225. Can using AI make You a More Intentional Family?!
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
Release Date: 05/30/2025
252. Seasons of Life: Why Balance Is a Myth (and What to Focus on Instead)
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...
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251. Couple’s Playbook: How to Get on the Same Page for the Year Ahead
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
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...
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250. Wanting to Believe: The Marriage Shift That Changes Everything
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
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...
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249. Pick Your Frequency for 2026 or “Word” For The Year!
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
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...
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248. The Power of Boredom: Why Presence Might Be the Missing Piece
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
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...
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247. Consistency Over Excitement: Five Years of Building Family Brand and BTS of The Family Brand Blitz!
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
You Are Firemen: Built to Lead, Built to Last This week’s episode is part reflection, part celebration, and part reminder. Chris and Melissa sit down to talk about two big milestones: the recent Family Brand Blitz and the five-year anniversary of The Family Brand Podcast. And instead of just sharing highlights, they unpack the deeper lessons that emerged — about consistency, leadership, and why families are far more capable than they often realize. They reflect on the power of bringing couples together in person at the Blitz, how every family — no matter the stage — is carrying...
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246. The Family Brand New Year’s Kickoff: How We End the Year on Purpose
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
The Family Brand New Year’s Kickoff: A Tradition That Builds Culture Every year, right after Christmas — during those quiet, in-between days when no one quite knows what day it is — our family slows down and does something that has become one of our most meaningful traditions. We reflect. We celebrate. And we intentionally step into the new year together. In this solo episode, Melissa walks you through the Family Brand New Year’s Kickoff, a simple, free activity that hundreds of families download every year — and come back to again and again. This year’s version has been fully...
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245. Language Creates: How the Words You Use Shape Your Life and Family
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
As we head into a new year, Chris and Melissa wanted to revisit a conversation that has quietly shaped their family more than almost anything else: the power of language. This idea — that language creates — was one of the very first topics ever discussed on The Family Brand Podcast, and it’s still one of the most talked-about episodes to this day. Because once you see it, you can’t unsee it. In this episode, Chris explains why language is never neutral. The words we use are either rooted in possibility or anchored in limitation — and over time, they shape our beliefs, our behaviors,...
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244. Chief Reminding Officer: Why Great Leaders Repeat Themselves
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
Chief Reminding Officer: The Power of Repetition in Your Family If you’ve ever felt like a broken record as a parent — constantly reminding your kids (or yourself) of the same things over and over — this episode will make you feel a whole lot better. This week, Chris and Melissa talk about something they’ve been feeling in both their home and business lately: that quiet drift that happens when you stop doing the simple things that actually work. The routines that keep your house running. The systems that make your marriage stronger. The habits that help your family thrive. And the...
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243. How to Raise More Free-Range, Confident, and Adventurous Kids
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
Have you ever caught yourself saying “no” to your kids’ adventures out of pure instinct — only to wonder later if maybe the risk was worth it? In this episode, Chris and Melissa talk about how they’re learning to raise kids who are more confident, capable, and adventurous by saying yes a little more often. The idea started after Melissa read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt — a powerful book that explores how modern parenting and constant digital connection have created more anxious, less independent kids. Together, they reflect on how the shift from outdoor play to screens...
info_outlineHey Family Brand! It’s Melissa and Chris here, and today we’re diving into a topic we’ve never tackled before on the podcast—how families can use AI to live more intentionally. We’re not tech experts, but we’ve had some surprising (and honestly life-changing) experiences with tools like ChatGPT, and we think it’s time to pull back the curtain and share how we’re using AI in our everyday family life.
This isn’t a conversation about robots taking over. It’s about how smart technology can save you time, help you communicate better, and create more space for connection—all things we care deeply about here at Family Brand. Whether it’s navigating tough parenting moments, dealing with your spouse’s quirks (hello, lateness battles!), or just trying to figure out what to make for dinner when the fridge is nearly empty, AI has become a quiet helper in the background of our home.
Chris shares a personal story of asking AI how to approach an ongoing source of conflict in our marriage—our very different views on being on time—and how it led to one of the calmest, most productive conversations we’ve ever had. Melissa shares how AI helped her friend navigate a parenting situation with wisdom and compassion. These tools are surprisingly insightful when you give them the right context.
We also talk about fun, practical ways AI can make life easier, like planning meals with whatever is in your fridge, building out your family’s weekly menu from your favorite blog, or even helping create time blocks for a parent who feels stretched too thin. It’s not about outsourcing our parenting or leadership—it’s about getting just enough support to show up more grounded, present, and intentional.
If you’re new to AI or feeling hesitant, we get it. But our challenge for you this week is simple: ask AI to do one thing for you, and ask it for advice on one personal challenge. We think you’ll be blown away by how much lighter and clearer things can feel with a little help.
6 Ways AI Can Help Your Family Be More Intentional:
- Navigate recurring marriage disagreements with clarity and kindness
- Help you plan dinner with whatever’s in your fridge
- Create weekly meal plans from your favorite recipes or blogs
- Offer parenting advice based on your child’s age and situation
- Find time in your busy schedule by analyzing your day
- Encourage more thoughtful, less reactive communication
LINKS:
All Links Family Brand!
Episode Minute By Minute:
- 0:00 – Back from summer break! New York, Boston, Vermont… and why Tate is spending the summer in Kansas
- 2:00 – Introducing today’s topic: how families can use AI to be more intentional
- 3:30 – Melissa’s AI moment with the city planning board: resistance and curiosity
- 4:45 – Why Chris believes it’s crucial to introduce your kids to AI early
- 6:00 – Chris’s marriage breakthrough using ChatGPT for real-time relationship advice
- 7:45 – Using AI to help with parenting situations: a friend’s story and takeaways
- 9:15 – Making dinner with random ingredients? AI’s got you covered!
- 10:30 – Meal planning, grocery lists, and using AI with your favorite food blogs
- 11:30 – Ask AI to find you time when life feels chaotic
- 12:00 – Melissa’s reminder: AI can support you, but it shouldn’t replace your intuition
- 12:45 – Our weekly challenge to you: ask AI to do one thing and give advice on one topic
- 13:00 – Final thoughts and a commitment to help families live with intention