What happens when you realize life is about more than working, paying bills, and repeating the cycle?
In this episode of the Wheel With It Podcast, I sit down with Queen D. Michele, a retired elementary and middle school teacher who made a life-changing decision to relocate to Mexico after realizing she would otherwise need to continue working to supplement her retirement income. She describes the move as “jumping off the wheel”—a decision that ultimately opened the door to writing books, building her brand, and discovering a new sense of purpose.
We also dive into her 52 Insights for Gen Alpha: A Conscious Curriculum, a mindfulness-focused curriculum designed for middle and high school students that was piloted in two Detroit middle schools during the 2024–25 school year. Queen D. Michele discusses what she believes Generation Alpha needs, what she learned from the pilot, and why she decided to incorporate AI and adaptive learning technology into the curriculum.
Later, we explore what Queen D. Michele means by “New Earth,” her ideas about consciousness and the ego, and her book Traveling Home Together.
#WheelWithIt #QueenDMichele #GenAlpha #Mindfulness #FindingPurpose #Education #ArtificialIntelligence
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Queen D. Michele: Life Before “Jumping Off the Wheel”
00:34 Welcome to Wheel With It
01:10 Meet Queen D. Michele
01:28 Retirement & the Reality of Supplementing a Pension
02:58 Moving to Mexico
03:09 “Jumping Off the Wheel”
03:28 More Than Working & Paying Bills
04:00 Discovering a New Purpose
04:20 52 Insights for Gen Alpha
04:52 The Meaning of “Wheel With It”
05:20 Nulu Knives
06:02 Creating a Mindfulness Curriculum
07:09 Becoming Her Parents’ Caregiver
07:27 How a Birthday Gift Changed the Curriculum
08:28 Discovering Generation Alpha
08:39 Who Is Generation Alpha?
09:30 What Queen D. Michele Believes Gen Alpha Needs
10:39 What Is Gen Alpha Dealing With?
11:06 Lessons From the School Pilot
12:02 Why She Is Integrating AI Into the Curriculum
12:33 Building Self-Awareness & Relationship Skills
13:10 The Next Pilot for 2026–27
13:37 The Future of 52 Insights
14:39 Stepping Off the Wheel & Into Purpose
15:14 Midterm Election PSA
15:35 What Does “New Earth” Mean?
16:30 Traveling Home Together
18:01 Queen D. Michele Reads From Her Book
19:39 Being Connected vs. Being Aligned
20:19 Leaving the “Wheel” Behind
21:12 Listening to Your “Soul Self”
21:36 Navigating Yourself Off the Wheel
21:55 Support Wheel With It
22:10 Final Thoughts
22:16 Where to Find Queen D. Michele
22:58 Bringing Queen D. Michele Back
23:12 Closing
23:16 Subscribe for Weekly Episodes
23:28 Wheel With It Substack
23:47 Outro
Learn more about Queen D. Michele, her publications, and 52 Insights, and follow her
https://fulaamerican.org
http://www.instagram.com/fulaamerican
http://facebook.com/fulaamerican.com
http://linkedin.com/in/fulaamerican
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