AlignedLife with Justin Castelli

Every week on The Five, we find one headline and one deeper idea across all five pillars of aligned living — Spirit, Mind, Body, Money, and Creativity — and ask what they mean for the life you're actually trying to build. This week, one thread ran through every pillar before we went looking for it: the things you gave up in the process of becoming competent. In Spirit, the science of awe — why the...

Every week on The Five, we find one headline and one deeper idea across all five pillars of aligned living — Spirit, Mind, Body, Money, and Creativity — and ask what they mean for the life you're actually trying to build. This week, one thread ran through every pillar before we went looking for it: what you're holding too tight.  In Spirit, new research across 22 countries confirms what the theolo...

Every week on The Five, we find one headline and one deeper idea across all five pillars of aligned living—Spirit, Mind, Body, Money, and Creativity—and ask what they mean for the life you're actually trying to build. This week, one thread ran through every pillar before we went looking for it: showing up. Not dramatically. Not as a resolution. Just the ordinary, recurring act of being present — t...

Every week on The Five, we find one headline and one deeper idea across all five pillars of aligned living — Spirit, Mind, Body, Money, and Creativity — and ask what they mean for the life you're actually trying to build. This week, one question ran through all five pillars: what are you still keeping for yourself? Not dramatically. Not as a manifesto. Just as an honest look at how many small hand...

Every week on The Five, we find one headline and one deeper idea across all five pillars of aligned living — Spirit, Mind, Body, Money, and Creativity — and ask what they mean for the life you're actually trying to build. This week, a clip went viral that most people laughed at. Steven Bartlett — host of one of the world's most listened-to podcasts — said that three glasses of wine "ruined three d...

Every week on The Five, we find one headline and one deeper idea across all five pillars of aligned living — Spirit, Mind, Body, Money, and Creativity — and ask what they mean for the life you're actually trying to build. This week, one thread ran through every single pillar before we even went looking for it: friction. Deliberate, chosen friction.  There's an ancient case for silence that a noisy...

Most of us are trying to think our way through things that can only be lived through. This week on The Five — new research out of a leading journal reframes the entire relationship between faith and belief, and the finding might surprise you. Neuroscientists are finally giving us a better map for one of the most universal human experiences — one that the five stages model got wrong for decades. We...

Every week on The Five, we find one headline and one deeper idea across all five pillars of aligned living — Spirit, Mind, Body, Money, and Creativity — and ask what they mean for the life you're actually trying to build. This week, one question surfaced across all five pillars without us looking for it: what do you actually stand on? A generation of young men is quietly walking back into churches...

This week on The Five, we're sitting with an uncomfortable question that kept surfacing across every single pillar: we know what we need — so why aren't we doing it? Americans are cutting off loved ones at record rates while simultaneously reporting they've never felt more alone. The research on behavior change confirms what most of us already sense — that willpower isn't the problem, identity is....

Welcome to the very first episode of The Five — a weekly show inside the AlignedLife podcast where we explore one news headline and one deeper idea across all five pillars of aligned living: spirit, mind, body, money, and creativity. Something is shifting in America — and this week, you can feel it across all five pillars. A generation that grew up online is quietly turning toward faith, not out o...

In this episode, I sit down with my coach Phil Wood for what I hope will be a regular series of conversations — and I couldn't think of a better place to start than the story of one of the biggest chapter endings I've ever heard. Phil and his wife Jen spent 20 years as church-planting pastors, pouring their entire lives — their identity, their community, their spirituality, their income — into one...

What does it mean to live beyond the numbers, and what happens when a financial planner starts writing from the heart? In this episode, I sit down with Ohan Kayikchyan, financial planner and founder of Alohana Financial, to explore how he's building a practice rooted in life planning, self-reflection, and authentic connection.  We dig into the origin of Alohana Moments — his personal blog combinin...

This is the first episode of a new format I'm trying, bringing the AlignedLife conversation home, literally. I sat down with my wife, Ang, to talk about one of the most important questions we wrestle with as parents: how do we help our three boys grow into the fullest, most authentic versions of themselves? We cover a lot of ground in this one--from the tension between wanting to guide our kids an...

