6 Powerful Questions to Reinvent Your Life & Business in 2026 (Do This NOW)

Change is the only consistent thing. And if you resist change, that's only the place where pain comes from. That's only where feeling stuck will come from. That's only where saying things like, oh, it doesn't work anymore, or things are hard is when you resist change. So the people who can change the fastest and who can really ask themselves hard questions, then those are the people who are going to be able to win. And we're back with another episode. He said, she said.

And we're literally back from the longest freaking car ride. So, context. We decided that we would go back to Arizona to spend Thanksgiving. This is Thanksgiving weekend right now, as we record this, decided we'd go back to Arizona to do Thanksgiving with the family, which is awesome, super fun, we'd love doing that. But this time we decided not to fly with the dogs. We decided to drive for some crazy reason, I don't know why, but we drove. And it was almost eight hours going there for what's normally a five and a half hour trip, and it was over seven and a half hours coming back for what's normally five and a half hours. Now that's to be expected, right? Busiest travel days of the year, blah, blah, blah, all that stuff. But when you're stuck in a car.

That long, it's like creeping along traffic and you're at like a 15 mile per hour. It's like when you feel like you're not making progress in that you're a little like, oh, God, if I was.

Driving at normal highway speeds for seven and a half hours, it wouldn't bother me because progress feels good. Isn't that the truth? So anyhow, Lori and I have become very good at using that time wisely. We listen to podcasts, we listen to books, we generate really good conversation between the two of us.

We talk through things that we, like, know we need to. To talk through for the next year, whatever is going on in our life or business or relationships or planning.

And so one of the things that we did is Lori's like, ooh, I'm going to look up and I'll actually, I'll let you actually explain where it came from. I forgot how we even got out. But like, oh, there's all these questions that go with this thing. And we ended up asking each other some of the best questions. Where in the world did those come from? I was driving. You were the one Googling.

Okay, well, it was a rabbit hole, Chris, of me telling you about the year of the fire Horse over the year of the snake. So The Year of the Snake was all about shedding. And we were just kind of talking about this last year. And even, like the last few years of feeling like a lot of things that weren't working were kind of like showing themselves out the door. Like things are showing getting out of our life that aren't really sustainable, whether it's ways we were doing business or whether it's businesses or whether it's people. And instead of feeling like, oh, my God, this feels crazy, I was telling him about, you know, this is literally the year that it is for everyone is. It's about getting rid of things that really don't work, aren't sustainable, and don't serve you anymore. And instead of looking at it like, oh, my God, why isn't this working? It's what is working. And it is about letting go of those things and almost being happy that they left, even though maybe it left in a way that you didn't like, or it feels disruptive, or it doesn't feel great the way that things are changing. But one thing that is true about the world, one thing that is true, like, I feel like we've been around long enough in our 40s now, is to say that change is the only consistent thing. And if you resist change, that's only the place where pain comes from. That's only where feeling stuck will come from. That's only where saying things like, oh, it doesn't work anymore, or things are hard is when you resist change. So the people who can change the fastest and who can really ask themselves hard questions, then those are the people who are going to be able to win.

That's right. And so that's how we got on the questions. Was there questions around change, like, what kind of changes do you desire and what are you really not sharing that you do want to change? Like, really good questions. And you kind of got them from chat, but we just went through and kind of cherry picked them, I should say. You did. I was driving. But it was really fun because you'd ask one to me and then I'd ask it back to you. And there were five or six of them that were like, wait, we need to share these on the He Said, she Said podcast. Because with holidays coming up, with road trips coming up, with everyone shifting into the new year, people need to ask themselves and their partners and their friends these questions.

Okay, so whether you like this or believe this or not, this next year is called Year of the Fire Horse. It is all about momentum. Except I want you to really think of A horse. Like, you have a really insanely amazing racehorse, but no matter what, if you put a jockey on there who's too heavy and you weigh him down with a ton of stuff, even though this is like the best horse on the track, it's still not gonna be able to run as fast. So Year of shedding, you have to think of it that way. These questions are kind of based around, like, what do you have to also let go of and what does your next year need to look like in order to catch the momentum of the year that I believe is available for you in every year, if I'm being honest. But especially this next year.

Yeah. You don't want to waste this racehorse that we're given over this next year, right?

Yeah.

Is this astrology? Is this. What kind of woo woo thing did this come from?

It's the zodiac. Yeah. And every single year, like that you are. And this is Chinese astrology actually, as well. So every single year has, like an animal or a sign given to it.

Is there Japanese astrology and, like, Cantonese astrology?

I have no idea.

No. Okay, so anyhow, somehow led us down a rabbit hole that generated really good questions. We're like, wait, we need to arm people with these questions so they can ask their partners this, so they can ask themselves this, so that they can ask, you know, around the holidays for good conversation. They're important for a number of reasons and especially as you're going into a new year. And so the first one that stood out was, if I acted boldly this month, what would I do? And here's why I loved this question. It wasn't like, if I was more audacious, what would I do? Because I know you teach a lot about audacity. It had a distinction timeline on it. If I acted more boldly this month, what would I do? I mean, that made. Made me be like, oh, God, okay, it's got to be able to happen in this month. I've got to do it right away. I can't think about it for a while. What would be the big, bold thing that I would do this month?

Oh, and I knew mine right away. I was like, okay, because I'm in a fundraise for glossy and we're raising over a million dollars. I was like, oh, I would literally get way more bold with who I'm asking. I would go to people who I knew were able to write bigger checks or people who I knew had the network of people who could write bigger checks so that I'm not having to fill this with 50 people. Instead, I could fill it with three people. Or maybe one person, like, what if I blew the lid off of what that meant for me? And really was like, why am I thinking, oh, my God, this is going to take so many people? And instead saying, what if it only took one, what if it took three? If I wanted to solve that problem, if I wanted to fill this in three people, what bold moves would I have to make? So it just, it makes you solve a different problem and think bigger than the problem.

Side note, you mentioned your fundraiser Glo. Where should someone reach out if they want to be an investor? They know somebody.

Oh, my gosh. Well, they can absolutely DM me because I check all of my DMS on Instagram myself. So you can just DM me on Instagram. Any connections to people who know are accredited investors who can write checks. That's amazing.

All right, so that first question, if I acted boldly this month, what would I do? We loved that one. The next one is this. What version of me am I outgrowing? What version of me am I outgrowing? And this is a great one to ask yourself to ask a partner to just use for the next year planning. Because how many years in a row do you plan what works, even though you may be outgrowing it, instead of planning what for how you want your life to look at the end of that year or even two years away. And this is the toughest thing for people to do because, listen, you have to make money. So that means you stay safe where you know you can make money. You have to be able to pay your bills, you have to be able to support your family. You have to be able to do all those things. Except that acts as a trap. We don't get creative enough. And so we keep choosing the version of us that we know works for this next year and the year after that and the year after that. Because it's always worked. Except here's a wake up call for you. The version of you that's always worked isn't going to work in the new economy. Is isn't gonna work in the AI economy. It isn't gonna work in the shifting economy. It isn't gonna work in the new social media algorithms like with us. We used to just be able to lob up a couple of posts, hey, this program's opening, you know, get on a wait list. We used to just be able to throw up a couple of posts like, hey, DM me for this, and sell everything out. And that has changed big Time. And so sticking to the old version of us instead of learning new tricks would be a trap. And I think a lot of people are waking up right now out there saying, wait, why did this stop working? This has always worked for me. This version of me has always worked for me. These actions have always worked for me. What's happening? And so this question of what version of me am I outgrowing is a very important one.

I think if you really let these, like, dig deep and to think on these and not just answer these lightly, they're going to be really confronting. And that is the goal because you're probably avoiding exactly what you need to be looking at in order to make really big change in your life. And I know that this is uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable for us, Chris and I don't love what comes up with these answers because we know we need to change them. So for me, what version of me am I outgrowing? It's really the version that would outsource some really hard things that I thought I didn't know how to do. And I realized that every time I outsource my knowledge on maybe finances or numbers or every time I outsource my knowledge on, like, oh, gosh, well, they know how to do TikTok for a product, I don't know, they should do it, I'm not going to have to learn it because I'm paying for it. It's like, even though you might be paying for a service, maybe some of you are outsourcing your social media and you're like, why isn't this working? Because you need to understand enough about it and you do need to contribute for a while until you're dangero and you really understand all of the stuff about it, then you can outsource, then you can train that person perfectly, then you can get your power back around it. I feel like whenever I've outsourced my power and been like, oh, I don't have to know that. They have to know it. This isn't true in all cases, but it is true in most cases. I would say that that's the version of me that believes that I can just outsource the hard things.

I love it.

Okay, taking a moment for a rich girl tip for you. If you're somewhere between 500k and a million and trying to scale Bey that and feeling weirdly stuck right now, I'm going to tell you something that no one in your circle is going to ever tell you. You're not stuck. You're just surrounded by people who can't take you where you want to go. So we need to be honest. You've outgrown your current circle. You've outgrown the rooms that you're in. And probably a whole lot of the advice that you have been getting is only going to have you regress or keep you stuck exactly where you are. So rich girl, rule number one, Proximity is a power move, you guys. You can't scale from asking people who haven't buil built what you want. And number two, if you're the one mentoring everyone, you're in the wrong room. So trust me, Chris and I have learned this the very expensive way. I have to tell you, this is gonna hurt. We once paid 75k each for a mastermind where we were the most successful people in the room. Cute for our ego, terrible for our business and our pocketbooks. That was one of the most expensive, expensive lessons we've ever had to learn. No one was stretching us. No one had the answers that we really need to scale. No one was playing much bigger than us. And we will never do that again. You guys, everything changed when we finally got into the spaces where people talked. Investments, systems scale and hiring like CEOs, not just hustling more rooms where conversations literally collapse. Timelines, you guys. And that's why we created the Elite Entrepreneur Mastermind. It is two, three and a half day luxury in person retreats with incredible experiences and it's monthly challenge solving call. It's direct access to Chris and myself. It's a curated high level network where money moves faster because everyone is thinking so much bigger. Thinking big and making millions of dollars is the baseline in this room. So if you're ready for that type of room that finally matches your ambition. If you're done being the biggest thinker and pouring into everyone in your space and not getting poured into, just go to Instagram and DM me the word apply. Or you can go to show notes and you can click on the link below that says Elite Entrepreneur Mastermind. I will send you all of the details and from there we can book a call if you have more questions. You guys, don't forget about rule number three is to not wait for your circle to elevate you get in the room that literally upgrades your entire identity. And we also have the mentor collective Mastermind if you have not hit over 500k yet. So go and check that out and I am so excited to spend time with you in these incredible in person rooms next year.

Third question, what is my inner voice Telling me that my fear keeps dismissing. I loved this one. Listen to this question. We all have this inner voice. It's like, this isn't working anymore. This isn't working anymore. Or, you should go here. You should go here. Or you should try this. Or you would like this. Except we dismiss it out of fear. Like, oh, but that would take too much time. Oh, someone might judge me. Oh, my partner may not like it. Oh, my other business may collapse. Right. Like, except we all have the voice that we're ignoring. Not because the voice is wrong, but because of fear. Fear of losing something, fear of change, fear of whatever. And this is where I think people get really trapped in life, and they wake up one day, like the kind of life did. How did I end up here? You know what I mean?

I love that question. It reminds me of the one we used to ask. It's, what are you pretending not to know? Yep, that's a toughie.

That's a tough one. This one's getting more confronting, though, because what is my inner voice telling me? Right. That's, what are you pretending not to know? But the second piece that my fear keeps. Yeah. Not dismissing because it's wrong. Not dismissing because it's not a fit, but simply out of fear. Yeah, man. Fear just holds you down, right?

It does.

All right, the fourth one that you guys need to be asking each other, what way of making money feels aligned for my next chapter?

Okay.

Or you could flip this one. What way of making money no longer feels aligned for my next chapter? You can ask it either way. Okay.

Okay. So I struggle with this one, though. Chris, you have to tell me your thoughts on this. I like this question a lot, but there have definitely been ways that I can initially feel aligned with that. Then I'm like, this is really hard. And then I can take. I can. I can take hard as misalignment. I think a lot of people are doing that right now. They're like, this is hard. This isn't. Like, this isn't working the way that I thought. I don't know if this feels aligned anymore.

This is a great one to examine, because there's two ways that you sabotage yourself, and you think it's not aligned, but it is way number one, you're bored of it. You're tired of it. Right. About when you become being known as an expert for it, you say, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be a person anymore. I don't want to be known to. You spent five years figuring out how to be known as that person. You finally became the top of your industry. You're finally starting to print some money. And you're like, I don't want to be known as that anymore. It's no longer aligned. Now, listen, it may not be aligned.

Right?

That's okay. But the thing you need to ask yourself is, are you willing to accept the financial ramifications of switching away from something just because it doesn't feel aligned? Because you're choosing two different types of riches. You're choosing alignment, or you're choosing to finally reach those financial dreams that you fought so damn hard to get the money machine printing for.

That's so interesting. So you could be really aligned with just needing. Like, sometimes you have to view things as the vehicle. Like, you could be really aligned with really wanting a million dollars in your bank account, and the vehicle you may not be super aligned with, but you're so aligned with the money it's making that you're able to kind of say, okay, well, this is the vehicle for right now, because I am aligned with this, and that's what able to. Is able to make that money, and I understand it, and I can scale this, and I have systems and I have the people, and I'm known for it. But you could feel a little misaligned, like, oh, but I'm starting to transition into this per. Like, I want to do more personal development than fitness. This was my story.

Yep. Well, I said I would give you two problems that people face when they ask themselves this question. The first one was like, I don't want to be known for this anymore. Just because you're bored of it.

Yeah.

The second challenge, the second problem, or the second thing that will trick you is that something has stopped working or shifted. And so suddenly you say, well, this doesn't feel good anymore. This isn't working, so it's no longer aligned. When that may not be the case. It may still be. Absolutely. You may still need to be that coach, or you may still need to be that fitness expert, or you may still need to be that tech person. Right. It may still be very much aligned. But what's happened is you stopped finding new ways to market. You stopped finding new ways to shift with where the attention's going. You stop finding new ways to bring new butts through the door and put butts in seats. And if you aren't shifting with the market as the market shifts, as attention shifts, as gimmicks shift, then it's very easy to say, oh, this feels bad. This isn't working. It must no longer be aligned. When that's not the case, for something to be aligned means it has the potential to fit your financial goals. It has the potential to make you happy and fulfilled. It fits within your moral compass, and it fits with what you would be proud to be known for. Even if you're bored of being known for it, you'd still be proud to be known for it. That's how you know if something's aligned. Just cause it doesn't feel good, just because you're bored of it doesn't mean it's not aligned.

Yep. Okay, last question. What money story am I ready to retire?

Ooh, that's a good one. So everybody has money stories. You know what money stories are? They could be from when you're a child. Like your parents always said, oh, those rich greedy assholes or that rich greedy boss. Right? Those are money stories. They could be new ones. Like something that worked in your life stopped working. And also you built a story around. Oh well, that industry's gone forever. There's a million different versions of money stories. Or you meet somebody and they're like somebody that you looked up to and you paint a picture of them being really successful and you meet them. You know, they say, never meet your heroes. I don't agree with that, by the way.

I don't know.

But once in a while you meet, so you're like you. That is such a letdown. And then you form a story, like, nevermind, I don't want a big audience, or never mind, I don't want the biggest podcast, or nevermind, I don't want all that money, or nevermind, I don't want to be seen on social media, which are all forms of a money story. And so if some of these newer ones have crept up for you, or if you're still battling an old one, it's time to like define that story and it's time to say that you're ready to retire it. Because if you keep keep living out the same money story over and over, you're gonna keep getting the same results, just different year.

This one I was like, oh, I wanna retire this story, that I have to work really hard for my money. This is something that has always been with me since childhood. Like, if you wanna make money, if you wanna make more money, you have to work harder. Now I've had many examples where that was not true. But what was true is that I had to do the setup of the systems and of the machine and of the audience Building, you know, things that I was doing in order to be able to make money easier later. So this is also a bit of a trap because sometimes people are like, okay, you need to just get rid of the story that you have to work hard for your money. Although I haven't met anyone who hasn't worked really, really hard on the front end of setting up a system or getting everything in place that you need or building the huge audience in order to then habit easier later. So I think that when we think of these getting, getting rid of money stories, it's like understanding that, yes, you may not have to work hard forever, but I think it's also really disempowering when it's like, oh, yeah, you shouldn't have to work hard for your money. Like, really lean into this idea that it's going to be easy and you can sit and meditate and you can sit and relax, and it's all just going to come to you. I think that's actually going to, like, hurt what you're doing. I think it's knowing that if I want to be rid of the story that I don't have to work hard for my money, like, I don't have to work as hard, then I need to start asking myself a different question. What do I need to be doing in my life right now in order to not have this story and have money coming in? Maybe when I'm sleeping? Or what do I need to do now in order to have money later on that I don't have to be working for every single day? I think those are a lot more empowering questions than being like, God, I just, I. I don't believe that I'm gonna have to work hard for my money.

Mine's similar to yours, but different. Mine is the more of my time and attention I exchange with somebody, the more money I'm going to make, Right? Like, here's my boundaries for coaching, but I'll totally violate them. Or here's my boundaries for the mastermind, or I'll totally violate them because if I do, then it's gonna make sure that you sign up again or it's gonna make sure that you get extra good results. You're gonna make sure that, you know, you see and feel that I care extra. And the truth is, all that you are paid for is impact. Somebody could spend 24 hours a day with you, 365 days, and if they don't make impact, you're still not going to hire them again. You're still not going to stay in their program. Right. So it's a falsity that if that's even a word, that the more time you spend, the more valuable you are. And that's. I know where mine came from. Mine came from when I was a partner in that mortgage bank. My other partner, Todd, that founded it, that started, he would always insist that you had to work in the office. He had to see you how long you were working. He had to make sure that you were the last to leave. Actually, it started way back when. I got kicked out of college. I worked in a car dealership. I had a boss that was like once I got promoted, the F and I department, they're like, you're the first to get here and the last to leave. That's how we know you're doing a good job. That's what this job requires. So in two different careers, one from my partner, one from a boss, it was ingrained in me that the more I see you spending your time and energy, the better job you're doing. And that's a hard one to kick. But that's the money story that I absolutely want to retire. Okay, the last one, this is a good one. This one can trigger people. This can be tough, but it's a good one. Ready?

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Who do you know needs to be replaced in your life with a higher quality person?

Woof.

Who do you know needs to be replaced in your life with a higher quality person? Guys, this could be you're sticking with employees that are not good enough, but you just don't want to have the conversation or contractors or partners or people you're collaborating with aren't carrying their weight or a business partner hair person.

Are.

You getting irritated but you refuse to face it? Exactly.

Change it and upgrade it. Now when it comes to like upgrading business partners or or people that are giving you ideas or coaches or any of that stuff, that's why we offer the mastermind. Like this is one of the easiest ways and I'm referring to both masterminds, but especially the elite one here this is one of the easiest ways to trade out some of the people, whether they are mentors or whether they are peers that aren't serving you anymore for people that will. Because we hand pick and assemble the best of the best every year to be in that room for the elite Entrepreneur Mastermind. And we only allow like 30 businesses in there so it stays really intimate. So every seat that we select matters and we've got one promise for that program. Everything you need that year is in that room or one introduction away. Now think about that promise. If you decide, hey, I'm going to be in the elite entrepreneur Mastermind this year, which is for businesses that are $500,000 in up in earnings, most are seven and eight figure business. It means that we're going to uphold a promise that says everything you need that year, whether it's an idea, a person, a connection, is already going to be in that room because of how we've strategically built it or one introduction away. Now to do that means we always select very diverse types of businesses. So the people, we're in full enrollment mode for it right now, right? The people that have said yes recently, concierge doctor and hormone expert, a really high end accountant, social media expert, somebody who has a super beautiful high end salon that's making millions of dollars. Those sound like really unrelated businesses. But that's by design because for us to deliver the promise that hey, everyone locks arms for a year and therefore there's going to be enough different types of ideas and expertise and backgrounds and industries in there so that whatever you need is in that room. If you need something because health something comes up, they're in that room or they're one introduction away. If you need something for legal in your business that comes up, it's in that room or one introduction away. If you need someone to fix your social media, it's in that room or one introduction away. And that's how we curate that room. So if you want to be in that room room, there's only a handful of spots left to interview for. I want you to right now, at the end of this thing, this is very important, go to Chrisharder me Mastermind and fill out that application so we can have a great conversation and see where you fit in the room. Because it's not always about the biggest business, it's not about the fanciest following, it's not about the biggest accomplishments, it's about the best personality and business fit. We curate that room, we take curating that room so seriously. That's Why I myself, instead of handing off to some salesperson, that's why I myself still do the interviews for the elite entrepreneur Mastermind is because I'm not selling, I'm curating. And so if you want to have a conversation about it, it's the most elite, most spectacular room that we put together every single year. Go to chrisharder Me Mastermind. That's Chrisharder Me meme Mastermind. Fill up the app. First come, first serve. I'm doing zoom interviews left and right, and I want to talk to you about your business.

That's Chris and I literally being able to be in your business for a year.

Yep.

Really literally being able to be side by side in your business, which is so exciting to be able to go through the year and seeing where you start to where you end up through a year's time. So we're so excited to lock arms with you guys and it's cool to.

Hybrid coaching and Mastermind program. You get texting access to us, like, to our real phones, not some bullshit text number. You get one on one coaching calls with me throughout the year. This is where we meet in person for several days throughout the year, many times. This is the program where it's hybrid coaching. Hybrid Mastermind, because you also get to plug in everyone else's expertise. So go to chrisharter Me Mastermind, get that application. We'll have a conversation.

All right, you guys, we are so excited to hopefully get to spend the year with you. And also, like Chris said, if you're 500k and below, that is for our mentor collective, Mastermind. So you can actually just DM me mentor and I can give you information on that. That too, because that one rocks our world as well. That one's online and it truly has a coach for every single area in your business. And you do get access to Chris and I every two weeks to answer your questions online, which is also really incredible that we go in there and get to talk to you face to face. So, you guys, I hope that you enjoyed this episode and we will see you next week.

Thanks for listening.

Bye, everyone.

Sam.