Mel Robbins: Take Back Your Power in Business and  Life with This Mindset Shift | Productivity | YAPClassic

Mel Robbins spent years stuck in a controlling mindset, trying to micromanage the people and moments around her. Then, at her son’s prom, her daughter gave her the blunt reality check she needed: stop trying to manage everyone and simply “let them.” Those two words became The Let Them Theory, a practice for releasing what is outside your control and putting your energy back where it belongs. In this episode, Mel shares how to stop reacting to everyone else, take action before motivation shows up, and build a business and life with more peace and ownership. In this episode, Hala and Mel will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (02:38) The Power of Taking Action (04:44) Mel's Unforgettable TED Talk Debut (07:56) The 5 Second Rule: Action Over Motivation (16:19) Skill Stacking Your Dream Career (27:22) How Thoughtful Actions Drive Business Growth (37:13) Why Your Competitors Should Be Your Allies (40:16) The Let Them Theory: A Powerful Mindset Tool (51:06) Is Control Hardwired in Human Nature? (56:20) The Let Them Theory in Business and Leadership Mel Robbins is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host of The Mel Robbins Podcast, and one of the world’s leading experts in mindset, self-improvement, and behavior change. Recognized as a Forbes 50 Over 50 Honoree and one of USA Today’s Top 5 Mindset Coaches, her books, including The 5 Second Rule and The Let Them Theory, have been translated into 50 languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. Sponsored By: Indeed - Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/profiting Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/profiting. Northwest Registered Agent - Get a complete business identity with Northwest. Visit northwestregisteredagent.com/YAPFree and start using free resources to build something amazing. Mindstone - Master practical AI skills without the complexity with Mindstone’s AI Competency Programme. Head to experience.mindstone.com/yap and get 10% off. AT&T - Stay connected with reliable, secure internet built for entrepreneurs. Switch to AT&T Business at business.att.com. Quince - Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to Quince.com/profiting for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. Resources Mentioned: Mel’s Book, The Let Them Theory: bit.ly/_LetThemTheory Mel’s Book, The 5 Second Rule: bit.ly/_5SecondRule Mel’s Podcast, The Mel Robbins Podcast: bit.ly/TMRP-apple Active Deals - youngandprofiting.com/deals Key YAP Links Reviews - ratethispodcast.com/yap YouTube - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting Newsletter - youngandprofiting.co/newsletter LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ Social + Podcast Services: yapmedia.com Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com/episodes-new Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Podcast, Business, Business Podcast, Self Improvement, Self-Improvement, Personal Development, Starting a Business, Strategy, Investing, Sales, Selling, Psychology, Productivity, Entrepreneurs, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Marketing, Negotiation, Money, Finance, Side Hustle, Startup, Mental Health, Career, Leadership, Mindset, Health, Growth Mindset, Work-Life Balance, Work Life Balance, Team Building, Manifestation, Time Management, Life Balance, Goal Setting, Resolutions

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Hala Taha?

  Today's episode is sponsored in part by HeyGen, Shopify, Life at the Speed of Play, and Indeed. HeyGen helps you create AI avatar videos without constantly being behind the camera. Get your first three videos free at heygen.com/profitting. Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you grow your business. Start your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com/profitting. Life at the Speed of Play by Mark Pincus helps entrepreneurs quickly test ideas and find the ones worth pursuing. Get two books for the price of one at GetMark'sBook.com/Yap. Indeed helps you attract, interview, and hire all in one place. Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/podcast.

• 0:45Hala Taha?

  As always, you can find all of our incredible deals in the show notes or at YoungAndProfiting.com/deals.

• 0:52Speaker 01

  You're one decision away from a completely different life. And for me, that decision was getting out of bed when I didn't feel like it. There's one thing in life you can never control. It's other people. You can't control what they think. You can't control what they do. You can't control the timeline upon which they change, if they change at all.

• 1:08Hala Taha?

  You started your TED Talk 41, first book 49, 50 years old, starting your podcast, 54, starting your production company. Right? There's no timeline.

• 1:17Speaker 01

  Life is the greatest teacher if you're willing to look at life like one giant lesson. And I choose to believe that absolutely everything that has happened is... I believe that success is as much about not quitting as anything else.

• 1:31Hala Taha?

  So Let Them is all about releasing control.

• 1:34Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:34Hala Taha?

  Why are we so hardwired for control to begin with?

• 1:37Speaker 01

  You're never going to get rid of the need of trying to control things. It is a survival instinct because if you're in control, you feel safe. But the problem is, the Let Them theory is the single most powerful thing I've ever discovered. It is a simple mindset tool that shows you what is in your control and what is not in your control. And here's how you use it.

• 1:55Hala Taha?

  Yap gang, what if the fastest way to take your power back is to stop wasting energy on what you can't control? Stop chasing approval, stop managing reactions, stop forcing outcomes that aren't ready to happen. Let them, then come back to the only part that you can actually control, which is you. That's why we're bringing back a Yap classic with the one and only Mel Robbins. Mel is New York Times bestselling author, mega podcaster, and one of the most trusted voices in personal development. In this episode, she breaks down the let them theory and shares why action matters more than motivation, especially when you're chasing big goals. You guys loved this one. So here it is again for anyone who missed it or just needs the reminder to let them. Welcome to Young and Profiting Podcast, Mel.

• 2:38Speaker 01

  Well, thank you for inviting me and thank you. I'm so excited to talk to you.

• 2:42Hala Taha?

  I'm so excited. I've been following your work for such a long time. I actually first found out about you in 2017 when you had the five second rule come out. It was such a big hit and like millions of people, I was listening to it on repeats that entire year. And it actually was a huge inspiration for me to start my podcast in 2018.

• 3:02Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 3:02Hala Taha?

  You have personally really impacted me and I just want to say thank you for everything you've put out in the world, for being so relatable, down to earth, and just sharing what's moved for yourself and your own life to help other people.

• 3:15Speaker 01

  Well, I really appreciate you acknowledging the difference that the five second rule and that countdown technique, five, four, three, two, one, move, how it helped you. But I want to say back to you, you have to keep the credit because you did the work.

• 3:32Hala Taha?

  Oh.

• 3:32Speaker 01

  No, I'm serious. Like, it is easy to talk about motivation. It's easy to give people advice. It's easy to tell the person who's spending time with us together today, our stories and the things that worked for us. But knowledge is cheap.

• 3:46Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 3:47Speaker 01

  And it's free.

• 3:48Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 3:48Speaker 01

  And if you don't know how to achieve your goals, go to Google, type in, how do I do this? And AI will spit it out and then say, what does a day in the life of somebody who's launching this and successfully in five weeks look like?

• 4:02Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 4:03Speaker 01

  There's your map.

• 4:04Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 4:04Speaker 01

  But that's the easy part. The hard part is making yourself do it, particularly on the days when you don't feel like it. And so I want to acknowledge you for the fact that you both grabbed the knowledge and then you put it into action. And that's what makes you different. That is what explains my success. You are listening to this right now and spending time with us because you actually want to achieve big goals. So I know that about the person that is listening and choosing to spend time listening to this. But I'm gonna tell you something. This conversation that you're about to listen to means shit if you don't actually convert it to action.

• 4:39Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 4:39Speaker 01

  And that's what we're gonna talk about. Tools, but then it's gonna be to you to take the baton and go.

• 4:44Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm. And speaking of that, I was really surprised to find out that when you were first starting out, you did this TED Talk. And you didn't even know it was a TED Talk. TED Talk didn't really even exist at that point. It was like the starting point of TED Talk. You got convinced to do your first speaking event ever.

• 5:01Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 5:01Hala Taha?

  And you thought you blew it.

• 5:03Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh, yes. I like, I, so, so just to put a little backstop on this. This would have been 2011. So we're talking like I'm basically your grandmother now. If you think of this being however many years ago, over a decade ago. TED was not a thing.

• 5:17Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 5:18Speaker 01

  TED was some secret thing that fancy people went to in Seattle. They weren't even online. And so I get asked by a friend if I would give a speech about career change. And she said, "Look, a friend of mine is putting on some event in San Francisco, and they're looking for somebody to talk about career change, Mel, and I immediately thought about you." And look, I don't think that's a compliment if I'm the first person that you think of because it means I've bounced from one career to another, which I had. And she said, "Here's the catch. They're offering you two plane tickets and two nights at the St. Regis." And at the time, my husband and I were $800,000 in debt because his pizza restaurant was failing and like complete idiots. We had secured it with our life savings, our house, our credit cards, everything.

