166: The Everyday Joy of 'I Get To' - Featured Interview with Ted Larkins • My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle

Owner of The Get To Principle, LLC

>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth.

Ted Larkins talks with Bill Ringle on My Quest for the Best about how to adopt a “get to” mindset and become more peaceful, productive, and satisfied in your everyday life.

Key points that you’ll learn from this interview:

The significance of the Dalai Lama’s advice that the purpose of life is to find happiness.
What happens when you start thinking in terms of “I get to” instead of “I have to.”
What an Indian man who lived in a 10 x 10 home with his wife and four children taught Ted about happiness.
What happened when a successful Tampa real estate agent started applying the “Get To” principles.
What matters to celebrities like Jon Bon Jovi when it comes to happiness.
Ted’s 15 minute daily morning practice that strengthens his mindset and creates a blueprint for success.

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1:49 How Ted’s parents passed onto him the ethic of “getting out and doing things.”

2:58 [Paraphrasing the Dalai Lama] – “The purpose of life, I believe, is to find happiness.”

3:28 “When you make the choice to be happy, it’s really powerful.”

4:25 The benefits of smiling more often.

5:30 The “30 second rule” of changing your mindset.

5:49 [The Get To Mantra] – “You say, ‘I get to do this,’ you smile, and then you do what you’re going to do.’”

7:08 The essential difference in mindset between “I have to” and “I get to.”

10:15 Why the kind of happiness Ted refers to isn’t a “Polyanna” kind of happiness.

13:08 How Ted’s experiences traveling through India helped him shape his worldview.

14:59 “When I deliberate about saying ‘I get to do this,’ the more in control I am of my life.”

15:49 “We all have our level of frustration and things like that, but we do have the choice.”

17:28 Ted recounts his work with Bon Jovi, and what it was like to get through the trust barrier.

18:49 “We’re born and then we die, and in between we get to do this thing called life.”

20:09 The point of the mindful movement.

21:43 [Ted describes his 3 month executive coaching process.] – “It helps take people from this mundane [mindset] or just going through the motions and brings them up to really experiencing life.”

22:30 Case study of a Florida business man who just wasn’t getting the most out of life.

23:45 [On writing Get To Be Happy] – “I had the best time.”

25:24 “I learned that just being focused and dedicated to something for 30 minutes a day, you can get a lot done.”

28:15 Ted’s daily exercise for staying happy and productive.

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Expert Bio

Ted Larkins is an author, speaker, accomplished business executive and coach on happiness. Through his book and keynote talks, he shares the powerful Get To Principle, the ability to say “I Get To” as opposed to “I have to”. Ted also co-developed a leading entertainment licensing company in Tokyo, representing major movie studios that included Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. He’s worked on projects with Jon Bon Jovi, Jack Nicklaus, Mariah Carey, and many other artists. He is former Senior Vice President of the North American division of CPLG, one of the world’s leading entertainment, sport and brand licensing agencies. He is on the board of directors of the Licensing Industry Merchandise Association (LIMA), co-chairing the charity committee and sitting on the executive committee. He is a guest lecturer for the UCLAx Entertainment Studies and Performing Arts program.

Over a year and a half period, during his daily 4 hour train commute to work in Hollywood, he wrote the book, “Get To Be Happy: Stories and Secrets On Loving the Sh*t Out of Life. Ted lives with his wife of 22 years and their two children in Southern California.

For more information, visit Ted Larkins’ Website