I hope you had a great week!

I come to this week's Weekly Note with a ton of creative energy. If you read either today's Daily Note or the Omen from this week (they are the same post), you'll see that I am leaning into spending more time creating content for the AlignedLife podcast, the AlignedLife blog, and YouTube--I have a ton of ideas I want to am going to implement and tonight I'll be working on creating a regular schedule for everything.

You'll also read how I plan to create new opportunities to connect with the "authenticists" out there — both in person (locally to start) and online (Zoom). All of these opportunities to connect with other people pursuing and/or living their Authentic Lives will be shared in the Weekly Notes well in advance of the date; I'll probably push them via social media to start, but eventually only share within the inboxes of those serious about their Authentic Lives.

One final thing I want to share is that I'm going to be more intentional about bringing more curation to the Weekly Notes, so it's not just my content--I consume a lot of great content throughout the week, and I want to make sure I share it with you as well. With my new focus, I'll have the additional time I need to share the additional content.

Ok, let's get to this week's Notes...

📝 this week's Daily Notes

2.23.26 #1132 who you become might be your purpose​

2.24.26 #1133 abundance is qualitative​

2.25.26 #1134 no timeline​

2.26.26 #1135 the struggle of letting go​

2.27.26 #1136 aligned energy​

2.28.26 #1137 the role we play​

3.01.26 #1138 Kweli, Westside Gunn, and me​

🎙️ AlignedLife Podcast: The Art Of The Sabbatical with Michael Remedios

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​Apple Podcasts​

​Spotify​

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 his own firm.

We start with the feeling that pulled Michael toward this decision — not a logical calculation, but an unsettled voice that grew louder over time. He shares how he spent a year quietly preparing for his sabbatical while still employed, traveling solo for the first time, picking up running, and experimenting with who he wanted to be, so that when day one arrived with nothing on his calendar, he wasn't starting from zero.

One of the things I love most about this conversation is how Michael reframes the sabbatical through a financial-planning lens. On a spreadsheet, it looked like a terrible decision — a 100% pay cut during peak earning years, less money invested, a longer path to financial independence. But he was tired of making every decision for a 65-year-old version of himself he doesn't even know yet. We dig into why financial planning needs to make room for this kind of mid-life optionality, and why saving for 40-year-old you might be just as important as saving for retirement.

We also explore the deeper personal layers of his journey — hitting every professional benchmark and still feeling lost, the "I'll be happy when" trap, working through it with a therapist, and what it really means to rewrite your definition of success from the inside out. Michael shares how the sabbatical wasn't about running away, but about learning what truly mattered to him, so he wasn't just replicating the same life with his own name on the door. We close with a conversation about rock bottom, catching lessons early, embodying the future version of yourself now, and the belief that alignment in spirit, mind, and body is what allows everything else — including money — to follow.

Michael now does this work with clients at Wonderland FP, helping millennials navigate the big life moments — combining finances, starting families, buying homes — with intention and permission to live authentically. Check him out at wonderlandfp.com and find his Substack at The Art of Wandering.

Read the art of the Sabbatical: https://theartofwandering.substack.co...
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 🦅 Omens

​Going Underground "With the time and energy reclaimed by reducing my time on platforms to purely distribution, I will have more time and energy to do what I love—create more content—and pursue what I believe is going to be more important and valuable in the future, actual human connection, in addition to more time for my Self, family, existing clients, and the clients who will be coming for AlignedLife+. I’ll also be able to replace scroll time with reading, listening, writing, watching, meditating, or just thinking."

✨ The Authentic Life Through The Lens Of Others

Another post from this week's AlignedLife guest, Michael Remedios

​Waiting For Validation "I am realizing that my only responsibility is to show up. To create, to write, to be myself in meetings with prospective clients. Beyond that, I have no control. Instead of waiting for external validation to create more or to be more…me, I just need to go back to my desk and write again."

See you next week (or tomorrow) and keep pursuing,

JC