• 6:02Speaker 01

  And so when you're that in debt, do you know what? Two tickets and two nights in a hotel sounds like, that sounds like a free vacation.

• 6:09Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 6:09Speaker 01

  So I said yes, and the only time I had ever given a speech was in class in high school during like a public speaking course. So I said yes so fast, I wasn't even imagining a huge auditorium and that I would have to get up in front of, I don't know, 500 people and talk. And when I stepped on that stage, they do not prepare you, or at least they didn't back then, the way they probably do now.

• 6:37Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 6:37Speaker 01

  It was sort of like, here you go, here's your topic, go. And if you watch my TED Talk, which now is, I don't know, 33 million views.

• 6:46Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 6:47Speaker 01

  You will notice a minute into that thing, that I have one of those neck rashes that people get when they've had too much to drink and they're like really blotchy, because I was having a complete panic attack.

• 6:59Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 7:00Speaker 01

  I'm darting around the stage, I'm like talking all over the place, and near the end of the speech, I forgot how to end it. And that was one of the defining moments of my life. And there's a theme about defining moments in my life. I don't know what your defining moments are like, but mine usually involve embarrassment, too much alcohol, bankruptcy, desperation, panic attack. And in that moment when I froze, I couldn't remember what to say, and so I all of a sudden blurted out this thing, the five second rule, which you know, which you follow, which I'm sure the person listening knows, this little motivation hack.

• 7:40Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 7:41Speaker 01

  And I'd never shared it with anybody. And I couldn't think what else to say, and I just went, oh, there's this thing I do. I call it the five second rule. The moment you have an instinct to move, you have to move within five seconds, or your brain will kill your motivation to act.

• 7:56Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 7:57Speaker 01

  I walked off that stage, and I thought that was it. And that was not it. That was the beginning of something extraordinary.

• 8:04Hala Taha?

  Yeah. And so your email was flooded. People were using the five, four, three, two, one to get up, do what they need to do.

• 8:12Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 8:13Hala Taha?

  You did not share this fully with the world for three years.

• 8:17Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 8:17Hala Taha?

  You felt like you weren't, you know, ready to give advice. Like who would want to listen to you? You felt like you didn't really know the science behind it. So how did you build up the confidence to then put it out to the world and put in the reps, quite frankly?

• 8:30Speaker 01

  It's a great question. And as you're listening to this conversation, whether you're in a car, or you're at the gym, or you're watching us on YouTube, there is something that you want to do in life. Whether it's launching a business, or becoming an influencer, or monetizing social, or building a YouTube following, or publishing books, or maybe it's starting your own podcast. I don't know what that thing is. Maybe you want to become a touring musician. Maybe you want to start a fashion line. There is something in your heart. Maybe you want a Lambo. I don't know. It's, it's your goals. Whatever it is that you want, I'm here to tell you. That you do not need anybody's permission.

• 9:14Speaker 01

  And you do not need to have it all figured out. In fact, you're never going to have it all figured out. And every single day that you talk yourself out of beginning, or taking one step forward is a day that you're keeping yourself locked in a prison of your own making. Because if you know something that you want, how dare you withhold it from yourself?

• 9:42Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 9:43Speaker 01

  How dare you talk yourself out of it? How dare you sit there and spend more time and energy manufacturing excuses and worrying about what other people think? You get one life. And no one is coming to save you. No one is coming to do the work for you. Nobody is going to pick you from obscurity and make you a star. Nobody is going to build the business that you want to build. And while you're sitting there drinking with your buddies, bitching about your current job, or you are sitting there telling yourself, I don't know what to do.

• 10:14Speaker 01

  Your whole life is waiting for you. There's literally a door right in front of you. That is waiting for you to reach out and freaking turn the knob and open it. And I'm going to tell you something. My secret to success is very simple. I get out of fucking bed when I don't feel like it.

• 10:31Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 10:31Speaker 01

  End of story.

• 10:32Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 10:32Speaker 01

  And if the five second rule taught me anything, it's this. You will never, you will never feel ready to do the work. You will never feel like you are capable of achieving what you want. You will never, ever, ever feel like it's your right to say this. And so you have to learn the skill of doing the actions that are aligned with your values, your character and your dreams when you don't feel like it.

• 11:01Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 11:01Speaker 01

  And that's a skill.

• 11:02Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 11:03Speaker 01

  And every one of us sits around, I used to sit around and wait to be motivated. Motivation is complete and utter garbage because it's never there when you need it. And I even hate all this bullshit out there now about discipline and well power.

• 11:16Speaker 01

  Forget it. You can actually feel lazy and exhausted and unmotivated.

• 11:23Speaker 01

  And you can still do it.

• 11:24Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 11:25Speaker 01

  And sitting around waiting for the feeling to strike you, that is a recipe to lead, that, that is a recipe that will lead you to your deathbed. And you'll be one of those people that they study.

• 11:39Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 11:39Speaker 01

  That say, oh, man, my biggest regret is I didn't let myself be myself. I never went for the things that I wanted to do.

• 11:46Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 11:46Speaker 01

  I was so worried about what my dad thought or my mom thought or, you know, my friends thought that I never started. If you don't start now because you say you're not ready or you're not qualified or whatever, then the next excuse is going to be, well, I should have started then and now I'm too late.

• 12:01Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 12:02Speaker 01

  And then the next excuse is going to be, well, I'm too old.

• 12:04Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 12:05Speaker 01

  Or I have kids or I have a mortgage or I have this or I have that or I have people that depend upon me or I've been in this job for 10 years. So it's all bullshit. It's all, it's all something you manufactured in your own head. And I get fired up about it because it's sad.

• 12:20Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 12:21Speaker 01

  You don't have to be like this. You don't have to live your life like this. You do not have to let your mother's opinion dictate what you do.

• 12:27Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 12:30Hala Taha?

  Hello, young and profiteers. If you're running a business, getting website traffic is only half the battle. The real key to profiting is turning those visitors into paying customers. And I know checkout friction can quietly kill your sales. That's why I always say, "Serious entrepreneurs build on Shopify." Shopify is a commerce platform that helps you launch and run an online store without needing to be super technical. You can build your storefront, manage your business, and make it easy for people to buy. And here's the major advantage. Shopify Checkout with Shop Pay converts up to 36% higher than the competition. With Black Friday coming up, now's the time to get your store ready and simplify your checkout experience. If you're ready to launch your business before Black Friday,

• 13:15Hala Taha?

  go to Shopify.com/profitting to start your free trial. That's Shopify.com/profitting. Go to Shopify.com/profitting today to hear your first...

• 13:27Hala Taha?

  What's up, yap fam? If you're building a personal brand, you already know how hard it is to stay consistent with content when you're also trying to actually run your business. I love creating content, but realistically, I'm not trying to sit in front of the camera every single day. I need time to work on my business. But the problem is, consistency matters. The more people see your face and hear your voice, the more familiar you become. That's why HeyGen has been such a great tool for me. You can record just 15 seconds of footage, create an AI avatar of yourself, and use it to make videos on demand. So instead of constantly filming from scratch, you can create more content, stay visible, and keep showing up without making your entire life be about generating content. And you guys know I'm always looking for tools

• 14:12Hala Taha?

  that give entrepreneurs more leverage. HeyGen is definitely one of those tools. 30 million people already use it, from solo founders to 85% of the Fortune 100. Your first three videos are free at HeyGen.com/profitting. That's H-E-Y-G-E-N dot com slash P-R-O-F-I-T-I-N-G. HeyGen.com/profitting.

• 14:38Hala Taha?

