Franklin Planner Podcast

In this masterclass-style episode of the Franklin Planner Podcast, George Wright III sits down with wealth strategist and Protect Wealth founder Don Pendleton to unpack the pillars of long-term financial leadership: tax strategy, asset protection, estate planning, and wealth creation. Don shares the personal story that launched his career in asset protection after being sued following a tragic incident, and how that experience led him to decades of educating business owners, families, and professionals on protecting what they build.

The conversation dives deep into the mindset shift between tax preparation and true tax planning, why having a business structure can unlock powerful legal deductions, and how proactive estate planning prevents costly family disputes and probate issues. If you want to keep more of what you earn, reduce risk, and create a lasting financial legacy, this episode delivers actionable insights you can start applying today.

Key Takeaways
Tax Planning vs. Tax Prep: Learn why filing taxes is not the same as building a year-round wealth strategy.
The Leadership Mindset Around Money: Discover how the way you think about expenses, structures, and planning changes financial outcomes.
Estate Planning Essentials: Understand the must-have documents and trust structures that protect your family and legacy.
Business Structures & Tax Advantages: Why having an LLC, corporation, or even a sole proprietorship can create strategic tax opportunities.
Winning the Tax Game: Focus on lowering your effective tax rate instead of chasing refunds.

02:03 – The Lawsuit That Changed Everything
06:36 – The Four Pillars of Wealth Protection
09:05 – Why Tax Strategy Starts with Mindset
10:30 – The “Free Roads vs Toll Roads” Tax Analogy
12:44 – Why Having a Business Changes Everything
14:45 – Real Estate Losses & Paper Write-Offs
20:15 – Medical Expenses, Premiums & Business Deductions
22:22 – Stop Asking “Can I?” Start Asking “How Can I?”
30:27 – What It Really Means to Win the Tax Game
33:22 – Estate Planning Essentials Everyone Needs
36:25 – Trusts, Probate & Protecting Family Wealth
42:35 – Where to Start: The Protect Wealth Summit

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.
The Franklin Planner Team

About the Guest:
Don Pendleton is an expert in the areas of lawsuit protection, tax reduction, and estate planning and has co-authored multiple textbooks and articles.Every year, he is a featured presenter during numerous seminars and workshops onasset protectionrelated subjects.His books and trainings have helped thousands of business owners, investors, and professionals save millions of dollars.He is one of the nation’s top asset protection advisors and has been helping professionals properly structure themselves for lawsuit protection and tax reduction.His knowledge, expertise, and straightforward teaching style have made him one of the top asset protection speakers in the nation

Guest Resource:
Website: https://protectwealth.com/our-team/don-pendleton/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donpendleton/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectWealthAcademy/

George Wright III is joined by two-time world champion and Olympic medalist Noelle Pikus-Pace to discuss her journey from skeleton racing to becoming a global speaker and author. Noelle shares the pivotal moment of her devastating 2005 injury while ranked #1 in the world and the conscious choice she made to push through rather than let the setback define her.

They talk about the importance of knowing your purpose, both lifelong and "in real time," to ensure your identity is not solely tied to professional success. Noelle introduces the "Friction Factor" using a bell curve to illustrate the "sweet spot" of peak performance located between disengagement (too little friction) and burnout (too much friction). She also discusses being "process-oriented" rather than "results-driven," citing how losing an Olympic medal by a 10th of a second due to dragging shoelaces taught her about the power of small margins and daily decisions.

Noelle concludes with the core message of her book, No Excuses: focusing on the next 60 seconds to take full ownership of one's life and align daily actions with long-term purpose.

01:22 Getting "Tricked" into Skeleton
04:30 The 2005 Injury and the Choice to Move Forward
06:00 Identity vs. Purpose in Real Time
08:56 Choosing Your Next 60 Seconds
09:20 Writing "No Excuses" in an RV
11:00 The 2010 Fourth-Place Finish
13:00 The Shoelace Margin
15:40 Realigning for the 2014 Olympics with Family
17:15 Process-Oriented vs. Results-Driven
19:10 Winning Silver vs. Losing Gold
22:20 The Friction Factor Bell Curve
26:00 Corner 12 and Root Cause Analysis
29:45 The Power of the Next Minute

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.

