Theory 2 Action Podcast

David Kaiser

We examine and explore the great books, to extract their nuggets of wisdom helping to save you time, and ultimately to take action to FLOURISH in life. Powered by The MOJO Academy.

  1. 3D AGO

    MM#458--Let ER ROAR, Mr President!

    FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message When the numbers are this strong—near four percent growth across three straight quarters, inflation easing, wages outpacing prices—it’s tempting for Washington to claim credit and start tinkering. We make a different case: the smartest move is restraint. Let a running economy keep its stride by preserving the incentives that sparked it—lower taxes, lighter regulatory loads, abundant energy, and clear rules that reward productivity. We revisit the value of aiming high, channeling the moonshot mindset into a push for sustained growth. That ambition isn’t about bluster; it’s about setting policies that shift risk-reward in favor of investing, hiring, and building. From streamlined regulation to pro-energy approaches that cut costs across supply chains, we connect today’s momentum to classic supply-side principles. The results show up in real wages beating inflation, record-breaking markets, lower gas prices, and even a narrowing deficit tied to trade policy shifts. Then we pressure-test the latest panic proposals: price controls on credit cards that would shrink access and hide costs, fifty-year mortgages that trap families in interest, new lifelines for the housing GSEs that risk replaying old crises, bans on investors that choke housing supply, and government equity stakes that politicize innovation. These aren’t growth strategies—they’re distractions that could derail compounding progress. Our message to policymakers is simple and urgent: don’t blink. Hold the line, keep the rules clear, and let the economy run. If you’re aligned with growth you can feel, share this episode with a friend, hit follow, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show. Key Points from the Episode: • opening quote framing growth-first priorities • aiming high on GDP growth and why it matters • evidence of momentum in growth, inflation, wages, and markets • critique of price controls, ultra-long mortgages, and housing meddling • reminder of supply-side foundations and proven results • call to hold steady: don’t blink, let it run Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademy.com, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources Other resources:  Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly!

    11 min
  2. 6D AGO

    MM#457--What's your One Thing?

    FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message Your reading list shouldn’t be a source of guilt. It should be a lever for real change. We explore how to stop juggling half‑finished titles and start using one book to solve concrete problems in your work and life. Guided by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s focusing question—What’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else becomes easier or unnecessary?—we trade information overload for practical clarity. We break down a simple, repeatable habit that turns pages into progress: pick one priority area for the month, choose one book that directly speaks to it, block twenty to thirty minutes a day, and capture three essentials—one key idea, one example or story, and one small action you’ll take within twenty‑four hours. This approach sharpens focus, reduces context switching, and transforms your reading from passive consumption into an active strategy for better decisions. Whether you’re aiming at leadership, productivity, health, finances, or relationships, narrowing your attention unlocks outsized results. You’ll hear how to set a weekly intention for your book, craft a daily plan you can actually keep, and use each chapter to influence a real decision you’re facing right now. We share practical prompts, like shifting from “How can I read more?” to “What’s the one thing I can do this week with this book to move forward?” The result is less noise, more clarity, and a reading life that compounds into measurable wins. If your nightstand and Kindle are overflowing, this is your invitation to commit, focus, and finish. If this helped you rethink your reading, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s drowning in their TBR, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find us. Then choose your one book and tell us what you’ll tackle this week. Key Points from the Episode: • go small to get extraordinary results • why most reading feels busy but changes little • the focusing question as a daily filter • choosing one book that fits your current season • a 20–30 minute reading block with intent • capture one idea, one example, one action • apply lessons to real decisions within a day • repeat one focus area, one book, one weekly intention Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademy.com, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources Other resources:  Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly!

