EP46 | Slow Down to Speed Up

Are you overwhelmed? Do you find your calendar completely blocked up with tasks and there’s no time scheduled for yourself? Sometimes we need to know when to say no to those things that aren’t going to make the boat go faster.. In this episode of The Create Purpose Podcast Zach gives you 4 lessons that you can use to learn how to slow down to speed up. 

Find out more about Zach’s 3-part video series. Visit www.zacharend.com/habit  to find out more and unlock your potential as a leader!

 Episode resources:

• Create Purpose Website 

• Join Zach’s Workshop
• Book: Who Not How by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan
• Person: Bo Eason

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Zach Arend: When I personally start feeling overwhelmed and feeling like I've got so much to do, that's actually an indication that I need to slow down to speed up. I need to take a pause. I need to go on a walk. I need to go on a run. I need to go to the gym. I need to just journal. I need to just sit down and take a, a morning and start late and just read all the things that my mind is saying.

You don't have time for this. Well, here's the thing. I am, you are the captain of your ship.

Welcome back, or welcome to the Create Purpose Podcast. In today's episode, I want to start by just sharing something. I'm, I'm actually, if you were with me right now, you would look out my window and see snow falling. I'm in Park City, Utah. Spent the last two days doing a two day annual planning session with a client, and I almost didn't make it.

I had to catch a flight Monday night, and I always leave about an hour before the flight. Takes off. And on this particular day, I drove, I usually Uber. I was planning on parking in the parking garage right outside the airport while I get there. And the parking lot is full and I've never had a park anywhere other than this parking lot.

And so I didn't know where to go. And so I turned around and I saw this sign for economy parking and sure enough, I, I find a parking spot and I walked to the, the pickup booth and it's a ghost town. There is not a shuttle in sight, There isn't a person in sight. I look at my. I've got 45 minutes until my flight leaves and there's no shuttle.

And then I look at the, I read the sign and it says, Shuttle stops every 30 minutes. And I'm like, That's not gonna work. And so I'm like, Well, maybe the shuttle's on the way. And so I call this number, there's a phone right there. I call this number and I ask 'em, I'm like, Do you know where the shuttle is?

And they're like, No, but if you call this number, they'll tell you where the shuttle is. And I said, So what's the number? And they give me the number and I write it down. And then I called a number and I hear this beeping noise and it says, You dialed an incorrect number. So I'm like, Oh, shit. Like, so I'm like, I don't have time for this.

And so I'm like, Well, do I just wait? Maybe the shuttle will show up. I'm like, I ain't waiting. And so I got back in my car and I just floored it. And I'm going, , I'm going way too fast. We'll just say that. And I, I Google another parking spot, a parking garage area. Further on down, I'm, I barrel in there like 60 mile an hour.

I slam on the brakes to swipe my card, so the gate opens. I can't, my hand's shaking, I can't swipe my card, get the gate to open and, and a attendant comes out to help me. She and I just hand her my card and I go. I am so late, I have to get to the airport. She swipes my card and she's like, Park over there in garage four.

That driver will take you. I literally get outta my car. I grab my bags and the driver, he's, I have a personal shuttle to the airport. It's just me. He's firing up a shuttle just for me to get to the airport, and I'm like, Okay. I'm look at my watch and I'm like, Okay. My flight leaves in like 20 minutes. I think I can make it, Well, it might have been 30 minutes.

I think I can make it. And then I get an alarm on my phone, a notification saying that Delta has a departure notice that my flight's actually now leaving 15 minutes earlier. So I'm like, Are you kidding me? And so I just told the guy, I'm like, I've gotta go. And he's, he's speeding. This guy is driving an airport shuttle and he's speeding and he opens up the door.

When we get to the delta, the gate, he opens up the door before the shuttle stops moving. This guy. I wish I would've slowed down to give him a tip, but he was the bomb. Like he let me out of the car before the, it was moving, like I jumped out of a moving airport show , and I literally just, woo, I am dead.

