The Mission Driven Mom Podcast

“If the conversation is worth having, it's worth doing right.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher  We LOVE principles! We know they matter and we desperately want to share them with those we love. But... sharing principles can be tricky! When wanting to share the truths we've learned, we might be asking ourselves: How do I know I'm right? How much should I say? What if they won't listen? What if it hurts our relationship? Yet, we should actually be asking ourselves: Is it my place to be talking to them? Are my motives pure or am I trying to "fix" them? Do we have the kind of relationship that makes it possible for them to hear and accept what I'm sharing?  Do I understand the principle and live it well enough?  In this podcast, Audrey as she shares 10 Steps that will help you determine the what, when, where and how of sharing the principles you love with the people you love!  Listener's Guide: Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.  1:37      Step 1 8:12      Step 2 12:57    Step 3 16:41    Step 4 18:32    Step 5 20:59    Step 6 23:38    Step 7 25:29    Step 8 27:02    Benjamin Franklin 31:40    Step 9 30:59    Step 10 Quotes from this episode: “No amount of good behavior can make up for how you truly feel about someone. Get your heart in the right place.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” ~Theodore Roosevelt “Everyone hates a hypocrite. Make sure your life is in harmony with what you want to teach.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher  “[Make] direct amends...wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” ~Alcoholics Anonymous “Check in with your stewardship. It's not always your place to say anything.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “Nobody wants your advice unless they ask for it, and even then, they usually don't want it.”~Audrey Rindlisbacher's mom “Be prepared to be ignored: even Jesus couldn't convince everyone.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher  “Stories are the most powerful and memorable thing you can share. When they remember the story, they remember the principle.”~Audrey Rindlisbacher  “Show up humble and vulnerable.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher  “If the conversation is worth having, it's worth doing right.”~Audrey Rindlisbacher  “Faith is based on evidence. Evidence weighs in favor of truth.”~Audrey Rindlisbacher “The most powerful thing we can do for anyone is to ask the right question at the right time.”~Audrey Rindlisbacher  “Because we are creators by nature, when we're asked a good question it can have more power than almost anything else.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher  Books from this episode:

With literally THOUSANDS of new books being published every day, how in the world can we choose things to read and discuss that are WORTHY of our time and life energy?! Here I outline 3 RULES for choosing readings that are enriching, insightful, and full of discussion points and true principles!

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Check out MY BOOK "The Mission Driven Life": https://www.audreyrindlisbacher.com/

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“Leadership is a gift. You can’t buy it, you can’t sell it, you can’t trade it. You either have it or you don’t. It is the most valuable commodity on the planet, and it is the rarest commodity we have. But it’s not just any type of leadership, it’s leadership without ego. It’s servant-leadership.” ~Bob Davids As moms, we often practice principles of servant-leadership without realizing it. But what if we better understood this most powerful leadership style? What if we began practicing it more in our homes and gradually gained the knowledge and skills to more effectively practice it in our communities as well? Think of the powerful force for good we could be as we learn to become the influential servant-leaders God intends us to be! Join Audrey as she outlines the characteristics of servant-leadership. You'll be encouraged by examples of how ordinary people who become servant-leaders have impacted the world for good. And you'll see how nurturing these characteristics in yourself can improve you and your family immensely! Listener's Guide: Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.  1:40       An Introduction to Servant-Leadership 4:12       Birth of the Term Servant-Leadership 8:13       Authority is Not Leadership 9:28      Characteristics of Servants 10:37    Characteristics of Leaders 15:14     Servant-Leaders Love Self first 17:59     Vision, Values, Competence      19:50    Judgement, a Sustaining Spirit, Goals 22:11     Listening, Language, Resources, Study, Regular Renewal, Institutions for Service 24:50    How We See Problems 25:53    The Great Impediment to Leadership 26:35    Example of Servant-Leadership Quotes from this episode: “Leadership is a gift. You can’t buy it, you can’t sell it, you can’t trade it. You either have it or you don’t. It is the most valuable commodity on the planet, and it is the rarest commodity we have. But it’s not just any type of leadership, it’s leadership without ego. It’s servant leadership.” ~Bob Davids “...the great leader is seen as servant first, and that simple fact is the key to his greatness...His servant nature—his desire to help others—was a part of his character, and it could not be taken away. That’s why he was a servant first, a servant at heart.” ~ Robert K. Greenleaf “You're only a leader when people decide to follow you. They follow you because they can see that you are worthy of being followed, that you are going somewhere they want to go.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “Servant-leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. ” ~Robert K. Greenleaf “Authority or positions of authority are not the same as leadership.” ~Robert K. Greenleaf “Leadership is about influence rather than power and control. It's about inspiration rather than position and title. It's about focusing on others strengths rather than weaknesses. It's about listening rather than giving orders. It's about humility rather than pride, the big picture rather than self-interest. It's about long-range benefits rather than short term profit. It is about creating new futures rather than maintaining the status quo.” ~Barclay Corporation “The servant-leader is meeting a real, natural need that people have. The difference between a servant first and a leader first manifests itself in the care taken by the servant, first to make sure other people's highest priority needs are being served.” ~Robert K. Greenleaf A gauge for servant-leadership - “...do those served grow as persons. Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more like themselves, and more likely to become servants?

