin. Arrangement and recording courtesy of Bruno Lecoeur.