Sprint to, everybody's looking at me like, What is up with this guy? And I get through the gate and I, I get through tsa, thank, got on tsa, and I walk on the plane with very little time to spare. My heart is probably, I don't have, If I had a heart rate monitor on, I was probably going 180 beats per minute.

Oh, you know, that was how I almost missed my flight to Park City, Utah. And on top of that, I mean, this is a leadership team. They reserved a resort to do their annual planning. So I imagine if I called them, Hey, I missed my flight. I can't make it. So here I am on my flight, in the seat on time, barely. And.

And I was reflecting on that this morning as I was thinking about what to share on this podcast episode. I think that is how many of us feel, most of our life, most of our days feel like rushing to get to one thing to the next. Always feeling like we're a little behind, not quite on time, and tis the season that we're heading into the holiday season, especially for a lot of product based businesses.

Well, just even just being a human being, getting gifts. I mean, it's a crazy time of year and this is a message. I'm gonna title this podcast, Slow down to speed Up, slow down to speed up. You know, I personally was cutting it way too close at the airport. My wife has told me time and time again, why do you get to the airport?

Like you, you just like to walk on the plane, don't you? Well, I literally ran on the plane today and I'm always rushing. I'm always like, On time means walking in at the buzzer. I know that's not probably what most people would teach, but that's how I live my life. I try to cram so much into my day. That's my greatest strength.

But it's also, there's a dark side to that. There's a dark side to squeezing so much in your day. And so I wanted to come on here in today's episode and just say Slow down to speed up. And there are four lessons. I learn, I'm learning. I can't say I've learned them because just two days ago, I almost missed my flight to a very big meeting with, with a leadership team.

So I am learning these, but these are lessons, this episode's as much for me as maybe as it is for you. So let's get into these lessons because I think you and I need to hear this. If you and I are going to achieve a big vision and, and really bring our dream into realization and fulfill on that, Then we need to take heat to these lessons cuz they're gonna make, make a huge difference.

And so what are they? Lesson number one, learning to say no is so hard, but it is critical to you achieving your vision and that is your vision. If you're an executive, a leader, or a business owner, an entrepreneur, a creative, whatever your vision is, it's your vision. If it's your vision, you're gonna have to get really good at saying no to everything.

That's not that vision, and that is hard. That is hard one. It's hard telling other people. No. Some people really struggle telling other people. No. I do in certain cases, but personally, I have a hard time telling myself, no, and maybe you can relate. I see opportunities everywhere. Like, just like I could do that.

I could write a book, I could record this episode, I could do this. I could write that. I could pursue this person or speak here. Do that. I have a hard time telling myself, no. For example, this podcast. Over the last six months I've work, I've been working with a marketing team, so a side lesson, not the lesson for today, but one of the things I'm learning is the importance of building a team and getting a team.

There's a great book by Benjamin Hardy based on Dan Sullivan's work called Who Not How, and I read that book at the beginning of the year and it really showed me that I need to get some who's around me to help me build what I'm building. I only know so much, and if I try to continue to be the Jack of all trades, that's gonna hurt me more than help me.

Well, part of that is we've gotten really dialed into what is, what's my offer? What are my programs? And you know, there's, there's the, the workshop that I'm gonna be doing every, maybe every month, at least every quarter. There is the mastermind calling it the being mastermind because it's all about who you be and letting the doing flow from that.

Cuz so often we do. So we try to do so that we can be, but we have it backwards. And this whole mastermind is designed to teach you a different approach to building your business. So there's the mastermind, the workshop, and then there's the continuation of of my PRI one-on-one coaching. I've been a coach to a lot of creatives and artists and right brain business owners just helping.

Kind of get out of their own way, press pause and get some clarity so they can be the leader. They know that they are. That's it. That's what I'm doing. And then the last thing is I'm how I'm gonna be speaking from stages next year. I just am, I just got an email to get asked to go to speak down in San Antonio at a, at a association event, which is exciting for me.

So it's coming and maybe you can relate. Maybe your business is succeeding, sales are coming in, orders are coming in, but you're starting to be like, Whoa, whoa. Like, I better know where the freaking breaks are, or I need to really decide what I'm doing and not doing. And this very podcast come up, came up because I ha my goal next year is to get less, is more to really focus on what is it that's really gonna move the dial for me, for me to build the business and have the impact that I want to have.