"Truth is seldom pleasant; it is almost invariably bitter." ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn While it is empowering and ennobling to striving for truth, it's important to remember that truth is also bitter. Truth requires attention, it requires commitment, it requires change. These aren't always things we want to give in our pursuit of a mission driven life, but they are essential. Where do we begin, then? What is the truth? And where is it to be found?  In 1945 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a loyal communist officer in the Russian army. When he made derogatory comments about Stalin in a private letter, he was immediately arrested and sentenced to 8 years hard labor in a labor camp. Over time, as he came to see the countless lies he had been told, he became determined to understand the truth and share it with the world.  His life is a legacy of sacrifice and suffering in his relentless pursuit to expose the truth about communism. That's why, if someone can tell us about the incredibly destructive power of lies and the amazingly liberating power of the truth, Solzhenitsyn can.   As you dive deeper into the 7 Laws of Life Mission and seek to prepare for and discover your own life mission, Solzhenitsyn has invaluable things to teach you about the empowering but also the bitter nature of truth.  Join Audrey this week as she shares Alexandr Solzhenitsyn's life and legacy, increasing our courage and conviction to follow in his footsteps and cling to truth no matter the cost.  Listener's Guide: Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.  2:26      Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - Childhood 4:02     War & Imprisonment 6:55      Exile & Writing 7:29      Reconversion, Cancer and Fame 8:57      Underground 9:41      Assassination Attempt & Exile Again 12:15    Back in Russia 13:19    Harvard and "A World Split Apart" 16:18    Truth Tells Us We Need to Change 22:00   Why I Wouldn't Recommend You 26:35    Truth, Governments, and Humility 30:09    Principle-Centered Homes Quotes from this episode: John 8:32 - “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” ~The Holy Bible, King James Version “A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy and nothing can stop him.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn “Everything you add to the truth subtracts from the truth.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn “It's a universal law-- intolerance is the first sign of an inadequate education. An ill-educated person behaves with arrogant impatience, whereas truly profound education breeds humility.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn “You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn “Do not pursue what is illusory - property and position: all that is gained at the expense of your nerves decade after decade and can be confiscated in one fell night. Live with a steady superiority over life - don't be afraid of misfortune, and do not yearn after happiness; it is, after all, all the same: the bitter doesn't last forever, and the sweet never fills the cup to overflowing.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn “My wish for you... is that your skeptic-eclectic brain be flooded with the light of truth.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn “To stand up for truth is nothing. For truth, you must sit in jail.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn “The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering but in the development of the soul.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn “Harvard's motto is "Veritas." Many of you have already found out and others will find out in the course of their lives that truth eludes us if we do...