  Yeah fam, you know October hits different. The season shifts and suddenly, when your alarm goes off in the morning, your body's like, absolutely not. But when you have the business and a million decisions waiting for you, you cannot start the day already feeling behind. And that's why AG1 has earned a real spot in my morning routine. AG1 Next Gen is a daily foundational nutrition drink with 75+ ingredients, including vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, and superfoods. AG1 Next Gen is backed by four separate gold standard clinical trials and key nutrient levels improved within three months of consistent use. Plus, it's formulated to support immune defense, which is really important this time of year. Yeah fam, if you want to start your mornings off right,

• 15:21Hala Taha?

  go to drinkag1.com/profitting and for a limited time, get a free immune support bundle, including a bottle of Omega 3 Fish Oil and a bottle of Vitamin D3 K2 with your first subscription order of AG1 Next Gen or AG1 Pro. That's drinkag1.com/profitting. Drinkag1.com/profitting. I love what you did because I feel like your book wouldn't have been as big as a success, The Five Second Rule, had you just put it out right away. Mm-hmm. Like you took the steps to do what you needed to be ready to do that. You did free speaking gigs, you spoke all over the world, you became the number one female speaker. You researched, you got the science,

• 16:05Hala Taha?

  and you built up the confidence so that, once you actually put out the book, the world was ready to receive it.

• 16:11Speaker 01

  Well, I think there's also something else that happened, okay? Which is, when everything started to build for me, and again, this goes to the point where the first skill is starting,

• 16:23Speaker 01

  because you're never going to get what you want if you don't begin.

• 16:25Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 16:26Speaker 01

  So you have to actually commit to starting. And there's a very simple way you do it. You just get clear about what you want. And if you don't know what you want... Here's how you figure that out. Just say, I don't want to have. Like, literally, if you don't know what direction to point, just know, well, where I am is not it.

• 16:45Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 16:45Speaker 01

  So I need to take a look at where I am and the way that I go through my day. And I need to reverse it, or do the opposite, or make a change, because that's going to pivot you in a different direction. And I truly believe that you're one decision away from a completely different life. That doesn't mean you achieve the success that you want with one decision. It means that with one decision, and for me, that decision was getting out of bed when I didn't feel like it. Getting out of bed when I was $800,000 in debt. Getting out of bed and going for a run even though I didn't feel like it, and it was snowing, and it's not going to make a dent in the debt and the fear that I have, but it's going to make me know that no matter what's going on around me, I can 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, still

• 17:30Speaker 01

  do something that reminds me that I'm still in control in small ways. And so, for me, when the TED Talk took off, I didn't write a business plan. I didn't. I just started having people say, "Hey Mel, will you come speak?" And then when I figured out that everybody else was getting paid, first of all, I felt like the world's biggest flipping idiot. And for those of you that are obsessed with influencer culture and affiliate marketing and all this stuff, I guarantee you, you waste probably 10 hours a week just looking at other people who have built what you want to build.

• 18:14Speaker 01

  And that is also a recipe for disaster. Because you will start to convince yourself that they already took it, that you can't do it, and you're looking at it wrong.

• 18:26Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 18:27Speaker 01

  There is a formula to everything. And so here I am at this point in my life where I need money. I still need to pay my bills and pay off my debt. People are starting to ask me to speak. I'm realizing everybody else at every one of these conferences that I'm going to and I'm off in the little side room, you know, doing my thing. Everybody else is getting paid. And so there's always a formula. And it's your inability to wipe away the excuses and stop comparing yourself and stop talking yourself out of it that keeps you from realizing there's a simple formula for everything.

• 19:06Speaker 01

  In fact, you are so generous because you put out content that provides a roadmap. You tell the stories from your own career and building your business. And in those stories are takeaways. You are literally selling advertising and monetizing brand partnerships for podcasts that the person that's listening to this right now listens to.

• 19:31Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 19:32Speaker 01

  And you share how you do it all the time. And so again, case in point, the problem isn't, I don't know how to do that. Yes, you do. Because there's people like you that put out content that actually teach people how to do it. And that's a gift. And how sad is it that you know and you see the steps? This was me, by the way. This is why I get so fired up about it.

• 19:57Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 19:58Speaker 01

  Because every day, just like I see, you probably see, people like the person who's listening to us right now, who has in their heart what they want. And they are actively working against themselves.

• 20:09Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 20:10Speaker 01

  And there's not a single person on the planet that can take anything from you.

• 20:14Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 20:14Speaker 01

  Nobody can block your path to success. Only you can do that.

• 20:17Hala Taha?

  And there's, there's no timeline, right? You started your TED Talk 41, first book 49, 54, starting your production company, 50 years old, starting your podcast, right? There's no timeline. And something that I always talk about on the show is skill stacking. I've done it with my own career.

• 20:34Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 20:34Hala Taha?

  And I feel like the best entrepreneurs, they got a lot of experiences, they did a lot of jobs, they figured out what they're good at, what they hate, what they like, and then they designed their dream career and job. I feel like that's what I did with myself. I literally designed the perfect job for me that I'm so good at. And I feel like you've done the same. I was binging your podcast recently and like, they're just so good when I listen to it. I learned about the let them theory. That's what I was like mostly focused on. But what I really learned is that you are so friendly and that you really try to be relatable and down to earth and you make everybody feel really loved and you've got this like friend approach to what you do on the podcast.

• 21:13Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 21:14Hala Taha?

  So I want to ask you about that.

• 21:15Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 21:15Hala Taha?

  But first I want to ask you about your experiences that you feel like led you to have this amazing career, to be a number one podcaster and author and speaker. What are the experiences that led up to that that people don't realize?

• 21:30Speaker 01

  Everything, absolutely everything. Life is the greatest teacher. If you're willing to look at life like one giant lesson. And I choose to believe that absolutely everything that has happened to me

• 21:45Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 21:46Speaker 01

  is divinely ordered for a reason.

• 21:49Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 21:50Speaker 01

  Absolutely everything. See, I don't learn what I need to learn when I'm successful and I'm soaring and I'm at the top. I learn for whatever reasons when I'm at the bottom of the barrel or when I am in a hole or when I am struggling or when things are really hard. Like I feel like courage and strength and that secret sauce that makes you successful and makes you who you are. Those are the things that happen in the hardest moments of your life and they also happen in the smallest, quietest moments if you're paying attention. And I'm going to share some examples for this because first things first, as you're

• 22:34Speaker 01

  spending time with us together today, I want you to think about the fact that if you stand in the present moment and you look backwards, you can see how absolutely every single thing that has happened to you, good or bad, scary or beautiful, like just terrorizing or fantastic. Every single thing has led you to this moment. And that you are never starting from scratch. You're always starting from experience. Because life has tested you, life has taught you, life has prepared you for this exact moment.

• 23:13Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 23:14Speaker 01

  And I also choose to believe, and this is part of what I believe is my amazing success, is that I choose to believe as I stand in this moment.

• 23:26Speaker 01

  That just like everything in the past has prepared me for where I am now, that this moment is preparing me for where I am going next.

• 23:37Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 23:38Speaker 01

  And I don't need to know when in the future I'm going to look up and go, oh, my God, it was that particular day in Manhattan, sitting down with you, that I learned X. And that has equipped me for this moment now.

• 23:58Hala Taha?

  Totally.

• 23:59Speaker 01

  And so, some of the things that have informed the way that I think about media, the way that I think about my business. Yeah, cuz I'm kind of old school. Like, I really think that my business is about one person.

• 24:13Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 24:14Speaker 01

  It's about the one person that has hit play and that is taking time to listen to this conversation. And just like when I take a walk with a friend, that my intention is to know that this, that whoever it is that is listening, yes, you right now, as you're driving your car, as you're at the gym, that you are the person I'm talking to, because I am.

• 24:37Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 24:38Speaker 01

  And I also know that everything that I'm about to share with you is relevant for somebody that you care about. And so whether you get a tremendous amount out of this, or you just feel a little bit better, you know, somebody that is going to get something out of this, which means you can use this conversation to strengthen a relationship with somebody.

• 24:58Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 24:59Speaker 01

  And so I have always approached everything that I do with this sort of, how can I help?

• 25:04Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 25:04Speaker 01

  And one person. And there's small moments in my life that really inform me. And I, I'm gonna share this story because I think it's really important that you not

• 25:18Speaker 01

  Like, there's this obsession with virality and monetization and, you know, all of this stuff in business, which is important. And another thing that has really helped me is I 1,000% believe in full ownership of everything that I do. And so I control everything because I believe in what I do. So why on earth would I give somebody else a meaningful stake when I'm the one doing all the work? When I'm the one that created the five-second rule and created the let them theory? And so why would I not keep control of these things? And why would I trust someone else's authority more than my own to be able to market these things?

