In this episode of the The Ordered Life Podcast, we return to Laborem Exercens to ask a question many people feel but rarely articulate: what is work actually for? In a world shaped by automation, artificial intelligence, and a growing obsession with comfort and efficiency, it’s easy to reduce work to income, or to see it as nothing more than necessary toil. But the Catholic tradition offers a far richer vision. Drawing on the thought of St. John Paul II, we explore how work is not only a means of providing for material needs, but a profound expression of human dignity, participation in creation, and a contributor to the moral and cultural development of society. We also wrestle with one of the defining tensions of modern life: Is technology serving the human person or quietly replacing him? When does innovation elevate human labor, and when does it diminish it? From historical examples of automation to today’s AI revolution, this conversation challenges listeners to think clearly about the relationship between productivity, virtue, and the human soul. Ultimately, this episode reframes work as an arena for growth rather than mere comfort. The Christian worldview does not see difficulty and effort as evils to be eliminated at all costs, but as opportunities for virtue, meaning, and freedom. If you’ve ever felt restless, burned out, or uncertain about the purpose of your work, this episode invites you to step back—and recover a more ordered vision of labor, technology, and the good life.

Why do we work? Is work merely a way to earn money? Or does it play a deeper role in shaping who we become and how we live? In this episode of The Ordered Life Podcast, Sean Gregory, Portfolio Manager, AJ Sanson, Associate Investment Advisor, and Anthony De Lazzari, Associate Investment Advisor, of Serviam Capital at iA Private Wealth, explore the true purpose of work and its connection to meaning, discipline, and order. Too often, modern culture frames work primarily around comfort, efficiency, or accumulation. When money becomes the sole objective, work can feel empty, exhausting, or disconnected from a larger purpose. This conversation challenges that mindset and proposes a more ordered approach: work as a means of personal growth, service, and contribution to the good. The hosts discuss the tension many professionals face working for a paycheck versus working with purpose and how discipline plays a central role in restoring dignity and fulfillment to our daily labor. They examine how ambition, when properly ordered, can lead not only to professional excellence but also to freedom, clarity, and peace. The episode also addresses modern realities such as technology and automation, including how tools like AI can either diminish the value of human work or elevate it depending on whether they are used to replace effort or to support excellence. Rather than seeking a life without work, the goal is to pursue work that is meaningful, intentional, and well-ordered. Throughout the conversation, work is connected to broader life questions around money, goals, family, and responsibility. How we work shapes how we provide, how we lead, and how we serve others. When aligned with purpose, work becomes a training ground for discipline and a path toward a more integrated life. This episode is especially relevant for professionals, parents, and young adults who feel caught between success and meaning—or who are seeking a framework for making career and financial decisions with greater intention. Key themes include: Why work matters beyond income and comfort Purpose-driven work versus money-driven ambition How discipline brings freedom and fulfillment The relationship between work, money, and the good Restoring dignity and order to everyday labor At The Ordered Life, we believe your money should serve your goals, and your goals should serve the good. This episode invites you to reconsider how your work fits into that hierarchy and how living with greater order can bring greater peace.

Can you invest without compromising your faith or does your portfolio quietly shape what you accept and ignore? In this episode of The Ordered Life Podcast, we address a tension many faith-driven professionals feel but rarely articulate: what responsibility do you bear for what your money supports? This is not a discussion about trends or performance alone. It is a conversation about faith-based investing, moral responsibility, and whether investing can truly be neutral. We begin with a simple but demanding standard: asking whether a company is good, useful, and productive, and build from there. You’ll hear how virtue, stewardship, and moral order apply to real investment decisions, why pursuing returns without reflection leads to compromise over time, and how investing with values requires more than labels or exclusions. This episode offers a clear alternative to shallow ethical screens and challenges the assumption that money operates outside the moral life. If your faith informs how you live, work, and lead, it must also inform how you invest. Listen to hear how we turn what is typically a restriction into a framework.

Modern finance tells us the goal of investing is simple: maximize returns and minimize risk. But what if this framework is completely backwards? In this episode of The Ordered Life Podcast, we explore why returns, while important, should never be the primary goal of your financial life. Drawing on practical experience and a deeper understanding of purpose, virtue, and human flourishing, we  argue that return is a byproduct, not the end itself. When investors focus exclusively on performance metrics, back-tested models, or risk-adjusted returns, they risk losing sight of the real question: What is this money for? And how does it serve your life, your goals, and ultimately the good? Using stories, candid reflections, and a refreshing critique of modern financial thinking, our conversation conversation reframes investing through the lens of purpose, virtues, and the dignity of the human person. Instead of pursuing returns for their own sake, this episode helps listeners build a financial life ordered toward unity, purpose, and long-term freedom. If you’ve ever felt trapped in comparison, overwhelmed by performance metrics, or unsure whether you’re aiming at the right financial goals, this episode will help you rediscover clarity and peace. Learn how aligning your investments with a higher purpose transforms both the decisions you make and the person you become.

