Family Brand: Take Back Your Family

This episode started the way some of our best conversations do — on a walk.
Chris and Melissa talk about why the idea of "balance" often leaves families frustrated, exhausted, and feeling like they're failing. Instead, they introduce a different lens that has brought them far more peace over the years: seasons of life.
Every season affords certain opportunities.
Every season also has real limitations.
And neither are permanent.
Chris shares a conversation he had with someone wrestling with a big opportunity — one that looked great on paper, but didn't quite align with the season of life he and his family were in. That's when the idea of seasonality clicked. Not as an excuse, but as a filter.
They walk through real-life examples — newly married seasons, seasons with little kids, seasons when kids are more independent, seasons packed with sports schedules, and even micro-seasons like coaching a basketball team or building a business. Each season requires different energy, different priorities, and different definitions of success.
Melissa reflects on how much pressure we put on ourselves to "do it all" at once — careers, health, friendships, travel, parenting — without acknowledging that something always has to give. The freedom comes when you choose what gives on purpose, rather than resenting it later.
They also talk about how comparison makes this even harder. Seeing other families travel, rest, hustle, or expand can make you question your own choices — unless you remember that you're not in the same season.
Chris shares one of the most grounding decisions he's made for himself:
If I choose it, I surrender my right to complain about it.
Whether it's coaching basketball, committing to a business season, or choosing rest — owning your choice removes resentment and allows you to fully show up where you are.
This episode is an invitation to pause and ask better questions:
What season am I in right now?
What does this season afford me?
What am I choosing to prioritize here?
And can I trust that the seasons will change?


Because no season lasts forever.
And no matter where you are right now, the belief that the best is yet to come is always available.

LINKS:
All Links Family Brand! 
stan.store/familybrand

familybrand.com/quiz

familybrand.com/retreats. 

Episode Minute By Minute:
00:00 – Why this conversation started on a walk
01:00 – The power of walks for connection
02:00 – Clarity, commitment, and consistency
03:00 – Why Chris doesn't believe in "balance"
04:00 – Introducing seasons of life
05:00 – What newlywed seasons afford
06:00 – Seasons with little kids
07:00 – When kids get older and independence grows
08:00 – Sports schedules and real-life limitations
09:00 – Evaluating opportunities through seasonality
10:00 – Equity, work, and family alignment
11:00 – Embracing a season instead of resenting it
12:00 – Choosing what gives (and why that matters)
13:00 – Health goals and shifting seasons
14:00 – Comparison and the pressure to do it all
15:00 – Behind the highlight reel
16:00 – Why seasons always change
17:00 – Micro-seasons (like coaching basketball)
18:00 – Choosing presence over forcing hobbies
19:00 – "If I choose it, I surrender my right to complain"
 20:00 – Releasing resentment
21:00 – Final encouragement: the best is yet to come

Couple's Playbook: Getting on the Same Page for the Year Ahead
It's easy to start a new year with good intentions — and just as easy to lose them once life speeds back up.
In this episode, Chris and Melissa talk about why so many couples want to be intentional but struggle to actually do it together. The issue isn't desire. It's structure. Most couples don't need more motivation — they need a simple playbook that creates the right conversations.
They kick things off with a lighthearted look at Chris fully embracing his cowboy era (yes, cowboy hats and horses included), which naturally leads into a bigger theme of the episode: when you don't slow down to get aligned, life starts making decisions for you.
Melissa shares how their family has built meaningful year-end and new-year rhythms — from vision boards to reflection questions — and why those traditions work so well, even with kids. Chris explains how reflection and planning became a cornerstone not just in their family, but in their business as well, helping them shape focus, priorities, and direction for the year ahead.
The heart of the conversation centers on the Couple's Planning Playbook Melissa created — a simple, guided experience designed to help couples reflect individually, then come together on the things that matter most. They share what it looked like to take the playbook on a date night, fill it out separately, and then talk through it over dinner — including the moment their waitress asked where she could buy it.
They also dig into why individual clarity is just as important as shared goals. From health and fitness to parenting and schedules, many goals quietly require two people to succeed — whether we acknowledge that or not. Without alignment, support turns into frustration and good intentions turn into resentment.
One of the most meaningful parts of their experience came from walking through questions about each child individually — stepping back from the rush of daily life to really see where each kid is thriving, struggling, or needing extra support. Chris explains how alignment around parenting doesn't happen by accident; it happens through regular, intentional conversations.
They wrap up with a hilarious (and very real) story about nearly being manipulated into getting a third dog — a perfect metaphor for what happens when couples don't pause long enough to compare notes. When you don't get on the same page intentionally, decisions get made for you.
This episode is an invitation to stop chasing your tail and start leading your family with clarity, unity, and purpose — one simple conversation at a time.
P.S. 
Get your couples playbook here: https://familybrand.com/playbook
 
LINKS:
All Links Family Brand! 
stan.store/familybrand

familybrand.com/quiz

familybrand.com/retreats. 