When moms in The Mission Driven Mom Mastermind FB Group were asked, “What is your greatest strength?” some of the responses included:  “I don’t really know.” “I’m uncomfortable talking about this because it seems wrong to focus on my strengths.” “How can I be righteous and overcome my weaknesses if I’m focused on my talents?” “Maybe my greatest strength is to see my weaknesses?” What is wrong with this picture? Why are mothers unable or unwilling to honestly assess and admit their greatest strengths? And what are the repercussions for them, their families and their communities when they don't know or don't develop their God-given talents? Everyone loses.  In this podcast, Audrey affirms the truth that all of us have been given specific gifts in order to bring joy to ourselves and serve others around us. In fact, our talents are planted on our hearts by God, giving us clarity and direction about how to best spend our time, energy and focus. The honest recognition of these and the determination to develop and share them becomes a blessing and a sterling example to our children. Join Audrey this week to increase your motivation to grow your greatest strengths and experience the joy that follows!  Listener's Guide: Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.  6:50       The Power of Knowing Your Strengths - Betsie and Corrie ten Boom 14:38     Example vs Helicopter Parenting 18:23     What is Your Greatest Strength? 21:16      Audrey's Struggle 27:49    When You Accept Self/Natural Gifts You Can Bless Others 29:43    Ex. 1 - The Fly Lady 30:33    Ex. 2 - Olympians Who Serve God 33:13     Ex. 3 - Audrey's Experience 36:14    Balancing Time and Self 40:57    Do Three Things Quotes from this episode: “You are a daughter of God. He makes you unique to accomplish a special work. You’re not better or worse than anyone else, you just have been given the tools you need to glorify God in a unique way and it’s your privilege to uncover your gifts and develop them.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “You cannot do it all. You cannot be it all. You can be YOU! I sometimes think I should be like other women and other moms, but I can’t be. It took me a long time to realize there’s no one right way to be.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “There is no greater investment a family can make than in the education of the mother.” ~ “I would ask myself, “What can only I do as a wife and mother?” And then I would make sure I did those things the best I could.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “Think about a time when you were doing something you love to do, something you do well. Take a minute and recall how you felt in that moment. It doesn’t matter what it is or when it was. Just think about how you felt about yourself, about others, about the task you were doing. You can feel that way more of the time.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “GOD PLANTED YOUR INTERESTS IN YOUR HEART SO YOU WOULD FOLLOW THEM.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “If you aren't you, we don't get you.” ~Max Lucado Books from this episode: Links from this episode:

As we move forward on our journey toward life mission, loving ourselves is an absolutely critical foundational piece because, honestly, how can we truly love others if we aren't loving God and ourselves? Now that we have learned the first principle of loving ourselves--recognizing and meeting our real needs--we are ready for the second: Disciplining Our Heart and Mind! In this podcast, Audrey outlines 7 Tools for gaining increased self-mastery through disciplining your mind and disciplining your heart.  Listener's Guide: Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.  1:50       Definition of Discipline 3:20      Make Yourself Mind Yourself 4:38      Discipline the Mind 6:02      Step One - Develop Your Reason and Logic 12:49    Step Two - Control Your Thoughts 16:16     Step Three - Set Goals and Envision Them 18:27    Discipline the Heart 18:30    Step One - Stay Out of Victim Mode 22:19     Step Two -  Control Your Emotions 24:46    Step three - Forgive Yourself and Others 26:47    Step Four - Practice Patience 30:10    Recap Quotes from this episode: “Anyone who has done any thinking, even a little bit, knows that it is hard work, in fact, the very hardest work that human beings are ever called to do. " ~Mortimer Adler “I stand and work in the world as one who aims at making men and women morally better by making them think.” ~Albert Schweitzer “Nobody’s life circumstances are perfect. But what are we telling ourselves about those circumstances?” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “You are the controller of your happiness or your unhappiness…Yet, learning to be a happy, adjusted, productive, and attractive person cannot be done for you. Your therapist can’t do it for you. Your doctor can’t do it for you. Your husband can’t do it for you. They can’t push a button and presto, you’re no longer depressed or anxious. It takes work on your part to be happy.” ~Bachus & Chapian “Patience may spring from constitutional fortitude, from a kind of heroic pride, or from Christian submission to the divine will...Patience is a calm temper which bears evils without murmuring...Patience is the act or quality of waiting long for justice or expected good without discontent.” ~1828 Dictionary Books from this episode:         Links from this episode:    

It seems like things are changing so fast that our culture is becoming almost unrecognizable. Thomas Sowell in his book A Conflict of Visions, provides a framework for understanding the world that once you've learned, you WON'T be able to unsee it! The current conflict of visions in Western society is driving ideologies like wokeness, post-modernism, and others. Stick with me through the full hour to see how PROFOUNDLY this model applies to your life, right now!

