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Transcript

The Price of Saying “Yes” · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For more resources, including your free Daily Rider Starter Kit, visit DailyRiderLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I want to start out today's episode with a quick story.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: A little while back, I said no to an amazing opportunity to help writers.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this was an opportunity to partner with an entrepreneur that I greatly respect, and this person has been really influential in my life.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: He was actually one of the first people to help me see that I can make a living with my writing.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I've read his books and listened to his podcast for years.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this opportunity would have let me help more people.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: It would have expanded my influence, and I would have gotten to spend more time with people that I highly respect.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: So why did I say no to this?
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: You might be wondering.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Why in the world would Kent do something that was so dumb?
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the answer actually is really simple.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's that I didn't have the bandwidth to do a good job in this role that this person was offering.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason is because I'm working on several ghostwriting projects.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm leading my daily writer club, which is growing.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: I create this podcast, which is a daily show, as you know, and I'm also working on a couple of my own books.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: So remember that anytime you say yes to one thing, you're also saying no to a hundred other things.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Time is not infinite.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: You only have so much time.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure that you're saying yes to the right things for the season of life that you're in.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you'll have to pass up amazing opportunities because the timing just isn't right.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: But you've got to respect your existing commitments and you've got to realistically assess whether you can actually add something else to your plate.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's something else to remember.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: The more successful you become, the more great opportunities will come your way.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: It really becomes an issue of saying no to a lot of good things, so you can focus on the few things that are really going to help move the ball down the field for you.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in the case of the opportunity that I mentioned a minute ago, it was important that I'd be able to do a good job if I committed to it.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: But the reality is that it would have been something that I just squeezed into my schedule, just doing the bare minimum, instead of really giving it a good effort.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, I have way too much respect for the person who was offering me this opportunity for me to give something that was half-hearted.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that you feel the same way.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever you say yes to something, make sure that you can do it well.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: I would encourage you, and I would remind myself also to commit to doing a few things really, really well and to put your full effort into those things rather than doing a bunch of things half-heartedly.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: So all those things that you feel pressured to do and that you don't really want to do and that you can only do kind of halfway, say no to those things, get those things off your plate so you can really focus on what you should be doing.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So here's today's challenge.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to ask yourself a very important question.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: What do you need to say no to in order for you to say yes to the most important things?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: A big thanks to today's sponsor, the Writer's Talk app.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you've always wanted to write a book but don't know how to get started, you'll love the Writers Talk app.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: When you join, you get immediate access to hundreds of instructional videos, a tool to help you come up with more ideas, and best of all, a community where you can collaborate with other authors.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Writers Talk is only$4.99 a month, and you can check it out by going to writerstalk.app.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.