What if you were given the choice to stay or go — and you chose to stay? In this conversation, I sit down with my friend Aaron Schaben, and we start exactly where his story begins: the moment he left his body during a near-death experience at the 2019 Boston Marathon. With an internal body temperature of 108°, Aaron found himself above his own body — not in fear, but in complete peace — and was gi...

In this conversation, I sit down with my friend and one of the best advisors I know, Michael Remedios, founder of Wonderland FP, to explore his journey through what he calls the "art of the sabbatical." Michael made the bold decision to leave a successful career as a lead advisor — at the height of his earning potential — to create space for reflection, experimentation, and eventually launching hi...

After 20 years climbing the corporate ladder inside hospitals and health systems — VP roles, COO of a major Metro Detroit hospital, navigating a global pandemic on the front lines — my guest Frank Sawyer walked away from it all to build something he believes can actually fix healthcare. In this episode, Frank and I talk about what's really broken in the healthcare system (and why it's not a conspi...

I first met Daisy through Tom Morgan's Leading Edge community, and when I mentioned I'd done human design and gene keys, she laughed—"You're much further into astrology than you realize." In this conversation, Daisy walks me through my own gene key profile live, and what unfolds is remarkable. Gene keys and human design are consciousness mapping tools that reveal how we're uniquely designed to ope...

In this conversation, I sit down with Rashan Brown—spoken word poet, founder of Poetry Me Please, and someone who's masterfully building his creative vision alongside a full-time career. What started with heartbreak in high school and a fascination with battle rap has evolved into a platform that's bringing spoken word poetry to stages like Brooklyn's Kings Theatre. Rashan's journey is the perfect...

In this episode, I sit down with Isik Tlabar to explore one of the most powerful tools we all have access to but rarely learn how to use: our intuition. Isik shares the remarkable story of how she discovered her calling. After leaving architecture, she found herself in Turkey with a lost passport, desperate to return to London. Through a series of synchronistic events—from finding the right cab dr...

In this episode, I'm joined by a special guest, my wife, Ang, as she prepares to close Roman and Leo, the boys' clothing boutique she's poured her heart into for years. This is one of the most honest conversations I've had about what it means to walk away from something you've built, even when you've mastered it. Ang opens up about the fear of leaving behind what's familiar—a business where she's...

I wanted to share my favorite things from 2025—some physical items, but also the internal shift that really changed everything for me. The biggest one is embodiment. I went from believing I could become a future version of myself to believing I am that person. It wasn't intentional—it happened because I kept showing up authentically. But the catalyst was starting to write the AlignedLife blog as a...

In this conversation, I sit down with Nisiar Smith, aka Nas, to explore something that doesn't get talked about enough: the art of building genuine relationships and the power of your network in shaping who you become. Nas shares his journey from corporate America to founding Courtside Wealth Partners, a financial planning firm serving athletes, entertainers, and entrepreneurs. But what makes this...

In this episode with Lindsay Troxell, we explore the intersection of business coaching, mindset work, and somatic healing—going far beyond traditional financial services talk. Lindsay shares her 20-year journey in financial services, from insurance sales to becoming a coach who integrates somatics into her work with clients. We dive deep into what somatic work actually is and how our bodies experi...

In this episode, I sit down with DonJay Rice, a financial advisor who specializes in financial behavior and helping clients reframe their relationship with money. We explore his powerful insight that "there is freedom when we reframe and rewire" – the idea that the stories our brains tell us about money, success, and life itself may not always be accurate, and that we have the power to reprogram o...

After losing both his son and wife, Jeff Johnston, founder of Brightn, transformed unimaginable pain into a mission to help others heal. In this powerful conversation, Jeff and I explore the intersection of mental wellness, resilience, and purpose, diving into what it means to truly flourish as a human being. Jeff opens up about his journey through grief, addiction, and self-discovery, sharing how...