Ep.#123: Aspire to Give

We talk with Greg Doepke of Aspire to Give about why humans are wired to give and how purpose helps us navigate life’s toughest transitions. Greg shares how small, everyday generosity builds self-leadership and mental agility, especially for young adults trying to find their way. 
• Aspire to Give’s core belief that giving is part of human nature 
• Using “the power of purpose” to move through uncertainty and change 
• Building character, mental agility, and self-leadership in young adults 
• Clearing up the myth that generosity is mainly about money 
• Everyday examples of giving through time, attention, listening, and kindness 
• Greg’s 180-degree career pivot from robotics to financial services to service work 
• Why fulfillment often comes from family, community, and contribution 
• Ways to collaborate to help people thrive through major life changes 
www.aspiretogive.com

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Susan Hodges.

SPEAKER_02 0:12

Welcome. And with me is Greg Depke, and he is with a wonderful foundation called Aspire to Give. Welcome, Greg.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Well, thank you, Susanna, and appreciate what you're doing in terms of these podcasts.

SPEAKER_02 0:26

Well, thank you for being my guest. And tell me about Aspire

Why Giving Creates Purpose

SPEAKER_02 0:29

to Give. I want to know everything you guys do.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Well, Aspire to Give is really built on a very simple but powerful belief that as humans, we are what basically wired to give. And what that what that kind of means is that you know you can say it's in our DNA that we feel really good and it's a natural inclination for us to give beyond ourselves, whether it be uh uh to a neighbor or whatever. It makes us feel good and it gives us a sense of uh we're making a contribution. And so what we do through Aspire to Give and the programs that we have is we help uh people, especially those at the crossroads of uh of life, the changes, the ups and downs uh that are could be really challenging, uh basically um discover and tap and channel their unique capacity to give uh to an intentional action for a specific goal or purpose. And for young adults, especially, uh, we help them, this process helps them develop the character, the mental agility, and the uh self-leadership to find their find their way in in life. Seems like a lot of folks, a lot of young people really need that.

SPEAKER_02 1:45

And I think it's uh excellent uh that you mentioned giving because it's only I for me, it's when I'm helping others, do you really kind of when you get outside of yourself and you're helping others, it really is where you tend to find uh that uh goal in life, I guess, or the uh enrichment in life is usually in helping others.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Wouldn't you agree? Oh, absolutely, and and and basically it's I call it the uh the power of purpose. Uh and so when people have uh go from basically their routine, their their their schedule and their comfort level, and then all of a sudden life throws something their way, um, or they find challenges, they're they're facing the unknown. And so what we typically have to do is find what our renewed purpose is, and so I call it the power of purpose. And so that's how um we can navigate and we help ship show people how to navigate to a new purpose.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

Okay.

Generosity Is Not About Money

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Well, tell me about how you got into uh how did Aspire to Give get come to being and how did you get there?

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Well, it it's it's really an interesting journey as we're all on this life journey. Uh, but during my financial services career, um, I was helping people navigate these major crossroads, whether it be retirement, death of a loved one, uh estate planning kind of things, or uh career changes. And uh a pattern started to to stand out, and that people I noticed that people were most fulfilled when they were talking about and and their their generosity to their loved ones and what they wanted to accomplish and what their aspirations and dreams were, and and and and it really was not really about money, it was about other things, and so most people I found were rooted in family, they were guided by a purpose greater than themselves, and they were deeply committed to making a difference in their communities. That stuck with me. It's kind of stuck with me. So deep down, um, I said, okay, well, people want to learn about this. And of course, my wife is a retired kindergarten kindergarten teacher, and she is very uh kind and loving, and she was a great example. So that is kind of the the whole story behind the aspire to give.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

That sounds wonderful. Well, it sounds like you've been doing this for a while, and I'm sure you've come across some misconceptions that people may have um about what you do. What are some of those things that um people may be uh confused about?