• 25:59Speaker 01

  And that is because I also understand digital media, which unlike a printed book, digital media is going to live forever. Yep. Everything that you do on social media or on your YouTube channel or all of it is something you can monetize forever. Mm-hmm. So just like why Bruce Springsteen doesn't want to give his catalog of music away, he's going to sell it and have a library that he owns the rights of. I think about things that I invest my time in now as what do I actually own? Because that is an asset versus a piece of content that you're singularly monetizing. Yeah. And so for me, when I look back on my life, there are defining moments and there are surprising moments.

• 26:44Speaker 01

  And I'm going to take you on a quick kind of highlight tour. Yeah. Because those defining moments actually explain why I am one of the most intentional people you will ever meet. And I weave it through everything I do in business. So when I was a public defender, my first job, 1994, I graduate from Dartmouth College, then I go to Boston College Law School. My first job was as a public defender for the Legal Aid Society. I represented people here in New York City that had been arrested and accused of crimes and they could not afford an attorney. And I would meet them after they had been arrested and thrown into a jail cell and then

• 27:26Speaker 01

  transported to 100th Center Street, where they would be held in a cage behind a judge and they would be brought into court to be read the charges against them, to be read their constitutional rights, and to be assigned an attorney and to get a constitutionally mandated bail hearing.

• 27:46Speaker 01

  And I would meet my clients because these are people who could not afford representation. They were assigned by the state because you have a constitutional right to be represented in a court of law by a licensed attorney. And I would walk back behind the judge. And I would meet my client for the very first time in that setting. They were behind bars and I had a little folder that had the complaint from the police. And if they had ever been in trouble before, I had a history of that. If they hadn't, there wouldn't be that. And that was it. Hmm. And so that experience taught me a number of things. First of all, it taught me that no matter the circumstances under which you meet somebody,

• 28:30Speaker 01

  that I choose to believe in the innate worthiness of human beings. Hmm. I do. I choose to treat people with dignity. And I choose to see bigger possibilities for everybody. Yep. No matter what circumstances I may meet you in. And one of the things that's that hit me like in my heart is that when we would go out. Mm hmm. And it was time for my client that I was representing to be charged, formally charged. Part of that arraignment hearing is a bail hearing. Hmm. And one of the things that the courts consider is obviously the charges against

• 29:14Speaker 01

  you and the severity of them, your history, some of your life story. But the big one is also ties to the community. Hmm. I cannot tell you how many times we would walk out into that courtroom in 1994, 95 and 96 and nobody would be there. Hmm. No one.

• 29:39Speaker 01

  Over and over and over again. And it just killed me. That in one of the scariest times in a person's life, no one was there.

• 29:55Speaker 01

  And I have never, ever, ever forgot what that felt like. And I have made it a mission, my mission, to show up for people.

• 30:09Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 30:10Speaker 01

  And whether that means that I'm leaving a public bathroom and I take a moment and thank the human being that is cleaning the public bathroom.

• 30:22Speaker 01

  Because that's a job where you feel invisible.

• 30:24Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 30:25Speaker 01

  Or it is truly apologizing and thanking people for their patience when I'm late. And so that has informed me about how I want to treat people and why it and how I want people to experience me, that I'm the kind of person that actually cares and that sees something bigger for you. No matter where you are, no matter what you've done, no matter what circumstances you face, I believe in the extraordinary possibilities that you have because I understand something. I understand that your past is not your fault. I understand that if you aren't doing well, it's probably, it's not a matter of willpower.

• 31:10Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 31:11Speaker 01

  It's a matter of skill building. And I also believe that absolutely everybody, if you focus on your mindset, if you focus on your actions, if you focus on how you process your emotions, that absolutely anybody can do better and be better and feel better. And the other thing that that experience taught me is just that it's the simplest things that people remember, and this is a marketing message. Okay, the more complicated you make things, the less likely anybody is going to do it.

• 31:51Speaker 01

  The more intellectual you are, you know what you're communicating when you're intellectual, that I think I'm smarter than you.

• 31:56Hala Taha?

  Yeah, superiority, yeah.

• 31:57Speaker 01

  Yes, right? And so I'm obsessed with making things simple.

• 32:01Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 32:02Speaker 01

  And even if we do, and so these are core values, right? About really showing up in a way that people feel seen, that people know that you believe in them, that people know that you are, that you respect their time, that people know that I see the possibility in you, because I do see it, this isn't just some bullshit that I say, I actually believe it.

• 32:23Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 32:24Speaker 01

  And the other thing that has, and so that's one thing. The other thing that really struck me is another moment. So there was this whole thing that happened when I started speaking, that when I first started speaking, I thought, okay, if you're in the speaking business and somebody is paying you a ridiculous amount of money to stand on a stage, you better be dressed nicely.

• 32:45Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 32:45Speaker 01

  And so even though it was like at a time, and so I'm talking probably like 2015, 2014, something like that, I start getting paid, and I'll never forget this, I was at the MGM in Vegas, and I was speaking for RE/MAX, and there were like 8,000 people in the audience, and it was one of the biggest speeches that I was ever going to give, and at the time, of course.

• 33:06Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 33:06Speaker 01

  Uh, and so I, at the time, was dressing like a news anchor. So I would wear heels, and I'd wear, like, you look beautiful today. Normally, I look not so pulled together, but so I would look great on a stage, so I'm in heels, which I never wear, so I can't walk in them very well, and I'm wearing a dress, and what happened is I have terrible ADHD, and I get to Vegas, and it turns out when I open up my suitcase at 7:30 in the morning.

• 33:34Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 33:35Speaker 01

  I have left my high heels in a hotel room in Miami.

• 33:38Hala Taha?

  Mm.

• 33:39Speaker 01

  And what I have in my suitcase are Birkenstocks.

• 33:41Hala Taha?

  Oh, no.

• 33:42Speaker 01

  And these sparkly high tops.

• 33:44Hala Taha?

  [laughing]

• 33:45Speaker 01

  That's it, and I have tech check in 20 minutes. Most people would have stress diarrhea.

• 33:50Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 33:51Speaker 01

  And then just derail the situation, and I'm like, fuck it, like, okay, I guess we're going with the high tops, because I'm not wearing Birkenstocks on this stage. And remember how I said that your life is always teaching you?

• 34:04Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 34:05Speaker 01

  And it's either in the struggles,

• 34:08Speaker 01

  or it's in these quiet little moments.

• 34:12Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 34:13Speaker 01

  So I get backstage, and when you're backstage speaking at a big event, it's very dark, and there's like a whole city behind the stage of people in production, and everybody's dressed in all black, and there's equipment everywhere, and tables everywhere, and cables everywhere. And then there's all this tenting that is the back of the stage, and you're kind of walking around, and it's hard to see. And normally, especially if it's like 8 o'clock in the morning in Vegas, for crying out loud, and you're speaking at a massive corporate conference, for RE/MAX, the client was, and I was gonna give a speech about the five-second rule, everyone's tired. So I walk back there, and they're miking me up for the tech check

• 34:59Speaker 01

  that we're gonna do before 8,000 people come into the MGM. And one of the older guys, dressed in all black, he's got a graying beard, he turns to me like, "Go kicks."

• 35:11Speaker 01

  And it was the first time that anyone backstage, even though I was super nice and friendly and not dramatic at all, and not high maintenance, it was the first time anybody had ever commented like that. And that was this small moment that I was like, "Take note."

• 35:31Speaker 01

  And so then I go up on stage, and as I walked on stage, I felt different.

• 35:37Speaker 01

  And that was a small moment that was like, "Take note." And normally, if you're a woman who's presenting, most people, whether it's male, female, they, everybody, when a woman walks on stage, if you're too pretty, if your heels are too high, most people kind of cross their arms and are like, "This bitch thinks she looks better than the rest of us." And there's a distance that happens, because you're focused on what you look like. And you're focused on presenting yourself in a way that is like, kind of projecting something. Well, God, when I walked on stage in these stupid high tops that are all sparkly, and this dress that didn't match, and my dumb glasses, people were like, "What is this?" And so there was an open arm thing.

• 36:22Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 36:23Speaker 01

  And so typically, it would take me like five to 10 minutes and a couple laughs to get to that point in a speech that I call, I'd have a cup of coffee with her.

• 36:33Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 36:33Speaker 01

  Moment. Which is now somebody's listening and enjoying instead of judging. Take note.

