Top Episodes

Welcome to this episode where we will be discussing a sensitive and sometimes frightening topic to many parents — and that’s WHY and HOW to expose your children to the darkness in order to help them be stronger and more prepared to face and fight evil and malice in the world (which does exist, in case you’re like I used to be and naively thought there are no ‘bad people’ in the world or that bad things don’t happen to me or my family. We’ll also touch on the Law of Attraction or Expectation a...

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...

In this episode, we’re talking about Failure to Launch syndrome — a significant growing phenomenon among young adults who are not successfully making the transition to adulthood. Its symptoms include young adults who continue to live at home or to be supported by their parents, YA who don’t contribute financially to their own living expenses and begin to withdraw from the world and society. Failure to launch — known as Peter Pan syndrome in the U.S. -- can take the form of unrealistic (or ...

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....

"Rebellion of basically any kind stems from needs that are not being met." "Which needs are commonly not met that are likely to lead to rebellion?" Is there a difference between healthy and unhealthy rebellion? Do you consider some kind of rebellion necessary in a person’s life? In this episode, we discuss these and other parenting topics and how 'restaurant parenting' (as I call it) may contribute to future teen rebellion. We also talk about rule-breaking and why we encourage a healthy...

In our last episode (#158), Greg hinted at doing another episode about the v*ccine. I wasn't so sure. But after thinking and discussing it, we decided to do it together -- partly because our individual views balance each other out and help us both to come to a more centered truth. We discuss how C*vid and the v*ccine have become politicized and what implications that has. We also examine C*vid's significance now compared to other times in history, and examine how politicizing a topic can s...

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...

How do you know if you’re winning in life? It’s easier in sports where there’s a scoreboard—but even that doesn’t always reflect true winning. You might lose the game but still be winning in personal improvements, performance, effort, giving your best, sportsmanship, integrity, grit, etc. What about each area of your life? How do you know if you’re winning? Do you have a scoreboard? Are you keeping score? In what ways? Are you competing with others, yourself, or with an ideal? Some aren’t ...

Misjudging people it’s so easy and most of us do it pretty often if not all the time.Outward Symptoms can often help, but not always. They might Look rich but are broke. Look poor but have millions. Look nice but are evil. Look rough but are as honest as Abraham Lincoln Sometimes you meet people who in your first impression you mentally toss them out because they don’t fit, only to find out later that they’re AMAZING!We often misjudge because we have categories, labels, and boxes in which we psy...

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 are good beliefs and practices around money in your marriage? What if one spouse brings in the income and the other stays home, who should be in charge of how it’s spent? Does the non-income earning spouse have any say on how the money should be spent?What if one spouse wants to save every penny and the other sees it as a tool for experience and growth?What if one spouse wants to approve every purchase before anything can be spent? What if they become upset when they feel you spend in a way...

Many marriages are merely okay, or even slowly dying simply because men are inadvertently neglecting their wives. Gentlemen, you’re living far below your privileges in your marriage. Inadvertent negligence is costing you the spark, romance, and relationship you could have. With a little awareness and a few simple habits, you can totally transform your marriage. How is your health and fitness? It is affecting your relationship!Do you have clear boundaries between work life and family life? That i...

Creating a great sexual relationship in marriage isn’t about checking a box or meeting expectations—it’s about cultivating a deep emotional connection, understanding your partner’s real needs, and shifting your mindset around intimacy. In this episode, we explore how men and women experience love and stress differently, and how miscommunication can cause resentment and disconnection. We share the habits, perspectives, and emotional awareness that have helped us transform our own marriage—and how you can do the same to build lasting connection and passionate intimacy.

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...

"Just because you've been with yourself for your entire life, doesn't mean you understand yourself." This is true about your spouse too. Just because you've been married to them for ___ years, doesn't mean you understand them And these statements are especially true when it comes to sexuality... understanding your own sexuality, and your shared relationship with your spouse. Just because you have sex with your spouse doesn't mean you're good at talking about it or doing it. Sexuality is a part o...

Every day we have a choice. In fact we have many choice moments throughout the day. Choose to be a champion, or by default we can choose to be a chump.The champion chooses to do things in a great way, even the little things that seem not to matter much. By default when we choose to be the chump we cut corners, we cheat ourselves and others, we take the easy way, and of course we end up with mediocre results. This is true even in how we start our day and how we choose to feel at the beginning of ...

My youngest brother died last week. He’d been struggling with a drug addiction for years. I thought he was getting better. I hope he was getting better. But it came to a tragic end last week. This last week has been brutal for me and for my family. I miss him so much! There’s so much I wish I could say and do but now it’s too late. The intensity and reality of this experience Has reminded me of a lot of important things and I wanna share those with you so that you can learn from my experience as...

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...

While I was climbing a big peek in Ecuador with my wife we met a man who we quickly connected with. In just a few minutes he told us the short version of his life story and how he totally transformed his life.His story is packed with proven principles and practices for all of us to transform ourselves into who we can really become. You have the power and the potential to take your greatest weaknesses and your greatest struggles in transform them into strengths and power!There are a few things th...

Wow! Do I have some stories for you today! Are you willing and ready to help when the situation arises? And more importantly, are you actually prepared to help? Many of us will be offered many opportunities to make a difference in the lives of people around us. This happens to me all the time. Just in the last 10 days I was given the opportunity when lives were literally on the line. But the thing I’m reminded of every time is that we need to have the knowledge and skills to be able to really ma...