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Rachel Denning (00:00.91)
Hey my friends, welcome to another episode of the Extraordinary Family Life podcast. Wow. I have got a lot to share. It's been amazing. We made a commitment as a family. 2020 obviously was a lot slower because of COVID. And so we didn't have as many adventures. And we were just, we were building our businesses and work, the kids were taking all kinds of really cool classes.

So it was just, it was a different vibe for our family. It was fantastic. We had a genuinely great year. It was a really awesome year, but we committed 2021 would be super adventurous, man. We were going to lean in and make things happen and, you know, define that. And I hope, I hope you've thought through that already. You know, we're already at the time of this recording, we're getting into February and I hope, I hope you've thought through that. Like what's going to define 2021 for you? What are you going to do?

that's going to totally transform, especially if 2020 was rough for you, just create a total transformation in your family. But we get to do this every year. We get to decide what's gonna define that year for us and what's gonna be different. Real success and a genuinely extraordinary family life comes from taking massive action in the direction of your dreams and goals. So if...

First off, you have to have dreams and goals, and I hope you've done that. You know, statistically, 80 % of people have already forgotten what their New Year's resolutions were. So if you have forgotten, that's okay. Revisit it. Like, get that in front of you and put it up somewhere where you never forget it, right? Get clear about it and take massive action. So I tell you that because ours, one of ours, was to really get out and create memories.

and experiences and you guys you know that about us we

Rachel Denning (02:02.766)
Collecting memories. That's what we live for. In fact, I would say as a family, you know our primary Target desire goal outcome is just to become Superb human beings we want to be the very best we can be and as a part of that The major focus is having experiences transformational experiences

and creating memories. And that's been a priority for our family for a long time. And we put our focus and our effort and our energy and our resources into that. And man, it makes a difference, right? And that's what works for us. It may not work for every family, but that works for us big time. And you submit the growth and the experiences, and that's what you have.

Man, that's what you have together that as you're raising your kids That's their childhood their memories and as you're raising your family. That's your family memories For me and for us. It's priceless. Oh my goodness. It's priceless. So the time is recording We are in Mexico and we started traveling right before the end of the year

December and then we've been traveling the whole time so all of December and February so we've been on the road like six weeks and it has been an absolute blast been so fun and so cool already and we've driven pretty much the full length of Mexico we went in through Texas and We are all the way down in the Yucatan now and so we've driven that full length over six weeks and Had just the most wonderful experiences you guys

Oh, like we've met such special, special people and had cool experiences and we've been able to connect with and help and support a lot of people already. We did not anticipate this. We knew that we, by getting out and traveling and bringing our business and spending in economies that were struggling, we knew it'd be helpful, but we had no idea how helpful it has been.

Rachel Denning (04:21.902)
massive blessing for a lot of families we've interacted with just to come through and to joyfully and abundantly spend money with these families and small businesses that have been affected the most. Oh man, it has been special. We met some incredible people, cool experiences, especially love. Oh my goodness, love Guanajuato. What a place.

What a place. We rented a gorgeous home there and that was so fun. So now, but now we're on the beach. We rented this 9 ,000 square foot little mini mansion here, right on the beach. Got a pool. And so I went and ran barefoot for like five miles yesterday down to the pier and back. And, oh man, it's so fun and it's beautiful and sunrises and sunsets. And, and we're here with another family, another traveling family from Germany.

and just spending several weeks with them. Oh my gosh, you guys life, life is so good and so exciting, so fun, but I wanted to teach a principle today that we've learned again and again and had some experiences where it happens. And it's this idea of.

When you know that you're going in the right direction and that is critical because if you take this principle and you apply it in the wrong direction, then it's like, you know, it's that phrase kicking against the pricks and the pricks were the, all these little nails that would go through boards, right? And they have these boards at a prick board. And if you kick against it, you stab yourself, right? So it was a prick board. So kicking against the pricks is like, you're just hurting yourself. So it's self -sabotage using this principle of persistence to

push down the path that's not right for you, maybe right timing or the right path at all or right appropriate or whatever, or best, whatever, if it's not best for you. If you use this in the wrong direction, oh man, you're just perpetuating your own misery. And man, have I done that, right? I've learned the hard way that you just push and push and push and you're just miserable and it just doesn't work.