• 36:42Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 36:42Speaker 01

  And from that moment on, couple things. Number one.

• 36:50Speaker 01

  In any industry that you're in, being able to be excellent at the thing is the minimum requirement. The minimum.

• 37:00Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 37:00Speaker 01

  Requirement. You shouldn't be on a stage if you're not excellent. You shouldn't be charging people if you're not excellent. Like, you need to take pride in your performance, which means you need to practice. You need to, like, this is my opinion, I'm gonna let you do whatever you want.

• 37:19Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 37:19Speaker 01

  But really, don't hang your hat on the fact that you're fantastic at the thing they're paying you to do.

• 37:27Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 37:27Speaker 01

  You wanna be exceptional? Be fucking fantastic at the things no one pays you to do.

• 37:34Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 37:35Speaker 01

  What made me an extraordinary force on the corporate circuit? And what has earned me extraordinary amounts of money? Is, yes, there is, in my opinion, almost no one better, I don't know of anyone better, on stage.

• 37:53Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 37:54Speaker 01

  And I'm sure there's extraordinary people out there, but I will claim that for myself for sure. Category of one of one, when it comes to what I do.

• 38:02Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 38:03Speaker 01

  But I know for sure there's no one better when it comes to what I do offstage.

• 38:08Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 38:09Speaker 01

  Because I learned very quickly that it's the little things that you do that make people feel taken care of, that then make people want to work with you? That make people want to hire you? And I'll give you a simple example, when I would land, uh, like, I, when I was doing 115 speeches a year, Starbucks, JP Morgan, Microsoft, like, on and on and on and on, from one event to the other event, to this event, to that event. Thirty thousand people, a hundred people with a CEO retreat, this one.

• 38:42Speaker 01

  Every time I landed in a new city, I would always text the event planner, not the CEO, not the person that hired me. I would text the event planner, a fun selfie of me getting off the plane. I'm here, thank you, excited to see you. And you know what that did? That immediately made the person who is responsible for tracking me and who is responsible for managing a million things, love me.

• 39:08Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 39:09Speaker 01

  Because I just took one thing off their list and made their job easy. And when you do that, guess what people do? They hire you again. They recommend you. And people are obsessed with the people up here when you need to be amazing with the people that serve the people up here. Because those are the folks that have the power.

• 39:31Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 39:31Speaker 01

  Those are the ones that get everything done. And it is the exact same principle if you want to grow a social media audience.

• 39:37Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 39:38Speaker 01

  It's responding to comments. It's actually tracking your name or your brand and going to their account and responding. That is the exact same thing that I was doing in person in the speaking business.

• 39:52Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 39:52Speaker 01

  And so those are examples of how there are little things that I'm obsessive about. Like, everybody in my company on a production day actually wears name tags. Because I used to host a daytime talk show. I've been at a bazillion events. It's impossible to remember people's names.

• 40:08Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 40:09Speaker 01

  And so when you walk into 143 Studios in downtown Boston, you're gonna walk into 25 people. We're gonna stand up and welcome you together. Everybody has a name tag. Why? Because I want you to feel at ease. I want you to feel comfortable. I want the people that work for me to feel seen and recognized.

• 40:27Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 40:27Speaker 01

  When you're done with the podcast and we walk out, you get a standing ovation. Because we're grateful that you're here.

• 40:33Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 40:33Speaker 01

  And so every tiny little thing I do is with intention on making a particular type of impact. And so there are stages to this. I mean, first, you gotta get started. Second, you gotta learn how to just keep going. Because the other thing that is a skill is stamina.

• 40:51Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 40:53Speaker 01

  I believe that success is as much about not quitting

• 40:57Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 40:58Speaker 01

  As anything else.

• 40:58Hala Taha?

  Totally.

• 40:59Speaker 01

  As anything else. And you know, it may surprise everybody, it may surprise you to learn that, you know, with this book, The Let Them Theory, this is truly the first time that I've had a major moment

• 41:12Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 41:12Speaker 01

  in terms of the normal press cycle. I have a lot of friends, because I'm in mastermind groups.

• 41:20Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 41:20Speaker 01

  And you actually represent and sell ads and do brand partnerships for a lot of my friends. And that's another thing I'm going to tell you that has been a secret to success. And it's that the very people you're competing against should be your closest friends.

• 41:36Hala Taha?

  Yep. It's so true.

• 41:39Speaker 01

  Why do you believe that's true?

• 41:44Hala Taha?

  Hello, young and profiteers. If you're running a business, getting website traffic is only half the battle. The real key to profiting is turning those visitors into paying customers. And I know checkout friction can quietly kill your sales. That's why I always say, serious entrepreneurs build on Shopify. Shopify is a commerce platform that helps you launch and run an online store without needing to be super technical. You can build your storefront, manage your business, and make it easy for people to buy. And here's the major advantage. Shopify Checkout with Shop Pay converts up to 36% higher than the competition. With Black Friday coming up, now's the time to get your store ready and simplify your checkout experience.

• 42:26Hala Taha?

  If you're ready to launch your business before Black Friday, go to Shopify.com/profitting to start your free trial. That's Shopify.com/profitting. Go to Shopify.com/profitting today to hear your first

• 42:41Hala Taha?

  What's up, yap bam? If you're building a personal brand, you already know how hard it is to stay consistent with content when you're also trying to actually run your business. I love creating content, but realistically, I'm not trying to sit in front of the camera every single day. I need time to work on my business. But the problem is, consistency matters. The more people see your face and hear your voice, the more Familiar you become. That's why HeyGen has been such a great tool for me. You can record just 15 seconds of footage, create an AI avatar of yourself and use it to make videos on demand. So instead of constantly filming from scratch, you can create more content, stay visible and keep showing up without making your entire life be about generating content.

• 43:24Hala Taha?

  And you guys know I'm always looking for tools that give entrepreneurs more leverage. HeyGen is definitely one of those tools. Thirty million people already use it, from solo founders to 85% of the Fortune 100. Your first three videos are free at heygen.com/profitting. That's H E Y G E N dot com slash P R O F I T I N G. Heygen.com/profitting.

• 43:53Hala Taha?

  What's up Yap fam? You guys know we love reading on this show, so I'm always excited when I find a book I genuinely think is worth sharing. Life at the Speed of Play: Launch Products People Love by Mark Pincus is one of those books. Mark is a legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor. And this fast-paced 170-page book is his playbook for testing ideas quickly, navigating uncertainty and figuring out what's actually worth pursuing. One of my favorite concepts is what he calls the abyss. Those moments when you feel stuck or unsure of what's next. Instead of fearing uncertainty, he shows you how to use it as a tool for discovery. Right now, Mark is doing a buy one, get one offer for Yap listeners.

• 44:37Hala Taha?

  Go to getmarksbook.com/yap, buy one copy for $32 and get a second copy free. So you can keep one for yourself and give the second to a friend, future co-founder, or someone who needs a little push. Because I feel like they'll, you know, when you reach higher levels, people aren't actually that competitive. They're more collaborative. They want to help you and you guys can help each other. And so I felt like working closely with the people that are my competitors is the quickest way to just get ahead.

• 45:07Speaker 01

  That and I think it's true at any level. We're just so insecure when we're getting started that we don't think we have anything to offer. And the truth is, your family has no idea what you're doing. Your friends don't understand what you're doing. And the people that you think you're competing with are the only people on the planet that get it. And so the very people that you're distancing yourselves from should be your closest allies. Because otherwise, you are going to feel alone.

• 45:41Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 45:41Speaker 01

  Because your family's not in this business, so they don't understand the stress. Your friends don't share the same aspirations, so they don't know what you're going through.

• 45:51Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 45:52Speaker 01

  But the people at your same level, like, this is your squad.

• 45:56Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 45:57Speaker 01

  Because they get it.

• 45:58Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 45:58Speaker 01

  And, you know, honestly, that's why I'm so excited about the let them theory and the things that I'm talking about now, because for far too long, for far too long, I would look at people that I admired, like Jay Shetty and Lewis Howes and Jenna Kutcher and Amy Porterfield and Trent Shelton, and I would go, oh, oh, well, you know, they've already done a podcast. I guess I can't do one.

• 46:22Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 46:22Speaker 01

  Or they're super successful, they're in competition with me. And what I have learned too late, I'm so happy I understand this, and I'm thrilled for you as you're listening to us, to really embrace what I'm about to tell you. Success is in limitless supply. Happiness, friendship, all of these things, money, Lamborghinis, they're in limitless supply.

