📋 Episode Summary
Emily and Marc start where they always do, with what's on their minds. For Marc, it's the systems we live in and the stories he was told about them. For Emily, it's a Leuchtturm1917 journal with six pages left in the middle, a brand-new one waiting on her desk, and the surprisingly big question of how to begin it.

From there they return to values, picking up a thread from Season 1, Episode 11. They talk about renaming budget categories so they reflect what you care about, the credentials that act as signals for ourselves more than for anyone else, and what a calendar reveals. Marc realizes his calendar is already full of values placeholders: working the polls on election days and blocking monthly reading days. Emily names those reading days for what they are, a Sabbath pace with an intentional learning bent.

The conversation is reflective and gently playful. They share their personal values lists and end on an idea that stops them both: abundance isn't somewhere we're going. It's where we are.

🔑 Key Takeaways
• Labeling budget categories with your actual values (like "hobbies") makes the numbers more meaningful and more likely to get attention.
• Some credentials and signals are mainly for ourselves; they help us show up with more confidence and authenticity.
• You can see your real values by looking at where your money and your time actually go.
• For self-employed people, time is the inventory on the shelves, so how you spend it is a values decision.
• Rest, reading days, and "artist dates" aren't indulgences that need justifying; they refill you, and often everything else improves.
• Abundance can be a present reality to live from, even in seasons of scarcity.

🗣 Quote Highlights
• "This wasn't just an inevitable maturation of human society. This is a confluence of very specific choices and events." – Marc
• "When I have an idea, it could be an idea that doesn't need any action really for two years, but it's still more important than the thing that's on my list, like make a dentist appointment." – Emily
• "I don't think people really care that I have an ACC. What I think they care about is that I'm a really good coach, and they will become more themselves after working with me." – Emily
• "Our inventory is our time. The shelves of our store is time." – Marc
• "It's a Sabbath pace, even though it's a very intentional learning pace." – Emily
• "I'm not doing this to be productive. I'm doing this because I'm a human and I'm refilling myself." – Marc
• "If I really believe abundance exists and is where I'm operating from, it's where I am. It's not where I'm going." – Marc

🧰 Tools & Mentions
• Still Figuring It Out, Season 1, Episode 11 — the values episode that inspired this conversation. https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/35d59fa5-fffe-4892-9f2e-24382bb92ee3/id/35462985
• Leuchtturm1917 dotted journals — Emily's notebook of choice for keeping her life and ideas in order. https://www.leuchtturm1917.com/
• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron — the source of the "artist date," time set aside to do something that makes your heart sing. https://juliacameronlive.com/
• B Corp certification — a business structure Emily and Marc have considered for Concord Leadership Group as a signal of their values. https://www.bcorporation.net/
• International Coaching Federation (ICF) — the professional body behind Emily's ACC credential and the regional gathering Marc describes. https://coachingfederation.org/
• Dirty Laundry on Dropout — the show Marc hears every time Emily asks, "What's on your mind?" https://www.dropout.tv/

👥 Who Should Listen
• Coaches and solopreneurs who find business numbers uninspiring and want them to connect to what matters
• Married couples who work together and want their budget and calendar to reflect shared values
• Self-employed professionals who feel guilty taking time for rest, reading, or civic commitments
• Paper planner and bullet journal people facing the blank first page
• Leaders weighing whether credentials and certifications are worth it, and who they're really for
• Anyone trying to live from abundance instead of scarcity

🎺 That Music!
Special thanks to Lexi Moreno, Caleb Pitman, and Zoe Czarnecki for the original music.
Lexi Moreno – composing / mixing / mastering / guitar
Caleb Pitman – composing / mixing / trumpet
Zoe Czarnecki – bass