Brian Gubernick explains "separation season," the post-Thanksgiving period when most people slack off. He breaks down how to gain an edge in five areas: health, money, relationships, business, and learning. Small consistent advantages during a month of reduced competition compound into outsized gains for the year ahead.
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Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Let's get into it today. I am really excited for our topic because I'm borrowing it from one of my favorite personalities and podcasters and entrepreneurs out there, Ed Mylett. Every year, at least for the past few years, Ed comes out with the same podcast. I think it's just a replay on what he calls separation season. It is separation season right now. What is Ed talking about when he says separation season? He's saying right now, just after, you know, right around Thanksgiving, just after Thanksgiving, as we're rolling into the holiday season, Now is the time to create distance between your competitors and the old version of you. It's time to distance yourself from the competition and from what, from what you were just yesterday. It's separation season. Why does Ed say now is the time? Now is the time because, well, call it what it is. So many people take their foot off the gas right now. They get relaxed because it's holiday season. They take time off. They kind of, kind of think maybe the year's finished and just kind of coast through December. And that is exactly when you catch them, right? Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. These are just holidays, but some people treat them as holo weeks or even holo months. People get lazy at this time of year. And if I'm being honest, I know I have in the past as well, but in business and in life and in relationships and in health, it is really a game of inches. And every advantage that you can grab, every opportunity that you can seize, especially while others are being lazy, while others are sleeping, is a massive advantage for you. So while everybody else is going to coast, while everybody else is going to make excuses or think they're just going to kick it to January or February when the new year starts, if they're all going to do that, I want to do something a little different. I want to be different. Why do I want to be different? Because I want different results. And so I look at this time of year because Ed Mylett has encouraged me to do so. I look at this time of the year and I say, This is awesome. This is one of the few times, if not the only time during the year when you get— when, when, if you just step on the gas while everyone starts to coast, you can start to close the gap. Now, if you're not into competing, if you're not trying to compete with others in your business or whatever it may be, you are competing with yourself. You're competing with the old version of you. You're competing with how you were just yesterday. At No Days Off, we all know, right? We strive to get better every single day. Which means yesterday competes with who we are today and we're trying to outperform that guy or girl you were just yesterday. So again, separation season. I want to separate from the old me. So let's, let's talk around different areas in life, right? Let's talk around health and fitness. Okay. Why is it separation season right now? I think we're, you know, many of us are probably guilty of this. And again, I'm not doing it this year. But in previous years, I think, you know what, man, that holiday food, that Thanksgiving food, that, you know, that Christmas, that New Year's food, those pies, those desserts, eating a little bit more. I'll make up for it in January. But in December, I'm going to kind of scale back a bit and, you know, be a little bit looser with my diet. Well, 99% of people say that. What if you go the other direction though? And you say, you know what? This December, I'm going to be stricter with my diet than I've ever been. I am going to outperform who I was just yesterday because I'm stricter with my diet, especially when everybody else is doing the opposite. How about when I'm working out? So many people say, you know what, man, I've got this party or this dinner. I, I'm not going to be able to make it into the gym today. Well, guess what? Those are the times you get in there to outperform your competition, outperform the old version of you. Make a rule that states, I do not miss workouts in December and adhere to that rule. How about in your wealth? How about in your investments and your finance? Everyone, so many, I should say, scale back in December in terms of investment, in terms of their money. Maybe they spend, they spend more liberally. Not you though. In separation season, you underwrite and look at more investments. You have less competition. You'll have more opportunity. And if you make 1 or 2 smart acquisitions when everybody else is sleeping, how much better will you be in the next year? If you're a little bit tighter with your dollars in December, when as typically you, you know, you spend a little more, this year you spend a little less. You make the dollar go a little further. How much more money will you have working for you in the next year? In your relationships, how about you decide this season, this holiday season, how about you go, go all in and commit to making this season the absolute best season you've had in terms of your relationships and your family? What if you go a little bit harder, go the extra mile in separation season and take your family and and your relationships to the next level? What would that look like for you? And in business, business is pretty obvious. People slow down in December. They slow down during the holiday month. They don't take holidays. They take holiday months. And when they do, they take their foot off the pedal, which means for you, you ramp up your contacts. You ramp up the interactions that you're having with your prospects. Or your sales opportunities. You provide even greater customer service. You work maybe a few more hours when everybody else is dialing it back. You go grab your unfair share. It's separation season. Take advantage of this moment because there's not many other times throughout the year when people slow down. And maybe if they do slow down, it's a day or a week. Separation season's at least a month. Lastly, when it comes to your personal growth, and now's the time to read even more, to listen to even more podcasts, to study, you know, your tribe of mentors again, so that you jumpstart your next year with fresh ideas. You're more innovative, more energy, more focus while everybody else is recovering from the holidays. You're already 2, 3, 4 weeks into your sprint. So on that note, right, you can see I get really excited about this because this separation season, I mean, it doesn't happen all that often. And Ed, when I first heard Ed say this in 2020, may have been saying it before, but I heard him say in 2020, it was so smart, especially given the way the world was at that time, December 2020. And in 2021, replayed it. In 2022, we replayed it again. And in 2023, He just replayed it again last week. Go listen to his episode because my 8, 9, 10 minutes, you know, summarizing is, is not quite like the half hour he does. I encourage you to go listen to Ed's podcast on separation season. At the very least though, if you don't go listen to it, I just want to plant the seed here today. Where can you double down? In what aspect or what component of your life can you double down while everybody else is sleeping and taking the holidays off? How can you go gain a competitive advantage? How can you go grab your unfair share? And how can you separate yourself from the guy or girl you were just yesterday? What an opportunity this season presents. That's all we have for today, the No Days Off podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]