And. This whole entire year, I've been doing weekly episodes and it's been, it's been a joyful experience. I love doing this. Now is it a distraction from what's great? Is it a good, you know, there's this saying that we have to replace the good with the great, and sometimes good can be the enemy of great. I think that was Jim Collins that maybe said that.

So good can be the enemy of great. I think this podcast is something very good. I enjoy. But if I want to have my vision, if I want to create my vision, I've gotta learn to say no to some things. And that leads me to lesson number two. When you get clear on your vision, then you're gonna know when to say no.

You have to be clear. You have to know what you're building towards. So often we don't know. We don't know what we really. And that might, because we haven't slowed down enough to actually think about the question and allow ourselves to dream and listen to our own desire and hearts content. But when you do get clear, when you do get clear on your vision, now, it's a lot easier to know what to say no to because there's a simple question.

this, whatever this is that I'm debating whether I'm gonna do or not. Is this making the boat go faster? It was the British crew team, I don't remember what year it was, but this crew team ended up winning the Olympics. The British crew team hadn't won an Olympics for for a long time. I don't know. It was a long time.

They weren't really a contender. Well, this particular year on this particular team did win and they had a slogan at the beginning of the season and the coach shared it with them. He said that everything we do, Is going to make the boat go faster. If it doesn't make the boat go faster, we're not doing it.

And so that was the question I asked myself. As I've gotten clear on my vision, and I want to share this with you because you have a vision. What's your vision for yourself, for your own personal development, your own personal growth, or your business or your team? What is it? and now you just simply have to ask, Well, is this, is that making the boat go faster?

If it's not, then you don't do it, or you do it at a lower, lower capacity. So the podcast, I've, I've made the decision for the time being, I don't know how long this whole, you know, But for now, I'm gonna dial back the frequency of my episodes and I'm gonna focus on quality over quantity. So my plans are to only release one to two episodes every month.

Yeah. You know, here's the thing I'm struggling with. There is. I'm comparing myself to all the other podcasters, all the other influencer thought leaders, coaches, whatever you wanna call us, right? And they're all doing weekly podcasts. Sometimes they're doing three a week, and, you know, and I'm like, Oh, maybe I should be doing that.

And, you know, and it's, it's been hard to say no to this. I mean, I've said no to my team and, and some of my coaches, like, I'm, I'm gonna go down to one the next morning. I'm like, Well, maybe I should consider always doing at least two. You know, maybe one's not enough, right? I, I don't know. Can you relate to this?

I'm comparing myself to others, and then I'm letting them tell me and dictate to me what I should be doing. I'm noticing, and that's a lesson that that's not serving me. I need to listen to myself and I know my vision and I know what's making the boat go faster, and I know what's made me not what this podcast, albeit good, and I love doing it.

I'm gonna continue doing it as a passion and to serve people. It is also a distraction cuz it's preventing me from putting myself out there in different ways to start creating some of the, the opportunities that I'm desiring to create to, to have a greater impact. So when you get clear on your vision, this is lesson number two.

When you get clear on your vision, it becomes a lot easier to know what to say no to. It's that magic question, will this make the boat go faster if it's not? Then don't do it or do it less if, I mean, if you still enjoy it, like I enjoy this podcast, maybe still do it, but consider not doing it to live up to everybody else's expectations or try to compete with everybody else's out there.

Just do it. Do it out of your own creative desire. And for me right now, my desire is one to two episodes a month, and that's it. And I think the quality will be improved as well. And another thing I'm thinking about, just a side note, if you're listening, one of my clients told me she, she said, Zach, you need to really consider.

Bringing people on your podcast and, and coaching them. Have them bring their challenges or goals or dreams and and you coach them. Because she told me, she's like, That's your, that's like your secret weapon. Like that's your greatness. That's your zone of genius is coaching people and. People needed to experience it.