Rachel Denning (06:37.325)
And then finally you wake up and lift up your head and go, oh, uh, okay. I was pushing in the wrong direction. Right? So this has to be in the right direction. But when you know you're going in the right direction, you know, you, this is the way you want to go and need to go. Then you put this into play and it's this idea and it's an ancient thought. Um, it was attributed to, uh,

Oh, come on, what's his name? The French philosopher. I can't think of his name right now. Anyways, but I think it's older than that. And it's this idea, it's hanging in my office. I've shared this with you before. It's hanging in my office. It says, I will either find a way or I will make one. And it's in my philosophy journal too. And it's something I live by now. I will either find a way or I will make one. And so I wanted to share that principle with some stories to say, you know, find a way or make one.

So we've had three groups come down and visit us so far. We've done little trips and expeditions and adventures and three different groups come down. And on the second group, we left Guanajuato and we were going like waterfall chasing, right? I don't know if you guys have ever done that. I just go chasing beaches or mountain tops or waterfalls or something wonderful, right? All these amazing things that God's created for us. So we were chasing waterfalls and epic adventures. And so we...

We go, we drive, we leave early in the morning and drive several hours through the mountains. And we go to this first place. You drop over the mountains into the jungle and it gets all hot and humid. And you're like, this is going to be amazing. And we roll over there and it's just, it's closed. Just done. Closed. I'm like, what? Like this is crazy. We're in this teeny little town in the middle of nowhere. So we're like, okay, let's go to the second spot. So we start heading over there and we get over there and it's also closed.

And this is where we start to dig in. I'm like, nah, I'm not taking, I'm not taking no for an answer on this one. So I get out and I start talking and there's a, there's a guard there, this big gate, right? These epic falls. And I was like, Hey man, we, I realized it's closed. We've driven, literally driven from the United States. Like we want to have a really special experience with this group. And, and it was interesting. He said, well, he said, I'll let you in if you'll kind of support.

Rachel Denning (09:05.101)
the local businesses in here. If you're with your family, you pay an entrance fee, right? And if you'll buy some of the food from the vendors in here and support this, we'll let you in." And I was like, absolutely we'll do that, for sure. And we did do that, it was awesome. And so he let us in, and that day, instead of, the place wasn't packed, he let a few people in there, and we got in, and so basically it was just, there wasn't a lot of people, there was, you know, there was, you know.

I don't even know how many people, but it wasn't crowded at all. And we went in and just had the most wonderful day. Rope swings just flipping through the air into these unbelievable like turquoise pools below these waterfalls. Then they're water, they're all natural. They're waterfalls that you're like, are you kidding me? Like this is, this seems fake. It seems like from this imaginary drawing, cause they were so gorgeous. And we just played and played and played and ate.

some food we'd never had before and played some more. And it was just, oh, it was amazing. And so it was just persisting. Cause we, we could have just been like, oh, let's close and drive away. And that's that. But we persisted. So then, then we're there and we had another waterfall we wanted to hit that day. And so we got in and we ended up driving again, far, you know, dirt roads and speed bumps and donkeys and dogs and people. And, and it's getting late cause we stayed so long at that first one. And.

We drive all the way to this place where we were supposed to get on boats and take the boats down to the bottom of this massive, massive waterfall. I mean, this thing is huge. And we get there and because, I don't know why it doesn't make any sense, but because of COVID, they just close early. They were still running boats, but they just closed early.

And I was like, is there any way? Can we hike in? Can we do anything? He's like, no, they're done. I'm like, can we pay extra? Just anything, please, can we get in there? And he's like, nope, can't be done. I'm like, what can we do? He's like, there's nothing you can do. I think you can come back midday tomorrow. But by then we had to be, you know, like 10 hours from there in another spot. I'm like, so we can? I'm like, we drove all the way down. He's like, nope. And I'm like.

Rachel Denning (11:23.629)
anything please and I was just asking I was talking to him and they're like just give me something and they're like the only thing he's like he says you might go all the way back along this road several miles and then drive down a dirt road several miles and he says maybe it's like it's probably all closed up and there's guards there he's like maybe you can walk in I'm like man if we got a maybe we're going for it so again this is the principle of persistence find a way or make a way.

So we go around and we go down to dirt road and there's supposed to be a guard post there at the dirt road and there wasn't anyone there, which I think is fortuitous. And so we go all the way down this dirt road. It was a rough dirt road. You get all the way to the end and there's just this gate there, this closed gate and there's nobody there. We're like, man, come on. I'm like, I'm going to find a way. So I jump out and there's this little house and I go talk to the guy and he's like, well, yeah, you know, it's closed. It's not there. And I was just befriending him. I wasn't, again, this isn't.

