Where does purpose actually come from?

In this powerful episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, Gabriel Griess sits down with faith-driven entrepreneur, pastor, and leadership mentor Mark Moreno to explore a surprising truth: Purpose is often born through pain.

Mark shares his personal story of building a thriving church and ministry only to see everything he had built taken away in a painful season that challenged his identity, faith, and leadership. What followed was a deep process of refinement that reshaped how he views purpose, leadership, and the role of faith in both ministry and business.

Together, Gabriel and Mark unpack how hardship can uncover hidden insecurities, refine character, and ultimately prepare leaders for the next chapter of their calling.

This conversation dives into:

• Why pain is often the starting point of purpose
• The leadership lessons learned through loss and failure
• How identity can become dangerously tied to achievement
• What Mark calls the “pace of grace” in leadership and life
• Why entrepreneurs and leaders often struggle with performance-driven faith
• The difference between asking God to remove pain and asking Him to refine us through it
• How reflection, gratitude, and humility shape healthy leadership

Mark also shares a powerful reminder for leaders and entrepreneurs: God will never multiply what we mismanage, making personal stewardship, character, and self-reflection essential to both spiritual and professional growth.

This episode is a deep and honest conversation about pain, calling, leadership, and faith and how the hardest seasons of life often become the very chapters that shape our greatest impact.

Because sometimes the most painful shifts in life are actually God’s setup for greatness.

RESOURCES

• Website: navigatingleaders.com
• The Results Tree (Available April 7): https://shop.harpandswordmedia.com/products/the-results-tree
• Mark Moreno | Executive Director, Faith Driven Business
• Connect with Mark on Instagram at @mark_a_moreno and Facebook at facebook.com/mark.moreno.351

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

• Instagram @navigatingleaders
• Facebook @navigatingleaders
• YouTube @navigatingleaders
• LinkedIn @navigatingleaders
• TikTok @navigatingleaders

What would your life look like if fear no longer controlled your decisions?

In this powerful solo episode of Navigating Leaders, Gabriel Greiss explores the true nature of fear: what it is, where it comes from, and how it quietly limits the life you were designed to live.

From childhood conditioning to adult patterns of safety and control, Gabriel reveals how fear often shows up as stories we tell ourselves: I’m not enough. I don’t have what it takes. I might fail.

But here’s the truth: fear is often nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real.

Through personal stories, leadership insight, and practical reflection, Gabriel explains how fear is learned, how it becomes embedded in identity, and how awareness gives you the power to choose differently. He reminds listeners that babies and young children live boldly, relentlessly pursuing growth without fear of failure and challenges us to reconnect with that same courageous spirit.

This episode also explores:

• Why fear is often learned, not inherent
• How fear keeps you playing small and living safely instead of fully
• The difference between reacting automatically and responding intentionally
• How comparison and self-doubt reinforce fear
• Why vision is the most powerful antidote to fear
• How living from purpose shrinks fear’s influence

Gabriel invites you to examine your fears honestly and reconnect with a vision so meaningful that it outweighs the stories holding you back.

Because when your vision is clear and compelling, fear loses its power.

You don’t eliminate fear by waiting.

You overcome fear by choosing to live boldly, one intentional step at a time.

RESOURCES

• Website:.navigatingleaders.com
• The Results Tree (Available April 7): https://shop.harpandswordmedia.com/products/the-results-tree

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

• Instagram @navigatingleaders
• Facebook @navigatingleaders
• YouTube @navigatingleaders
• LinkedIn @navigatingleaders
• TikTok @navigatingleaders

What happens when you gain everything the world says should make you happy—fame, success, money, influence—and still feel empty inside?

In this powerful episode of Navigating Leaders, Gabriel sits down with former British Royal Marine Commando, entrepreneur, and spiritual seeker Geoff Barker, whose life journey took him from elite military service to celebrity circles, addiction, and ultimately a radical search for truth that spanned seven years and 33 countries.

Geoff shares how he built Australia’s first personal training company, trained celebrities, and lived in the world of fame, excess, and influence only to discover that success couldn’t fill the void he carried inside. Desperate for meaning, Geoff and his family gave away everything they owned, lived out of a van, and traveled the world seeking answers from spiritual teachers, monks, gurus, and religious traditions.

But even after exploring every path, Geoff found himself at a breaking point until a moment of profound personal transformation during a 40-day fast changed everything.

This episode explores:

• Why success, fame, and validation cannot heal internal emptiness
• The hidden pain and insecurity that often drive achievement
• How pride, skepticism, and intellectual certainty can block transformation
• The courage it takes to surrender control and seek truth honestly
• The difference between intellectual knowledge and spiritual transformation
• How surrender, humility, and openness can lead to healing and purpose

Geoff’s story is a powerful reminder that no matter how far you’ve gone or how lost you feel, transformation is possible, and sometimes the breakthrough comes when you finally stop striving and allow yourself to receive.

