Growth without alignment leads to collapse.

In this episode, I unpack a story about Elon Musk’s Mars vision—not to glorify him, but to show how a massive cosmic dream revealed the need for earthly infrastructure.

Each company he built wasn’t the dream—it was a system that served the dream. And that changed how I saw everything.

We zoom out to rethink how you build your life, your vision, and your future. I walk through my Vision/Value Framework, which includes:

Then I guide you through two simple but powerful journal prompts to help you start terraforming your own life—so the vision you’re building can actually hold you.

🎥 Companion video: He Built a Massive Audience. Then It All Collapsed.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/74czRYyfRX24ss26Ux5lGv?si=weKYmCjCSLyl4ymSIMBmLg

🎥 Companion video (YouTube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQdZVsMJIuU&list=PLBSnLjua8Vpq18mZzTKlUvcfEoxOoJfX8&index=1

(Featuring the story of a YouTuber who built 500K subs—but had to start over.)

📩 Subscribe to Field Notes – my weekly letters on alignment & transformation:

https://eianobrien.substack.com/

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction

00:43 – Mars Exoskeleton

02:26 – Vision/Value Infrastructure

02:46 – The Source Layer

04:32 – The Creative Well

05:22 – The Scaffolding

07:41 – Actionable Steps

08:56 – Define Your Red Planet

10:22 – Long-Term Alignment

11:02 – Field Notes

In this episode, I share the cautionary tale of a creator who chased growth over alignment—and had to restart from scratch. I also reflect on my own close call with the same trap, and what it taught me about building a vision that’s actually sustainable.

🎥 Companion video (with Framework):

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7hHCAxQ01qOHYLEAZGXYU3?si=fijcc_2DThiRzJzrhsVO1w

📩 Field Notes — my weekly letter on alignment, authorship, and building a life from the inside out:

https://eianobrien.substack.com/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien/

In this episode, we talk about Shadow Ambition and The Hustle—when fear drives your effort instead of alignment.

We also explore how we unknowingly create stories around our struggle, and how that story becomes our prison. I share the survival myth I created in order to endure the unsustainable hustle: The Grindhaus.

📩 Field Notes – Weekly letters on alignment & transformation

https://eianobrien.substack.com

Instagram: @eianobrien

Chapters:

00:00 – Shadow Ambition & Hustle

00:38 – The Myth of The Grindhaus

02:25 – The Antidote: Alignment

03:11 – The Dread Dragon FEEED

04:32 – Feed The Hustle, Starve The Creator

06:13 – The Cycle of Burnout

07:05 – The Hustle Swoon

10:02 – Force v. Invitation

11:56 – Free The Creator

Start anxiety, procrastination, over-editing—it’s all rooted in a strategy of avoidance.

In this episode, I break down how perfectionism disguises fear, scarcity, and shame—and how to shift your identity to finally start, finish, and share your work.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com

📸 Instagram

⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien

Chapters

00:00 – The Strategy of Avoidance

00:41 – An Identity Shift

02:56 – Transformation to Abundance

03:58 – Meaning & Clarity From Action

04:34 – You Are Not A Perfectionist

05:37 – The Cycle of Perfectionism

06:24 – Pushing The Boundary of Avoidance

07:49 – Perfectionism in Play: Exhibit A

09:50 – Perfectionism in Play: Exhibit B

Trapped in My Anti-Vision (How To Change Your Life in 6 Months)

If you’re feeling stuck, misaligned, or like you’ve built the wrong life, let this episode be a turning point.

Part story, part framework—what misalignment cost me, and how I’m rebuilding real freedom from the inside out.

You can change your life in 6 months. Here’s how.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien

Timestamps:

00:00 – Building Alignment & Freedom

00:51 – The Freedom Vision

02:39 – The Anti-Vision

03:42 – Mastery Alone Doesn’t Create Sovereignty

08:04 – Disillusionment & Disbelonging

10:07 – The Freedom VISA

10:36 – The Freedom VISA: Vision

12:04 – The Freedom VISA: Identity

14:43 – The Freedom VISA: Structure

18:00 – The Freedom VISA: Action

21:04 – Waypoints: Realigning The Compass

22:27 – Vision & Blood

24:11 – Get a Journal

25:20 – Field Notes

25:59 – Like & Subscribe

26:08 – Don’t Postpone to the Myth of Someday

In this episode, I share three practices that have helped me become more grounded, present, and connected in front of the lens — and in life. Whether you’re building a YouTube channel, improving your speaking, or simply want to communicate with more intention, these tools can help.

