Purpose propels us forward and lead us toward a brighter future | Wesley Bizzell

About the Episode: To achieve happiness, it is important that we must have multiple purposes—one related to our job, one related to our personal life, and one related to our family, friends and society. Purpose is what propels us forward and makes us look forward to the future with a smile. Because life changes who we are, our purpose often changes with it over time. In order to tap into our own purpose, we must do some self-reflection and ask ourselves, “What is something I can commit to that inspires me and is larger than me?” and then go chase after that thing. When we’re able to identify our own purpose, it will drive us toward a fulfilling life. Moreover, Wesley and I also talked about how organizations can build an inclusive culture. As Wesley states, we must be intentional about the work of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) as it takes time, effort and dedication. The work requires a bottom-up (grassroots approach from employees) and top-down (executive buy-in) intentionality. To truly drive behavior change, the executive leadership team must set the tone for the organization; they must show up, be visible and be seen on issues of DEI as well as celebrate when there are victories—big and small—to really give “inclusivity cues” to their employees showing that they matter. Companies that want to retain top talent must put DEI at the center of their business or they risk losing their most talented employees to their competitors. About the Guest: Wesley Bizzell serves as Senior Assistant General Counsel and Managing Director of Political Law & Ethics Programs for Altria Client Services. An authority on political law compliance, Wesley oversees a comprehensive compliance system covering the regulation of government affairs. Previously, Wesley was an attorney in Winston & Strawn LLP’s Federal Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs Practice Group. His career also includes more than six years on Capitol Hill, where he served as an aide to Arkansas Senators David Pryor and Dale Bumpers. Mr. Bizzell is extremely active in promoting diversity and inclusion within the legal and corporate communities. He is a founding member and serves on the steering committee for Altria’s LGBT Employee Resource Group and is president of the National LGBT Bar Association. He has been named by London’s Financial Times (2017 and 2018) and Yahoo Finance (2019) as one of the 100 worldwide OUTstanding Leading LGBT+ Corporate Executives, and Chambers and Partners also named him the 2019 LGBT+ Equality Lawyer of the Year for his dedication and commitment to LGBT diversity programs and his efforts to advance LGBT+ professionals in the law.