Habits, Systems, Energy & Productivity Episodes

Hey everyone. We hope you’re having a great week. I know Greg and I are excited to have some sunshine and warmer weather after two cloudy and cold weeks. Today we’re discussing something which — at first glance — seems overly simplistic. We’re talking about HOW to wake up. And yet, waking up is something every one of us does and we do it every single day of our life. There’s an incredible power that comes when we can learn to do BETTER the things we do consistently. One of those things is ...

Today we are diving into a detailed look at what living an ‘extraordinary’ life looks like on the day-to-day. The majority of your life — and ours — is spent in daily activities that can be mundane. Dishes, laundry, errands. Even with a travel lifestyle like ours, we spend most of our time sitting in a vehicle on a road trip or waiting in an airport. How do you make the ordinary, routine, ‘boring’ daily interactions more meaningful and purpose-filled? We’ll share specific strategies that we’v...

Are you ready to start dreaming bigger and living more intentionally — both for yourself and your family? In this episode, Greg and I dive into one of our favorite topics — dreaming BIG and setting bold, meaningful goals that challenge you to grow into the person capable of achieving them. We talk about why dreaming is not just a nice idea — it's essential. Big dreams expand your vision and help you rise above the limitations of your current reality. As Greg often says, “The size of your dream...

In this episode, we’re discussing teen mental health and strategies for helping them not only overcome mental health challenges but to learn to thrive despite their difficult circumstances. We’re empathetic to the real struggles and suffering that parents and youth are dealing with and want to provide hope in this episode. Through personal experience, as well as from working with thousands of youth, and doing decades of research, we’ve discovered what actually works to help teens deal with th...

We often receive emails from parents or spouses asking questions -- we love it. (Email us your questions at support @ extraordinaryfamilylife.com) This email asked us: “How can our family create balance and not feel guilty for doing things we enjoy (Netflix, video games, etc.) that aren’t necessarily productive (toward achieving our goals)?” Great question! We've also experienced the 'gap' between the reality of where we are and where we want to go/be (our BIG dream or goal). Sometim...

Under duress, Greg agreed to do ANOTHER podcast touching on issues around C*vid -- but only because someone was confused about our 'statement' and position during the last one. They also believed there were some holes in our arguments. We address those in this episode. We also encourage you to take 100% responsibility for your health, your life, your family, and your circle of influence. Stop wasting your energy on trying to get others to understand, agree, or conform and put it back into ...

It IS true that 'you are good enough the way you are'. You are special. You are lovable. You are allowed to just be YOU. But those ideas are INCOMPLETE truths. You were also designed, created, and evolved to continually aim to become YOUR best version of you. So you'll never feel completely content remaining the way you are now. No matter how many times you tell it to yourself. The only way to be completely fulfilled is to regularly work on letting your inner light shine....

What happens when you share a 'controversial' meme on social media? Lots of comments and ensuing arguments. In this podcast, Greg and Rachel respond to comments on a meme that was shared which said: "If you've ever wondered if you would have complied during 1930s Germany, now you know." The reactions included words and phrases including: incomprehensibly stupid asinine comparing people who have been vaccinated to Nazi Germans and a lot more... An adequate response was not feasible in a F...

Here are 5 ideas about learning to like and enjoy the things you need to do but may not always want to do. 1—Like the results. You may not like the method and that’s okay. FOCUS on the results. What you focus on you feel. Need motivators? Grab a chunk of belly or flabby arm, and then get your running shoes on and out the door. 2 —If you used to like it but now you don’t, find out what’s changed. Try what you used to do. Or try liking it in new ways. 3—Do something totally different. Try new thin...

Being good is not enoughMost of our default thinking is that if we’re a good person it will be enough. That’s just not true!You can be a good person and a piss poor husbandYou can be a good person and a lousy loverYou can be a good person and a poor loserYou could be a good person and be terribly unproductiveYou can be a good person and a lousy listenerYou could be a good person distracted absent fatherYou can be a good person and a terrible businessmanYou can be a good person and a very Foolish...

What Mark are you making in the world? What Mark are you making in your family?We all have the privilege, opportunity, and even responsibility to make a mark in the world and in the lives of others.Interestingly, we are always making a mark. We can’t not. And so we must be responsible for the mark we are making.Some of you are making a significant mark, while others are leaving an insignificant scratch that will quickly wear way. What Mark are you making? What Mark do you need and want to make?H...

We all have little corners in our lives where the dust and the dirt and the stuff begin to gather. This is both literal and figurative.

It may be the corner of your closet or your garage, or the corners of your mind or your spirit.

