On the Franklin Planner Podcast, hosts George Wright III and Misty Howard introduce Hyrum Smith’s concept of “natural laws” from The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management, using Stephen R. Covey’s lighthouse story to illustrate realities that cannot be changed, only respected.

00:00 Lighthouse and Natural Laws

03:49 Gravity and Working With Reality

05:20 Engineering Success and Titanic Warning

09:18 Natural Laws and Productivity

12:11 Principles Versus Practices and Values

16:57 Preview of the Ten Laws

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The Franklin Planner Team

About Misty Howard

Misty Howard is a historian‐enthusiast and podcast host who brings a fresh, youth-oriented voice to timeless values and historical wisdom. She serves as the creator and host of the podcast Faith Ignited (described as “Immersive, real stories from history, seen through the lens of faith”). Her work focuses on exploring the lives of influential historical figures—especially from the founding era of the United States—and connecting their personal values with modern leadership, mission-driven living, and character development. Misty emphasizes the importance of self-improvement, purpose, and narration of historical truths often overlooked in mainstream narratives. Her style blends historical research, faith-based insight, and practical application for younger audiences.

Her contributions bring depth, perspective, and inspiration to conversations about proactive living and principle-centered leadership.

Guest Resources:

Podcast Link: Faith Ignited — available via Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, etc.

George Wright III and co-host John Harding launch a new Franklin Planner Podcast series walking through First Things First (1994) by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill, explaining its principle-centered framework and connection to the Franklin Planner mindset.

00:00 Why First Things First

07:29 Rethinking Time

12:23 Maria Story Clock Compass

21:18 Three Time Management Generations

33:04 Paradigm See Do Get

39:32 Fourth Generation Life Leadership

Thank you for joining us on this Journey to create your best life and to lead your Life and Teams. Please share this show, and we look forward to the journey we will take together.

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The Franklin Planner Team

On this episode of the Franklin Planner Podcast, host George Wright III sits down with Greg McKeown, New York Times bestselling author of Essentialism and Effortless, to challenge everything we think we know about productivity and success. Greg shares why today's technology leaves us feeling more overwhelmed than ever, how to take back control of our priorities, and why learning to understand others is essential to living a more intentional life.

00:00 Why Less Matters Now

03:31 Tech Built Wrong

07:11 Disorientation Machine

12:54 Why Priorities Fail

24:24 New Conversation Game

31:22 Effortless Versus Hard

33:29 The 10X Dilemma

40:34 Easy Not Lazy

48:18 Prioritizing With Others

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The Franklin Planner Team

About Greg McKeown

Dr Greg McKeown and his wife, Anna, are the proud parents of four children. McKeown is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and “Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most”, which together have sold 3 million copies and been published in 40 languages and recently released The Essentialism Planner, a 90-day guide to accomplishing more by doing less.

Links

Website: https://gregmckeown.com/

Books: https://gregmckeown.com/books/essentialism/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregmckeown/

George Wright III and co-host John Harding explain Franklin Planner’s foundational Productivity Pyramid as a companion to the Time Matrix, designed to connect what matters most to daily action and “inner peace.” They outline four levels—governing values, goals, weekly planning, and daily actions—framing the key question of how priorities make their way into everyday life. They discuss identifying values , translating values into season-specific goals, and why weekly planning creates the best daily plans. John offers a weekly planning review process, cautions against too many or misaligned goals, and shows how daily planning and the important/urgent Time Matrix help handle interruptions while staying aligned with values.

00:00 Why the Pyramid Matters

06:17 Four Levels Overview

07:23 Governing Values Foundation

11:23 Turning Values Into Goals

15:41 Weekly Planning Power

20:57 Weekly Planning Checklist

22:51 Daily Planning and Time Matrix

26:58 Quotes and Listener Challenge

Thank you for joining us on this Journey to create your best life and to lead your Life and Teams. Please share this show, and we look forward to the journey we will take together.

Check out the New Membership Program Here: https://store.franklinplanner.com/lps/membership/

The Franklin Planner Team

About Misty Howard

Misty Howard is a historian‐enthusiast and podcast host who brings a fresh, youth-oriented voice to timeless values and historical wisdom. She serves as the creator and host of the podcast Faith Ignited (described as “Immersive, real stories from history, seen through the lens of faith”). Her work focuses on exploring the lives of influential historical figures—especially from the founding era of the United States—and connecting their personal values with modern leadership, mission-driven living, and character development. Misty emphasizes the importance of self-improvement, purpose, and narration of historical truths often overlooked in mainstream narratives. Her style blends historical research, faith-based insight, and practical application for younger audiences. Her contributions bring depth, perspective, and inspiration to conversations about proactive living and principle-centered leadership.

George Wright III is joined by Misty Howard to introduce a new series covering Hyrum Smith’s book "The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management." They explain that audience feedback prompted more content on the planner’s timeless principles, emphasizing that the methodology is about more than efficiency in an “age of time famine.” They discuss Smith’s concept of inner peace as the result of aligning daily actions with core values, using examples like the “ladder against the wrong wall” and a seminar attendee who prioritized time with his son and later felt no guilt after his son’s death. Misty shares Hyrum’s background, including turning down a lucrative job to start a seminar company that became Franklin Quest.

00:00 Why Franklin Planner Matters

02:27 Meet Hyrum Smith

05:51 Time Famine Problem

08:36 Inner Peace and Values

11:35 Hyrum Smith Life Story

15:36 Executive Letter Lesson

Thank you for joining us on this Journey to create your best life and to lead your Life and Teams. Please share this show, and we look forward to the journey we will take together.