Because the journey to truth isn’t about having all the answers.

It’s about having the courage to let go of what you thought you knew.

RESOURCES

• Website: www.navigatingleaders.com
• The Results Tree (Available April 7): https://shop.harpandswordmedia.com/products/the-results-tree
• More about Geoff's Story: https://vimeo.com/1104798058
• Geoff Barker: https://www.geoffbarker.com/
• Geoff Barker: Ambassador, Hope Is Alive: https://www.hopeisalive.net

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

• Instagram @navigatingleaders
• Facebook @navigatingleaders
• YouTube @navigatingleaders
• LinkedIn @navigatingleaders
• TikTok @navigatingleaders

What comes to mind when you hear the word risk?

In this deeply personal episode of Navigating Leaders, Gabriel demonstrates that the greatest risks we face aren’t always physical, they’re emotional. They’re relational. They’re the moments when we choose whether to protect ourselves or to live honestly and boldly.

Through a powerful story involving his wife and a simple evening at home, Gabriel uncovers a pattern of passive-aggressive communication that had quietly shaped their relationship. What seemed like a harmless comment became a moment of profound self-awareness; revealing how fear, vulnerability, and the desire for control can influence how we communicate with the people we love most.

This episode explores the hidden risks of avoiding direct communication and the courage required to express your true wants, needs, and desires openly.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why emotional risk is often harder than physical risk
• How passive-aggressive communication creates “energy leaks” in relationships
• The connection between fear, vulnerability, and control
• How taking 100% responsibility empowers you to change your patterns
• Why honest communication strengthens connection, trust, and peace
• How choosing vulnerability can transform your relationships and your life

Gabriel invites you to reflect on where fear may be shaping your communication and challenges you to step into bold, authentic expression, even when it feels uncomfortable.

Because living boldly doesn’t just mean taking risks in the world. It means taking risks in your relationships, your honesty, and your willingness to be seen.

RESOURCES

• Website: www.navigatingleaders.com
• The Results Tree (Available April 7): https://shop.harpandswordmedia.com/products/the-results-tree

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

• Instagram @navigatingleaders
• Facebook @navigatingleaders
• YouTube @navigatingleaders
• LinkedIn @navigatingleaders
• TikTok @navigatingleaders

What drives the decisions you make every day?

In this episode of Navigating Leaders, Gabriel challenges you to take an honest look at your priorities and whether those priorities are being intentionally chosen or unintentionally shaped by the pressures of daily life.

Gabriel introduces a powerful priority framework that reshaped his own life:
God → Self → Spouse → Kids → Mission → Currency

While this order may feel counterintuitive at first, the deeper message is not about equal time allocation; it’s about alignment. Priorities become the decision-making filter for how you invest your time, energy, attention, and resources, especially when life presents competing demands.

Through personal stories, leadership insight, and spiritual reflection, Gabriel explores how living out of alignment with your priorities can create tension, guilt, and burnout and how realigning your life can restore clarity, peace, and purpose.

This episode also dives into:

• Why priorities, not time, determine the direction of your life
• How shame and unworthiness can keep people disconnected from purpose
• The danger of letting the world set your priorities for you
• Why self-care is essential (you can’t pour from an empty cup)
• How mission and purpose become clearer when foundational priorities are aligned
• The role of surrender when life disrupts even the best plans

Ultimately, this conversation is an invitation to stop living reactively and start living intentionally and building a life aligned with your values, your purpose, and the legacy you want to leave behind.

Because whether you realize it or not, something is already setting your priorities.

The question is: Will it be you?

RESOURCES

• Website: www.navigatingleaders.com
• The Results Tree (Available April 7): https://shop.harpandswordmedia.com/products/the-results-tree

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

• Instagram @navigatingleaders
• Facebook @navigatingleaders
• YouTube @navigatingleaders
• LinkedIn @navigatingleaders
• TikTok @navigatingleaders

In this special episode of Navigating Leaders, the tables are turned.

Host Gabriel Greiss is interviewed by guest host Daniel Hopkins in a conversation that pulls back the curtain on Gabriel’s story, his leadership journey, and the personal “why” behind the mission of Navigating Leaders.

Gabriel shares candid reflections on his military background, his daily practices, his faith, and the seasons of life that shaped him, especially the moment he realized he didn’t truly love himself and how that awakening changed everything.

He also opens up about what it means to live in obedience, how to stay grounded through stressful circumstances, and why your current situation can never derail God’s plan for your life.

