Code 3: Life. Reinvented.

What if the secret to lasting success isn't working harder, but learning when to push and when to recover? As a two-time widowmaker heart attack survivor, I've learned that pushing yourself to the limit can come at an enormous cost. But here's something I believe deeply: You shouldn't need a health crisis, a diagnosis, or some other wake-up call to rethink how you're living. In this episode of Code 3: Life. Reinvented., I sit down with award-winning science journalist and author Elizabeth Svoboda to explore why so many high achievers get trapped in cycles of overwork, exhaustion, and burnout, and how we can break free without sacrificing our ambition. Elizabeth's latest book, The Art of Pacing: A Guide to Balancing Short-Term Demands with Long-Term Thriving, challenges much of what we've been taught about success and productivity. Drawing on research involving Olympic athletes, high performers, and the science of recovery, she makes a compelling case that knowing when to rest is just as important as knowing when to push. We talk about her personal battle with depression and how it forced her to reconsider a career driven by external validation. We explore why hustle culture can be so destructive, why scrolling through your phone isn't actually giving your brain a break, and how simple changes to your daily routine can dramatically improve your energy, focus, and well-being. Elizabeth also shares practical strategies for preventing burnout, including batching meetings to protect deep thinking time, working with your natural circadian rhythms, and even taking a 24-hour personal retreat to reconnect with what matters most. But what I found most compelling about our conversation wasn't really about productivity at all. It was about purpose, alignment, and the difference between achieving more and actually thriving. Elizabeth makes a powerful observation: You can work 70, 80, even 90 hours a week and still be moving in the wrong direction. That really hit home for me. Because what's the point of being extraordinarily successful if the life you're building isn't the life you actually want to live? This is a conversation for anyone who's ambitious, driven, and committed to making a difference, but who suspects there might be a better way to pursue success without sacrificing their health, relationships, or happiness. Connect with Elizabeth Svoboda:Website: https://elizabethsvoboda.comInstagram: @svobodsterBook: The Art of Pacing: A Guide to Balancing Short-Term Demands with Long-Term Thriving Learn more about MORE:https://bemorealigned.com You don't have to wait for a crisis to start living differently. Stop postponing the life you already know you want to live.

What happens when the thing that once made you feel most alive disappears from your life? For Chris Bennett, racing had been part of his identity since childhood. He went from enlisted Air Force mechanic to pilot, spent 20 years serving his country, and eventually achieved his dream of driving an NHRA Nitro Funny Car. But after walking away from racing, Chris slowly found himself in a dark place—disconnected from his passion, his family, and ultimately himself. In this episode of Code 3: Life. Reinvented., Chris shares how he found his way back—not by simply returning to racing, but by reinventing what racing meant to him. Today, through Bennett Motorsports Support, he helps other people get behind the wheel, pursue long-delayed dreams, and discover what they’re capable of. AJ and Chris talk about Numb Success, the danger of postponing what makes you feel alive, surrounding yourself with people who move you forward, redefining success, and avoiding the “wish ghost” of regret. Chris’s message is wonderfully simple: stop sitting at idle. The light is on. Stomp the throttle. Connect with Chris Bennett Learn more about Chris and Bennett Motorsports Support at driveBMS.com. Email Chris at [email protected], or find Bennett Motorsports Support on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Connect with MORE® Ready to stop postponing the life you already know you want to live? Learn more about MORE® and reach out to AJ and the team at bemorealigned.com.

