Welcome to Wisdom Wednesdays from Owl & Key
Each week, enjoy a quick guided reflection to help you unlock what's next and bring your Strategic Plan for Life into reality.
Let's dive in!
“Money carries our intention. If we use it with integrity, then it carries integrity forward.” — Lynne Twist, The Soul of Money
Years ago, Phil and I would fight about money.
Not because we were broke. But because we were both carrying deep, emotional charge around finances — from our upbringings, our identities, our fears, and the weight of building a life together through intense seasons.
It came to a head in the pandemic. A newborn in our arms. A business stalled. A custom home build underway. We didn’t know how to talk about money without spiraling into fear, frustration, or disconnection.
That season could have broken us. But instead, it became the beginning of a deeper kind of work.
This past week, we had a very similar conversation — sparked by one of our routine “money management” check-ins.
But this time? It was different. Completely different.
The same topics that once sent us spinning… were met with groundedness.
No blame. No heat. Just soft, steady conversation. We talked it through. And then we hugged.
We weren’t celebrating an external milestone. We were witnessing an internal one.
This is what real success looks like — for us.
Not just more money in the bank — but more connection. More maturity. More compassion. More alignment with the values we’ve been investing in all year: steady, stable, simple.
That moment in our kitchen? It felt like a cornerstone.
Here’s what helped us get there
💫 Alignment & Shared Vision
Every year, we go on our Strategic Planning for Life retreat — just the two of us — to reconnect around our values, our energy, and our vision for the future. It’s the most sacred practice in our marriage. Every retreat brings us closer. Every year adds another layer of understanding, clarity, and unity — especially around money. I'm including the full Playbook for these retreats below.
📊 Financial Systems & Data
Over the past 10 years, we've slowly built structure. Budgeting. Forecasting. Regular reviews. Investment planning. Every new season added a more mature layer to our systems. These systems have helped us move from “emotional spiraling” into “informed stability.” The data shows us where we stand. The rituals keep us connected.
🧠 Therapy & Personal Development
In our darkest seasons, we got help. Our marriage therapist, Stacy, helped us step away from our money stories and rebuild communication. We’ve both done deep inner work to own our differences and leverage our complementary strengths — especially around money.
🌀 Nervous System Repair
Most recently, my work in Kate Northrup’s Embodied Wealth program has been transformative. I’ve rewired my emotional response to finances and built a rhythm of weekly check-ins that feel like nurturing — not panicking. I now see our numbers through a lens of gratitude, not fear. That’s changed everything.
Combining superpowers
There’s a story in my favorite money book — The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist — about a group of Senegalese women in the middle of a famine and water crisis.
The men were making all the decisions and were stuck with no solutions. But the women — grounded in motherhood and community and quietly asking for a seat in the decision-making — kept having dreams of a lake underground. They knew it was there. Not from data. But from intuition.
Eventually, the men agreed to let them follow their intuition, as long as the women did the digging themselves.
For 12 months, they dug. With babies strapped to their backs, cooking, cleaning, nurturing life… they dug.
And eventually, they struck water.
The men dug a well to pump the water up and expand its reach.
That underground lake went on to serve not only their village — but 17 surrounding ones. They didn’t turn it into a commodity. They didn’t monetize it for tourism. They used it to sustain life.
When the men and women weaved together their logic, intuition and consistent effort, they not only achieved their goal, they served many. Through their efforts, there was more than enough to go around.
Phil and I have learned the same lesson in our own lives. When he operates in his superpower (logic), I weave in mine (intuition), and we sync up our consistent effort over time, we not only achieve our goals, but the impacts expand far beyond us.
The power of intention & sufficiency
When we stop always reaching for "more," as we've often been taught to do, we notice that we have sufficiency.
Not “more,” not “abundance.” Just… enough.
Enough to care for our family. Enough to support our community. Enough to keep going with integrity.
Earlier this year, another massively challenging time struck. We were nearly drowning in fear — similar to how we were feeling at the beginning fo the Pandemic. We had lost every corporate contract due to the policy changes at the national level and got hit with a big tax bill. The hits kept coming all year long.
But this time, we came back to this truth: We have what we need. And we will figure it out. Together.
My parents offered to help. And I said:
“If you’re going to support us, let it be an investment in our ideas — not a rescue.” We wanted to do the digging ourselves to prove to ourselves the lake was there and that we could get to it. They moved into a loving, supportive role, trusting our effort and giving a nudge of encouragement when we needed it.
Phil and I dug. We redesigned. We got stronger. Day after day. We rebuilt.
We stayed true to our vision that there is a lake and we will reach it.
And last week, we paid off one of the biggest tax payments of our lives — fully on our own.
Not through panic or urgency. But through alignment, consistent effort, sufficiency, and trust.
I’ve never been more proud of us.
We're still digging. But we’ve tapped the lake. And we will always share what we find.
Why this matters to you
Your life — your marriage, your finances, your wellbeing — will always hit rough patches. Intention and hard work do not guarantee a life without struggle.
But they do promise that your life will reflect whatever you decide to design it around.
You can choose fear, scarcity and disconnection.
Or you can choose belief, sufficiency and intentional alignment.
You can build a life based on what others expect. Or you can pause, reflect, and choose your own version of success.
For us, the truest success was that moment in the kitchen — where love replaced fear — and we not only achieved a financial milestone but we strengthened our partnership, trust and love.
To me, that was proof that all the work we've poured in, especially our shared work on our Strategic Planning for Life retreats actually works. Not just for business or schedules.
But for everything that matters most.
The exact playbook we use
In the spirit of sharing, I typed up the Strategic Planning for Life Retreat plabook we use every year. It'll help you plan your experience to realign, recommit, and reconnect to yourself, your loved one(s) and rally around your shared life vision.
📥 Download the Retreat Framework Here
Be sure to grab your book beforehand for you and your partner and access the digital resources and community to support your process.
And when you have questions, send them to me at krista@owlandkey.co.
Whether you're solo, in a partnership, or building a business or family — this framework will always help you build the next layer of your future.
Our trip this year? We're bringing the kids! Will share what we learn about how the retreat adjusts when a 5-year-old and 8-year-old join in on the connection, fun and visioning!
Let's do this, friends. Not from scarcity. But from intention, stability, and love.
With you on the journey,
Krista 🌿
Other offerings for 2026 & beyond....
If you're a leader trying to be more intentional with your family, your team, your time and priorities in 2026...
- Connect with our founder Krista (krista@owlandkey.co) to explore a 1:1 Strategic Partnership, Retreats, Programs and Workshops.
If you're a Community Member or in a current Strategic Planning for Life Class...
- Bring your reflections from this email to the next Community Call or Class session to share with your Guide or a friend.
If you or someone you love is interested in entrepreneurship and want to make 2026 the year of an intentional leap...
- Join us for this upcoming live program - kicking off November 6!
If you're a DIYer and just want to dip your toe into being more intentional going into 2026...
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