Ric Elias, founder of Red Ventures and host of "Three Things with Ric Elias," shares transformative insights shaped by his near-death experience on Flight 1549. He emphasizes valuing time and the importance of intentional living for a rich life. Discussion includes evolving relationships with children, the significance of friendships, and lessons learned from parenting. He highlights the role of struggle in growth and the impact of nurturing meaningful connections. Elias also reflects on his philanthropic efforts and the importance of contributing to society.
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Tumultuous Times
Ric Elias reflects on the tumultuous last three years, marked by both personal loss and professional growth.
These included the passing of family members and navigating business changes during the pandemic and ongoing global uncertainty.
insights INSIGHT
Parenting Tug-of-War
Raising teenagers is like a tug-of-war that parents must eventually lose as their children become independent adults.
This transition involves shifting from a parenting role to one of coaching, advising, and friendship.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Friends Summit
Elias hosted a "Friends Summit" with 30 curated friends to create memorable moments and foster new connections.
The goal was to share experiences and create a space where his friends could become friends with each other.
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Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life
Arthur C Brooks
In 'From Strength to Strength', Arthur C. Brooks addresses the inevitable decline in abilities that comes with aging and provides a practical guide on how to transform this period into an opportunity for growth. Drawing on social science, philosophy, biography, theology, and eastern wisdom, as well as interviews with everyday men and women, Brooks advocates for refocusing on priorities such as deep wisdom, detachment from empty rewards, connection and service to others, and spiritual progress. He argues that by adapting our expectations and focusing on these areas, we can achieve increased happiness and purpose in our later years.
Finite and infinite games
James P. Carse
In this book, James P. Carse distinguishes between finite and infinite games. Finite games are instrumental activities with clear rules, boundaries, and winners, such as sports, politics, and wars. Infinite games, on the other hand, are authentic interactions that aim to continue the play, changing rules and boundaries as needed. Carse explores how these concepts apply to various aspects of life, including culture, religion, sexuality, and self-discovery. He argues that finite games offer wealth, status, and power, while infinite games provide something more subtle and grander, such as true freedom and endless possibility. The book offers insights into how approaching life as either a finite or infinite game affects one's choices, satisfaction, and success[2][4][5].
Ric Elias, the founder of Red Ventures and previous guest on The Drive, returns to discuss his evolving insights on time, relationships, parenting, and how to make the most of the gift of life. In this episode, he reflects on the changes he’s made since his near-death experience during the crash landing of Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009. Ric reveals many keys to living a rich life, such as aiming for continuous growth, approaching life with true intentionality, and valuing our time in accordance with that. He talks about relationships as the core of a rich life and provides insights on parenting and how we should think about our relationship with our kids as they grow older. Finally, Ric discusses the importance of staying true to yourself, the value in struggle, and finding meaning in helping others.
We discuss:
Reflecting on the tumultuous last few years and how his experience on Flight 1549 helped him [2:30];
Parenting: a game of tug of war that you must ultimately lose [5:00];
Importance of friendship and Ric’s motivation for his recent “Friends summit” [8:00];
The impact of looking forward and focusing on growth on finishing life well [13:00];
How our relationships with our children evolve as they grow, and a new perspective on purpose [21:15];
Living with complete intention for a rich life, valuing your time, and other life lessons inspired by Ric’s near-death experience on Flight 1549 [31:15];
How society’s relationship with work has changed, the pros and cons of remote and hybrid working environments, and an update on his company “Red Ventures” [37:45];
Ric’s dedication to philanthropy [44:45];
The Golden Door Scholars program aiming to help undocumented students with education and a future career [50:30];
Ric’s journey in health and longevity [59:15];
Letting go of guilt and loving yourself [1:02:30];
The relationship between happiness and wealth [1:06:45];
Playing the “infinite game,” staying true to oneself, and ignoring the negative [1:09:15];
Speculating on the meaning of success, the drivers of greatness, and the value of struggle [1:16:00]; and
The Peter Attia Drive 