So that's what she told me. And I'm really wrestling with how do I do that. And so if you wanna make it easy on me and you wanna DM me and say I'm in, raise your hand. I would love to chat with you and, and have you come on the, the podcast and we'll, we'll do some coaching and you'll have an opportunity to share your story and, and we can continue to explore what your dream is and how you can, you know, get clear on what your next step is.

So that's lesson number two. Lesson number three. It takes courage to say no to the good so that you can start to say yes to the great. It does it, it does. Saying no to the clients that are no longer a hell yes, or to different services or offerings that you have or I have that are no longer a hell yes.

And choosing what you want most and, and getting focused on. Getting focused on that. That takes courage cuz to do that you have to say no, I have to say no to this podcast. Something that I'm enjoying and getting some great feedback on, but I have to say no to less of this. I have to say no to. There's some major changes I'm making in my life.

Beginning of the new year, like I'm stepping out full on entrepreneur. I've, I've had some really large clients that have really supported my business and I've been very thankful, but that's also really consumed a lot of my time. And again, it's good, but. I know there's something more that I'm here to do.

There's a greater impact that I, you know, all that matters. It's not, It's that I desire to make a greater impact, and so I'm going to pursue that. And to do that, I have to say no. And again, I want to challenge you. This is where courage comes, is what could you start saying no to that maybe is good, but is keeping you from Great.

That's my question to you. And over the last year and a half, I've gotten the privilege to work with a coach of mine, Bo Easton. And. Bo has a, a phenomenal story and one of the things he, he, he went on to become one of the best safeties in the world for the Houston Oilers back in the eighties and then became, wrote a one man, a one man show, became a playwright, was on Broadway, and now he is kind of touted as one of the greatest public speakers out there right now.

So this guy knows what it means to be the. And one of the things he's taught me and, and the, the, the group I'm a part of is that it's not a matter of what you say yes to. You know, like when we think about building our dream and being the best at something, he says, It's not about what you say yes to or what you do that creates that dream.

It's not about what you do that creates that dream. It's what you don't do. It's what you don't do. And so that's what you're saying no to. What are you no longer going to do? because it's a distraction because it's preventing you from from the great. That's lesson number three is it takes courage. Like if it's uncomfortable and you're feeling a lot of resistance around saying no to something because you have this heart's desire to do something a little bit different and it makes some pivots.

Good. That is an indication that you're moving in the right direction. It would be weird if you weren't uncomfortable. If you weren't experiencing some resistance. You just would, and I'll tell you what, some of my clients this year, if you're listening, you've inspired me to play bigger because you playing big and as your coach, you know, getting to watch you make those hard choices.

To lean into your dream and you know, for one of my clients that was saying no to this, a marketing team that they'd been working with for a long time. For a long time, but it was, it wasn't serving them anymore, but it was a difficult conversation. Another client dealt with like, Some major people issues where she knew that they weren't a long time fit and they had to have some tough conversations.

Another one of my clients literally left, left their business, basically left it to build a new, because they realized that the business that they had built wasn't really lighting them up in the way that they desired. And so they made some hard choices. On the other side of that is this lightness and this energy, and this creative spark, again, to go build what you do, desire to build that that inner creativity gets to come out again.

And so these are things that take courage, but they're game changers. So that's lesson number three is it's courage. You gotta have courage. If you're gonna say no, what that means is feel the fear and do it anyway. That's not, That's less than number three. Less than number four. is we all need a little CEO time.

One of my clients, one of the first things I teach my clients when we start work together is we look at their calendar and we really look at where is space on the calendar for you, for you to just do something you love to do to create some space for yourself. There's, there's a poem that I've shared on this podcast before and one of the lines.

A fire burns because of the space between the logs. Where is that space on your calendar for you to breathe? Especially this time of year? Because here's the thing, when I personally start feeling overwhelmed and feeling like I've got so much to do, that's actually an indication that I need to slow down to speed up.

I need to take a pause. I need to go on a walk. I need to go on a run. I need to go to the gym. I need to just journal. I need to just sit down and take a a morning and start late and just. Longer than I love to read. And so just read in in a book that's stop provoking and kind of inspiring or it's spending some time with the kids, picking 'em up from school.

