Podcast Summary: “Your Purpose Comes From Your Pain”

Podcast: Beyond Blind Blaming
Host: Kevin D. St. Clergy (B)
Guest: Evan Carmichael (A)
Date: December 16, 2025

Main Theme

This episode explores how the hidden pain points and subconscious beliefs of high-achievers can become the true barriers to fulfillment and purpose. Through the personal journey of Evan Carmichael—entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker—the conversation centers on the concept that our deepest struggles are the seeds of our purpose. Together, Evan and Kevin discuss practical methods for self-reflection, overcoming imposter syndrome, the role of community feedback, and letting ourselves embrace imperfection on the path to meaningful impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Your Purpose Comes from Your Pain

• Evan’s Core Philosophy:
  "Your purpose comes from your pain, so that other people don't struggle like you do.”
  — Evan [00:51; 02:52; 17:26]
• Evan argues that what we most struggle with is what we are uniquely positioned to help others overcome.
• He shares personal anecdotes about lacking self-belief, even after significant success, reinforcing that everyone, at every level, faces this challenge.

2. Alignment and Measuring Purpose

• Diagnostic Tool:
  Examine your calendar—are you excited about what's coming up, or do you feel dread?
  “If you look at your calendar and you're dreading the stuff you're about to do...that’s the path to depression and stress and anxiety...But if you feel it's meaningful work, it's going to help somebody...you're going to have a much happier, much more purposeful life.”
  — Evan, [17:26]
• For Evan, the litmus test for alignment is whether your daily activities make you feel alive and like you’re serving others.

3. The Power & Necessity of Community Feedback

• Hot Seat Method at Brendan Burchard's Mastermind:
  Sharing a story of sitting with top leaders (e.g., Mel Robbins, Lewis Howes), Evan describes asking, “What do you think my biggest blind spot is?” instead of raising his own questions.
  “What they came up with was not what I would have asked… Their advice was... you should charge more and be clear on what you're selling.” [06:56]
• The lesson: Often, the breakthrough lies outside your current field of vision, which a supportive community uniquely illuminates.

4. Growth Mindset & Openness to Feedback

• Role-Modeling Vulnerability:
  Both speakers describe humbling themselves—Kevin with his first podcast, Evan facing his video imperfections—to embrace feedback and iteration.
• Advice for Entrepreneurs:
  “A good coach...will hold the person’s mission in their heart and remember it more than you do sometimes.” — Evan, [10:58] They stress the need to focus on making an impact, not being perfect.

5. Deconstructing Blind Blaming

• Definition:
  Blind blaming is misidentifying the source of your challenges—blaming external forces when, often, internal beliefs or unacknowledged pains are the culprit.
• Overcoming:
  • Get outside perspectives; ask others, “What do you see that I’m missing?”
  • Join mastermind groups or work with coaches to get out of echo chambers.
  • Be open to “give and ask,” not just giving—a muscle especially underused by natural helpers.
• “Opening up the receiving muscle is actually really hard for givers...when you can be in a room of people who actually are cheering you on...it's a very liberating feeling.” — Evan, [23:24]

6. Embracing Imperfection and the Journey

• Both Kevin and Evan stress the importance of leaving up "crappy" early attempts—bad videos, awkward first podcasts, technical glitches—because they model growth and authenticity for others.
• “If you think about what is your message, is your message, ‘Don’t do anything unless it’s perfect’? If you take those videos down, you’re not living your message.” — Evan, [12:06]
• Evan shatters the myth of overnight success, noting he barely had 9,000 YouTube subscribers after six years—and then rapidly scaled to millions. [13:04]

7. Building Belief and Recognizing Imposter Syndrome

• Both share that imposter syndrome is universal, even among high-achievers and after big exits. “We all feel we're not good enough for the next step, which is why I think the biggest problem in the world is lack of belief.” — Evan, [19:40]

8. The Power of Reflect-Connect-Decide (RCD) Method

• Kevin introduces the RCD framework:
  • Reflect (What’s the obstacle? Health, purpose, etc.)
  • Connect (With those outside your sphere for new perspectives)
  • Decide (Act on these insights)

9. Daily Investing in Yourself

• Evan’s Practice:
  “It's a daily video from someone who inspires me. Every morning I wake up...I'm watching a video from some entrepreneur who’s done so much more than me and enter their world for an hour while I’m walking and learn a whole bunch of things.” — Evan, [25:38]

Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• “I think the work we always do is trying to help the younger version of ourselves.”
  — Evan, [00:00; 02:52]
• “I probably could have used a lot of the wisdom and advice too. I wish your show was around when I was getting started.”
  — Evan, [04:44]
• “It’s very humbling to then start over from the beginning, from scratch, in the field...it’s why a lot of people can’t do it. They can’t start over because they just want to win out of the gate.”
  — Evan, [09:32]
• “Be able to see those messy moments. Be able to see your first...”
  — Evan, [13:04]
• “We all want to wake up and feel like we’re going to do something today that matters...If you woke up every day and felt like you were serving somebody in a meaningful way, you’re going to have a much happier, much more purposeful life.”
  — Evan, [17:26]
• “Who pours into you?...When you have a bunch of givers who have trouble receiving...It's a very liberating feeling.”
  — Evan, [22:54–23:24]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Finding Purpose Through Pain: [00:51], [02:52], [17:26]
• The Hot Seat/Mastermind Value: [06:12]–[07:41]
• Embracing Imperfection & Early Mistakes: [11:17]–[14:13]
• Signs of Misalignment in Life/Work: [17:26]
• Imposter Syndrome/Belief as Default Pattern: [19:40]
• Blind Spots & The Power of Outside Perspectives: [20:41]–[22:28]
• Givers and the Difficulty of Receiving: [22:54]–[23:24]
• Investing in Yourself – Daily Practices: [25:29]–[26:03]

Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Evan Carmichael and Kevin D. St.Clergy illustrate the subtle but profound ways that our unaddressed pain, limiting beliefs, and hidden mindset blocks prevent us from stepping fully into our purpose. Their stories and frameworks remind us that growth demands vulnerability, feedback, and the willingness to serve from experience. If you’re hitting a plateau, don’t just look outward—reflect on your journey, connect with fresh perspectives, and decide to take imperfect action.