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 calling. And then, five years ago, they walked away from all of it.

What drove that decision wasn't a strategic plan. It was grief. It was a profound moment at his father's bedside, a release of a lifetime of seeking approval, and the gut-level knowing that the second half of life had to look different. What followed was a leap into the unknown — with three boys, no business plan, and the complete trust that the path would reveal itself.

We get into what it actually feels like to end a chapter before you know what comes next, why so many of us stay in the wrong chapters far too long, and how Phil and Jen experimented their way into building Expansion Lab — a leadership development company that looks nothing like what they imagined on day one.

We also explore the difference between genuine evolution and moving the goalposts, why inner work is the foundation of everything, the role of support systems when you're taking the biggest risks of your life, and what it means to bet on yourself when you have a family depending on you. This is a conversation about faith, alignment, and what it looks like to actually live the authentic life — not just talk about it.

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 combining the Hawaiian concepts of aloha (peace, meaning, harmony) and ohana (family, no one left behind) — and why he started writing it for himself first.

Ohan shares his remarkable journey from Soviet-era Armenia to the United States, navigating a new language, a new culture, and a financial industry that didn't always have space for the deeper questions he wanted to ask. Along the way, we talk about what it really means to create for yourself, the difference between contentment and comfort, and why life planning is one of the most powerful — and still underused — tools in the profession.

We also get into:

- The EVOKE process Ohan uses with clients to build a vision-first financial plan
- Why the first three meetings don't touch numbers — and why that works
- What contentment actually means (and how it's different from comfort)
- Why "doing it for yourself first" isn't selfish — it's the foundation

If you've been feeling like there's more to life than the financial plan you've been handed, this one's for you.

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 and actually letting them find their own way, to the role our network plays as informal mentors in their lives. We talk about accountability, why kids learn more by observation than instruction, and the difference between planting seeds early versus forcing growth before it's ready.

We also get into some things I haven't talked much about publicly, like how a conversation with my oldest about his interest in finance made me rethink the long-term vision for my business, and why I'm starting to think about building something the boys could one day step into.

And at the end of it all, we keep coming back to the same thing: the most important thing we can give our kids isn't a perfect roadmap. It's love, a strong village around them, and the space to figure out who they're meant to be.

This is a monthly conversation. I hope it resonates with you wherever you are on your parenting journey.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction & what this new format is about
00:40 The question: how do we help our boys find their authentic lives?
01:20 How our perspective on parenting has shifted over time
02:11 Roman at 15 — navigating the high school years and letting go
03:18 The limits of parental control & accepting who your kids are
04:46 Accountability: why it matters and why it's hard to teach
09:19 Planting seeds early — the "cheat codes" we wish we'd had sooner
10:15 Leading by example: they're watching even when it doesn't seem like it
12:05 Giving them space vs. still putting breadcrumbs in front of them
13:10 Reading together & why outside voices sometimes land better than ours
14:51 It takes a village: building a network of mentors for your kids
19:47 Giving kids agency in big decisions — Roman's high school choice
21:20 Leo's soccer decisions and encouraging ownership
22:39 How Leo and Roman's interest in finance made me rethink my business
25:30 Exploring interests vs. passions — why I want them to try things
27:54 A Rich Roll podcast, Stanford professors, and the future of careers
31:27 Is the shift toward authenticity real, or just the world I'm in?
33:11 Social media, what's real, and helping our boys find their self-worth
35:20 Fostering their individual interests and passions
38:09 The most important thing: making sure they know they're loved
41:42 Even in loving homes, kids create their own narratives
43:33 Wrapping up & what to expect from this monthly series