How to Become a Master Decision Maker in Seven Steps

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You're gonna make a decision, and the only way that it's gonna turn into a good decision is if you decide that it was and if you decide you learned from it. Even with people with failures, right? Majority of people don't regret it because it opened up another opportunity or taught them something or changed them into a person who can go and do something even bigger. And we're back with another episode of he said, she Said.

Okay, so people are loving, loving, loving this 90 day blueprint that we dropped. I mean, I knew they'd like it, we worked hard on it, but they freaking love it.

Well, I think it's because so many of us, you know, for me, you literally know that half of my career was spent anxious, confused, not knowing what I'm doing every single day. And that is the worst feeling as an entrepreneur. Your head hits the pillow at night and you feel overwhelmed and frustrated, like you didn't move the needle and you're not getting to your goals. You feel fricking stuck. You feel kind of useless even though you're exhausted every single night because you're not seeing big movement in your business. And it's because so many people from year one to three and often even up to year five, don't know what the heck their plan should be. And they don't even have a plan. So that's why, you know, with us doing this and now getting so clear on what we're doing, we want to share that with people because we always know what we're up to in our business now, which, Chris, it has literally changed my life, knowing what our entire year is and planning it out with the team. So the 90 day blueprint is a proven strategy that's gonna help you scale faster and smarter so that you're not guessing, you're not waking up and going, what the heck should I be doing? So that you know what is actually driving real growth in your business, and it's figuring out what is driving real growth in your business. So maybe you don't even have any idea where that income is gonna be coming from. And this is about uncovering hidden revenue streams that feel like quick wins as well. And you and I, through the years have done this so many times where we're like, okay, that we want to be making our website better. I know that we want to make our branding better. I know that we want to do all of these different things, but we need freaking money through the door right now. And so we've always gone back and gone, okay, how can we get some quick money through the door? And that's been huge for us. I know. Even for our goals, throughout years, we've done that with some really big things. I've been like, let's get back to the money. How do we get those quick wins? It's also going to help you gain clarity and momentum by setting one game changing goal at a time. And this is going to be figuring out exactly what that goal should be. So you guys can go and download this. It's just for you. We created it just for you based off of all of the things that we've done and all that we're doing with our incredible CMOs that we've hired. So go and follow this plan. Where can we get it?

Okay, all you have to do, and it's totally free, by the way. No strings attached. No joke, Totally free. No strings attached. Go to Chrisharder. Me forward slash 90 day. That's nine zero day. Chris Hutter, me slash 90 day. That's Chrishutter. Me forward slash 90 day. Seriously, totally free. Our gift to you. It's what we needed and we are kind of hard to build out. We're like, this would be a really great opt in. Like, you know, when you want to help people kind of, you know, get on your email list, that kind of thing, you have to give them a gift. You have to give them value in exchange. And that's what this is. So, Chrishard, me forward slash 90 day. Okay, so I've been trying to work through a decision. Should I partner on this project with these people or not? And it's so hard to make decisions sometimes. Like, all of us can get so paralyzed when there's a lot of good reasons to do it. And then when there's a few reasons that you don't want to do it. And this one decision, do I partner with this person or not on this thing, has just been the most paralyzing decision. And you took me out to lunch. You're like, hey, let's just go do the seven questions. And it helps so much. I've got clarity now on whether or not I want to do this. And that's what we're all seeking, right? We're seeking clarity. And so I thought a fun episode would be because, you know, you took me out to lunch and walked me through seven questions. What if we virtually took everybody out to lunch and we could walk them through the seven questions we're looking at. What are we gonna eat? Right?

It feels like a burger Sunday, even though you guys are hearing this on, like, a Thursday.

Burger Sunday, burger Thursday, doesn't matter. But I thought it'd be really cool to share the seven questions that you walked me through.

Maybe I should use these seven questions to see if I should eat a burger or not.

Hey, that's a decision. Fatigue, grounded.

I do want to say why decisions are so hard for people is because they truly feel like there are bad decisions. And there are no bad decisions. There are only consequences to your decisions. There's only results. That's it. So what we're trying to figure out is the result that you're going to live with. That's all. And I want to just like, let you know, throughout my life, I feel like I've made a lot of bad decisions. And looking back, they've been great decisions or they were decisions, not. Not necessarily great. They were decisions that were meant to be for my path as lessons.

Good things come out of it.

Good things come out of it. So I always just want to say, like, honestly, in the decision making arena, you're gonna make a decision, and the only way that it's gonna turn into a good decision is if you decide that it was. And if you decide, you lear and otherwise. There are bad decisions if you, you know, don't learn from them. So. All right, let's start with number one.

Question number one. Does this decision actively move me closer to my long term business or goals or health or whatever life goals, or is it just a distraction? Let me repeat it. Does this decision move me closer to my long term business, health, or life goals, or is it just a distraction? Hmm.

I'm just thinking of the cheeseburger. Okay, but. But this is so real. Right now. Because when you're thinking of some of the decisions we talked about, one was with a partner, one is another one that we're, we're not saying right now. Cause it's a big decision for him. And when you're running yourself through these different questions, you have to really think about is this moving you closer to the person that you want to be or is it moving further away from that goal? Because it's not just about this one decision. There's going to be a million other decisions like this. So it's like inch by inch, is it moving you close or is it moving you further away?

