Alignment so beautiful.
A little reflection on alignment from a Friday in Fall 2025 + why it matters in business.
“What took you so long to get here?”
That was the question coming into this particular Friday.
The week had stretched me in profound ways.
A team member quit due to personal circumstances and my inbox did what it always does right before the holidays—exploded.
Cool.
Once you’re in business for a while, you get used to the pendulum swing from calm to hardly calm at all and you roll with it.
But by Friday? Your girl was done, done. Despite everything, I’d say I won the week.
Everything was handled well, clients were cared for, deadlines were met, and it felt good.
The final “to do” was a Happy Hour meeting with an arts industry colleague and an artist.
It was scheduled from 5pm-6pm, hard stop because in true “do the most” fashion, I had another commitment right after.
I don’t know if it’s an Aries thing (or just a me thing)...
Leading up to happy hour I started to realize... I was doing too much.
I was coming from a personal appointment on the far south side, that ended at 4:05pm. I still needed to go home, nibble on something semi-nourishing, change clothes, and arrive at 5pm.
Who doesn’t love a little challenge?!
Around 4:25pm as I arrived at home, I started to question my decision making. Between you and me, a tear might have encroached on my right eye. All that winning and such meant what I really needed to do was sit down.
Me to self: It is what it is Patrice. Figure it out.
I get to my car at 4:58pm, while sending the infamous “I’m en route! Just a few behind!” (y’all don’t judge me).
I roll up to the spot at 5:11ish.
I took a few slow breaths before exiting the car because...
Me to self: Girl you don’t want to look winded. Pull it together.
Deep breath. Walk in and.....
My Happy Hour goers and I greeted each other with big, warm hugs and my worries immediately melted away.
Have you ever experienced a moment that feels so good that time simply suspends itself?
A one hour hang turned into five hours.
We talked about business but ended up sharing everything from our favorite concert and live music experiences to familial influences and matriarchs to Black people migrating to Chicago to nurturing creativity in kids to gentrification to the school system.
We discussed everything.
We closed out a bill and started another.
The young person waiting on us lingered at the table to chat (while looking over her should to make sure guests were ok).
We learned about her creative interests and her background. Purchased her work. Asked if she could join us briefly...
By the end of the night, she shared how much she appreciated the energy at the table and we expressed appreciation for hers.
She felt like family.
She is now family.
It was beautiful.
On the way home, and the day after, I couldn’t help but reflect on how I went from being completely exhausted to invigorated within a matter of moments.
Magic...
I also recalled that I’ve had this experience before...
So why does this matter?
Beyond the roles, and titles, and projects, and plans are the people.
When you have the privilege of time and energy to connect with people who are aligned in values and interests, you get a critical building block to community.
And when you get to be in real community through your work you’re left with something beautiful and of value that cannot always be measured or scaled.
But, it all starts with alignment.
By consistently saying no to what doesn’t feel aligned I have so much space to connect with what does feel aligned. It’s the same for us all.
I love it here.
So when you’re torn on whether something or someone is a yes or a no, do a heart check... How does it feel to you? Why does it feel a particular way to you? Trust that.
So many people don’t think this has a place in business, or they undervalue it because that’s what status quo teaches us to do...
But when you can create, support, and build with people who you would also invite over for Sunday dinner... something even more impactful is bound to happen.
As you’re beginning to shift your eyes towards 2026, remember...
Don’t leave your heart check behind.
Inside The Lab, our legal community for creatives + storytellers, we’ll continue this conversation by exploring how to make sure your 2026 business opportunities are aligned (and how that plays into negotiations).