Get the Reading and Discussion Guide with notes and charts from today's episode in the Audrey Rindlisbacher library: https://www.audreyrindlisbacher.com/

Get your FREE "Truth Seekers Starter Kit": https://www.audreyrindlisbacher.com/

Gain the tools for learning and living truth by subscribing to the Audrey Rindlisbacher library: https://www.audreyrindlisbacher.com/

Enjoy book reviews, trainings, and highlights from the Audrey Rindlisbacher library on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AudreyRindlisbacher

“Your relationship with God and yourself is the foundation of ALL your other relationships.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher As busy moms, we all have one trait in common - putting ourselves last. Be honest, you've done it far more often than you should have - and to the detriment of your own health and well-being. While this is a very admirable trait in many ways, the horrible consequences we all seem to experience include negativity, burn out, overwhelm and sometimes even depression. But it doesn't have to be that way!  Although sacrifice is inherent in the mothering world, not understanding or not making time to meet our real needs can wreak havoc in our homes. Not only because of the awful consequences to ourselves, but because through our example and lack of teaching, our children never learn what their real needs are and how critical it is to meet them daily.  In this podcast, you'll hear about Dave Rubin, a staunch liberal who, in his moment of quiet self-care, had a life-changing experience. You'll also be introduced to what self-care truly means and how you can begin today. You'll gain a new perspective on what it means to love yourself - remembering that it's not an emotion but an action! Best of all, we encourage you to take Audrey's challenge and see how loving yourself can change your life! Listener's Guide: Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.  1:30      Discussion on loving yourself 6:58     Dave Rubin 11:30    Dave Rubin's political conversion 13:22    I am not an atheist 15:15    Dave Rubin's self-care practice 16:50   Truth in the madness 17:14    The result of loving self 20:49   Sharpen the saw 22:40   Physical 24:32   Spiritual 26:31    Mental 28:53   Social/Emotional 32:13    Audrey's Challenge Quotes from this episode: “You are the only one that can meet your real needs." ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “Loving God and loving self is the foundation of everything else.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “No one is going to treat us better than we treat ourselves.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “You are the only person you are going to spend your whole life with. Everyone else is going to come and go, so it is really important that you like yourself. You're only going to like yourself if you love yourself. Love is a verb. It's an action, a choice that we make. It's something that we do. We don't wait for emotions to be generated. We take action to care for ourselves properly. Remember, we're striving for self-mastery.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “Loving self is about understanding and meeting our real needs. We will only truly feel good and have the necessary positive energy to bring to our lives and the world when those needs are met. ” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “The idea that there has to be a bedrock, something real and true outside of us moved me. One day it just came out of my mouth, I am not an atheist. I got a lot of hate for that one.” ~Dave Rubin “I like to talk to people from all walks of life and figure out what the common stuff is.” ~Dave Rubin “I really believe that there is something out there that is fundamentally true that doesn't shift over time, that gives us our sense of right and wrong, and is a bedrock in our lives.” ~Dave Rubin “I'm in it like everyone else, trying to find the truth in the madness.” ~Dave Rubin “[Sharpening the saw] is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life - investment in ourselves, in the only instrument we have with which to deal with life and to contribute. We are the instruments of our own performance, and to be effective, we need to recognize the importance of taking time regularly to sharpen the saw in al...

