<p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/ricelias/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=220704-pod-ricelias&utm_content=220704-pod-ricelias-podfeed"> View the Show Notes Page for This Episode</a></p> <p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=220704-pod-ricelias&utm_content=220704-pod-ricelias-podfeed"> Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content</a></p> <p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=220704-pod-ricelias&utm_content=220704-pod-ricelias-podfeed"> Sign Up to Receive Peter's Weekly Newsletter</a></p> <p>In this episode, Ric Elias, founder of Red Ventures, opens up about the fateful day he knew for certain that he was going to die as a passenger on US Airways Flight 1549. Ric dives deep into how that day impacted his life, greatly changed his perspective, and improved his relationship with his family and the broader community. We also talk about his incredible role as CEO of an enormous company, his remarkable work in philanthropy, and all the wisdom he has acquired in his extraordinary life.</p> <p>We discuss: </p> <ul type="disc"> <li><span style="color: #000000;">Ric's life leading up to the day of the plane crash [2:15];</span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">The plane crash—What it's like knowing you're about to die, feelings of regret and sadness [8:00];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">The improbable plane landing in the Hudson River [15:45];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">Emotions after the safe landing (and a story he's never told before) [22:15];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">A powerful story about Captain Sully [26:15];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">Earning his second chance at life, and playing the "infinite game" [35:15];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">Why time is the ultimate currency, and how (and why) to say "no" [43:00];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">Raising kids in an achievement culture, Ric's definition of life success, and what Ric wants to instill in his kids [49:45];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">What Ric believes is actually worth getting upset about, and the organizations that are taking steps to help people [1:05:45];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">The core principles of Red Ventures (Ric's company) [1:16:00];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">Ric's tips for developing business acumen and negotiation skills [1:26:15];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">What qualities does Ric look for in people he wants to work with? [1:29:15];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">What is the next big problem that Ric wants to solve? [1:32:15];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">What is the most challenging part of your business today? [1:34:15];</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">If Ric could go back and talk to himself in the morning before getting on that plane, what would he say? [1:36:00]; and</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #000000;">More.</span></li> </ul> <p>Connect With Peter on <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/peterattiamd/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/peterattiamd/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8kGsMa0LygSX9nkBcBH1Sg">YouTube</a></p>
Actionable Insights
1. Live a Life of No Regrets
Strive to live a life with no regrets by not postponing important experiences, expressions of love, or seeking forgiveness. This ensures you cherish your time and relationships, as life can change in an instant.
2. Choose Happiness Over Righteousness
Prioritize choosing happiness over being ‘right’ in arguments or conflicts, especially in personal relationships. Recognize that most disagreements are shades of gray and wasting energy on being right consumes valuable time and creates negative energy.
3. Value Time as Your Currency
Treat time as your most precious and irreplaceable currency. Protect it fiercely by aligning your activities with your priorities and learning to say ’no’ to anything that doesn’t serve your core goals or bring you joy.
4. Practice ‘Collecting Bad Wines’
Don’t postpone joy or important actions; metaphorically ‘collect bad wines’ by using your best resources and experiences now. This means taking trips, making calls, taking risks, and having the courage to do things you know you need to do, rather than saving them for an uncertain future.
5. Adopt an ‘Infinite Game’ Mindset
Approach life and endeavors with an ‘Infinite Game’ philosophy, where the purpose is to keep playing and improving, rather than winning a finite outcome. This mindset encourages long-term health, sustainability, and continuous self-improvement.
6. Prioritize Family & Children’s Well-being
Make your most important responsibility ensuring your children become the best versions of themselves, actively participating in their development rather than delegating it. This involves helping them find their gifts, accepting their strengths and weaknesses, and avoiding shaming.
7. Measure What You Want
Turn dreams into goals by writing them down and consistently measuring what you want to improve. This practice focuses your brain and effort, making progress more tangible and achievable.
8. Develop Intuition Through Introspection
Build intuition and pattern recognition not just by experiencing many events, but by deeply introspecting on what happened in those experiences. This meta-level analysis allows you to extract deeper insights and apply them to future situations.
9. Cultivate Emotional Self-Management
Prioritize emotional self-management as a crucial skill for success, recognizing it can be more challenging than managing physical health or daily tasks. This involves regulating your thoughts and emotions in interactions with the world.
10. Apologize Readily to Conserve Energy
Apologize easily and quickly to diffuse negative energy and conserve your valuable time and emotional currency, even if you don’t believe you were wrong. This prevents energy leakage from prolonged conflicts and allows you to move on.
11. Reserve Outrage for Injustice
Direct your emotional energy and outrage towards genuine injustices, rather than minor personal inconveniences like a late Uber or spilled soup. This ensures your passion is spent on what truly matters and can effect meaningful change.
12. Model Desired Behaviors for Children
Teach your children how to live not primarily through words, but by consistently modeling hard work, kindness to strangers, and respect in your daily actions. Your behavior serves as their constant lesson.
13. Prepare for Moments of Crisis
As a leader, actively prepare yourself and your organization for moments of crisis through scenario planning and ‘fire drills.’ True leadership is defined in these challenging times, not just when things are running smoothly.
14. Implement ‘Three-fer’ Activities
Strive to engage in activities that serve at least three purposes simultaneously, maximizing efficiency and impact. This approach ensures that significant investments of time and energy yield multiple benefits.
Leverage your platform and influence, not just your financial resources, for social impact work. This allows you to engage others and create broader, more systemic change in communities.
16. Foster Self-Improvement Drive
Seek to hire and work with people who are driven by a desire for self-improvement and getting better all the time, rather than solely by competing against others or fear of failure. This fosters a sustainable and balanced competitive spirit.
17. Embrace Feeling ‘Over Your Head’
View situations where you feel ‘over your head’ in complex challenges as opportunities for fun and growth. This mindset encourages learning and adaptation in dynamic environments.
18. Actively Manage Company Culture
Recognize that company culture is a key competitive advantage and actively manage its evolution, especially during periods of growth, acquisition, or significant change. This ensures the culture remains aligned with organizational goals and values.
19. Detachment from Outcomes
Show up every day, give maximum effort to your endeavors, but cultivate a detachment from the ultimate outcome. This allows you to stay engaged and purposeful without being paralyzed by the fear of failure.