Links For This Episode:
Get your couples playbook here: https://familybrand.com/playbook

Episode Minute By Minute:
00:00 – Happy New Year and Cowboy Chris makes an appearance
01:00 – Chris's goals, cowboy hats, and qualifying for Vegas
02:30 – Vision boards, manifestation, and setting intentions
04:00 – Family year-end reflection traditions
05:15 – Why reflection without structure feels overwhelming
06:45 – Using the same process for business and family
07:45 – Why couples need an actual playbook
08:45 – Taking the Couple's Playbook on a date night
10:00 – Filling it out individually, then talking it through
11:00 – Why individual clarity matters inside marriage
12:15 – Supporting each other's health and personal goals
13:30 – One powerful question about each child
15:00 – Alignment in parenting doesn't happen accidentally
16:30 – The almost-got-a-third-dog story
18:15 – Why couples need "forcing functions" to align
19:15 – Final encouragement: stop letting life run your marriage

Wanting to Believe: Re-Enrolling Each Other Into What's Possible
This episode came out of a conversation Chris had this week — and it hit him so clearly that he realized he and Melissa had never talked about it publicly before.
They've shared openly about the hard seasons in their marriage. They've taught frameworks for having honest, productive conversations about what isn't working. But in this episode, they talk about the missing piece that made all the difference when their marriage was at its lowest:
They started talking about what they wanted to create — before there was any evidence it was possible.
Chris shares how a couple he was advising had been doing "everything right" — having authentic conversations, communicating well, addressing issues — yet still felt stuck. And the realization was simple, but profound: they were only talking about what was broken… not what they believed could exist on the other side.
Melissa takes the conversation deeper, sharing a moment from their own marriage when there was absolutely no evidence that things would improve. No proof. No results. No momentum. And yet, she chose to hold onto something smaller, but powerful: the desire to believe a miracle could happen.
They talk about faith — not as certainty, but as willingness. Wanting to believe, even when belief feels impossible. And how that willingness created the foundation for real change.
Throughout the episode, Chris and Melissa reflect on how repeatedly re-enrolling each other into a shared vision — "I want to be married to you. I want our marriage to be amazing. I believe we can create something beautiful together." — slowly shifted the trajectory of their relationship.
This isn't about ignoring what's not working. It's about balancing honest conversations with intentional vision-casting. Because if the only seeds you plant are about what you don't want, that's exactly what keeps growing.
If your marriage feels stuck… if you're tired… if belief feels hard — this episode is an invitation to start where they did:
You don't have to fully believe.
You just have to be willing to want to.
LINKS:
All Links Family Brand! 
stan.store/familybrand
familybrand.com/quiz
familybrand.com/retreats. 
 Episode Minute By Minute:
00:00 – Chris introduces an unexpected episode topic
01:10 – Why they've never talked about this before
02:15 – Authentic Conversations vs. vision-casting
03:15 – Asking the question: "What are you trying to create?"
 04:05 – Melissa reflects on their separation
05:10 – Faith when there is no evidence
06:10 – "Wanting to believe" as the starting point
07:25 – The scripture story and "help my unbelief"
08:40 – Talking about what's possible before it's possible
09:50 – Planting seeds through language and vision
10:55 – When you don't know what a good marriage looks like
11:50 – Looking for models and borrowed belief
12:45 – Re-enrolling each other during hard seasons
13:40 – Choosing to be on the same team
14:30 – Final encouragement: start with wanting to believe