• 46:49Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 46:51Speaker 01

  No other human being is blocking your way. In fact, they're leading the way.

• 46:57Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 46:57Speaker 01

  And if you have a insecure and jealous and competitive and comparison attitude, you will turn other people into the biggest excuse for why you can't do what you need to do.

• 47:13Hala Taha?

  Yes.

• 47:14Speaker 01

  And it is a joke.

• 47:16Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 47:17Speaker 01

  Because the only person, because there's only one person that can actually block your way, and it's you.

• 47:23Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 47:24Speaker 01

  And so, learning how to let other people be successful, and let other people be rich, and let other people figure it out, and let them get engaged, and let them have babies, and let them have a million dollars in the bank, and let them do this, and let them do that, you're just letting them lead the way.

• 47:41Hala Taha?

  Totally. Let's move on to the let them theory because I can't wait to dive into this. So first leg of your career, you really were all about self-improvement.

• 47:50Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 47:50Hala Taha?

  Internal improvement.

• 47:51Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 47:51Hala Taha?

  Now we're focused on external relationships.

• 47:55Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 47:55Hala Taha?

  And kind of how to manage relationships. So you had this post last year, about a year ago, that went massively viral.

• 48:01Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 48:02Hala Taha?

  Where you first introduced the topic. What did you say in that post and why do you think it was such a phenomenon?

• 48:07Speaker 01

  So I put up a video, gosh, it was like eighteen months ago. And I basically was sharing about something I had just stumbled on because I was being a micromanaging parent at my son's prom. And my middle daughter was home from college and you know, like when your mom's being like super annoying?

• 48:29Hala Taha?

  Yes.

• 48:30Speaker 01

  And you're like, god damn, you're embarrassed, like just, geez, mom. I was getting like that.

• 48:35Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 48:35Speaker 01

  Well, we've all been there, right? And it's just a stupid, and my daughter reaches out and grabs my arm and yanks me towards her and says, "Mom, stop it. Like, you're being so annoying. Like, let them. Let them. You know, let them run in the rain. Let them eat where they want. Let them do this. And she just kept saying, let them, let them, let them." And it was weird. It just like hit me. Like a ton of bricks. Why am I worried about this? Why am I stressing about this? And for the next couple of days, anytime somebody was pissing me off or annoying me, or I saw somebody do something online that made me feel jealous, or you know, somebody did something that made the guilt rise up, I just started saying, "Let them."

• 49:22Speaker 01

  You know, standing in line at a store?

• 49:24Hala Taha?

  Mm-hmm.

• 49:25Speaker 01

  And there's five people in front of you?

• 49:28Speaker 01

  Beep, beep, beep.

• 49:33Speaker 01

  There's only one cashier. No one's coming to the other lines. How do you feel in that moment?

• 49:39Hala Taha?

  Stressed.

• 49:40Speaker 01

  Yeah. And then what do you do?

• 49:42Hala Taha?

  Puff and puff, maybe say something under your breath.

• 49:46Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm. You think you can run the grocery store better than the people running it? Uh-huh. And all along, while that's happening, do you know what's happening? You're actually allowing something to drain your life force.

• 49:58Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 49:59Speaker 01

  And you are wasting time. And you are allowing something that's out of your control to steal your time and energy and blind you to the fact that even in moments where you feel stressed out, or hurt, or you're worried, or you're scared, that there is always something in your control. And what's in your control is never out there, ever.

• 50:26Speaker 01

  There's one thing in life you can never control. It's other people. You can't control what they think. You can't control what they do. You can't control the timeline upon which they change, if they change at all. You can't control if they're gonna love you. You can't, you cannot control another human being, and yet we try. And it's the greatest source of frustration in your life. But if you turn it back, you'll see there's three fingers always pointing back at you when you point at somebody else, because there are three things that are always in your control. You can always control what you think about what's happening. You can always control what you choose to do or not do. And you can always control how you process your emotions.

• 51:08Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 51:08Speaker 01

  Whether you will let them just run you over, and then you send that text, or have you ever crafted one of those emails, like, single spaced? And it's like, super long, and you take like 90 minutes, and you're like, send?

• 51:18Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 51:18Speaker 01

  That never solves anything.

• 51:22Speaker 01

  You always get to choose how you respond, and that's how you take responsibility for your life. And let's talk about responsibility. It's the ability to respond.

• 51:32Speaker 01

  That's what taking responsibility means.

• 51:33Hala Taha?

  You give such a great example about being left out on a girl's trip.

• 51:38Speaker 01

  Uh huh.

• 51:38Hala Taha?

  I had this happen to me a couple of years ago. My high school best friends, they all went on a beach trip and I was really hurt. I had a boyfriend that I was really focused on. And so we weren't spending as much time together, but I still considered them my best friends.

• 51:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 51:52Hala Taha?

  And I was so hurt and I went about it in the worst way.

• 51:55Speaker 01

  What'd you do?

• 51:56Hala Taha?

  I was a victim. I wrote everybody a text like, what happened?

• 52:00Speaker 01

  What did they say?

• 52:02Hala Taha?

  They were just like, you're always busy. We just, we didn't even think about it. Like, what do you care? We're allowed to make plans. And it made me look like a victim and I took all my power away. So I'd love for you to explain the let them theory of how we can actually use this to make our, like to take back our power.

• 52:20Speaker 01

  It's a great example. And being hurt because you're not included is a sign that you're mentally well.

• 52:29Speaker 01

  It's what you do with that

• 52:32Speaker 01

  that dictates your experience of life. And like you, all too often, when I have either been left out of something or people didn't even think of me because I haven't been around, because I've been busy building a business. So why would they think of me? Or if it's when I see somebody else succeeding and then I feel sorry for myself. Right? Feeling those things is normal. It's what you do next that matters. So the let them theory is the single most powerful thing I've ever discovered. I'm so excited for you to implement this. Seriously, like I am a changed human being. I've never felt more peaceful and powerful. So what is the let them theory? It is a simple mindset tool that shows you immediately what is in your control

• 53:18Speaker 01

  and what is not in your control. And here's how you use it. There's two steps. Anytime that you are in a situation where you're starting to feel stressed out or you're starting to get pissed off or you're hurt or you're annoyed or you're getting clingy or you're becoming a victim or you're feeling the rage come up, you're going to say, let them. That's step one. When you say let them, you detach from what's happening. And you recognize that I can't control this person, what they think, say, or do, or feel. Or I can't control what's happening with traffic right now. So I am going to let them. And when you say let them, a couple of things happen. First of all, you get this rush of superiority.

• 53:59Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 54:00Speaker 01

  Because it's like you're going, I see what's happening. And I value my time and energy and I know I'm not going to waste it trying to manage this situation or allowing this person or this situation to impact me negatively. I'm gonna let them. And so it's amazing because you detach. And then the second step is you say, let me. And this is the most powerful part because this is where you take your power back.

• 54:25Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 54:26Speaker 01

  When you, when you say, let me, you then remind yourself that there's always something in your control. And what's always in your control are the three things. I can choose what to think about this. I can choose how to respond to this or not. And I can choose what I'm going to do with my emotions. And the uses are just endless. Because we live in a moment in time where everything feels out of control. And people are stressed out. And people are acting in really inconsiderate and dismissive ways. And people are super emotionally immature. Let them.

• 55:03Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 55:03Speaker 01

  Because so are you. We all are right now. And when you say, let them, it's not like an F you. It's really about giving people grace and space. And also putting up a boundary and reminding yourself. It's not your job to make people happy. It's not your job to manage other people's stress. It's not your job to make sure that everybody's expectations are met. It's not your job to run a grocery store. Your job is to focus on taking actions that really align with your values and your priorities. And your job is to think in a way that makes you feel good. I'll give you a quick example. We were in an elevator this morning. And the thing got stuck between the 11th and 12th floor.

• 55:47Speaker 01

  I was in there for 50 minutes. And the fire department had to come. But it was a good 15 minutes before anybody came to do anything. And I sat there on the floor of that elevator and I kept saying, let them. Let them take a long time. Let them figure this out. And let me remind myself that the only thing I can control right now is just like staying calm and sitting on the floor and thinking that this is going to be okay. Let them.