In this episode:

These tools aren’t just for creators — they’re for anyone looking to be more present in how they speak, lead, and connect.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠

Chapters:

00:00 – Reflecting to Relearning

00:33 – Be Specific About Relationship

01:29 – Create an Atmosphere

02:40 – Anchor Yourself Physically

03:42 – Stillness Increases Intensity

05:15 – Straight Jacket Technique

07:11 – Field Notes

07:35 – Waypoints

After four months of building this channel, I realized I’d lost touch with why I started.

I got caught in the pressure to make everything perfect — multi-cam setups, edits, music, titles — until it became unsustainable.

So I’m simplifying:

One camera. One message. No noise.

Just consistency, clarity, and showing up.

If you’re a creator feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or burned out, this might help you find your way back.

🎯 In this episode:

Why doing too much can quietly derail your mission

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – I’ve Been Trying To Do Too Much

02:40 – Optimize For Consistency

03:29 – Be In The Game Long Term

05:42 – Strip It Down To Bones

07:51 – The Deepening Spiral

09:08 – Simpler

09:48 – Seek & Be Sought

We all say we value things like freedom, love, creativity, or integrity.

But when life gets hard — when time runs short, energy runs low, and fear creeps in — do your choices reflect those values?

This episode dives into the subtle (or not-so-subtle) gap between the values we declare and the ones we actually live by. Through stories, frameworks, and personal reflections, we explore why that gap exists — and how to close it.

If you’ve ever felt out of alignment with your time, energy, or ambition, this will help you reconnect with what truly matters… and begin to live like you mean it.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

00:42 – The Values We Live By

01:25 – What Are Value Stories?

02:02 – Breaking The Story

03:11 – How Do You Know What You Actually Value

03:36 – It’s A Wonderful Life

04:12 – How You Live Reveals What You Value

05:00 – Seneca On The Shortness of Life

06:33 – Notice Your Resentment

08:17 – How You Reflect Refines What You Value

08:51 – Reflect on Role Models and Rebels

09:33 – Revisit Your Turning Points

10:34 – Compare & Contrast: 2 Mini-Frameworks

12:33 – Closing Thoughts

It’s the blurry boundary between generosity and self-sacrifice.

Why do so many of us offer help we don’t mean?

Why do we give until we’re bitter, drained, or resentful?

And how do we reclaim a form of giving that’s grounded in real love?

If you’ve ever struggled to say no, overextended yourself to be liked, or felt guilty for having needs of your own — this is for you.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

00:45 – The Best of Why We Give

01:35 – Why Do You Give?

02:11 – Giving Flowing From Abundance

03:30 – Story: Jetskis and House-Cleaning

06:57 – The Instinct to Offer With No Intent

08:34 – Sacrifice vs. Self-Sacrifice

10:28 – Where’s The Balance?

11:38 – Installing a Threshold

12:28 – Align Giving With Your Values

13:34 – Rules for The Giving Filter

16:04 – Closing Thoughts

👉 This is Part 4 of the Deleting Scarcity Series.

Watch the full series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TMZ48nNzaI&list=PLBSnLjua8VprZNzTHDDkMJajVNSPzbsOI

Subscribe for weekly episodes on mindset, meaning, and creative alignment:

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🎧 Listen to EIAN – Everything I Am Now:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3SxbBM3cWhThSP041iC9rn

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everything-i-am-now-eian/id1799335733

🌐 Follow Eian O’Brien:

Instagram: @eianpodcast

TikTok: @eian.obrien

Website: https://www.eianobrien.com/

What if your ambition is working… but it’s taking you further from who you really are?

In this episode, we explore the danger of misaligned ambition.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

00:33 – The Danger of Ambition: It Works

01:53 – Realization: Hollowness in the Dream

04:37 – Inherited Goals, Inherited Dreams

05:38 – A Collection of Realizations

06:09 – Where We Inherit Our Ambitions

08:07 – 3 Signs You’re Climbing the Wrong Mountain

09:06 – Reflecting vs. Deflecting

10:01 – Pointing Toward the Pinnacle of Value

11:52 – Lose the Path, or Lose Yourself

12:42 – Outro