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Well, probably the most common thing is a misconception about what when people hear about generosity or things, it's it's about money, and really it is not. It is money actually comes as a as a as a consequence of people giving and caring about something greater than themselves. And so in reality, give people can give in many ways. When when you hold up, when they hold up, uh hold the door open for you, when they say thank you, when um they do when you're uh when they listen to you and you have a have a something's going on in your life, that is their generosity. And so everybody has a unique capacity to give. And those that are financially uh you know well off or a resource, well, that's just another way to give.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Right. It's not always about money. You can give your time and your love, all of that. It doesn't have to be about money, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:25

And and everybody has a unique capacity to give. So partly what what we do is we help through storytelling uh of the people we work with, how what that capacity to give is. That's because everybody is unique, and and it's if people can find that unique capacity to give and we can channel it to to the purpose of to a renewed purpose, then they find they can they can move on and have a very meaningful and feel good life of contribution.

Greg’s Career Pivot And Hard Lessons

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Well, let's talk about you for a minute here. What do you like to do for fun when you're not uh helping other people?

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Well, it's um my family comes first. It's the top priority. I am so very uh so very blessed to have been married quite a while. I won't mention the years to Suzette. Um and um we've got two loving daughters and great grandson, uh great uh son-in-laws and seven thriving grandchildren that are really uh part of the inspiration uh behind what I do.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

Well, part of the reason that I do this podcast is to encourage other people to kind of follow their ideas into entrepreneurship and to do do things, you know, that they've always wanted to do, but we're kind of afraid to do. And so I like to ask this question about challenges. So because you're gonna have obstacles that are gonna that you're gonna have to overcome in life, uh personally, or in your business. So, what are some of the challenges that you had to overcome with with um personally or with Aspire to Give uh when you were uh getting started or even on your journey?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Well, I've I've been through a lot of challenges uh in my life, and I, you know, I I went through the the Academy West Point and it was a major challenge in itself, but it kind of gave me a background. But I guess the biggest challenge I faced was when I was uh um was making a complete career change uh right in the middle of the normal career span of and and that was in my professional life. I went from uh being deeply involved in computer integrated manufacturing and robotics, uh, because that was the work I was in, and that was when computers first were introduced to manufacturing, and they said, okay, hey Greg, can you put these computers on, make this manufacturing process automated? And I didn't know, but and of course I loved my job because nobody knew what I did, so I just did it. But uh, but the transition, the biggest challenge was uh when that was I was getting a little tired of that, and I said I needed to do more for people, so I made a 180-degree pivot in my career and went into um uh work. I kind of laid out a plan and then worked my plan and and made a transition into financial services where I could really help people uh navigate the challenges. And so I found that really fulfilling. And so it was a really um very growth-oriented growth experience for me to be able to go from you know the the technology side of things to the human, human-centered side of things with relationships and trust. And it really helped me grow as an individual and actually give me a much broader perspective on on the whole uh life situation.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

Okay, that sounds wonderful.

Helping Young People Navigate Transitions

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Well, what's one thing that you wish people knew about aspire to give that they may not realize?

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Well, it I mentioned about my you know our our grandchildren and how they are thriving. And I'm and I think to myself, there are so many people out there that I'm I wish they had the knowledge at that young age to be able to navigate life's transitions. And so that is what is so important. And so basically, we are looking for people to to to collaborate with to help the young people primarily, and it could be others going through major changes, navigate those so they can be so they can thrive in whatever they do in life. Uh, and and helping those young people is really important. And so um that's with faith and hope and um uh and and and mental agility, then people can navigate anything.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Okay, that sounds

How To Connect And Support

SPEAKER_02 9:55

really good. Well, how can people find out more about you and contact you?

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Well, Susanna, if your listeners would like to learn more, they can certainly encourage uh encourage them to visit uh our website at aspired to give.com. Uh, and uh certainly open to conversations so they can uh connect with me, either email me directly at Greg at Aspiretogive.com, or they can connect me on LinkedIn. And if you'll see on the website, actually people can set up a conversation with me or fill out a form if they're interested in helping people navigate life's transitions.

SPEAKER_02 10:30

All right. Well, that sounds wonderful. Thank you, Greg, for being a guest today. I've really enjoyed learning about you and Aspire2Give.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Well, well, thank you, Susanna, and uh hope your listeners um can can learn from all that you're doing in serving in serving the community.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Auburn. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpauburn.com. That's gmpauburn.com. Or call three three four four two nine seven four zero.