    13 min
  3. JAN 23

    MM#456--Steelers Stability, Tomlin’s Legacy

    FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message A coach you could count on. That’s the rarest currency in a league built on chaos, and it’s exactly what Mike Tomlin delivered for nineteen seasons in Pittsburgh. We break down how standards, not slogans, powered a run with no losing years, a locker room that believed, and a city that saw its own identity reflected in the man on the sideline. We dig into the engine behind the consistency: clear expectations, blunt honesty, and a culture that turned stability into a competitive weapon. Yes, the playoff paradox loomed—loaded rosters didn’t always cash out in January—and we talk candidly about game management debates, staff loyalty, and why the regular season excellence that kept the Steelers relevant also set the stage for harsh criticism. The nuance matters: the same traits that sparked frustration forged trust, clarity, and resilience on the inside. Tomlin’s legacy reaches further than wins. As one of the most visible Black head coaches in NFL history, he embodied character and steadiness without making himself the story. We reflect on what his quiet decision to step away means for a franchise defined by long-tenured leaders and what the next coach inherits: a high floor, relentless expectations, and a blueprint that proves culture can win. Along the way, we revisit a cold AFC title night, Troy Polamalu’s game-sealing pick, and the Santonio Holmes toe-tap that crystallized belief—moments that reveal how preparation and leadership fuse under pressure. If you care about leadership, team culture, and the fine line between stability and complacency, this one’s for you. Listen, share with a Steelers fan who still quotes “the standard is the standard,” and leave a review with your take on Tomlin’s defining legacy. Key Points from the Episode: • Tomlin’s consistency and no losing seasons • Culture as a competitive weapon • Honest communication and locker room trust • The playoff paradox and fair critique • Representation and character-driven leadership • A quiet decision to step away • What the next Steelers coach inherits • Memories that cement a legacy Other resources:  Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly!

    15 min
  4. JAN 19

    MM#455--R.I.P. Scott Adams

    FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message The cubicle jokes were the hook, but the accuracy was the engine. We look at Scott Adams’ life and ideas with fresh eyes—how Dilbert named the dysfunction so many of us felt, how The Dilbert Principle exposed bad incentives, and why his most lasting gift may be a set of practical tools for everyday progress. We share how systems beat goals, why routines create momentum, and how talent stacking and energy management let normal people do exceptional work without pretending to be superhuman. From there, we step into his later work on persuasion and clear thinking—Win Bigly, Loserthink, and Reframe Your Brain—and unpack why frames, incentives, and emotional hooks move people more than spreadsheets do. Whether you agreed with his takes or bristled at them, his 2016 prediction about Donald Trump challenged the idea that facts alone decide outcomes. He treated public life like a lab, testing influence in real time and inviting us to watch the mechanics behind the message. We also sit with his final words about faith—humble, urgent, and aimed beyond career and controversy. It’s a reminder that systems and stacks are means, not ends, and that clarity of thought should point toward clarity of purpose. Along the way, we share the simple routines that powered 4.5 years of this show and the small, repeatable steps you can start today to build a durable life: write a little, move daily, guard your energy, and stack useful skills that multiply your impact. If this conversation helps you rework one habit or reframe one problem, share it with a friend who needs a nudge. Subscribe for more thoughtful breakdowns of ideas that actually work, and leave a review to tell us which system you’ll try next. Key Points from the Episode: • Dilbert as a mirror of modern workplaces • The Dilbert Principle and bad incentives • Systems over goals as daily wins • Building routines into momentum • Talent stacking and energy management • Persuasion, framing, and political prediction • Trained thinking over lazy patterns • A final turn toward faith and humility Be sure to check out our show page at teammojocademy.com, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources Other resources:  Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly!

    17 min
  5. JAN 16

    MM#454--Peace Through Strength in Venezuela, Part 2

    FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message Tyranny spreads by force, and so must the resolve to stop it. We take a clear-eyed look at what comes after a dictator falls in Caracas and argue for a blueprint that restores Venezuelan sovereignty without sliding into a quagmire. Our approach blends moral clarity with practical steps: empower a transitional council, reform and retrain security forces, and build a justice process that punishes violent crimes while creating space for reconciliation. We walk through a five-part plan designed to lock in stability. First, governance must return to Venezuelans with clean records and the capacity to rebuild services, courts, and media freedom. Second, security forces should be cleaned up rather than destroyed: purge cartel-linked generals, retrain mid-level officers, and sever foreign intelligence ties that turned the state into a proxy. Third, a truth, justice, and reconciliation commission can separate serious crimes from systemic corruption and ensure victims are heard. Fourth, we target the money: dismantle Cartel de los Soles, seize assets, and align banks, shippers, and insurers to choke illicit flows. Fifth, we end election fraud by replacing compromised systems with citizen-verifiable audits, transparent chains of custody, and independent oversight. All of this sits inside a renewed Monroe Doctrine that focuses on our neighborhood: secure oil fields, stop hybrid attacks, and reduce the space for cartels and adversaries to operate. Special forces play a limited but crucial role by training local units and transferring capacity, not occupying. The aim is peace through strength—stability rooted in law, deterrence, and credible ballots. If Venezuela can anchor accountable governance and lawful commerce, the benefits ripple across the hemisphere with safer borders, steadier energy, and fewer reasons for families to flee. Key Points from the Episode: • opening quote from Jeane Kirkpatrick on tyranny and war sharing a source • framing Maduro’s capture as a first step, not the finish • goal to restore sovereignty and stability without nation building • five major points to a restored and rehabilitated Venezuela • rationale for a renewed Monroe Doctrine focused on regional security • payoff: secure energy, reduced terror and cartel reach, rule of law Other resources:  Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly!

