In this episode, Rick and Teresa shed light on what we are tolerating, what it costs us, and how we can change it. The majority of us are tolerating massive amounts of negative habits, negative people, and negative situations in our lives and we aren't doing a damn thing about it.  Why?! Make a list of all the bad things you tolerate and realize that you have a choice in whether or not you continue to tolerate those things. Shift from a complaining mindset and take action.  If you are complaining about something, you have two choices: either CHANGE it, or stop complaining about it. You’ll gain a tremendous amount of freedom by understanding the Toleration Tendency and becoming intolerant of each item on your list.

By balancing out strengths and weaknesses between players, you can greatly increase the probability of success of your team. When it comes to business, founders often hire people that are similar to them, when in fact they should be doing the exact opposite. Leaders should always master their strengths, and outsource their weaknesses. When developing a team inside a business, it's best to have many different types of personalities, so that all aspects of business leadership are covered. Would you hire 3 mediocre quarterbacks to try to win the Super Bowl? Of course not!

In this episode, Teresa and Rick talk about the tremendous lifetime value that can come from having a weekly, fixed-meeting with a solid group of like-minded, committed learners. Because birds of a feather flock together, why not create a flock of very successful people?  By surrounding yourself with people that you aspire to emulate, you can elevate your life fulfillment in all areas. Find people that have 2 characteristics:  a commitment to lifelong learning and the ability to meet at a consistent time each week.  During each mastermind meeting, rotate who leads and brings a thoughtful topic to the table for the group to hash out. Rick has been in a mastermind group like this for more than 30 years, and he credits his health, meeting his wife, and his career success to the wisdom gained from these relationships.

In this episode, Rick and Teresa discuss the concept of ”The War Room.” This game-changing activity involves getting all the important members of any business or family together in one room, and should be done at least annually. This gathering is called a War Room because during this meeting, the group completes a full current assessment of the company or family as it stands, followed by creating the goals and critical plans for the immediate future. It's important to invite the right people and have a quiet room. Be sure to communicate the full agenda in advance of the meeting so that everyone can plan to be fully present. War Rooms are beneficial because everyone knows where they stand, and gets a clear plan for the next year. Each person is aware of their roles and responsibilities, and action items are assigned accordingly. Plan your “War Room” today!

When you think about what will be written on your tombstone, it can give you a true north direction for your life. The human experience is to know that our lives mattered. Have you ever imagined what the people closest to you will say about you after you have died? Have your spouse and your close friends write your eulogy as if you are dead. Then consider the "Coffin Exercise," where each person reads what they wrote to you. When Rick read the eulogy that his wife wrote for him, he was surprised to find that she only focused on his positives and he felt incredibly appreciated. After death, most of our negatives are forgotten. Understanding this concept allows us to appreciate the people closest to us more, while also giving us the fuel to live a more empowered life.

Do you find yourself constantly overcommitting and saying YES to time-wasting people, activities, and behaviors? It is best to ONLY focus on your life priorities, as opposed to spending time on the massive number of distractions that surround us. Write down the 25 things you'd like to accomplish. Then circle the top 5 from that list. From now on, don't spend even a minute on the other 20 things. Imagine achieving 5 massive goals each year. How much would you be able to accomplish in 10 years? There are very few strategies that are this straightforward and simple, yet can produce such powerful results!

Why doesn’t the government and schools teach our kids more about how to be successful adults? So much today that is defined as education is really propaganda. Education should be about equipping kids for life as an adult. Circumstances today, more than ever, allow us to home school and self-educate. Yes, this is a much harder road, but the dividends are lifelong. Successful children become successful adults who have high levels of self-esteem and self-worth. We should teach kids how navigate later in life, and focus on financial intelligence, relationship skills, and personal development. These are three areas in which we all need to learn, but none of that is taught in public education.

Rather than watching the players on the field of life, why not BE the person on the field, and have other people watching you? Stop the nonsense and so many types of diversions so that you can be fully present with your purpose! We are being taken advantage of and at some level being manipulated, controlled, and lulled to sleep by a combination of popular culture, food, news, entertainment, etc. All created to create distractions. Try to be as conscious as possible, without allowing distractions into your life. Get busy with things that are important. Get totally conscious of your power to create your life by design.

Stop over-thinking things! Do you know people who analyze things to death before finally coming to a decision? Are you one of those people? In this episode, Rick & Teresa discuss how we must identify our instincts and values, then always trust the two in our decision-making process. You get immense freedom by simply making a decision- and moving on. The idle time spent worrying instead of deciding is fear-based. Courage can be defined as the ability to act on limited data and insufficient information. In reality, that's all we are ever going to have.

Why are the people that seem to have the most, often the least appreciative of what they have? We all have a choice when we wake up in the morning- What kind of day am I going to have today? Choose your day now. Don't let outside influences, like the media, bring you down. Learn to have gratitude, not resentment. Resentment is like preparing poison for someone else, but drinking it yourself and waiting for the other person to die. Recognize the difference between the two, be more appreciative, and create the life you want.