We're at a crossroad. The systems most people rely on aren't working the way they used to and they’re breaking down rapidly.

Housing is unaffordable. The financial system is more fragile than most people realize. The country is chronically sick, and we're only now starting to ask the right questions about why. We've drifted far from the principles of individual liberty that started in this city 250 years ago. And AI is reshaping work and opportunity faster than most people are prepared for.

Some people see all of this and tune out. Others are paying attention. If you're the latter, paying attention, questioning the default, taking agency in your own life, this is for you.

I started Sound Life Philly so that we can create the community that we want. Things are deteriorating at the national scale and the future is local. I wanted to bring people together who are thinking intentionally about their futures, their family, their health and wealth, and ready to find others doing the same.

This is a weekly newsletter and more importantly a real world community for people in the Philadelphia area who are leaning into all of this, seeking truth and looking for others who share their worldview.

I'm not an expert… about anything actually… just someone who sees things the way you do and wants to build the community rather than wait for it to be built.

The first gathering will take place Wednesday, April 8th at 6pm at McNally's in Chestnut Hill. A neighborhood tavern with a great Guinness pour, home of the Schmitter, and multigenerational family history.

No RSVP necessary, but if you could reply and let me know that you'll be attending, that would be helpful to have a rough headcount. Also please feel free to bring a like-minded friend who would want to be involved in what we are building.

Every week you'll get The Note and This Month in 1776. I'll also rotate in other sections based on what the community is interested in:

The Note A short letter from me. Whatever's top of mind about health, money, family, or life in this area.

This Month in 1776 A piece of Philadelphia history tied to what's happening today. Especially relevant with the 250th anniversary this year.

Worth Doing Events, places to see, and experiences in the area relevant to the community’s interests.

From the Land Local farms, CSAs, farmers markets, and quality restaurants.

What's on Tap A tavern, brewery, or restaurant worth visiting. Historic spots, farm-to-table, places with character.

The Gathering A monthly in-person event. Happy hours, book clubs, farm tours, dinners, and whatever else we all end up doing together.

Since we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding, each week, I’ll be sharing a short note on what was happening this month in 1776 and my best attempt to connect where we are today (tell me how it lands).

I’m no historian, far from it. I actually have a lot of work to do, probably a lot more than most of you reading this. But I am going to learn in public and likely learn a lot from you.

So in that vein, I’ve been thinking about Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, something I need to revisit, perhaps this week. Paine published it in January 1776, but by March it started to take a life of its own. Roughly 100,000 copies were already in circulation across the colonies, passed between neighbors, read aloud in taverns, debated in coffeehouses. By the end of the year, up to 250,000 copies had been sold, the equivalent of about 35 million in today's population.

Paine had arrived in Philadelphia from London barely a year earlier, a failed corset maker, twice-fired tax collector, and bankrupt immigrant carrying little more than a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. No formal education beyond grammar school, no political office, and he had no wealth or reputation to protect, which was exactly his edge. Because the men in Congress who shared his views were constrained by those exact things. Paine had nothing to lose, making all the difference.

I think we can adopt a mindset of having nothing to lose, not in a sense of acting recklessly or irresponsibly against our families and obligations, but in a sense of being called to speak truth and stand up for what we believe in. This feels particularly true now in the context of how far we’ve moved away from the founding principles of this country.

Paine had courage, more than anything, and his mindset of nothing to lose is one that can inspire. There's a C.S. Lewis' line captures why this matters: "Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality."

Philadelphia in March of 1776 was full of people who believed in liberty and self-governance but many were unwilling to voice their opinion out of fear or concern to their reputation. But Paine had nothing to lose and had the courage to say plainly what so many already deeply felt. It's a good reminder to have courage and that you don't need to be of means or political office to affect change.

Please reply to this email and let me know the following:

What part of the Philadelphia area are you in?
What are your favorite local spots — restaurants, farms, trails, taverns?
What would make this community useful to you?
I want to build the most valuable community, your input matters a lot.

Sound Life Philly is in its early stages, and your help growing it matters more now than it ever will later. If this resonated, forward it to someone in the Philadelphia area who should be part of this newsletter and community.

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