How do you know when it’s time to stop managing your finances alone and start working with an advisor? In this episode we break down the real signs that you’re ready for professional guidance. Drawing on stories about DIY culture, avalanche safety, and investing overconfidence, we explore: Why “a little bit of information” can be dangerous in investing The difference between DIY learning, speculation, and responsible planning How life changes  (marriage, kids, growing responsibilities) signal the need for a team Why humility, accountability, and conversation lead to better long-term decisions The value of a second set of eyes on your goals, risk, and portfolio Whether you're early in your financial journey or managing new family responsibilities, this episode gives you a clear framework for when DIY investing should transition to professional support.

Discover why money only becomes meaningful when guided by purpose. This episode explores how goals rooted in purpose, not accumulation, lead to deeper happiness, clearer priorities, and a more ordered financial life. Learn how purpose reshapes the way you earn, spend, and give and listen to our other episodes to learn what virtues will be key to success!

A practical conversation on what it means to be a good steward: disconnecting self-worth from wealth, using money with purpose, and seeing every financial choice as an opportunity for virtue. Learn how ordered finances lead to freedom, generosity, and a life oriented toward the good.

What if money isn’t just a tool for exchange, but a classroom for the soul? In this episode of The Ordered Life Podcast, we explore how money can become a school for stewardship and virtue. Drawing from the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas who said “the excess of riches is granted by God to some in order that they may obtain the merits of good stewardship,” the hosts unpack how finances, when rightly ordered, form character and reveal our purpose. Money, we argue, measures not only value but intention. It reflects what we love and how we live. By practicing the virtues of prudence in decision-making, justice in relationships, temperance in desire, and fortitude in challenge, we transform wealth from something that controls us into something that serves the good. You’ll hear real conversations about how to raise children with a healthy view of money, how to resist the modern fixation on success, and how to find freedom through self-mastery. Whether you’re a young professional seeking purpose or a family striving for order, this episode will help you see money not as a burden or idol, but as a daily opportunity to grow in wisdom, discipline, and gratitude.

Freedom is one of life’s greatest gifts but without a clear understanding of the good, it easily becomes confused with self-indulgence. In this episode of The Ordered Life Podcast, we explore the deeper meaning of freedom and its essential connection to charity. Modern culture often defines freedom as “doing whatever you want.” Yet, as St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that freedom is the ability to do what is best. Freedom without a moral framework becomes chaos, where feelings take the place of truth. But freedom ordered toward charity (the love of other above self) fulfills our humanity and aligns us with the highest good. The hosts unpack the reality that freedom is not about the ability to choose, rather it is about love: the choice to will the good of the other. True freedom requires discipline, virtue, and a sense of responsibility for others. As one discussion point highlights: “If I am left to my own devices, I end up doing what is easy, not what is good.” Charity, then, facilitates the proper use of freedom. It directs our will outward, grounding our choices in love and service. Freedom used for self collapses into comfort; freedom used for love transforms us into our fullest selves. This episode offers a countercultural reflection on what it means to live freely, wisely, and well, integrating moral clarity, virtue, and love into everyday life.

Is it uncharitable to invest? Many people wrestle with this question, especially when profit seems to come at someone else’s expense. If you sell an investment because you think it will go down, are you giving someone a bad deal? If you buy something undervalued, are you taking advantage of another person’s misjudgment? This episode takes a thoughtful look at these moral tensions and explores what charity, justice, and prudence really mean in the world of finance. At its heart, charity is not about avoiding gain but about willing the good of the other. Investing itself is not an act of selfishness—it’s an act of stewardship. But like any act, it can be distorted when detached from virtue and the proper ordering of ends. Through the lens of the moral virtues, we explore how intention defines the ethical nature of investment decisions. The discussion considers how markets function, why a fair exchange can still lead to profit, and how virtuous investing respects both the dignity of others and the purpose of wealth. Listeners are invited to rethink what it means to act “charitably” with money; to move beyond guilt or hesitation, and toward generosity rooted in order and clarity. Investing, rightly understood, can serve as a form of participation in creation: aligning skill, capital, and prudence toward the flourishing of others. Key takeaways: How intention, not mere outcome, defines the morality of a financial act. What it means to see profit as stewardship rather than self-gain. The importance of justice and reciprocity in all exchanges. How ordered investing can build both personal freedom and the common good. Order over excess. Integrity over impulse. Purpose over profit. This is The Ordered Life

What if your financial goals were built not on fear or ambition, but on faith, hope, and love? In this episode of The Ordered Life Podcast, Sean Gregory (Portfolio Manager) AJ Sanson (Associate Investment Advisor) and Anthony De Lazzari (Associate Investment Advisor) at Serviam Capital at iA Private Wealth, explore how faith, hope, and charity shape a truly ordered approach to life, purpose, and wealth. Faith gives us vision when circumstances blur the path ahead. Hope keeps us steady when results take longer than we expect. Charity (love in action) grounds everything in self-giving purpose; redirecting our desire for gain toward the good of others. Without charity, even success feels hollow; with it, our goals become part of something enduring and meaningful. Through thoughtful conversation, humor, and real-life moments, the hosts show that virtue isn’t abstract. It’s the most practical framework for living with clarity, peace, and purpose. Key Takeaways: Why hope is the enabling virtue that fuels resilience and generosity. How charity transforms ambition into service and wealth into purpose. The difference between pursuing money for its own sake vs. using money as a tool for the good. How faith, hope, and charity together create balance between freedom and responsibility. Why order, not excess, leads to peace. Whether you’re a professional managing goals or a parent striving for purpose in the everyday, this episode will help you integrate faith, hope, and charity into your financial and personal life so that your money serves your goals, and your goals serve the good.