And here's why this one question helped me. You know how it says, does this decision move you closer to your long term business, health or life goals? Well, I thought I was making a business decision, but I was actually just able to say, wait, this moves me closer to one of my life goals. And I wasn't even thinking in terms of, hey, what are some of the things in my life goals. Yeah. That this could affect. I was just thinking business, business, business. So it's such a great question, does it move you closer to your business, health or life goals or is it just a shiny distraction?

You know, I want to say like for people with two start too and also obviously personal brands and masterminds and events with startups and with different companies. When we were thinking of starting our startups, it's a lot of starting. Chris, when we were thinking about it, it's like that's a really big decision and it's also extremely risky. You guys, startup life is like majority of startups do fail. And so when Chris and I were thinking about do we really want to put ourselves through this? Do we want to take what is right now for both him and I, the biggest risks of our life that we've ever taken. And you know, there's a lot of things that when you really write out the list on paper, it's probably not a winning list of should you start that thing when you really talk to different people. Except both of our life goals is to really have something big that we can sell, to be able to have that experience that we grew something from nothing and created it and built a team and made it an obsession worthy thing and really got to impact a lot of people's lives. That's probably, I think I can speak for you. Our biggest business goal, like our biggest career in business goal. And Chris and I are very obviously business entrepreneurial, focused. And so even though it looks risky and crazily challenging on paper and really can change your life and make it more stressful. It moved us in such a huge way towards our ultimate life goal. So even when life gets hard and we go, we go to this place where we're like, God, why did we start this thing? This is so crazy. I can't imagine, like, what could we do? Like, get rid of it. Okay, that might. As every entrepreneur knows, that question goes through your head weekly, like, why did I start this? Should I keep doing it? But ultimately, because our life goal is this is who you want to be and what you want to do, that keeps us going all of the time because we have those goals in the forefront of our mind.

Yeah. And I just want to clarify, this other decision that, you know, we're talking about has nothing to do with our startups at all. You kind of found it that way. It has nothing to do with those, but you were using it as an example, like in case somebody was deciding should they take on this big thing or not. So question number two is this, if I say yes to this, what important priorities, opportunities or peace of mind am I sacrificing? And this is big, guys. Here's the truth. Everything has a cost. Everything requires investment, investing your time, your energy, your relationships, some memories, whatever it might be. Everything's a trade off. There's nothing in life that isn't sitting on the couch watching TV is a trade off. So that's why this question, if I say yes to this, what important priorities, opportunities, or peace of mind am I sacrificing is so important?

Oh man, this is a really good one. Because a lot of times we make decisions from a place of excitement or being in the energy of something and we don't back out and get a full picture of what is all included in the planning, in the creating. What will my day to day life look like? Like, and that's a question that I ask myself or I asked myself before creating this company, is, wait, okay, this sounds fun, this sounds exciting. I like the end result, right? I like that I have something that I could sell. I like that I have something that makes me be with like a bunch of different people, like very high level people, people who've created products before that, all the different things that I get to do. But what is the actual day to day life look like? And is that something that I'm going to enjoy or is that going to be something that is sacrificing my peace every single day?

Question number three then is what is the absolute worst case Scenario, can I handle it? And is it worth the risk? Like, what is the ROI on taking this risk? But the spirit of this question is, what is the worst case scenario and can I handle it? I always call this playing the movie to the end, which I think is borrowed from like AA or something like that. When they say, when you're about to make a decision, play the movie to the end. I don't know, I haven't been. But that's where I think that originates from. And that's what you have to do. You have to play that movie to the end. If I make this decision and it collapses and this bad thing happens and that bad thing, how bad can it get? And once I paint that picture, can I handle that version of bad?

And I want to add one more question to that. And what lesson did I learn that completely changed my life and now is allowing me to do what? Because even with people with failures, right, Majority of people don't regret it because it opened up another opportunity or taught them or taught them something or changed them into a person who can go and do something even bigger.

Love it. Number four, Am I making this decision from fear or from the version of me who already has what I want?

Oh, I love this one.

Let me repeat it. Am I making this decision from fear or am I making it from the version of me who already has what I want? That was such a devil's advocate. What if someone's like, yeah, but I don't have what I want?

Okay, well, you picture the person that you want to be. You picture that you already have the things. You're already there. You already have the company, you've already done the thing. Does that decision feel lighter and easier? Because the person that you're going to be in the future that you see in your head is a lot stronger, right? They have a different network, they have probably more money. And in. Or the, the, the most effed up part of all of this is that you have to make decisions from that future version of yourself in order to meet that version of yourself or you. Because if you make more decisions from the version of yourself that you are now, all you get is more of what you already have.

All right, three more questions. Number five.

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If I had to decide in five minutes, right on the spot, pressure's on, what would I choose and how would I feel the day after making that choice? If I had to decide in five minutes, what would I choose and how would I feel the next day when I woke up?

That's a good one because, you know, sometimes people will ask me to dinner a month out and I'm like, yeah, that sounds great. And then week of maybe, I got so busy, my schedule got so crazy. And it wasn't necessarily something that I super wanted to do because I didn't think about it and I thought of it, you know, on the spot, on the fly. I said yes. And now what I do to back down from those or give myself some space around those decisions is I think of this literally, I'm like, okay, if I. It literally was the five minutes before I had to go or a day before I had to go, I know it's a little different, but if it was a day before I had to go, how am I feeling? Well, I don't know how I'm feeling because I don't know what was on my agenda. So maybe I could decide a little bit closer to it. That always helps me.

The spirit of this one to me is a little bit different. The spirit of this one to me is when I wake up tomorrow, how am I going to feel that I made this decision today? