In this episode of the "On a Roll" podcast, host Mike Michalowicz tackles the universal problem of stress with a blend of humor, promotion, and practical advice. He begins with a brief plug for S3 Agency, the firm that helped promote his book, and makes a tongue‑in‑cheek reference to a sign reading "The Pumpkin Is Coming." He then recommends Dale Carnegie’s classic, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, and extracts two of Carnegie’s strategies: (1) living in "day‑tight compartments" – focusing only on today’s challenges and postponing future worries, and (2) defining the worst‑case scenario, accepting it, and then working to improve upon it. Mike adds his own third tip, coined the "Mike McCallis‑Schmitzel‑ism": stop saying yes to everything, set boundaries, and learn to say no to reduce the load of responsibilities. Throughout, he intersperses playful banter with recurring characters (Thaddeus the Penguin, Teppy, and an Olmec sculpture) to keep the tone light. The overall message is that by narrowing focus, confronting realistic worst‑case outcomes, and refusing unnecessary commitments, listeners can dramatically lower their stress levels.
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Welcome to On a Roll, and now here's your host, Mike Michalowicz. Do you struggle with stress? And if you say no, you're a liar, because everyone does. So on this episode of On a Roll, we're going to talk about how to overcome stress. First, my Swagster, S3 Agency. This is the agency that promoted my book. If you want to promote your book successfully, these are the guys you should hire. And they gave me a shirt that fits instead of these baggy ones. Us skinny guys can't wear baggy ones. So S3 Agency. One other thing, I don't know if you check out the little sign I have up here every so often, The Pumpkin Is Coming. That is not from my new book, that's actually a porn movie about Halloween. Wah wah wah. So let's talk about stress. The first thing you gotta do is get this book. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. It's one of the best books about stress management I've ever read, and I'm going to share a couple tips from him plus one of my own. First tip is live in day-tight compartments. What this means is instead of stressing what's going to happen over the next day, week, month, and year, just focus on the day. Just focus on the problems you have now until you put your head down on that pillow. Then when the next day comes about, worry about it then. By compressing down the the amount of time you worry about, your stress will be reduced. Now here's tip number 2. It's about setting the worst-case scenario and then determining how you can improve upon it. You see, with stress, you have to first accept what is realistically the worst thing that can happen. Once you define that and you accept it, now you can start working on improving it. So set the worst-case scenario in your mind and accept it, then work on improving it. Tip number 3 is It's from me, myself. This isn't a Dale Carnegie-ism. This is a Mike McCallis-Schmitzel-ism. And here's what it is. Stop saying yes. A huge problem with stress is yes. That sounds almost like Martin Luther King-ish. A huge problem with stress is yes. And you're saying yes way too much. The more things you say yes to, the more responsibilities that get on your shoulders and the less you get done and the more stress you feel. Start saying no. It's okay. Say no to other things. You don't have to do them. You don't have to do what people are asking you to do. You don't have to do anything. Shoot, you don't even have to pay your speeding ticket. You can say no to that. You can go to jail, but you can say no to that. Start saying no and the stress will go. Say yes and you'll gain stress. Talk about stress. These boys, Thaddeus the Penguin up there, Teppy, and Ollie, my Olmec sculpture. They are in every single video. You guys must feel tons of stress, right? We are figments of your imagination. We haunt your subconscious. We haunt your every thought. Ooh! That's a good point, actually. Very good point.