    9 min
  6. JAN 12

    MM#453--Peace Through Strength In Venezuela-- Part 1

    FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message A nighttime city goes dark, rotors whisper over rooftops, and a regime built on crime loses its center of gravity. That image anchors a frank, fast-moving breakdown of Operation Absolute Resolve—the surgical extraction that removed Nicolás Maduro without a single U.S. casualty or aircraft loss. We open with first principles from Liberty and Tyranny, asking what prudence requires when unalienable rights collide with the limits of American responsibility, then test those principles against a real-world mission that felt more like law enforcement than nation building. I walk through the skeptical reflex shaped by Iraq and Afghanistan and explain why the facts on the ground shifted my view. Maduro’s Venezuela wasn’t acting like a sovereign state; it was operating as a transnational cartel hub funneling cocaine and fentanyl into American streets while inviting Russia, China, and Iran into our hemisphere. That changes the moral math. We draw the line from Noriega’s Panama to Caracas, show how sovereignty erodes when a ruler weaponizes the state for organized crime, and clarify why a narrow objective—remove the cartel boss in a presidential sash—served both justice and deterrence. From there, we unpack the mission profile: more than 150 aircraft, coordinated cyber effects, lights out over Caracas, target hit at 2:01 a.m., and a clean exfil. No occupation. No open-ended promises. Just a defined aim met with precision and restraint. The takeaway is not triumphalism but discipline: peace through strength means clarity of purpose, proportional means, and a hard stop once the job is done. We close with practical guardrails to prevent mission creep and a look ahead to part two on Venezuela’s next chapter and regional stability. If this analysis resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who cares about strategy and ethics, and leave a review to help more listeners find the conversation. Key Points from the Episode: We weigh the moral and strategic case for removing Nicolás Maduro through a surgical extraction that avoided quagmire while targeting a criminal enterprise masquerading as a state. We connect prudence, sovereignty, and the Monroe Doctrine to a Reagan-style peace through strength. • Levin’s framework on rights, limits, and prudence • Skepticism after Iraq and Afghanistan • Operation Absolute Resolve planning and execution • Maduro as narco-terrorist and illegitimate ruler • Noriega precedent and sovereignty boundaries • Monroe Doctrine and great-power presence • Objectives achieved without occupation • Guardrails to prevent mission creep Join us later in the week at TeammojoAcademy.com for part 2  Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademy.com, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources Other resources:  Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly!

    8 min
  7. JAN 1

    MM#451--Reading Goals, Real Growth

    FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message Ready to swap doomscrolling for thinking that actually changes your mind? David closes out the year with a 34-book reading journey and the five standout titles that forged a stronger, more coherent worldview—spanning Civil War history, economic systems, political ideology, and Christian public life. Along the way, David shares a practical path: start with 12 excellent books, take notes, use audio plus print, and talk through ideas with people who challenge you. The aim isn’t a bigger reading tally; it’s better judgment, clearer history, and a sturdy framework for evaluating claims in a noisy world. If this resonates, hit follow, share the episode with a friend who loves big ideas, and leave a quick review telling us which book you’ll read first. Key Points from the Episode: • purposeful reading over tallying books • debunking the Lost Cause and modern myths • Longstreet’s turn and the cost of courage • why communism appeals and what it delivers • how American systems create durable prosperity • Christian patriotism and public engagement • connecting patterns across domains for clarity • practical reading habits and monthly goals Be sure to check out our show page at teammojocademy.com, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources Other resources:  MM#443--Christian Nationalism, NO, Christian Patriotism! Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly!

    29 min
4.2
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

We examine and explore the great books, to extract their nuggets of wisdom helping to save you time, and ultimately to take action to FLOURISH in life. Powered by The MOJO Academy.