The Franklin Planner Team

About the Guest: Noelle Pikus-Pace
Noelle Pikus-Pace is a retired American skeleton racer and one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the sport. Beyond her medals, she is widely recognized for her extraordinary resilience and the "Moment of the Games" celebration with her family at the 2014 Olympics.

Guest Resources:
Official Website: NoellePikusPace.com
Instagram: @noellepikuspace
LinkedIn: Noelle Pikus Pace
Facebook: Noelle Pikus-Pace Fan Page

George Wright III and co-host John Harding discuss leadership and propose that an organization’s greatest growth opportunity lies in deeply valuing and investing in its key stakeholders: employees, customers, suppliers, partners, and others.

They talk about “deep respect” as a growth strategy and cite research linking engagement and organizational health to higher profitability, productivity, and shareholder returns. Two primary obstacles are outlined: the “mission-strategy-success gap,” where few employees understand or connect daily work to strategy, and the “productivity avalanche,” driven by constant digital interruptions and low-value activity.

Harding introduces “being on signal” as the solution: dual alignment with the organization’s mission and each stakeholder’s definition of success, supported by clarity, rhythm, measurement, trust, and systems such as Franklin Planner.

01:26 Stakeholders Drive Growth
04:35 Respect as Strategy
09:05 Mission Strategy Gap
13:07 Productivity Avalanche
16:20 On Signal Solution
20:21 Franklin Planner System

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.

The Franklin Planner Team

This week on the Podcast, co-hosts George Wright III and John Harding talk with resident history expert Misty Howard about the U.S. 250th anniversary and the leadership lessons of George Washington.

They frame Washington as a case study in value-based leadership: choosing duty over personal comfort, anchoring to civil and religious liberty, and living for a cause greater than self. Misty describes Washington’s reluctance to accept command, the extreme hardship and losses of the Revolutionary War, including Valley Forge, and how he built unity, trust, and resilience by sharing deprivation and leading from the front.

They highlight his refusal to take a salary, his role in defusing the unpaid officers’ near-mutiny, and his restraint in rejecting power after victory, emphasizing that freedom requires responsibility, sacrifice, and character.

00:26 America 250th Anniversary
02:12 Why Washington Served
04:26 Trepidation and Stakes
07:22 Cause Greater Than Self
09:53 Leading by Sacrifice
10:45 Defusing a Mutiny
13:16 Timeless Principles Today
18:24 Valley Forge Resilience
22:48 Rejecting Absolute Power
25:49 Final Lessons and Quote

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.

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 the narration of historical truths that are 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.

How to Be Proactive: Timeless Lessons from History on Leadership, Responsibility, and Personal Growth

Are you living intentionally — or simply reacting to everything life throws at you? In this episode, discover how history’s greatest leaders mastered personal responsibility, emotional control, and proactive decision-making to shape their destiny.

In this episode of the Franklin Planner Podcast, host George Wright III is joined by Franklin Planner board member John Harding and historian and podcast host Misty Howard for a powerful conversation on what it truly means to be proactive.
Rooted in Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the discussion explores how individuals can shift from reacting to circumstances to intentionally choosing their responses. The guests explain how language shapes mindset, why governing values create long-term stability, and how focusing on what you can control expands personal influence.
Misty brings history to life through compelling examples of Viktor Frankl, Abraham Lincoln, and Abraham Clark, demonstrating how courage, discipline, and principle-based living enable people to rise above extreme adversity. John connects these timeless lessons to practical application, emphasizing how daily habits and values-driven planning empower leadership at every stage of life.
Listeners will walk away with actionable insights to strengthen personal accountability, emotional control, and purpose-driven living.

04:30 – Acting vs. Being Acted Upon
09:15 – Language Patterns and Personal Responsibility
15:40 – Viktor Frankl and Choosing Freedom in Adversity
25:10 – Abraham Lincoln and Emotional Discipline
34:20 – Governing Values and the Circle of Influence
42:45 – Abraham Clark and Loyalty to Principles
50:10 – Invictus Poem and Personal Ownership

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.

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.