Following Breadcrumbs: Tracing a Purpose-Driven Path
I recently stumbled across this interview from 2016, when I was just starting to get my feet wet teaching mindfulness. At the time, I was still working as an SVP at a Fortune 500 company, where they fortunately embraced me leading small mindfulness, yoga, and meditation workshops for my colleagues. I was still fully entrenched in corporate life, but I was already starting to follow the breadcrumbs.
Reading it now makes me smile. The language was simpler. The ideas are a little raw. But the heart of it—the values that moved me to teach, to lead, to build something new—were already there. And it reminded me that purpose doesn’t arrive all at once, it unfolds.
Even then, I was exploring questions like:
What does it mean to be fully present?
How can we lead with more compassion and curiosity?
What does it look like to show up at work as our whole, authentic selves?
They’re the same questions that still guide my work today. The difference is: now I don’t just ask them—I embody them. Or at least I try to. After all, I am human and just like the rest you….it’s work to pause and be intentional.
Over the years, what started as a few mindful moments in a corporate setting evolved into a full-time commitment to helping people develop the human skills they need to thrive at work and in life. The work has expanded. The tools have grown. But the values that shaped it all? They’ve remained beautifully consistent.
At Inseus, our work is guided by values like:
Authenticity: Unlocking the real you, inside and out.
Connection: Tuning into what truly matters.
Compassion: Leading with empathy and service.
Levity: Holding space for play, in the midst of it all.
Looking back on that old interview, I realized something: I didn’t “discover” my purpose one day in a lightning bolt moment. I’ve been following a breadcrumb trail all along—one choice, one conversation, one small risk at a time.
And now? I get to look around and see how those breadcrumbs led to something bigger. A company. A community. A calling.
The lesson for me—and maybe for you—is this: Living your purpose isn’t about naming your values once. It’s about making sure they show up in everything you do. Not just in your mission statement, but in the everyday moments.
Purpose doesn’t arrive fully formed. It reveals itself in motion. And values don’t just belong on walls. They belong in practice.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re on the right path, try looking back. You might find you’ve been walking it far longer than you realized.
Mindfully yours,
Ashley