Born To Standout: Ben Kjar's Journey of Courage, Discipline and Purpose

On this episode of the Franklin Planner Podcast, host George Wright III sits down with Greg McKeown, New York Times bestselling author of Essentialism and Effortless, to challenge everything we think we know about productivity and success. Greg shares why today's technology leaves us feeling more overwhelmed than ever, how to take back control of our priorities, and why learning to understand others is essential to living a more intentional life.

George Wright III and co-host John Harding explain Franklin Planner’s foundational Productivity Pyramid as a companion to the Time Matrix, designed to connect what matters most to daily action and “inner peace.” They outline four levels—governing values, goals, weekly planning, and daily actions—framing the key question of how priorities make their way into everyday life. They discuss identifying values , translating values into season-specific goals, and why weekly planning creates the best daily plans. John offers a weekly planning review process, cautions against too many or misaligned goals, and shows how daily planning and the important/urgent Time Matrix help handle interruptions while staying aligned with values.

George Wright III is joined by Misty Howard to introduce a new series covering Hyrum Smith’s book "The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management." They explain that audience feedback prompted more content on the planner’s timeless principles, emphasizing that the methodology is about more than efficiency in an “age of time famine.” They discuss Smith’s concept of inner peace as the result of aligning daily actions with core values, using examples like the “ladder against the wrong wall” and a seminar attendee who prioritized time with his son and later felt no guilt after his son’s death. Misty shares Hyrum’s background, including turning down a lucrative job to start a seminar company that became Franklin Quest.

On the Franklin Planner Podcast, George Wright III with John Harding and Misty Howard highlight Theodore Roosevelt as a model of resilience, character, and leadership, emphasizing that while we can’t choose everything that happens, we can choose our response. They discuss Roosevelt’s sickly childhood with severe asthma and nearsightedness, his father’s challenge to “make your body,” and Roosevelt’s disciplined transformation. In his 20s, after success at Harvard, early political rise, and marriage to Alice Hathaway Lee, he lost both his mother and wife on February 14, 1884, prompting him to seek renewal in the Dakota Territory and form his “Strenuous Life” philosophy. They cover his decision to fight in the Spanish-American War by forming the Rough Riders, his anti-corruption, pro–working class leadership, his unexpected ascent to the presidency after McKinley’s assassination, and his Square Deal priorities: corporate control, consumer protection, and conservation, concluding with “The Man in the Arena” and a call to face fears and act on values.

Host John Harding interviews John P. Covey on timeless principles and how aligning with them improves personal and professional effectiveness. Covey explains that values are internal and drive 100% of behavior moment by moment, while principles are external and govern consequences, using gravity as an analogy. He applies principles socially through trust, honesty, and Stephen R. Covey’s “emotional bank account,” emphasizing that a deposit is only a deposit if the recipient sees it that way and that deposits must be consistent and frequent. In leadership, he contrasts fear-based command-and-control with trust-based approaches that create synergy. Covey outlines the seven habits along the maturity continuum from dependence to interdependence and notes principles remain relevant despite technological change. He recommends daily alignment practices (including The Miracle Morning) and rebuilding low-trust relationships by identifying withdrawals and experimenting with deposits.