Ep. 16: From Panic Attacks to Purpose: A Conversation on Anxiety, Trust, and Alignment

Ep. 16: From Panic Attacks to Purpose: A Conversation on Anxiety, Trust, and Alignment

Author: AJ Jones, Founder, MORE® — Aligned Reinvention Guide February 2, 2026 Duration: 51:40
In this episode of Code 3: Life, Reinvented, I sit down with my friend—and MORE® coach—Jonathan Binder, joining us from Lisbon, Portugal, to explore a Joseph Campbell line that keeps resurfacing in both of our lives: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasures you seek.” Jon shares his Code 3 moment: years of terrifying heart palpitations that looked physical on paper, but ultimately forced him to confront something deeper—an emotional and spiritual crisis he’d been trying to “handle quietly.” We talk about what happens when you’ve built a life around being the calm, capable one… while you’re silently suffering inside. We get into identity, success, and the trap of proving yourself—how chasing external validation can keep you performing instead of living. Jon opens up about the fear of being seen, the fear of being judged, and the “Russian nesting doll” reality of growth: you enter one cave, and then there’s another. Jon also shares the leap that changed everything: moving his family from Marin County to Portugal—sight unseen—and what it taught him about trust, timing, and the lie that it’s “too late.” To make it practical, he offers a powerful tool anyone can use: the Vision Letter—writing a letter from your future self describing the life you want as if it’s already real. It’s a simple exercise that helps you reconnect with what your heart actually wants, beyond the conditioning. This is a conversation about courage, trust, reinvention, and why the path to alignment often starts with telling the truth—out loud. If you'd like to explore what MORE® has to offer, please visit bemorealigned.com. Here's how you can connect with Jon.

AJ Jones has a story that gets your attention, but it's not where his story ends. Surviving two widowmaker heart attacks after a high-powered finance career at places like Schwab and BlackRock led to a doctor's order to retire. He chose a different path. Now, as the founder of MORE®, he acts as an Aligned Reinvention Guide, and this Code 3: Life. Reinvented. podcast is the conversation that follows from that choice. It’s born from the urgent realization that sometimes you have to tear up the old blueprint completely. Here, we move past simple motivational talk into the tangible, sometimes messy work of building a life and career that truly fits who you are. You’ll hear from AJ and a range of guests who have navigated their own pivots, discussing the practical strategies and mindset shifts needed to step off autopilot. The discussions naturally weave through business, career development, education, and personal growth, because reinvention doesn’t respect neat categories. Tuning into this podcast means listening in on honest dialogues about risk, purpose, and crafting a definition of success that has personal meaning. It’s for anyone feeling the nagging sense that there’s a more aligned version of their professional journey or daily life waiting to be built, and who wants to hear how others have started that construction.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 29

Code 3: Life. Reinvented.
Podcast Episodes
Ep. 17: The Wake-Up Call After the Wake-Up Call [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:34
After my first widowmaker heart attack, I truly believed I had my wake-up call. I changed my diet. I committed to exercise. I followed my doctors’ guidance and told myself things would be different moving forward. For a…
Ep. 14: The Day You Decide With Justin Schenck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:37
In this episode of Code 3: Life, Reinvented, I sit down with entrepreneur, speaker, and Growth Now Movement host Justin Schenck to unpack what it really takes to reinvent your life, especially when your starting line is…
Ep. 13: The Lie of Numb Success [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:01
In this solo episode of Code 3: Life Reinvented, I unpack numb success — the most dangerous place to live, because the world rewards you for staying there. Numb success is when life looks impressive on the outside but fe…
Ep. 12: The Illusion of Safety: A Smarter Path to Career Reinvention [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:50
What if the move you’re craving isn’t a dramatic leap… but a measured, strategic shift you build step by step? In this episode of Code 3: Life. Reinvented., I sit down with Shannon Lundgren — a former Wells Fargo leader…
Ep. 11: Redefining Success: From Achievement to Alignment [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:06
Success. We chase it, sacrifice for it, and organize our lives around it. And then—quietly, unexpectedly—it stops working. In this solo episode, I unpack the moment many high achievers eventually face: when the definitio…
Ep. 9: Introduction of Be MORE Aligned [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:38
In this solo episode, I pull back the curtain on a huge truth I’ve been avoiding: I wasn’t building the wrong business — I was solving the wrong problem. After surviving my second widowmaker heart attack, I doubled down…