“It is the most courageous act in this world to put God's will first in our lives - to listen to what our conscience is asking us to do.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher  There are  important questions that have consumed the thinking of men and women through all the ages. Do we have free will or are we only acted upon? What does it mean to be willing? What role does conscience play in action? Should God have anything to do with our actions? Understanding natural laws and first principles can help us understand what is true concerning our ability to act or be acted upon. As we understand and apply these truths it will help us resolve problems, make wise choices and be a positive influence for good in the world! Listener's Guide: Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.  1:34        Definition of Willing 7:19        What God asks - Be willing 9:30       Obedience - Duty 12:33      Shinichi Suzuki 16:17       Educate your conscience 20:17      God's love and our courage to do Quotes from this episode: “To deceive oneself is worse than to deceive others.” ~Leo Tolstoy “The voice of conscience is the voice of God.” ~Leo Tolstoy “Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge.” ~Viktor Frankl “The process of educating the conscience is not unlike the physical or mental processes of self-discipline: learning, listening, committing, doing, listening again, recommitting, practicing, learning again, practicing again, and so on.” ~Stephen Covey “Here I should like to remark, for the sake of princes and princesses in general, that it is a low and contemptible thing to refuse to confess a fault, or even an error. If a true princess has done wrong, she is always uneasy until she has had an opportunity of throwing the wrongness away from her by saying: ‘I did it; and I wish I had not; and I am sorry for having done it.'”  ~George MacDonald “First principles have been written by the finger of God on the very hearts of men.” ~Thomas Reid “As I have paid more attention to my conscience, I've been able to ask questions and find answers that a few months ago were probably there but I overlooked them.” ~Marisa Hill, MDM Academy student “In reality moral rules, God's laws, true principles, are directions for running the human machine. Every moral rule is there to prevent a breakdown, or strain, or a friction in the running of that machine.” ~C.S. Lewis “[God] knows what will make us happy. He knows the next step we should take. He knows what purifying we need to go through.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “It is the most courageous act in this world to put God's will first in our lives - to listen to what our conscience is asking us to do.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher  “God loved us first. He loves us still. He loves us always and we have infinite worth. It is up to us to love Him in return. Then gratitude for God's love will grow within us.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher Books from this episode:          Links from this episode:                     

“As the rest of the world grew stranger, one thing became increasingly clear....our Bible was the center of an ever-widening circle of help and hope. Like waifs clustered around a blazing fire, we gathered about it, holding out our hearts to its warmth and light. The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the word of God.” ~Corrie ten Boom This is a central classic. It is the book that gives your life meaning; the book that tells you who you are, why you are on earth and where you will go after death. It governs the choices you make. It tells you what is real. It is the book that is so important to you that you would, like Corrie, risk even life to have it. To you, it is the truth. Mission driven men and women throughout history have always chosen to make their central classic the center of their lives. In this way, they adopt a truth higher than their own opinions, emotions and tendencies. Through their central classic they become grounded in true principles from which to govern their lives - creating stability and leading them ever closer to peace and happiness. In this podcast, Audrey discusses not only the importance of making your scripture of utmost importance in your life, but she also gives tips to help your study of scripture come alive. As you emulate the greats in this way, you will watch your life become happier, more joyful, more faithful, and more hopeful. Listener's Guide: Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.  2:16      We are moral beings 3:09     The importance of a central classic 6:00     The ten Boom family's commitment to the Bible 8:30     Choosing a central classic 12:07    The "most read book" 14:52    James Madison 17:18    Why live by a central classic 17:58    How we wrongly use the scriptures  19:13    Recommendations for studying your central classic 21:25    Using the Five Types of Questions Quotes from this episode: “This is a central classic. It is the book that gives your life meaning. The book that tells you who you are, why you are on earth and where you will go after death. It governs the choices you make. It tells you what is real. It is the book that is so important to you that you would, like Corrie, risk even life to have it. To you, it is the truth. ” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “The Bible was a whole literature, a library. It was an anthology of poetry and short stories. It taught history, biography, biology, geography, philosophy, political science, psychology, hygiene, and sociology (statistical at that), in addition to cosmogony, ethics and theology. ” ~Jacques Barzun “The Holy Scripture is to me, and always will be, the constant guide of my assent; and I shall always hearken to it, as containing the infallible truth relating to things of highest concernment…and I shall presently condemn and quit any opinion of mine, as soon as I am shown that it is contrary to any revelation in the Holy Scripture.” ~James Madison “While the Bible has served as the central classic for the West, there are also central classics in the East—The Vedas, Bhagavadgita, The Koran, Writings of Confucius and others. Other civilizations such as the American Indians and the early Hindus have had oral traditions... All of these central classics, written or oral, have taught about the beginning of the world, how man came into being, why he is now on earth and what he should do with his life. These are timeless questions that all human beings have sought answers to. And a central classic lies at the center of whatever belief system you adopt. ” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher “One day, in heaven, we will have complete insight and knowledge, but here below we have to grasp many things wit...