What if the answer to burnout, career dissatisfaction, or feeling completely stuck isn’t finding a better job? What if you need to stop working for a while? In this episode of Code 3: Life. Reinvented., I sit down with Katrina McGhee, career break and sabbatical expert and author of Taking a Career Break For Dummies, to talk about what actually happens when you give yourself permission to step away. Katrina shares the moment she realized, “You don’t want another job. You want a break.” At the time, she had roughly $1,500 in the bank, more than $50,000 in debt, and absolutely no obvious reason why taking an extended sabbatical should have been possible. But she built a plan, saved $40,000 in 18 months, left her corporate career, and eventually spent more than a year traveling, grieving, reconnecting with people she loved, and figuring out what she wanted the next chapter of her life to become. We talk about the real mechanics of taking a career break: how much money you need, how to plan for it, how to talk to your boss or spouse, and why a sabbatical doesn’t have to mean quitting your job and traveling the world. But the conversation goes deeper than that. Katrina and I explore the hidden cost of living a life that no longer fits, the ways we spend money to compensate for unhappiness and exhaustion, why misalignment can become incredibly expensive, and what happens when staying where you are becomes more frightening than leaving. We also talk about grief, burnout, career reinvention, AI-driven job anxiety, and Katrina’s challenge to stop organizing your life around the red flags you’re trying to avoid and start moving toward the green flag you actually want. If you’ve ever thought, I can’t keep doing this—but I have no idea what comes next, this conversation might give you another option: You don’t necessarily need to have the next chapter figured out. You may need enough space to hear yourself again. Links & Resources: Katrina McGhee — Career Break & Sabbatical Coaching: kmcgheecoaching.com BreakSpace — Career Break & Sabbatical Community: gobreakspace.com Taking a Career Break with Katrina McGhee Podcast: Listen on Apple Podcasts Katrina McGhee on LinkedIn: Follow Katrina on LinkedIn Taking a Career Break For Dummies: Book + Career Break Blueprint To learn about MORE® please visit bemorealgined.com.

What if, instead of asking “What should I do next in my career?”, you asked a bigger question: “What do I want my life to look like two years from now?” In this episode, I sit down with Kate Crane, whose career has taken her from management consulting to corporate strategy, DoorDash, Flock Safety, OpenTable, and now entrepreneurship as the founder of Direction Over Perfection. Kate has made a lot of pivots—and not all of them worked out exactly as planned. She deliberately stepped off the consulting “rocket ship” after burning out in her twenties. She later joined DoorDash and helped grow its Drive business from roughly $9 million in annualized revenue to more than $500 million. She changed roles as her ambitions changed, reconsidered what work should look like after becoming a mother, walked away from jobs that weren’t the right fit, and eventually found herself drawn toward helping other people navigate their own career decisions. What I love about Kate’s story is that there was never one grand master plan. Instead, she kept paying attention. What am I good at? What do I want to learn? What matters in this season of my life? What am I willing to risk? And perhaps most importantly: Does the career I’m building actually support the life I want to live? We talk about burnout, fear, risk tolerance, identity, parenthood, career experimentation, and why something not working out doesn’t necessarily mean it was the wrong decision. Kate also makes a compelling case for abandoning the traditional five-year plan. Rather than trying to predict some distant future, she encourages people to think about where they want to be in two years—personally and professionally—and then identify the experiences, skills, and choices that might move them in that direction. If you’ve been wondering whether your current career still fits—or you know you want something different but don’t have the whole path mapped out yet—this conversation is a reminder that you don’t need perfect clarity before you move. Sometimes direction is enough. Connect with Kate: Website: directionoverperfection.com Instagram & TikTok: @directionoverperfection Podcast: Direction Over Perfection with Kate Crane — conversations about the often-meandering career paths behind successful people and the pivots that shaped them. Connect with MORE®: bemorealigned.com.

What happens when success no longer feels like enough? In this episode, I sit down with former emergency physician Dr. Matt Harmody, whose life took an extraordinary turn after his father's kidney failure inspired him to leave engineering, become a doctor at age 30, donate one of his own kidneys to a complete stranger, and eventually retire early to advocate full-time for living kidney donation. But this conversation goes far beyond medicine. Matt and I explore the difference between success and fulfillment, why so many accomplished professionals become trapped by lives that no longer fit, and what it really takes to reinvent yourself before a crisis forces the decision. We discuss the power of service, the importance of creating mental space to think clearly, why quitting isn't always failure, and how pursuing purpose often requires the courage to leave behind something that already looks successful. We also dive into Matt's incredible Guinness World Record journey summiting the highest point in all 50 states to raise awareness for living kidney donation, proving that one person really can make an extraordinary impact. If you've ever wondered whether there's more to life than achievement alone, this conversation will challenge how you define success—and might inspire your next chapter. In this episode we discuss: Why fulfillment outlasts success Leaving a successful career to pursue meaningful work Living kidney donation and saving a stranger's life The mindset required to reinvent yourself Why high achievers struggle to walk away The surprising power of "quitting early" Finding purpose through service to others Lessons from climbing the highest point in every U.S. state Books by David Epstein, Cal Newport, and Annie Duke that can change how you think about work and life To learn more about Dr. Harmody: Website: MattHarmodyMD.com Book: Ascending America To learn about MORE®, please visit bemorealigned.com.