Which “corners” of your life are unattended and neglected? Which “corners” have piled up with dirt and garbage and unused things? Which corners have you been avoiding, and have become chaotic and disorderly?

Examine the corners of your rooms, your garage, your yard...

This is the account of an unbelievable experience we had in Ecuador while preparing to climb a big mountain. I had an opportunity to go back up and help someone who had fallen. She later died in my arms on the mountain. There are a lot of great lessons from this incredible experience that you and I can use to prepare ourselves for life and for emergencies. And there are several things that are extremely urgent and important and are worth a small rant. Listen to this episode today, take notes, id...

Failure hurts. A lot. It’s not some thing any of us want to do, but I think it’s something we all need to do.We attempted to Summit Orizaba and failed. Epic story. But in that failure were many successes—if we look for them. In life, if we will acknowledge the successes and learn from the failures we can have all the growth and ultimate success we want.Are you willing to fail in order to succeed? RESOURCES: Let us help you in your extraordinary family life journey. How We Raised 7 Well...

If you’re on the right path and it’s the appropriate time for you, find a way to make it work or make a way to make it work!Too many of us give up too often and too soon. We give a first attempt or maybe a feeble second and then throw in the towel thinking there’s nothing else we can do. But we have found again and again in our life that the most incredible experiences come after we commit to find away or make one.Here are two examples from our road trip across Mexico it turned into extraordinar...

What is the greatest tragedy in life? If we look at the whole picture of life, it seems to me that the greatest tragedy is when an amazing human being fails to live a life that is meaningful, fulfilling and maximized. Each person has so much potential and vast amounts of untapped greatness ready to be utilized towards some meaningful purpose.But so many people settle for a life that is far less than their potential. Many live life‘s that are boring, unsettling, and frustrating.There are a few si...

It seems counterintuitive. Actually, it seems crazy, but you and I have to be strategically out of balance in order to master the most important things in life!If you want to be truly successful, you have to become really good at several things. Otherwise you condemn yourself to mediocrity and then your life begins to unravel.One of the most effective ways to be in the master the most important things is to become obsessed with each of those areas one at a time. Yes, that throws you out of balan...

There are levels of thinking. Most people think at first level thinking. Second, third, and fourth level thinking is extremely rare. But in order to learn to think like a genius, we must discipline ourselves to practice next level thinking. First level thinking sees what is immediate and obvious. It only observes the immediate problem without consideration for potential consequences. It only observes the immediate opportunity without consideration for other potential opportunities. It thinks lik...

Every person I have ever met wants more freedom! We were born to be free. We were created for freedom. Freedom from guilt, pain, poor health, debt, addiction. We want money freedom and time freedom. We long to be free enough to live life on our terms!What kind of people enjoy the most freedom in this life?Those who consistently make good choices!In every area of your life the choices you make are either stacking in your favor or stacking against you. In a very real way you and I are choosing our...

The quality of your sleep is far more important than you probably realize! It can affect you physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. It affects your cognitive performance and the way you feel. It even affects the way you view yourself and your life.In this episode I share some simple proven principles and practices about the importance of Great sleep and how to massively improve sleep quality. RESOURCES: Let us help you in your extraordinary family life journey. How We...

There are two ways to experience life. You can let it happen to you or you can make it happen for you.For most people, the only things that happen in their lives are the things that happened to them. They live like puppets, where other people and things manipulate the strings of their lives.I want to invite and challenge you to take full responsibility and ownership for everything in your life. Step into the extraordinary life of envisioning, designing, and creating the desired details of your l...

What do you do when life gets crazy? What will you do when life gets crazier? The answer is that we all fall back to our training! Archilochus said, “we do not rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” In the last week we went on a few extraordinary hikes in the Rocky Mountains. On Saturday we had the opportunity and privilege to help rescue a young man who was injured in a rockslide. We were only able to help him because we were prepared to help him. We were ...

Winning requires a different set of skills and a different mindset! Anyone can show up to play or to participate, but if you want to win you have to think and act differently. You have to be more strategic! And so we must ask ourselves in every important aspect of life, are we showing up to participate or to win? Because the world is becoming more competitive and more advanced, none of us can afford to merely participate in the things that matter most. We will get beat if we think we can just co...

Are you progressing? Really progressing? We are made to move! We are created to create! When we are not moving, creating, progressing we feel empty and blah. And we feel that way if we are not moving at the right pace. We have to move, and at the right pace. It is in our spiritual DNA. We were made to move. We were created to create. Many of you are struggling only because your goals are impotent!So what are you going to do that is so big it will redefined this year? RESOURCES: Let us help...