Check out the New Membership Program Here: https://store.franklinplanner.com/lps/membership/

The Franklin Planner Team

On the Franklin Planner Podcast, George Wright III with John Harding and Misty Howard highlight Theodore Roosevelt as a model of resilience, character, and leadership, emphasizing that while we can’t choose everything that happens, we can choose our response. They discuss Roosevelt’s sickly childhood with severe asthma and nearsightedness, his father’s challenge to “make your body,” and Roosevelt’s disciplined transformation. In his 20s, after success at Harvard, early political rise, and marriage to Alice Hathaway Lee, he lost both his mother and wife on February 14, 1884, prompting him to seek renewal in the Dakota Territory and form his “Strenuous Life” philosophy. They cover his decision to fight in the Spanish-American War by forming the Rough Riders, his anti-corruption, pro–working class leadership, his unexpected ascent to the presidency after McKinley’s assassination, and his Square Deal priorities: corporate control, consumer protection, and conservation, concluding with “The Man in the Arena” and a call to face fears and act on values.

00:00 Why Roosevelt Matters

03:37 Childhood Weakness to Strength

15:34 Rebuilding in the Dakotas

20:23 Rough Riders and War Hero

25:08 Fighting Corruption in Politics

29:32 Unexpected Path to Presidency

36:41 Man in the Arena Lessons

Thank you for joining us on this Journey to create your best life and to lead your Life and Teams. Please share this show, and we look forward to the journey we will take together.

Check out the New Membership Program Here: https://store.franklinplanner.com/lps/membership/

The Franklin Planner Team

About Misty Howard

Misty Howard is a historian‐enthusiast and podcast host who brings a fresh, youth-oriented voice to timeless values and historical wisdom. She serves as the creator and host of the podcast Faith Ignited (described as “Immersive, real stories from history, seen through the lens of faith”). Her work focuses on exploring the lives of influential historical figures—especially from the founding era of the United States—and connecting their personal values with modern leadership, mission-driven living, and character development. Misty emphasizes the importance of self-improvement, purpose, and narration of historical truths often overlooked in mainstream narratives. Her style blends historical research, faith-based insight, and practical application for younger audiences.

Her contributions bring depth, perspective, and inspiration to conversations about proactive living and principle-centered leadership.

Guest Resources:

Podcast Link: Faith Ignited — available via Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, etc.

Host John Harding interviews John P. Covey on timeless principles and how aligning with them improves personal and professional effectiveness. Covey explains that values are internal and drive 100% of behavior moment by moment, while principles are external and govern consequences, using gravity as an analogy. He applies principles socially through trust, honesty, and Stephen R. Covey’s “emotional bank account,” emphasizing that a deposit is only a deposit if the recipient sees it that way and that deposits must be consistent and frequent. In leadership, he contrasts fear-based command-and-control with trust-based approaches that create synergy. Covey outlines the seven habits along the maturity continuum from dependence to interdependence and notes principles remain relevant despite technological change. He recommends daily alignment practices (including The Miracle Morning) and rebuilding low-trust relationships by identifying withdrawals and experimenting with deposits.

00:00 John Covey Background

02:23 Uncle Steve Connection

05:12 Why Principles Matter

09:01 Values Drive Behavior

13:56 Principles Are External

16:38 Social Principles and Trust

19:32 Emotional Bank Account

22:59 Deposits That Count

26:15 Leadership Applications

29:34 Fear Versus Trust

31:58 Alignment Drives Results

33:41 Learning Principles Daily

36:34 Benefits And Seven Habits

38:42 Maturity Continuum Explained

42:12 Principles In Modern Change

44:41 Stormproof Core Principles

48:43 Hardest Principles To Live

50:39 Daily Alignment Practices

52:14 Rebuilding Low Trust

Thank you for joining us on this Journey to create your best life and to lead your Life and Teams. Please share this show, and we look forward to the journey we will take together.

Check out the New Membership Program Here: https://store.franklinplanner.com/lps/membership/

The Franklin Planner Team

On The Franklin Planner Podcast, George Wright III interviews Dave Sanderson, the last passenger off US Airways Flight 1549, who recounts the Hudson River landing, the 36-degree water evacuation, and how preparation, mindset, and teamwork mattered as much as landing the plane. Sanderson explains how the experience reshaped his priorities, exposed feeling undervalued at Oracle, and led him to pursue the “four freedoms” (time, money, mission, relationships) and ultimately leave corporate life with Tony Robbins’ coaching and encouragement. He shares key lessons from mentorship and “proximity is power,” the role of meaning and reframing, and frameworks he teaches including VCR (vision, capabilities, reach), focusing on outcomes, and “best next step.” The conversation emphasizes values-based leadership, building trust over competence, developing resilience from past reference points, and fulfilling a promise to pass mentorship forward.

00:00 Hudson Crash Replay

00:27 Podcast Welcome

02:14 Dave's Flight Story

03:48 Aisle Up Out Mindset

06:28 Resilience Built Over Time

08:06 Aftermath And Oracle Wakeup

09:43 Four Freedoms Escape Plan

12:18 Mentorship With Tony

13:26 Proximity And Meaning

17:08 VCR Resilience Framework

20:57 Vision Values Leadership

23:10 Trust Over Competence

25:40 Focus With Next Steps

28:27 Building Team Resilience

32:07 Leading Your Life

34:37 Mentor Promise Story

38:26 Mentorship Call To Action

Thank you for joining us on this Journey to create your best life and to lead your Life and Teams. Please share this show, and we look forward to the journey we will take together.

Check out the New Membership Program Here: https://store.franklinplanner.com/lps/membership/

The Franklin Planner Team

Guest Bio

LInks

Website: https://davesandersonspeaks.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiredavesanderson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaveSandersonSpeaks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davesandersonspeaks/