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 II 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