252. Seasons of Life: Why Balance Is a Myth (and What to Focus on Instead)
Family Brand: Take Back Your Family
Release Date: 01/30/2026
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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,...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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_outlineThis 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!
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