*New episodes coming in November 2021! Show notes: I’m Jennifer Duck, a two-time Emmy award winning producer, a college professor, doctoral student, DIY designer, dog mom of three, and a mom of two little humans who are the greatest gifts of my life. Oh, and new addition to the list -- podcast host! But behind all these shiny titles, life is quite crazy. You can find me at the local elementary flying in for after-school pick-up like a tornado -- laptop cords coming out of my bag, top knot trailing below my shoulders, and truly just looking like a hot mess. It’s funny, that’s definitely how I see myself and I know some others see it this way too. But one of my friends, likely just to make me feel better about my constant state of chaos, told me “Jen, we like how you keep it real. You’re so grounded.”I’m going to go with that last one. This all brings me to my latest project, “Grounded on Purpose.” Grounded can mean so many things —from keeping it real, to being balanced and feeling the earth between your toes, or in a different context, “You’re grounded,” as in, yep, you guessed it—go to your room and don’t come out until you’ve thought about what you’ve done. We’ve all heard that last one.  When I was 36 years old juggling a newborn and a 3-year-old, taking night classes for my advanced degree, and somehow managing a 60-hour-a-week job in news, I discovered a new kind of “grounded” in the form of a freak illness that knocked me to the ground and landed me in the hospital multiple times that year. A good grounding can make us better, even when it comes unexpected and in scary forms. It’s how we learn, how we reconnect, and how we grow. More than ever before, this last season surviving a global pandemic has shown me the necessity of finding solid ground in the shifting uncertainness of life. And this sent me on a search of wanting to truly dig deeper and help others look deeper too. My biggest intention with this project is to get grounded on purpose together with experts I’ve met in my personal, academic, and professional life as a TV producer for some of the biggest names including Oprah, Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper and many others. These people I’ve had the honor of working with, all have profound purpose and gave me access to the world’s most incredible thought leaders and experts who can help bring us all back down to earth. These friends, thought-leaders, and household names will join me every other Monday as we focus on different areas of grounding and tackle topics near and dear to my heart — and helpful to YOU and the world at large. Philosophers have debated this word “purpose” for thousands of years dating back to Socrates famously saying “the unexamined life is not worth living.” More recently, scientists at the University of Michigan have found that having a sense of purpose and diving into this crazy world head-first actually makes us live longer.  So let’s dig in! I’m truly so excited to have you join me on this journey as we get grounded together on purpose.