Finding Your Purpose, Solved

SOLVED with Mark Manson

Mark Manson

Self-improvement, Education

4.9 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2025

⏱️ 285 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This is the episode I’ve been waiting to make for a long time. Purpose has been at the core of everything I’ve written and done for over a decade—and in this episode, we go all the way down the rabbit hole. From Viktor Frankl surviving Auschwitz to the myth of “finding your one true purpose,” we break down what purpose really is, why you feel lost without it, and how you can build it into your life. We also get uncomfortable (in the best way) and talk about the dark side of purpose—how it can burn you out, trap you in toxic ambition, or become an excuse to ruin your life. And I have a very special announcement to make: Today, I’m launching a new app called Purpose. It’s an AI-powered mentor for personal growth. You talk to it about whatever you’re facing—stress, decisions, conflicts, goals—and it helps you make sense of things. Purpose listens, reflects back what matters most, and turns big challenges into small, actionable steps. The more you use it, the more personalized and helpful it becomes. Get started in the app with a free course on finding your purpose at https://purpose.app/solved We also put together a free companion guide for this episode with takeaways and tools to help you get your sh*t together once and for all. Download it here: purpose.app/solved⁠ Chapters: (17:20) CHAPTER 1: Foundations: What Is Purpose? (45:34) CHAPTER 2: Philosophical & Historical Perspectives on Purpose (1:31:26)CHAPTER 3: The Psychology of Purpose (2:08:13) CHAPTER 4: The Four Stages of Life (2:31:33) CHAPTER 5: The Dark Side of Purpose (3:07:25) CHAPTER 6: Finding and Cultivating Purpose (3:36:56) CHAPTER 7: Finding Purpose in Work (or Not) (4:09:14) CHAPTER 8: Practical Tools and Frameworks (4:24:48) CHAPTER 9: The 80/20 of Living with Purpose Follow Mark Mark’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/ Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Drew, I am extremely excited for this episode.
0:02.5	I honestly, this is the episode I've most been looking forward to since we started this podcast.
0:08.6	As you know, I've been writing about purpose my entire career.
0:13.1	It's been like a huge focal point of everything I've done is like just purpose.
0:18.0	Everything comes back to what your purpose is. Oh.
0:21.6	We're doing purpose?
0:23.6	Dude, don't, don't fuck with me here.
0:27.6	I thought we're doing porpoise.
0:30.6	I've got 60 pages and notes on sea mammals, Mark.
0:34.6	What the?
0:35.6	I got a whole segment on platypuses. Dude. What do we? Sorry. You're not a dad. You're not a dad. You can't be making these jokes, Drew. You have to wait until you're a dad. I've been thinking of this all week. How can I work a porpoise joke in? And I got it off right away. So I'm proud of you. It's out of my system. I'm proud of you. It's out of my system. The audience is
0:57.6	proud of the, the, the, the three people who have not turned the podcast off are very proud of you right now.
1:03.5	Sorry, sorry.
1:06.0	Anyway, Drew, what do you think the best transition is from porpoises into the Holocaust?
1:16.3	That's on you.
1:17.6	That is on you.
1:19.4	That's why you make the big bucks.
1:20.5	I've got this whole intro about Victor Frankel, surviving Auschwitz, and you're hitting me with sea mammals.
1:29.3	Platopuses. Platypuses.
1:30.3	I think I had a whole thing on dolphins.
1:32.3	I don't know.
1:33.3	All right.
	...

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