As a kid, Jordan Call wasn’t measuring himself against classmates, he was aiming at history. At ten, he was composing. By fourteen, he was semi-horrified he wasn’t already Mozart. He eventually pointed that restless ambition toward the law: University of Chicago Law School. Elite clerkships. Coveted roles in the conservative legal world. His worth now calculated in six-minute billing increments and punctuated by holiday-wrecking “Are you online?” emails. Are we having fun yet, friends? Then he and his wife flipped the script. She leaned into her career. He became, in his words, “a statusless full-time dad of three.” Five years in, he’ll tell you it’s demanding, sometimes mind-numbing, but undeniably meaningful. Jordan and I are walking parallel paths – both trading high-status law careers for a slower (and, somehow, more chaotic) life centered on family, spirituality, and the daily practice of not obsessing over our Substack follower counts. We get into all of it: law, parenthood, Mormonism, creativity, and even his one-time quest to make friends with local crows. Bio: Jordan Call is a writer, musician, former lawyer, and current full-time parent of three based in Baltimore. He is shockingly fast at decoding "magic eye" images, and would likely hold the world record in that category, if such a thing existed.You can follow Jordan’s work over at The Fare Well Files at farewellfiles.substack.com Three ideas I’m still thinking about from this episode: * How often the “pressure” we feel is self-created, and how freeing it can be to realize most people aren’t keeping score * Why the daily, unglamorous work of parenting can be a deeper form of legacy than our LinkedIn bio * The tension many of us feel between worldly status and spirituality Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction & Jordan’s shift from law to full-time dad 02:11 – How Allison and Jordan first connected 03:38 – Growing up with an obsession for status and recognition 05:00 – Musical ambitions, Mozart comparisons, and “Jazz Boy” identity 07:12 – Balancing spiritual success with worldly ambition 09:36 – When music dreams cracked & lessons from failure 12:07 – Choosing English over music and pivoting to law 13:00 – Why business school didn’t happen and law school did 16:36 – Clerkships, the conservative legal network, and Amy Barrett 18:39 – Supreme Court litigation and hating law firm life 19:30 – Struggles with six-minute billing and process-driven work 21:14 – Anxiety, unpredictability, and misaligned measures of value 24:16 – The career exit made easier by a partner who loves her work 25:49 – Community and family reactions to being a stay-at-home dad 27:08 – Identity shifts and letting go of the lawyer label 29:39 – Lessons fatherhood taught about meaning and status 32:29 – Parenting’s clear impact vs. legal work’s abstract impact 35:13 – Putting values into action & the real sacrifice conversation 37:00 – Longest job ever and truly believing the “most important work” line 39:24 – Advice from older women and shifting priorities with age 41:33 – Why some people never hear “prioritize your family” advice 44:08 – Feminism, career, and a robust life beyond work 45:06 – More options, less stigma: rethinking gender roles at home 46:40 – The value in “unsexy” family contributions (and doing the dishes) 47:10 – Creativity and finding Substack 50:24 – ChatGPT, YouTube essays, and failed experiments 52:11 – Finally embracing Substack and why it works 53:55 – Writing without a niche and resisting reductionism 56:40 – Choosing joy over growth hacks in writing 58:23 – Crows, fleeting fascinations, and low-urgency goals 59:55 – How writing changed his life and outlook 1:02:26 – Advice for anyone afraid to step into their creative expression 1:06:17 – Closing thoughts This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alliecanton.substack.com