This episode is part story, part leadership coaching, and part encouragement for anyone who needs a reminder that growth is possible, and that you can begin right where you are.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Gabriel’s daily practices (spiritual, mental, and physical)
• How faith and prayer shape his leadership decisions
• The Results Tree mindset: results as a mirror and feedback tool
• Self-sabotage, identity, and the turning point of self-love
• The story of how Gabriel met his wife Kristie
• Lessons learned from running for California State Senate
• Why you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be

🎧 If this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who needs it, and don’t forget to follow the show for future episodes.

Come as you are. Stay curious. And let the adventure begin.

RESOURCES

• Website: www.navigatingleaders.com
• The Results Tree (Available April 7): https://shop.harpandswordmedia.com/products/the-results-tree

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

• Instagram @navigatingleaders
• Facebook @navigatingleaders
• YouTube @navigatingleaders
• LinkedIn @navigatingleaders
• TikTok @navigatingleaders

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

In Episode 4, Gabriel explores the journey toward wholeness, and what it means to live aligned, integrated, and at peace with yourself in a world full of noise, conflict, and pressure.

This episode unpacks the internal battle many of us live with daily: the tension between ego and spirit, between the version of ourselves shaped by fear, scarcity, and protection and the deeper self-marked by love, abundance, and purpose.

Through personal stories, spiritual insight, and practical reflection, Gabriel examines:

• How beliefs shape thoughts, thoughts shape feelings, and feelings drive behavior
• Why living from emotion alone leads to chaos rather than peace
• The moment many of us fractured from our true selves and how healing begins
• The difference between reacting and responding with intention
• How childhood wounds can silently guide adult choices
• Why wholeness is not perfection, but alignment

This episode also offers a compassionate reminder for anyone who feels “too broken,” “too damaged,” or “too far gone”:

There is nothing wrong with you.

Healing is possible. Alignment is available. And wholeness begins the moment you choose awareness, honesty, and grace.

If you’ve been living out of alignment, in your faith, relationships, work, or self-talk, this conversation invites you to pause, inventory your life, and take the next small, courageous step forward.

👉 Subscribe for weekly conversations on leadership, faith, emotional intelligence, and intentional living
👉 Share this episode with someone who needs hope, clarity, or encouragement today
👉 Join us next week as we challenge the myth of balance and explore a better way forward

Come as you are. Stay curious. And let the adventure begin.

RESOURCES

• Website: www.navigatingleaders.com
• The Results Tree (Available April 7): https://shop.harpandswordmedia.com/products/the-results-tree
• Purpose Driven Life: https://a.co/d/8NjVKPu
• Rev. Rick Warren: https://pastorrick.com
• Rev. Michael B. Beckwith: https://www.michaelbeckwith.com
• 1 Corinthians 13:11: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013:11&version=NIV
• Atomic Habits: https://a.co/d/5eET9Iz
• Theodore Roosevelt, “It Is Not The Critic Who Counts”: https://www.trcp.org/2011/01/18/it-is-not-the-critic-who-counts/

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

• Instagram @navigatingleaders
• Facebook @navigatingleaders
• YouTube @navigatingleaders
• LinkedIn @navigatingleaders
• TikTok @navigatingleaders

Is balance something you achieve or something you practice?

In Episode 3, Gabriel challenges one of the most common (and damaging) myths we believe about life, leadership, and success: that balance is a fixed destination we’re supposed to arrive at.

Through a powerful near-death experience while rock climbing, Gabriel illustrates a life-changing truth: balance is dynamic, not static. It’s something we work at, adjust, and recommit to daily, not something we “get” once and for all.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

• Why the cultural idea of “having it all balanced” sets us up for frustration and shame
• How balance actually works in real life, faith, leadership, and family
• The role of priorities, daily disciplines, and small commitments
• Why honesty, truth, and integrity free up massive amounts of energy
• How reaction vs. response impacts peace, confidence, and wholeness
• Practical daily practices that build trust with yourself over time

This conversation reframes balance as something precious, fleeting, and deeply human, and invites you to stop chasing perfection and start practicing presence.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing at balance, exhausted from trying to keep everything “even,” or discouraged by unrealistic expectations, this episode offers clarity, grace, and a better way forward.

👉 Subscribe for weekly conversations on leadership, faith, emotional intelligence, and intentional living.
👉 Share this episode with someone who’s been wrestling with balance lately.
👉 Join us next week as the journey continues.

Come as you are. Stay curious. And let the adventure begin.

RESOURCES

• Website: www.navigatingleaders.com
• The Results Tree (Available April 7): https://shop.harpandswordmedia.com/products/the-results-tree

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

• Instagram @navigatingleaders
• Facebook @navigatingleaders
• YouTube @navigatingleaders
• LinkedIn @navigatingleaders
• TikTok @navigatingleaders