Executive TLDR
GTA Principle: Gratitude, Thankfulness, and Appreciation are the cultural bedrock of a high-performing office.
Character Over Talent: Talent can get you to the top, but only character—being humble, hungry, and having hustle—keeps you there.
Victim vs. Victor: You cannot be both. Leaders take responsibility and remain solution-oriented; victims complain, blame, and justify.
The Carat Analogy: Value in business isn’t just about “color” (background); it’s about “carats” (the depth of your growth, recruiting, and licensing).
Unstoppable Together: Individual “Dragon Balls” (stars) are great, but the true power lies in the Hierarchy (the Dragon) standing united.
Video Summary: GTA—Gratitude, Thankfulness, and Appreciation
Stacy and Ben Lee deliver a masterclass on the internal “soft skills” that drive massive organizational growth. They open with a core philosophy: Talent gets you to the top, but character keeps you there. They define the ideal leader as someone possessing the “Triple H”—Hungry, Humble, and Hustle. Leadership, in their view, is not a title given but a status earned through being a lifetime student.
A significant portion of the talk focuses on the GTA mindset (Grateful, Thankful, Appreciative). The Lees argue that a positive office environment requires leaders with “thick skin and a black heart” (mental toughness) who understand that the lesson is in the journey, not the destination. They challenge the audience to reclaim their “remote control”—reminding leaders not to give others the power to dictate their emotions or reactions.
The Lees use a vivid analogy involving rare blue, orange, and pink diamonds to explain business value. Just as a diamond’s price is dictated by its carats (size/weight), a Primerica business’s value is dictated by its depth and width. They define “carat” in this business as the combination of Recruiting, Promoting, and Licensing leaders. They conclude by calling for unity within the Dragon Hierarchy, stating that while individuals can be strong, the empire is only “unstoppable together.”
Glossary of Terms
GTA: Gratitude, Thankfulness, and Appreciation; the required emotional state for leadership.
Hungry, Humble, Hustle: The three character traits identified by the Lees as essential for long-term success.
Carat (Business Definition): The measurement of a team’s value based on its depth, licensing numbers, and leadership promotions.
Remote Control: A metaphor for emotional self-regulation and not allowing external circumstances to control your mood.
Dragon Hierarchy: The specific organizational structure within the Empire Builders that emphasizes collective strength.
Compounding: Doing the “right things” consistently over a long period until the results multiply exponentially.
FAQs
Q: What is the difference between a Victim and a Victor?
A: A victim complains, blames, and justifies their failures. A victor takes full responsibility and remains focused on finding solutions.
Q: What are the “5 Levels of Leadership”?
A: Based on John Maxwell’s teaching, it ranges from Level 1 (Position) to Level 5 (Pinnacle/Respect). The Lees urge you to evaluate where you stand with your people skills.
Q: Why do the Lees talk about blue and pink diamonds?
A: To illustrate that while where you come from is interesting, your “weight” (production and licensing depth) is what determines your value in the marketplace.
Q: What does “polishing and pressure” refer to?
A: It’s an analogy for the journey of a leader; just as pressure creates diamonds, the challenges of the business polish a representative into a leader.
Q: How do you “summons your dragon wish”?
A: By uniting as a hierarchy. Individual effort is good, but collective focus is what achieves the biggest goals.
Transcript:
Hey, I want to talk about, you know, basically talent will get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. And that’s by Coach Woden. Character and leadership create massive team. Right? Hungry, humble, hustle. Are you any of those leadership, respect or earn not given at the end? Humble still wait. Hunger and hustle leadership. It’s lifetime learning or lifetime student, right? It’s what you learn after you know it at all. Second is GTA. Grateful, thankful, appreciative. And that’s what we have in our office environment. Thick skin, black heart, mentally tough. Consistently. Our lesson comes from the journey, not from the destination. Take responsibility and solution oriented. Complainer, blamer, justifier. They’re all victims. You could be a victim, you could be a victor, not both. You can’t justify that, right? It’s almost like the will to win requires you to will to work.
Do we give permission to someone else to access our remote control? My question is if someone has a remote tell. Hey, I want you to be angry. I want you to be happy. Do we allow that? If we do, we have to reinvent ourselves. No big problem when you’re bigger than the problem, insanity isn’t hopeful. In business, doing the right things long enough till is compounded. It’s what we talk about. Maxwell, five level of leadership. The level five is pinnacle. Is there other rating? You not yourself. What’s your five level of leadership when it comes to people skills? Now, size of your team reflects size of dream. I’m going to give you analogy. They say the most expensive diamonds and multicolored stones. For instance, I’m going to skip this. Some of the blue, the biggest blue diamonds, sold for 57.5 million at 14 carat. An orange diamond sold for 35 million at 14 carat.
Another pink diamond sold for 71 million at 59 carat. Another 90 carat of a pink diamond sold for 50 million. Right. So what does that mean? Very simple. It’s not about the color. It’s not about where you’re from, the arch. And yes, those are very important. But if you’re carrot, you’re puny. You’re not enough. Our carrot in our business is the depth of growth matters. It’s how wide and deep you are. It’s about leader and licensing. What are leaders? Recruit, promote, licensed leaders. Those are leaders. Right? Last but not least, it takes seven dragon Balls. United summon for your dragon wish. That’s the animation. But my question to you is as a hierarchy, we’re not just Dragon Ball because Dragon Ball individuals are rock as a dragon. Harrier. We are growing diamonds and gems. It’s going to take us time. The journey is going to polish, shine, organic growth and pressure.
United stands forever. The beginning chapter. Dragon Empire. Strong, alone, unstoppable. Together. Hey, let’s not wish one day. Today is day one. Thank you.