All the things that my mind is saying, You don't have time for this. Well, here's the thing, I am, you are the captain of your ship. It's your job to decide where, what you do, not your mind. Your mind has a mind of its own. You are not your thoughts. You are the thinker of your thoughts, and so you get to command the.

And so when everything in your body is saying you don't have time for this, that's fear. That ain't gonna lead to anywhere good. That's not serving you. You need to stay and maintain that position of captaincy. And the more I've worked with my clients, it's the number one habit that all the successful CEOs, business owners, leaders do is what I'm calling CEO time.

What I'm calling one of my clients started calling it. And so I'm like, I'm gonna call it that. I love what you're, I love that. That's exactly what. It's time created for you to get clear, to get your confidence back and to go back into your business. More resolute than you were prior. More grounded and less overwhelmed.

So if, if you think that would benefit you, I wanna share something with you. Over the last several months, I've been working on, uh, a three part video series. really helping you own your identity as the ceo. And to do that you gotta take CEO time. And so this three part video series is, is designed for you to start to establish that new habit for you every week where you're creating space for yourself.

And I walk you through exactly how to do it. How to implement it for yourself and your calendar, and then how to communicate what you're doing with your team to kind of free you from that guilt, that feeling, cuz when you do step away from the business and you're enjoying yourself again, you start feeling guilty, which then ruins the moment.

And so how do we address that? That's what's included in this three part video series that I've created for you. So if you're interested in that, go to www dot Zach Arend dot com slash habit. , and I'll put a link in the show notes, but go check that out. That's a, it's a free training. It's a three part video series.

It's gonna take you 20 to 30 minutes to go through it. And if you don't think you have time to do that, then that's the very reason you need this training. So go check that out. So that's lesson number four is we all need some CEO time. Believe me, if you haven't done it, you Canditt agree or disagree with me.

You need to, you need to. You need to try it because it's going to be a game changer. You need to create some space between the logs so your fire can. . Okay, so that's lesson four. Those are the four lessons I want to come here on here and share. You know, if I was living these, maybe I wouldn't have been late for the airport and almost missed my flight this week.

But again, let's say no to the rat race. Let's say no to overwhelm, let's say no, to creating an environment where we feel rushed and we don't get to be our best. Because here's the thing, if you're allowing that story to creep in your mind, and you're putting yourself at the effect of your circumstances, I'm gonna say it and I hope I'm gonna say it, and sometimes it rubs people the wrong way.

You are being a victim and you're not a victim. I know that you're powerful, and so to be powerful you have, you must captain your ship. That's your job is to be responsible. So if something's not working for you, where can you say no? When? Right now you're saying yes. How do you kinda live by the motto?

Less is more. Slow down to speed up. So thanks for listening. And again, if you want the the free training, the three part video series, go to www dot Zach Arend dot com slash habit. So thanks for joining me and I'll see you in the next episode. . Hopefully you really enjoyed this podcast episode, and my hope is you found it really inspirational and also most importantly, I hope you took away some practical things that you can start to do and apply in your own life.

So finally, I have one small favorite to ask of you before you go wherever you get your podcast, whether that's Apple Music or Spotify. If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review. Love to hear your thoughts. Come find us on social media, share it on social media. It just really helps us get the word out, helps us grow our audience, so please do that.

Thanks to my team, Ashley Bolden, who handles all the admin and Chris Skipper who handles all the music and editing of this podcast for more information on the create. Purpose podcast, you can go to www.greatpurpose.net and you can also follow me on Instagram at Zach dot errand. Please drop me a comment, reach out, drop me a dm.

I'd love to hear from you and love to hear what's your taking away from these conversations? What would you like to hear more of? Do you have any guests that you would love to see come on the show? And I'm always looking for great people to talk to and people with great stories that can inspire you.

And so if you know of anybody, send 'em my way. Love to hear from. I'm your host, Zach Arend, and I'll see you in the next episode of the Create Purpose Podcast. Bye for now.