Humility is one of the most misunderstood virtues often mistaken for weakness or low self-esteem. But as St. Thomas Aquinas teaches, humility is a twofold virtue: it moderates pride by pulling us down from being too high, but also lifts us up when we bring ourselves too low. In other words, humility keeps us grounded in truth about ourselves, our gifts, and our talents. In this episode of The Ordered Life Podcast, Sean Gregory (Portfolio Manager), AJ Sanson (Associate Investment Advisor), and Anthony De Lazzari (Associate Investment Advisor) explore humility not as self-deprecation, but as the foundation for all growth. Drawing from Aquinas, St. Augustine, and leadership thinkers like Alexander Havard, they discuss humility as the key to authentic strength: the ability to live in truth and to order our actions toward the good. The hosts connect this virtue to modern life and decision-making, especially in areas of leadership, finance, and personal development. How do we practice humility when making investment decisions? When leading teams or raising families? When we succeed or fail? The conversation turns from philosophy to practicality, showing that humility isn’t about thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself truthfully and rightly. Through stories, laughter, and honest reflection, Sean, AJ and Anthony explore how humility brings balance in a world obsessed with status and performance. It frees us to receive correction, to learn continuously, and to pursue greatness without vanity. In leadership and in money alike, humility is what allows us to see clearly, act wisely, and serve others generously.

Patience isn’t passive. It’s the strength to stay steady when life feels uncertain. Discover how this virtue transforms waiting into growth and brings peace to both your goals and your finances.

What does it mean to live magnificently? In this episode of The Ordered Life Podcast, we explore the virtue of magnificence: the habit of directing resources toward great and noble purposes. Unlike liberality, which governs everyday generosity, magnificence is about doing something extraordinary: building, creating, or supporting efforts that extend far beyond the ordinary. Sean Gregory (Portfolio Manager), AJ Sanson (Associate Investment Advisor) and Anthony De Lazzari (Associate Investment Advisor) of Serviam Capital discuss how magnificence applies to both money and meaning. Drawing from timeless wisdom, they ask: How can we set our sights on goals worthy of greatness? What magnificent things would we want our money to serve? How do marketing, culture, and examples from the world around us point to the human longing for something beyond the ordinary? From Red Bull’s daring stunts to questions of legacy and impact, this conversation blends practical financial insight with the deeper call to order our lives toward the good. Whether you’re a growth-minded professional, a parent seeking purpose, or simply curious about how virtue can guide your financial decisions, this episode invites you to think not just about wealth, but about the meaning and direction of your life. Subscribe for weekly insights on virtue, money, and living with discipline. Share this episode with someone who inspires you to dream and build boldly.

Liberality is more than generosity. Discover how this virtue helps you give with purpose, avoid excess, and teach kids the value of money and balance.

Temperance isn’t about denial, it’s about freedom. In this episode, the hosts of The Ordered Life Podcast explore how practicing temperance brings balance, clarity, and discipline to your finances, habits, and family life. Discover practical ways to live with order over excess so your money serves your goals, and your goals serve the good.

Why does “Serviam” (latin I will serve) matter for justice in life and finance? In this episode, we explore how justice is rooted in relationships, why self-giving is greater than use, and how ordering money and goals toward service leads to true flourishing.

In this episode of The Ordered Life Podcast, hosts Sean Gregory (Portfolio Manager), and AJ Sanson (Associate Investment Advisor) explore fortitude — the virtue of courage and perseverance. Fortitude is more than physical bravery; it is the moral strength to pursue the good even when fear, setbacks, or sacrifice stand in the way. You’ll learn: How fortitude helps overcome fear of loss, risk, or failure in finance and life Why true courage sometimes means patient inaction, not reckless activity The link between prudence and fortitude in making and holding to wise decisions Practical ways to persevere in long-term financial goals, family commitments, and personal growth Whether you struggle with fear of missing out, resisting reckless risk-taking, or simply staying the course through hardship, this conversation shows how fortitude keeps you steady in pursuit of the good. Subscribe to The Ordered Life Podcast for weekly episodes on virtue, money, and living with purpose.

Prudence, the queen of virtues, helps us make wise choices in life and finance. In this episode, we explore how prudence balances reason and action, guiding us to become better stewards of money, purpose, and relationships.

The Ordered Life Podcast explores how to align money, purpose, and virtue. Hosts Sean Gregory (Portfolio Manager), and AJ Sanson (Associate Investment Advisor) draw on Aristotle, Aquinas, and timeless wisdom to show how prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance guide wise financial decisions and a flourishing life.