Do you have the drive to get out of bed each morning and live life with a fire in your soul? We’ve all got big dreams, but most people don’t know what it takes to reach them. Or even think their dreams are attainable.

And in most cases, people quit doing the things they love for a life of practicality and security. But why can’t you have both?

In this episode, best-selling author and professional speaker Dwight Edwards and I discuss how to find your purpose through passion and live your greatest life yet. 

Show Highlights Include:

• Why you should say no to “being vanilla” and what this means about living a life of purpose today. ([2:11])
• The ‘hunting dog’ approach to achieving your wildest dreams right now.  ([4:00])
• What John Grisham reveals about courageously living an epic life (without quitting your day job). ([7:30])
• Why the Prime Minister of England urges you to read the Bible and how this immediately relates to a life worth living. ([13:50])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.

Learn more about Dwight’s work:

https://vanillabusters.com

Between politics and a pandemic, it feels natural to worry. But worrying can also make problems bigger and rob you of any perspective if it hangs around too long.

Learning to work alongside the unknown and things out of your control only makes life better for you and the ones you love.

In this episode, Dr. Rick reanalyzes what it means to worry and how you can transform it into unquestionable trust and faith during uncertain times.

Show Highlights Include:

• Why worrying strips you of thinking rationally – and how to remain calm and with common sense the next time you face a crisis. ([1:15]) 
• Why Jesus told people not to worry and how you can stop negative thoughts from robbing time and happiness in your life today. ([4:00])
• Why hope is never lost and the powerful results that come with trusting God (and the universe) right now. ([8:51])
• The “Philippians” way of changing hopeless thoughts into faithful lessons immediately. ([12:30])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.

With the world moving at the click of a button, most of us have forgotten what it’s like to wait for something. But if we’ve learned anything from the great minds of Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill, it’s the waiting that shapes your talents into their greatest achievements yet.

But how does sitting in traffic jams or being placed on hold make you a better person? 

In this episode, Dr. Rick shares the deep wisdom behind waiting and how it creates the most valuable and fulfilling experiences in your life. 

Show Highlights Include:

• What Bible stories and developing films have to teach you about creating more meaningful experiences in life and finding strength during any waiting time. ([0:30])
• Why the most successful people waited decades and what they can teach you about living in the moment right now.  ([6:07])
• What teen athletes confess after championship games and how to appreciate the process before taking your next big move. ([10:49])
• What knitting reveals about the power of patience and how you can find clarity in everyday tasks. ([12:00])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.

You can describe society in a dozen different ways, but ‘respectful’ might not come to mind. A time when you could have an argument with someone and shake hands at the end is long gone. 

Many people don’t see the potential or growth in respecting those they disagree with, but they couldn’t be more wrong. 

In this episode, Dr. Rick discusses how respect restores an American culture and why you should remain a figure of honor and dignity (even with those you disagree with). 

Show Highlights Include:

• How sitting on the front porch with your neighbors builds a foundation of respect and civility (that everyone in your family can be inspired by). ([0:30])
• What American history taught us about dealing with conflict and how you can grow with dignity in your next heated argument. ([3:51])
• The reason the U.S Military takes respect to the next level – and why you should treat others with the same honor. ([6:58])
• The ‘Nordstrom Way’ and what it teaches you about the importance of being more dignified and less judgmental. ([10:41])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.

There’s a famous saying that you should “never underestimate the power of your words.” But how many people actually understand the magnitude of that power? I’ll give you a hint – a lot less than you think.

The power of words plays a ‘ripple effect’ in your life. When you think and speak better, you act greater. Are your thoughts healing or harming the bigger picture?

In this episode, I’ll discuss the profound power of words and three you can avoid right now for personal growth beyond measure.

Show Highlights Include:

• The historical damage of words and how to reinforce a greater message for your future. ([0:57])
• Why passive thoughts cause more arguments – and the simple shift to communicate better now. ([4:40])
• Why gratification and greater brain health start with turning everything into a google-searching game. ([7:19]) 
• The ‘classic excuse’ to ditch for quickly fueling your creativity, getting rid of fears, and taking life to the next level. ([11:19])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.