• 56:16Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 56:16Speaker 01

  And it worked. And so in your business, let's just take everybody that listens to you, right?

• 56:22Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 56:24Speaker 01

  I want you to think about that moment where you are posting something on social media. And you go and you pick the reel or you pick the photo, right? And then what do you do? Then you're like, oh, should it be that? Should it be this? And then you put a filter on and then you take the filter off and then you size it and then you say, and it's one thing to do this because you have a business strategy. And you're thinking about your business strategy. It's another thing to do this. And then when you start to write the caption, you're like, is this too much? Should I put in emoji? Is that CTA too bad, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah? And then you start to question for who? For who? Before you even post something, what are you doing? You're giving power

• 57:02Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 57:03Speaker 01

  to what other people are going to think and do in response to what you're about to post.

• 57:09Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 57:10Speaker 01

  And by the way, you have no control over what they think

• 57:14Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 57:14Speaker 01

  and do in response. And so instead of managing it, I have a different approach. Let them think something negative.

• 57:21Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 57:21Speaker 01

  Let them unfollow you. Let them judge you. Let them roll your eyes because I got news for you. You need to use the let me part. Let me remind myself that my social media is for me.

• 57:32Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 57:32Speaker 01

  My social media is for my business. My social media is my self-expression. It's not for my family or my freaking friends from college or my brother or my sister. My social media is for me.

• 57:43Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 57:44Speaker 01

  Let me express myself. Let me market my business. Let me, uh, show up and put this reel out even though I'm kinda nervous. Feeling nervous about something that you care about is a sign that you care about it.

• 57:59Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 58:00Speaker 01

  It's not a sign that things aren't gonna go well. And so by saying let them, it's extraordinary what's happened in my life.

• 58:09Hala Taha?

  Yeah. So let them is all about releasing control.

• 58:14Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 58:14Hala Taha?

  Keeping your peace.

• 58:15Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 58:17Hala Taha?

  Why are we so hardwired for control to begin with? Cause I think a lot of it comes from a good place. And I also think entrepreneurs

• 58:23Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 58:24Hala Taha?

  are especially controlling.

• 58:26Speaker 01

  Absolutely. So it's gonna be a dance because you like, you're never gonna get rid of the need of trying to control things. It is a hardwired survival instinct and it kinda makes sense, right? Because if you're in control of what you're thinking and you're in control of your decisions and you're in control of your environment and you're in control of your spending and you're in control of your marketing platform and your strategy that you're doing, then you feel safe.

• 58:53Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 58:54Speaker 01

  You feel confident. You feel good. Here's the problem. That if you do something that makes me worried or upset, guess what? Now I feel like I'm out of control. And here's where we make the mistake. I then go to try to control you. But the problem is, you have a hardwired need to be in control of yourself too. And so I go to push against you, which means you're hardwired to push back because you are wired to control what you're doing. And this is one of the biggest things that you're going to learn in reading the let them theory, just using it in your life, is that pushing other people and expecting other people to change,

• 59:36Speaker 01

  trying to motivate other people to change, it actually doesn't create change. It creates resistance to change. There is one thing on this planet you will never, ever, ever, ever be able to control, and that's whether or not another person changes. Because people only change when they're ready to change. And people only are ready to change when they're ready to do the very hard work to change. And this presents another problem. And see, I've been working against the fundamental wiring of human beings for 54 years. It was learning to say let them and let me that taught me how to work with the laws of human nature and with brain wire. Let's just talk about how people change.

• 1:00:19Hala Taha?

  Okay.

• 1:00:20Speaker 01

  We are hardwired to move toward what's easy. Hardwired. It's why we sit on the couch instead of going to the gym. It's why you sit and watch other people's content instead of posting your own. Because if it were easy to do it, everybody would have a million dollars. And that's why you gotta learn how to take action even when it feels hard. See, nobody gets sober until being drunk is harder than doing the work to change. Because it takes work. And we know this, and yet when we're looking at somebody and we're like, you're not working hard enough, why aren't you getting better grades? How come you haven't gotten a better job? Why haven't you started this business? We forget that if it were easy, they'd already be doing it.

• 1:01:05Speaker 01

  And so the let them theory and saying let them, let them struggle. Let them be unmotivated. Let them judge your choices. Let them be confronted by the fact that you're now super interested in fitness and entrepreneurship, and they're questioning why you don't drink all the time. Let them.

• 1:01:23Speaker 01

  And then let me remind myself that I get to choose what's a priority for me. And so you will start to learn that the more time you spend expecting other people to change, the more frustrated you're going to get. And the more that you say let them, and you learn to let people be who they are, and let them have their questions, and let them change on their own timeline, and let them not be interested in the same things that you're interested in. Learn how to love people exactly as they are and exactly as they aren't. The better your relationships are going to get.

• 1:01:55Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 1:01:56Speaker 01

  It's really so simple. And it's beautiful because it creates space where the people in your life get to be who they are.

• 1:02:05Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 1:02:06Speaker 01

  And you get to focus on yourself, not like you're out of my life, but as a responsible adult. And the let me part is all about you taking responsibility for acting in a way that you value. So let me talk about another thing that happens a lot in business.

• 1:02:24Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:24Speaker 01

  So as you're growing your business, you're going to start to find conflict.

• 1:02:28Hala Taha?

  Totally.

• 1:02:29Speaker 01

  Between what your friends and family want you to do. And what your business partners want you to do. And a lot of people really start to struggle when they feel like business partners are disappointed, that you can't show up at something, or your family or friends are disappointed that you're not around as much. You need to say let them. Let them be disappointed. And here's why. Isn't it a wonderful thing if your business partner's disappointed that you can't show up for something? Doesn't that mean they want you there?

• 1:03:00Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:01Speaker 01

  I mean, we're so afraid of it, and yet, what's the alternative? I don't want her there. She's like horrible. Same thing with your parents or your friends.

• 1:03:10Speaker 01

  If you're not able to show up because you've been just focused on entrepreneur, let them be disappointed. It means they love you and they wish you were there. That doesn't mean you have to change.

• 1:03:19Hala Taha?

  Can I ask you another question about business? So as I was internalizing the let them theory, I kept thinking about, what about if I have like a bad employee?

• 1:03:27Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm. Let them be bad.

• 1:03:30Hala Taha?

  Let them get fired?

• 1:03:32Speaker 01

  Well, here's the thing. First of all, you can't control them. So you need to let them reveal who they are. But then here comes the hard part in business. Let me, let me be honest with myself. Have I actually been clear about my expectations?

• 1:03:47Speaker 01

  Probably not. Have I explained what I think the outcome is that is successful? Probably not. Probably not.

• 1:03:59Speaker 01

  Am I micromanaging everybody because I don't explain what I want and the outcomes that you can measure success by? And since I have not done that, I constantly question everybody. So I swoop in and I micromanage, which only trains your team that you don't trust them, which makes your team feel like they can't make a decision because you're going to come in and override everything anyway, which creates paralysis in your organization. If you have a failing employee, it is usually because you have broken process, or you have unclear communication and expectations, or there is a missing skill set in the seat, and they're in the wrong seat.

• 1:04:38Speaker 01

  And unless you, as the leader, take full responsibility for your part, which most entrepreneurs, most entrepreneurs are the shittiest operators on the planet.

• 1:04:48Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:49Speaker 01

  I happen to be one of them. I, like, no, I'm serious. Like, there's, you are in entrepreneurship because entrepreneurship is artistry. It's creation. That is not the same thing as rhythm, systems, and operations, and clear communication. In fact, it's the opposite. And so your energy and your talent will create something, and then you will realize that you've created something and have zero systems and zero, like, standard business operating principles. You have no, like, outcomes and key results that you're measuring, and so people don't know what success looks like.

• 1:05:31Speaker 01

  And if you only measure success based on dollars in the bank, or the number of views on a podcast episode, that is something you cannot control. You have to, as the leader, let me take responsibility for my job, which is to actually create an environment where people can succeed. And if people don't have clear outlines of what they own, if they don't have clear outlines of what is going to make them successful, and if they don't have the freedom, let them, to execute against that in the way that actually gives them self-expression, they will hate working for you. And your business will not do as well as it can. It always comes back to you.

• 1:06:14Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:06:15Speaker 01

  And so, yes, let them reveal that they're not doing a good job. But then, instead of doing this, they suck. First, say, do I suck?