And this is how I've learned to be. Please don't misunderstand me. This isn't manipulation. It's just being genuinely friendly and really caring about people. And just talking to them and building relationships. When you're really nice to people, they just naturally want to be nice back. And again, that's not manipulation. I'm not doing it in order to... I'm not being nice just to get something for myself. That would be selfish and short -sighted.

and weird. Just be nice. Genuinely be a great human and watch how people respond to you. And then you know this and I know it too. If we're mean or selfish or short -sighted or insincere, it gets reciprocated. It's just this universal principle right back at you. And so I get out, I'm talking to this guy and I'm just like, hey, we've come so far.

Please can we just go in? He's like, well you're doing it at your own risk. And I'm like, yeah, I know. And he's like, we don't have a guide. So you'll have to find your way. And I'm like, I'm great. We'll find our own way. And he's like, and it's getting dark. He's like, so just be super careful. And he's like, I'll let you go. So he opens it up and lets us in. And we're like, yes. So then we take this even rougher dirt road. We, you guys, we are in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing out there. We get all the way in there, open these other gates, cross over this little sketchy bridge.

Rachel Denning (13:43.821)
And then we're running because we're losing daylight. So we hit the trail. We're all booking it down this trail. And we passed one of the little group that was leaving and then this was it. And it was just us totally alone. Our whole group on top of one of the most epic waterfalls I've ever seen in my life. And I have seen some epic waterfalls and it was just us and the whole upper level you guys and the drop was

Massive I don't know the numbers it was it was a few hundred feet down to the river and we would lay down look over the edge it was just stunning and the Sun was setting over this river and these pools and so the whole top there's just filled with pools There's all these natural pools all over the place crystal clear cold water and we just swam and swam and swam from pool to pool and jumping in and backflips and playing and swimming and moving to another pool and exploring and taking pictures and

And it was like, we had this as heavenly, heavenly evening. And then the sunset and we booked it out of there and got back right as it was getting dark and then drove out. And it was just, it was perfect. And to have this experience by ourselves, there wasn't anybody else in there to have, to have this natural wonder, glory and awe and awesomeness to ourselves. Like you could, you couldn't plan that stuff. You, they don't sell like,

a private event for nature and yet we had it. It was so awesome. So that day just ended up being such a special day because we were committed to either find a way or to make one. And I want to share that, that idea and that principle with you because it happens so often.

where you believe in something, it's right and appropriate for you and for your family. And so you persist.

Rachel Denning (15:50.957)
and you go for it and you commit to either find a way or to make one. And it's true with your fitness, right, your health and fitness, it's true with your finances.

It's true with your relationships especially.

It's true with influence. It's true with seeking to make a positive contribution to make a difference in the world.

And I have found again and again, and I want to invite you to believe this and practice it. Try it. Experiment with it. I found again and again that if it's appropriate and right and I commit to find a way or make one, then things start to happen and they come about in ways that I could not have planned or even anticipated. And it often comes out way better than I hoped.

And then we get to have these memories, these experiences together that are so special, so beautiful, so memorable. And you just look back at them and be like, I can't even believe that was real.

Rachel Denning (17:11.949)
And so I want to invite you to do that.

Most of us quit too soon and too often. Now obviously there is a place for quitting. If you're going down the wrong path, quit. If it's costing you too much, like if it's a huge cost on your marriage or your relationships or your health or your faith, if the cost is too high, or at least the way you're doing it is too high, then there's definitely time to quit. For sure.

But most of us, in a general sense, we quit too often and too soon. And I see this often where we fall short of the beautiful lifestyle we want and the quality of life.

and really, really special experiences and amazing results just because we stop short and we don't persist in finding a way or making a way. And so I just want to share that brief message and encourage you to carry on and believe in yourself, believe in a solution, believe in your inner genius.

and getting that guidance in your life like we talked about in the last episode and just pushing until it happens. And then, man, whoa, just the most amazing things happen. And so from there, we went to this hot springs that just will blow your mind. If you guys, if you aren't following us on social, it's worldschoolfamily. Rachel's posting all the stories and reels and posts on there and Greg .denning on Instagram. And we're posting the stories and reels. It's just...

Rachel Denning (19:02.093)
They literally will blow your mind the pictures and the video the stories from this is like it doesn't even seem real so we went to these these grottoes and the caves and hot springs It was just spectacular and then we went near tail to a con went near Mexico City Had some awesome adventures there and then we went to Orissa and in the next episode I'm tell you about an epic fail

Epic fail. And the lessons learned from failure and how failure can be the key to your success. So love you guys. Persist. Commit to find a way or to make one. The things that matter most to you. Dig in and make them happen. Reach upward.