Continuous growth and true intentionality are key to living a rich life.
Relationships are the core of a rich life, including evolving relationships with children.
Staying true to oneself, finding meaning in helping others, and embracing an infinite mindset contribute to a rich life.
Deep dives
Red Ventures: A Private Equity Platform of Companies
Red Ventures is a private equity platform that controls a portfolio of digital companies. With 17 companies in its portfolio, Red Ventures operates in various regions, including Europe, Brazil, and the US. These companies span different industries, ranging from digital brands to services companies. Red Ventures prides itself on its strong culture and commitment to purposeful work.
Philanthropy and the Giving Pledge
Rick Elias has signed the Giving Pledge, which is a commitment to give at least 50% of one's wealth to charitable causes either during their lifetime or in their will. The Giving Pledge was started by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. By signing this pledge, philanthropists like Rick commit to using their wealth to make a positive impact and create meaningful change. The focus is often on systemic issues and collaborating with others in the philanthropic community to achieve long-lasting change.
Supporting Undocumented Students' Education
Rick Elias has dedicated efforts towards supporting undocumented students' education. Many young individuals, who were brought to the US at a young age but lack legal status, face significant challenges in pursuing higher education due to financial barriers. Through scholarships, Rick and his organization provide financial support to these students, enabling them to access higher education opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Advocating for Policy Changes
In addition to supporting individual students, Rick Elias and his organization advocate for policy changes that can address the challenges faced by undocumented individuals. They actively work towards creating comprehensive immigration reform that provides a clear path to citizenship for these individuals and allows them to fully contribute to society through education, work, and tax contributions.
The Road to Hire Program: Graduating More Black and Brown Students in Computer Science
The podcast highlights the Road to Hire program, which aims to teach coding to predominantly black and brown students from title one schools in North Carolina. The program starts by offering coding classes in high schools, followed by an apprenticeship program. Through partnerships with corporations, the program ensures that these students secure jobs upon graduation. The success of this program challenges the existing North Carolina education system, with the program producing more black and brown students proficient in computer science than the entire state system.
Embracing an Infinite Mindset and Focusing on Personal Growth
The podcast delves into the concept of an infinite mindset, as discussed in the book 'The Infinite Game' by Simon Sinek. The guest speaker emphasizes the importance of adopting this mindset in both business and personal life. By shifting away from a winning or losing mentality, individuals can focus on continuous growth and long-term goals. Embracing an infinite mindset also involves self-compassion, letting go of guilt, and aiming for self-improvement rather than external validation. The conversation highlights the significance of staying true to oneself, ignoring external opinions, and finding joy in the journey rather than fixating on outcomes.
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
