Dr. James Hollis: How to Find Your True Purpose & Create Your Best Life

In this episode, my guest is Dr. James Hollis, Ph.D., a Jungian psychoanalyst, renowned educator and author on finding and pursuing one’s unique purpose. Dr. Hollis is also an expert in the psychology of relationships and healing from trauma. We discuss how early family dynamics and social context create patterns of both adaptive and maladaptive behavior and internal narratives that, when examined, lead to better choices and a deeply fulfilling existence.

We discuss discovering your unique self-identity and purpose through specific practices of reflection, meditation and conversations with others. We also discuss self-perception and the evolution of roles within marriages, parent-child relationships, and work.

Throughout the episode, Dr. Hollis provides both basic knowledge and practical tools to help us assess ourselves and better understand who we are and what we really want in careers, relationships of all kinds, and society.

Resources Mentioned

• Erikson’s Stages of Development
• William Shakespeare “The Seven Ages of Man”
• Steve Jobs Commencement Speech (2005)
• Jung on Death & Immortality (book)
• Live the Questions (Rainer Maria Rilke)

James Hollis Books Mentioned

• Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: How to Finally, Really Grow Up
• Creating Your Life: Finding Your Individual Path
• Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times
• Under Saturn’s Shadow: The Wounding and Healing of Men
• Swamplands of the Soul: New Life in Dismal Places
• The Eden Project: In Search of the Magical Other

People Mentioned

• Carl Jung: Swiss psychiatrist, psychoanalyst
• Marion Woodman: Jungian analyst, author
• Søren Kierkegaard: Danish theologian, philosopher
• Terence: Roman playwright, poet
• Joseph Campbell: American author
• Irene Claremont de Castillejo: author, Jungian analyst
• Louis Pasteur: French chemist, microbiologist
• Erik Erikson: psychoanalyst, known for his theory of stages of development