• 1:06:22Hala Taha?

  Exactly.

• 1:06:23Speaker 01

  Because chances are you do. And I definitely do. Like, I, I, if I am not behind a microphone or creating content or doing business development, which, by the way, is a form of creating content and artistry, because everything that I do is about expansion and intention. If I'm not doing one of those three seats, I'm not in the right seat in my business. And I am the problem.

• 1:06:48Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 1:06:48Speaker 01

  The business, my folks that work for me, they're not the problem. I'm the problem. And so, I choose as the leader that my, my business coach, David Gerbitz, always says, leaders bring the weather. And if you have a stressed out and a kind of panic, emergency-type culture, that's because of you.

• 1:07:10Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:07:11Speaker 01

  You bring the rain, or you bring the sun, and by the way, your energy, and whether or not you take the time to make sure people feel supported and to make sure they know the things are doing right, and to give them the tools and the skills that they need to succeed on the things that aren't going well. If you don't do that, then you're not a good leader.

• 1:07:28Hala Taha?

  Yeah. So, yeah, we really do have like an amazing onboarding process, KPIs, all those things. I have managers and a COO that helps me and everything like that. And sometimes there are people that just can't get up to speed.

• 1:07:42Speaker 01

  Great. Then let them not get up to speed, and then let me give very direct feedback quickly.

• 1:07:48Hala Taha?

  Hmm.

• 1:07:49Speaker 01

  And don't dance around it with the positivity sandwich. The way you have that is directly, with respect. You basically say, this is not going to be a fun conversation.

• 1:07:59Hala Taha?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:07:59Speaker 01

  And I was hoping that things were going to go very differently. And I have very high standards, and this is a 19-word sentence that you're going to steal that has been researched at Yale and Harvard. It's called the magic sentence, 19 words. I have very high expectations for this team, and I believe you can meet them, and that's why I'm going to tell you this feedback. And then you tell them the feedback, and you let them. Because what somebody does with that feedback... That's what they control.

• 1:08:27Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:28Speaker 01

  You actually having the courage to deliver feedback. See, I actually think it's cruel to not tell somebody.

• 1:08:35Hala Taha?

  Exactly.

• 1:08:35Speaker 01

  They're not performing.

• 1:08:36Hala Taha?

  They don't grow if you don't do it.

• 1:08:38Speaker 01

  It's not about them. Do you want to be in an organization where people think you suck? And they talk about you in a conference room? Of course not. So why would you do that to somebody and not address it? People know when they're not thriving. In fact, I personally believe the hardest working person in the company is the one who's not doing well. Because they're in conflict with themselves.

• 1:09:04Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:05Speaker 01

  And they know it. And you are either the kind of leader who has this bullshit, toxic male kind of mentality of you know, or you take responsibility as a leader to create an environment in which people can thrive.

• 1:09:20Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:20Speaker 01

  And if people are not doing well and they're not meeting expectations, before you start barking about or labeling people, which is toxic behavior on your part, take a moment and ask yourself critically, let me ask myself, have I actually explained the outcomes that measure success? Have I actually explained what I expect? Have I actually given somebody all the information that they need in order to succeed? Do I even know what skills are required for this job? Or am I just throwing somebody in the fire and then judging the shit out of them when they can't get the job done? Because if you can't answer those questions for yourself, then you're not the good leader. And no one's going to succeed in that role. And look, there are times where people overestimate their qualifications. And then they get in a seat and they don't have the skills.

• 1:10:05Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 1:10:05Speaker 01

  Let them. Let them. And don't overcompensate. And fix everything and step in and solve the problems. Let people fail because if you don't, you won't see where there's process missing. You won't see where there's a skill level missing. And you won't see where you actually are the issue because you haven't created an environment for people to succeed.

• 1:10:32Hala Taha?

  Yeah. Talk about how letting them actually helps them.

• 1:10:37Speaker 01

  Yes. So first of all, I personally feel, and this goes with people in your life that are struggling too, absolutely anybody can get better.

• 1:10:48Speaker 01

  And what's needed is the belief that you can. At the end of the day, feeling like somebody believes in your ability to get better creates the space for you to get better. If somebody has a respect for you to say, "I'm gonna give you this feedback and this isn't gonna be a fun conversation. Not my favorite thing to talk about, but I'm doing it because I actually have high standards for this team and I believe you can hit them." To me, that's you saying, "I see you. We both know you're not like, meeting the standard here." And what else did I say? "I think you can meet them. This team is special." Now I'm appealing to your desire to succeed. I'm appealing to the potential that you know is inside you.

• 1:11:31Speaker 01

  I choose to believe that people do well when they can.

• 1:11:34Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 1:11:35Speaker 01

  And if somebody in your team, or in your family, or in your life, isn't doing well, then it's because there's something missing that's making it so they can't. And it's almost never willpower. It's usually something small.

• 1:11:52Hala Taha?

  Yeah.

• 1:11:53Speaker 01

  It's usually just clear communication. Or identifying the skill that would be helpful. Or partnering them with somebody so that you create an environment where they can succeed. And people also need to feel enough space and acceptance and dignity so that you feel like the change is your idea. Not that it's getting shoved down your throat. Because nobody wants to change if they know, if you know, they know that you're gonna say, "See, I told you so." And that's a critical part of this, that when you say "let them", you're not allowing people to fail, you're actually creating the space for somebody to succeed.

• 1:12:35Speaker 01

  But the first step is that you have to give people the space and the honesty to make it their decision. And the other thing that the "let them" theory is not, is it's not allowing somebody to walk all over you. It's not allowing somebody to treat you poorly because you're already doing that.

• 1:12:54Speaker 01

  When you say let them, you detach and you see somebody probably for the first time exactly as they are and exactly as they aren't. And you stop doing something, you stop making excuses and you stop living in the fantasy and the potential and you actually live in the reality. You know, as I'm going through this kind of phase of just like this next leveling up in my business, I realize it's on me to level up my expectations of myself. It's on me to get clearer in my communication. It's on me to focus on what's truly important and delete everything that's not. Because another huge thing in business is that if everything's important, nothing is. And you cannot allow someone else's emergencies to become your emergency.

• 1:13:39Hala Taha?

  Yep.

• 1:13:40Speaker 01

  You cannot allow somebody else's priority to become your priority. Everything that somebody else is asking of you in business is an opportunity. But you have to get out of reactive mode and get into responding mode. Because it's only in doing that that you will actually be intentional and focused and you will truly be strategic about what actually deserves your time and what doesn't. Because not everything in business does.

• 1:14:11Hala Taha?

  So I end my show with two questions that I ask all my guests. First, what is one actionable thing our young improffitters can do today to become more profitable tomorrow?

• 1:14:20Speaker 01

  Let them, let them. Because all that time and energy and power that you're giving to other people, as soon as you say, let them, and then you say, let me, you actually take that power back and you start to protect your time and energy and that's what you need to be profitable and successful.

• 1:14:37Hala Taha?

  And there's so much that we didn't get to cover today, guys. She's got so many great stories, so many great, like so much research in her book about this, definitely recommend it. What is your secret to profiting in life? And this can go beyond business and financial.

• 1:14:52Speaker 01

  Saying no.

• 1:14:56Speaker 01

  It's way more important to say no. Because every time you say no, you're actually saying yes to what matters.

• 1:15:02Hala Taha?

  Love that. And where can everybody find you and everything that you do?

• 1:15:05Speaker 01

  You can find me right here, in this conversation, right now. And one of the most important things you can do is take this conversation and send it to somebody that you care deeply about, because you know you feel inspired, you know you got tools. And one of the best things that you can do to build your relationships and connections, which you need in business and you need for profit and you need to be successful, is to actually be generous. And so be generous with the information that you just got today, because it will make a difference in somebody else's life.

• 1:15:32Hala Taha?

  I feel like this is just like a masterclass in business and your life story. So thank you so much for joining us today.

• 1:15:37Speaker 01

  I'm really proud of you.

• 1:15:38Hala Taha?

  Thank you.

• 1:15:39Speaker 01

  Congratulations for everything that you do and for the lives that you impact and the difference that you're making.

• 1:15:44Hala Taha?

  Thank you.

• 1:15:45Speaker 01

  You're welcome.