Shed and Shine – Episode 86: Gino’s Riff – Are We All Meant to Serve?
Hosts: Gino Wickman
Date: October 29, 2025
Episode Overview
In this solo episode, Gino Wickman explores a powerful and personal question: Are we all meant to serve? Using recent conversations and his lifelong experience, Gino encourages listeners—especially driven entrepreneurs—to dig deep into their own motivations around service, vocation, and true self-expression. He connects this topic to the "shed and shine" journey by showing how uncovering and focusing on your unique way of serving brings clarity, fulfillment, and impact.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. The Genesis of the Question (00:15–03:05)
- Origin: Gino describes a recent, unexpectedly profound conversation with a casual acquaintance at an event. The person complimented Gino’s accomplishments, but was most moved by Gino’s passion to help and serve others.
- Reflection: Gino shares his internal reaction—assuming everyone is driven to help others as much as he is. But a follow-up conversation with someone else suggested that only a small portion of people have this desire (00:55–02:55).
- Aha Moment: Gino becomes aware that the concept and word “serve” matters deeply to him, even though it’s not a term he always embraced.
Notable Quote:
“Isn’t that how everybody works? Isn’t that how everybody thinks? Maybe I’m in an echo chamber of servant-mentality people, but…it’s just built into me.”
— Gino Wickman (01:45)
2. Reconciling Ego with Service (03:06–05:10)
- Terminology Shift: Gino admits “serving” is a new frame for him. Previously, he preferred “help,” “teach,” or “create value.”
- Soul vs. Ego: He reflects on how his ego resists the word “serve” (suggesting submissiveness), while his soul embraces it.
- Invitation: Gino asks listeners to sit with the idea: Are we all meant to serve? and to explore their reactions.
Notable Quote:
“I don’t think my ego likes the word serve...but my soul loves that word.”
— Gino Wickman (04:15)
3. Service as Purpose, Calling, and Vocation (05:11–08:20)
- Different Expressions: Service can manifest as purpose, calling, or vocation (Gino notes that “vocation” is especially resonant for him lately).
- Universal Application: No matter your role—business owner, employee, partner, parent, friend, or community member—service can look different for each of us.
- Deep Knowing: Gino feels lucky to have known his way of serving for over 30 years and challenges listeners to find their own.
Notable Quote:
“We all serve differently…if you have clients, you serve your clients…your boss, your spouse, your children, your community. Just getting the gears turning here.”
— Gino Wickman (07:00)
4. Catalytic Questions for Self-Reflection (08:21–11:15)
Gino provides five key questions to help listeners clarify their personal path of service:
- How do you serve?
- Who do you serve?
- What is your purpose?
- What is your calling?
- What is your vocation?
He encourages listeners to pause and truly reflect on each question.
Memorable Story:
Gino shares the story of a janitor in a cancer ward, who answered, “I cure cancer,” when asked about his work—perfectly illustrating how service can take any form and be deeply fulfilling (10:00).
Notable Quote:
“That janitor realized the way they serve is by keeping everything tidy so that everything…can function well.”
— Gino Wickman (10:15)
5. Revisiting the Three Magic Questions (From Episode 80) (11:16–13:15)
Gino reframes three profound questions from a previous episode, now through the lens of “serve”:
- What are your three greatest successes?
- What are your three greatest failures?
- What has life prepared you for?
These, he says, can anchor listeners back to their true purpose and reignite motivation.
Notable Quote:
“When I share those questions...it brings [people] back to their core—to that purpose, that reason for being.”
— Gino Wickman (12:20)
6. Disciplines Three and Five: Know Thyself and Know Your 100% (13:16–15:45)
- Integration: Gino ties the topic to two key entrepreneurial disciplines:
- Know thyself: understanding your true nature of service.
- Know your 100%: maximizing your time spent in that service.
- Imagery: He paints a picture of how clarity and focus on service can “shed” everything inessential, letting your true self “shine” like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon.
Notable Quote:
“In that clarity, everything else that isn’t that just falls away…that butterfly comes out of that cocoon and just absolutely soars.”
— Gino Wickman (15:10)
Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments
-
On Service and Fulfillment:
“I know clearly how I serve the world and I get great joy doing it.” (13:00) -
On Universal Service:
“All 8.5 billion of us in various ways…if we all served, the world would be a better place.” (15:30)
Important Segment Timestamps
- 00:15 – Introduction & the seed conversation at an event
- 03:06 – Wrestling with the word “serve”
- 05:11 – Definition of serve as purpose, calling, vocation
- 08:21 – Five self-reflection questions
- 10:00 – The janitor “I cure cancer” story
- 11:16 – Revisiting the three magic questions
- 13:16 – The disciplines: know thyself/know your 100%
- 15:10 – Final clarity and the butterfly metaphor
- 15:30 – “If we all served, the world would be a better place.”
Action Steps for Listeners
- Reflect on the eight questions Gino posed:
- How do you serve?
- Who do you serve?
- What is your purpose?
- What is your calling?
- What is your vocation?
- What are your three greatest successes?
- What are your three greatest failures?
- What has life prepared you for?
- Consider the story of the janitor in the cancer ward—how might your service manifest in everyday life?
- Strive for clarity around your unique way to serve and focus your energy there.
Summary Tone
Gino’s tone throughout is candid, thoughtful, and energizing. He’s reflective yet directive, urging listeners to engage in honest self-enquiry about their reason for being—and to let their true selves shine through an authentic life of service.
Summary by Shed and Shine Podcast Summarizer – For driven entrepreneurs ready to shed, discover, and serve.