Unlocked

It’s not often we get to meet someone who is as passionate about lifestyle design as we are. So when we meet someone who has been doing it for themselves, their partnership, their 7 children, 19 grandchildren, multiple businesses and a large community over the course of multiple decades, we want to hear all their wisdom. We figured you might also like to hear from them.  Our guest today, Warren Ru...

The best way to summarize this episode is by referencing a favorite children's book of ours called, "Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster", by Michelle Nelson-Schmidt. A story of a young boy who finds himself in a myriad of new and uncomfortable situations as he grows up. From trying new foods, to starting a new sport, or simply trying his first high dive jump at the pool. Whenever...

Most things in this life from personal growth, to building a healthy thriving business, to learning a new skill, you can almost always take those journeys back to the metaphor of the mountain. Hiking, and not leisurely strolls through the woods.(although there is amazing benefit to those too, ha!) but rather the boundary and limits pushing treks through nature's peaks that rise 14,000 feet or...

In today’s employment landscape, companies are transforming the way they support their employees’ development. They’re going beyond professional, skill-based training and instead investing in the “whole person.”  Our friend, partner and Strategic Planning for Life grad, Liz Ference, is on the forefront of that change with her work at Mattel . If you or your children have ever played with Barbies,...

Your time can either be stretched and pulled by external forces, OR you can be the creator of it. We are clearly proponents of creating your time and putting your focus where it matters most.  In this episode, Phil and Krista explore the transition away from "Going 100%, on 100% of things, 100% of the time" to more of a "pie chart" model where you start with 100%, and YOU decid...

We've all been taught what success, or living a good life looks like, right? Generational, cultural, societal influences, and more,  all show us what boxes to check in order to feel like we're "doing life well". But why is it that most people get to a point in their lives with all of those boxes checked, yet still feel unfulfilled or unhappy? In today's episode we discuss...

The stories of real people's lives changing with Lifestyle Design and Strategic Planning for Life is what fuels our souls. It's the lifeblood of Owl & Key. The reason we share this transformational work with the world. And in today's episode, we sit down with our friend and fellow lifestyle designer, Jeff Heuerman, who recently completed Owl & Key’s Strategic Planning for Li...

Imagine you’re at your desk, working from the comforts of your home or the office, and all of the sudden you get the idea ​and ​desire to take a “break”. Perhaps you find yourself unconsciously grabbing for your phone to check Instagram, or pop open the latest tweets on twitter ​and start scrolling​. A small break won’t hurt anything, and then it’s back to the task at hand. Right? Well you'd...

Big life shifts are never easy. While going through something that stretches our comforts or invites us to break free from what we know, a crazy thing happens...our brain resists this adventure. In fact, it will try its hardest to sabotage the efforts of change in order to keep you "safe" and unthreatened. So how can you navigate big life changes effectively? The answer lies within our p...

Controlling your spending is hard to do. And not just your money spending. So how do you build an intentional budget for every aspect of spending in your life? The answer very well may be...Frugality. But not in the old way of thinking about being Frugal. Where words like scarcity and cheap will not be found anywhere near the new, modern definition of frugality from our friends on today's pod...

Imagine your perfect day. What would you do? Where would you go? How would you spend your time? Would you be there to see your children’s firsts? Would you do the work that you actually love? Perhaps you've never given yourself the permission to ask this question. Why? Because we've all been told the lie that we can't. Or we shouldn't. Or it's not possible. All of which is...

It’s not a secret that mental wellness is on everyone’s minds these days. It is one of the most prioritized topics within our lifestyle design community when it comes to values and life intentions. Phil and I are in the same boat. We all prioritize and actively work on our mental and holistic wellbeing.  But where we sometimes feel a little at a loss is how we help our children design mental welln...

Do you know what you're actually capable of? That might be a tough question to answer only because most of us haven't been pushed to the brink through really challenging experiences. In fact, many of us are trying to reduce the discomforts in our lives while searching to find happiness, joy, fun, or enlightenment.  It can start as early as childhood, at least for our generation it happen...

Imagine approaching a giant canyon. And this metaphorical canyon represents a major change you want to make in your life. Perhaps you've always wanted to make your side passion your daily work, AND support your established lifestyle. When you walk up to the cliff's edge it's scary, unknown, the trail is barely visible, and you can't see all the way down into the gaping hole in...

Lifestyle design is one of the best things you can do for your marriage or partnership. Why? Because it 1) helps build awareness and connection with your partner, 2) solidifies a strong family operating system through values definition and 3) clarifies and unites you and your partner around shared family vision. All of that ignites massive action and momentum in alignment with what you both want m...

Have you ever dreamed of dropping it all, packing up and hitting the road? But that lifestyle feels impossible and illogical?  Today, we bring on a family who will challenge your beliefs of possibility and logic. They took a huge leap of faith, packed up their life and young family and moved out onto the road nearly a year and a half ago. They haven’t looked back since.  Our friends, Chelsea and M...

What happens when you take a step back and reflect on your experiences with neutrality first? No positive, no negative, no pleasant, or unpleasant, completely releasing these ideas from your mind and body. In this episode, Krista and Phil share some recent real-life experiences that shine the spotlight on this everyday phenomenon. Discussing how our perspectives of an experience can dramatically p...

Have you ever asked yourself how you want to feel? Perhaps that's a question you've never asked yourself in the midst of pursuing achievements, or on the other end of the spectrum, avoiding the necessary changes or conflicts that you know NEED to happen in order to begin experiencing your life on your terms. Based on what YOU desire. Seems like a big proposition...but it's really no...

Imagine having an intimate view into relationships from around the world? A front-row seat to the emotional and provocative conversations between two people, their shared emotional space. What would you learn about them? About yourself? about how we all connect as human beings? Well, our guest today has embarked on a journey where he does that and more. Topaz Adizes is the Founder and Executive Cr...

Could you accomplish a goal by not focusing on the goal at all? We think so. Because the outcome, the goal, isn't the game at all. And most of the time our goals come to life in ways that we never could expect. Sometimes the how isn't even available until you go down a road to discover and reflect on what's possible. So what happens if we embrace this fact? Now we value and apprecia...

We all need a guide. Whether we know it yet or not. Each of us only knows as much as our familiar patterns allow. We can be our biggest barrier to growth if we let it. And this is why we feel it's imperative to look outside of ourselves as a compliment to the deep inner work that has cultivated the most powerful transformations. In this episode we discuss our personal examples of growth and t...

This time each year, just after starting the next journey around the sun, there's an equal amount of excitement and tension. From new intentions, goals in which we all aspire, or the small movements we've committed to making each day to change something in our lives, the proliferation of uncertainty begins and thus the challenge to stay committed to our visions becomes real. But how do y...

Today, we dig into a topic that is top of mind for many of our listeners and others around the world - designing intentional, meaningful communities. From finding your niche group to building communities of your own, we dig into the art of surrounding yourself with intentional, meaningful connections. Jillian Benbow & Tony Bacigalupo have spent their careers understanding what makes a good com...

Our guest today is a bright light. Becca Apfelstadt is a powerhouse of creativity, community and service. She is a mama of two, a wife and the co-founder and CEO of treetree, a thriving B2B marketing agency.  She’s spent the last 10 years actively building her life and business, ultimately achieving great success in areas where others told her it wasn’t possible. She was “doing it all,” beautifull...

Have you ever wondered how professional athletes, high profile coaches, elite soldiers and more got to where they are today? What tactics have they used to perform at such a high level in sport, military, business, and life?  Our guest today has spent the last 20+ years of his experience coaching elite sport, tactical, and corporate performers, and is now Vice President for Performance and Well-Be...