Couple's Playbook for 2026: Setting the Frequency for Your Year
It's that time of year when the Smith family pauses, reflects, and intentionally sets the tone for the year ahead.
In this episode, Chris and Melissa walk through exactly how they approach vision boards, words (or frequencies) for the year, and why doing this work up front creates so much more ease as the year unfolds. While they share what this looks like in their own family, their hope is that it gives you practical inspiration you can adapt for yours — no matter what time of year you're listening.
They talk about why your "word for the year" is more than just a cute idea — it's a frequency you choose to live at. A lens that shapes what you notice, what you prioritize, and how you show up when life gets busy or hard. Chris explains how reflecting on the past year, looking ahead, and then choosing a word that truly embodies who you want to be can completely change how a year unfolds.
Melissa shares a powerful exercise they did with their kids — a timed writing prompt asking "What do I want in 2026?" — and how repeating it helped everyone move past surface-level answers into more imaginative, honest desires. They also explain how they invite their kids into the process by asking what the family could use most this year, then choosing a shared family frequency together.
You'll hear Melissa unpack her word for the year — Gather — and how, once she leaned into it, the meaning expanded far beyond what she initially expected. From gathering people, to gathering at church, to gathering growth through using her voice, she shares how the word already seems to be "finding her."
Chris shares his word for the year — Partner — and why he's choosing to live more fully as a committed partner in every area of life: with God, with Melissa, with their kids, with their team, and with the people they serve. They talk honestly about how words create identity, how telling people your word builds accountability, and why allowing others to support your focus is one of the hidden gifts of this practice.
They also address the real-life parenting side of this process — what to do when kids resist, how to balance support with challenge, and why it's okay if your child's vision board is one picture taped to a page. The goal isn't perfection — it's participation.
The episode closes with powerful stories of vision boards turning into reality, sometimes immediately, sometimes years later — and a reminder that choosing a word, a frequency, or a focus plants a seed of possibility. One that has a way of growing when you give it attention.
 
LINKS:
All Links Family Brand! 
stan.store/familybrand
familybrand.com/quiz
familybrand.com/retreats. 
Links For This Episode:
http://familybrand.com/playbook

Episode Minute By Minute:
00:00 – Why this is the Smith family's favorite time of year
01:00 – Reflecting on the year and setting the tone for 2026
02:00 – Why Chris thinks of words as "frequencies"
03:00 – Choosing your frequency by reflecting on the past and future
04:00 – Melissa's writing exercise: "What do I want in 2026?"
05:00 – How repeating the exercise unlocked deeper clarity
06:00 – Inviting kids into choosing a family word
07:00 – Melissa reveals her word for the year: Gather
08:00 – Unpacking what "Gather" really means
09:00 – How sharing your word invites support and alignment
10:00 – The shower hack: writing your word every day
11:00 – Creating cues so your word doesn't get forgotten
12:00 – Vision boards as visible reminders
13:00 – Using word definitions and etymology for deeper meaning
14:00 – Chris shares his word for the year: Partner
15:00 – What it means to live as a committed partner
16:00 – Telling people your word to create accountability
17:00 – When kids resist the process (and how to handle it)
18:00 – Support vs. challenge in parenting
19:00 – Why imperfect vision boards still matter
20:00 – Stories of vision boards becoming reality
22:00 – Immediate results vs. long-term seeds
23:00 – Final encouragement: choose your frequency and plant the seed

The Power of Boredom: Learning to Live in the Present
In this solo episode, Chris shares a personal experiment that quietly changed the way he experiences life.
It started with a conversation around a Harvard study shared by Arthur Brooks — research suggesting that one of the biggest challenges we face today is that we never experience boredom. Every spare second is filled. Every pause is interrupted. And in the process, we're losing something deeply important: the space to think, reflect, and be present.
While celebrating his 20-year anniversary with Melissa in Spain, Chris decided to test that idea. He completely removed social media from his phone — not with a timeline or rules, but simply as an experiment in presence. What followed surprised him. He read more. He prayed more. He thought more deeply. And slowly, the urge to constantly reach for distraction faded.
Chris reflects on how rare it has become to simply be — even for ten seconds at a stoplight — and how reclaiming boredom opened the door to clarity, peace, and freedom. He also revisits one of the most meaningful practices from a book that has shaped his life, The Way of Mastery: ending each day by blessing and releasing it.
"I bless and release this day. It has been perfect, and it is finished."
That simple practice helped him recognize how often his mind lived in guilt about the past or worry about the future — and how little time he actually spent in the one place where life truly happens: the present moment.
This episode isn't about quitting social media or adopting someone else's routine. It's an invitation to run your own experiment. To notice where distraction is stealing your attention. And to create a small, intentional practice that helps you come home to yourself, your family, and your life.
As Chris shares, the goal isn't perfection — it's presence. And maybe, just maybe, boredom isn't something to avoid… but something we desperately need more of.

LINKS:
All Links Family Brand! 
stan.store/familybrand

familybrand.com/quiz

familybrand.com/retreats. 

 
Episode Minute By Minute:
00:00 – Why Chris wanted to record a short solo episode
01:00 – The study on boredom and constant distraction
02:00 – Why we never let our minds be still
03:00 – The Spain trip and removing social media
04:15 – What changed when the noise stopped
05:30 – Why this isn't really about phones
06:30 – Living in the past and future instead of the present
07:30 – The daily practice of blessing and releasing the day
08:45 – Why presence is where peace actually lives
09:45 – A simple experiment you can try
10:30 – Final encouragement: let boredom work for you