In short
Pastor Michael Todd shares three principles for improving romantic partnerships: transparency, shared faith goals, and having fun together, arguing these deepen empathy, align decision-making, and sustain joy through hardship.
Guest backgrounds
The episode is hosted by Lewis House and features Pastor Michael Todd (with his wife Natalie); he references his book work and personal family life (including traveling with two daughters and his wife’s pregnancy).
Key claims
Transparency differs from honesty—offer feelings and context proactively to prevent insecurity and build empathy. Shared biblical faith enables joint problem-solving (e.g., parenting and finances). Fun is essential because life includes trouble.
Notable examples
On a plane from Tulsa to LA, Michael and Natalie laugh for 20 minutes after a food mishap, describing it as a bonding moment despite stress.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOPrinciples of a Strong Relationship
0:24 to 6:05
Discussion on key principles of transparency, faith, and fun in relationships.
“Depending on the layer of relationship you're in right now, if you just meet somebody today and you don't even know if you want to be with them, I don't think it's wise that you tell them everything.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00How's the new place? Get your Wi-Fi figured out? I got T-Mobile 5G home internet and I'm loving it. It's the fastest 5G home internet. My old provider was so slow. Mine is slow. And only 35 bucks a month. Do I need to try this? Try it for 15 days. Love it or get your money back. I love it already. There are over 250 reasons to join T-Mobile. Find yours and check availability at T-Mobile.com slash home internet. that this is according to oculus b test intelligence data second half of 2025 all rights reserved for the money back guarantee within 30 days of cancellation hi my name is lewis house and welcome to the daily motivation show
0:42what are the main principles that every relationship should be founded upon bro i wrote a whole book about i'm gonna give you three of them three let me give you three of them the first thing has to be transparency. Depending on the layer of relationship you're in right now, if you just meet somebody today and you don't even know if you want to be with them, I don't think it's wise that you tell them everything. But I do believe that there's a difference between transparency and honesty. And many people have adopted the thought process and the philosophy of being honest, but not transparent.
1:13Pastor Michael Todd:Honesty is when you ask me, I'll tell you the truth. But until then but until then I'm hiding something yes And a lot of times most of us don't get asked the questions that we need to answer Those questions are scared. Oh my gosh, they're scary to ask and you don't want to know the answer And you don't want to know a lot of times and and then it automatically if the person is not emotionally Secure enough then you're like what you don't trust me like there's so many different things that are there And that's why I always ascribe to the philosophy of being transparent. You don't have to ask me I'm going to offer it up.
1:45I'm going to tell you, hey, this when you when you talk to that guy at the restaurant that made me feel some type of way. And it made me really start thinking about the insecurities of my last relationship and why we broke up. And I'm not asking you to solve it at this moment, but I'm letting you know how that made me feel. And I'm just going to process with that. there's no question that your mate could have asked to get that um response that genuinely because then they'll say something like this are you okay yeah i'm fine like and the truth is no you're not but i don't emotionally know how to let you know that that honestly it wasn't really what you did it's what i've been through yeah that triggered something in me and now i'm insecure about what I know I have, but it's because of what happened to me.
2:36Pastor Michael Todd:But that takes being transparent. And what I found is when I'm transparent, it honestly provides more empathy from the other person to be able to, man, I'm sorry you felt that way. Well, what can I do? And like that then is deepening that relationship. I think that you need to have common faith goals. I think for me a lot of things that I found in relationship is a lot of people like each other But what their their faith is founded on are two totally different things And I think you should be equally compatible in the things that you believe And and when you do that, it's easier to have conversations about how to raise children Finances for me and my wife.
3:19Um, we're christians that believe in the bible And so there are certain things that we disagree on and then we can go to the bible and we're like, okay But this is something that we believe together. Let's wrestle through this. Let's work through this. Let's how does that make you feel? Let's ask somebody.
3:33Pastor Michael Todd:There are so many problems that have been solved because we believe the same things foundationally in our faith. And I'm encouraging people a lot of times that when you do that, it creates a foundation that moves past emotions. A lot of times that triggers. Yeah, it's just like, well, I can't get it. I can't get it. But then when you go to certain things, love is patient. Love is kind. Love keeps no record of wrong. Dang, 1 Corinthians 13 is jacking me up right now. Love offers forgiveness. Love, oh, love is long-suffering. Like, these are words that we have adopted from a book that we believe has truth in it and principles to live by.
4:15And because we are on the same level in that faith, it corrects us sometimes when we don't want to be corrected.
4:22Pastor Michael Todd:And then the third thing that I would say is fun. If you cannot have fun with the person that you're in relationship with, good luck. Life is hard. It is hard. There will be trouble. It's promised. But if you can find somebody to look at in the darkest part of the valley and laugh with them. It happened to me and Natalie on the plane yesterday. I told you before, we brought two of our daughters with us. And they're seven and three years old. and we're on a plane from Tulsa to LA, three and a half hours. You can imagine all the fruit snacks and the iPads and all of the different things. Crying, just the whole nine.
5:01And my wife is pregnant right now, so put that on top of it. And she's trying to eat, and I'm sitting in the chair next to her, and something drops off of her plate, and I can just, I can see the breakdown
5:14Pastor Michael Todd:just right up ahead like a movie. And I just look at her, and she starts laughing, And she sees me and she breaks out. And for 20 minutes, laughing, we are dying on the plane. Not because everything's good, because we have somebody to be through and go through everything with them. And that joy, I mean, literally, we got off the plane and all that stuff. She said, I haven't laughed like that in so long. The three things that have gotten us through, the three things I just gave you. transparency, our faith foundation being the same and being the fun. It has to be lived out. And that's what we're trying to do.
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6:46Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of the daily motivation. And I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to click the link in the description that will take you to the full episode of our main podcast on the school of greatness. And if you are loving the daily motivation, please follow us over on Apple podcast and Spotify and leave us a review over on Apple podcast right now. And if you want more exclusive content and ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel on Apple podcast right now. And if you want to get even more inspiration from our world class guests and learn how to improve your life and take it to the next level, then make sure to sign up for the greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash newsletter.
7:36Again, have an amazing day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another episode of the Daily Motivation Show.
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Check out the full episode: https://greatness.lnk.to/1087DM
Pastor Michael Todd emphasizes three foundational principles for successful relationships. First and foremost, he advocates for transparency, emphasizing the importance of open communication and sharing feelings without waiting to be asked. Additionally, he stresses the significance of having common faith goals, suggesting that shared beliefs provide a solid foundation for navigating challenges and making decisions together. Lastly, Pastor Todd underscores the importance of having fun in a relationship, highlighting its role in overcoming life's inevitable hardships. In essence, he shares insights on building relationships rooted in openness, shared values, and joy.
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