Regardless of where you are right now, there is one thing that never holds you back in life – dreams. 

While most people disregard dreams for having a child-like sense of direction, others have learned to navigate through its possibilities for endless freedom. 

In this episode, I discuss the power of mapping out a dream big enough to transform both your life and the world as you know it.

Show Highlights Include:

• Why people who dream more always end up failing less – and what this reveals about your possibilities in life. ([2:08])
• What all of Martin Luther King’s speeches have in common with enacting your most powerful dream right now. ([4:05])
• The five ingredients every dreamer needs to bring our worlds together (while leaving your legacy behind). ([7:40])
• What the power of creativity and imagination reveals about your life today. ([9:54])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.

Helping others is a virtue that seems to be disappearing in modern society. Our fast-paced lifestyle often leads us to put ourselves before everyone else so that we can get it all done.

But a rising tide lifts all boats, and helping others makes our entire world better off. 

In this episode, I discuss one of the greatest helpers in history and how his good deeds continue to positively affect our society more than 100 years later. 

Show Highlights Include:

• The desirable characteristic that makes you irresistible and invaluable to everyone around you ([1:53])
• Invaluable life lessons from the little-known American who was one of history’s greatest helpers ([3:45])
• How George Washington Carver is still helping Midwestern farmers to this day and what you can learn from this (even if you’ve never seen a farm) ([9:06])
• 8 “Cardinal Virtues” that can make you a more effective and well-liked person ([12:06])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.

Values are a fundamental part of our lives. For better or worse, they shape everything we do, from the words we say to the actions we take.

Your life experience sets the stage for the values that you live out later in life. But are these values helping or hindering you?

In this episode, I discuss the profound importance of your values and how you can live out values that improve your life and the lives of everyone around you.

Show Highlights Include:

• How values influence the actions you take and how to harness them to improve your life ([0:59])
• Why living without clearly defined values is making you miserable and concrete steps you can take to fix it ([2:12])
• How to take back your life from the value-destroying behemoth of social media ([2:24]) 
• Walt Disney’s value-based approach to decision-making and how you can use it to improve your life ([15:36])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.

We all experience fear. But what many people don’t realize is that they can use fear to propel themselves to the next level. It doesn’t have to paralyze you.

In fact, fear is a learned behavior. This means you can learn to overcome it.

In this episode, I discuss the positive aspects of fear and how your fear can lead you to the life of your dreams.

Show Highlights Include:

• When fear is a good thing and how you can use it to your benefit ([1:51])
• Why doing things that scare you can lead to the most fulfilling experiences ([6:03])
• How to overcome your fears of financial scarcity so you can pursue the life you want to live ([9:05])
• A liberating statistic on the things we fear that will give you the courage to take your next step ([11:59])
• The “fear decision” you make that will move your life forward instead of keeping you stuck in place ([12:17])
• Why the status quo is the scariest thing of all and how to use that fear to level up your life ([13:18])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.

Could you use a little more joy in your life? So many people go through life focused on what they lack that they forget to be grateful for what they have. Worse yet, our consumer culture encourages us to fixate on this lack.

This robs us of our joy.

In this episode, I discuss my best tips for living in the moment and increasing the amount of joy in your life, making you happier and more pleasant to be around.

Show Highlights Include:

• A simple step you can take today to ensure yourself a joyful life ([2:31])
• A surefire way to live in the moment and experience joy that’s been eluding you ([3:59])
• Exactly how consumer culture robs you of joy and how you can fight back ([4:12])
• Why joy is not found in a specific moment and how to attract it like a joy magnet ([6:10])
• Why laughing at yourself makes people take you more seriously ([8:56])
• How to instantly make your environment more joyful ([11:42])
• “Black Belt” secrets to facing your fear and achieving more in your life ([12:38])
• A common obsession that sucks joy from your life and how to overcome it ([15:09])

Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Click here to get the first chapter of Dr. Rick’s best-selling book, Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout, for free.