Goals, Grit, and a Life of Adventure: J.P. Mathews on Finding Your Next Right Step

In this episode, CW sits down with longtime friend JP Mathews, a counselor, family man, and Wyoming Army National Guard soldier, for a wide-ranging conversation about career direction, calling, and living with open hands.

JP walks through his unconventional journey: starting in sales (and wrestling with feeling “disingenuous”), serving in youth ministry, earning a counseling degree, working with rural students, and eventually joining the military in a later season of life. Along the way, we talk about the importance of community, the power of wise voices (especially mentors 30+ years ahead), and how your past (family dynamics, conflict, hardship, and “nonlinear” steps) can reveal the strengths God has been forming in you all along.

We also dig into goals: how to avoid analysis paralysis, how to work backwards from a vision, and how to tell the difference between a hard thing you should push through vs. a hard thing that signals a pivot.

If you’re a student, young professional, or parent trying to help someone navigate “What should I do next?”, this one will give you clarity, courage, and a few quotable one-liners you won’t forget.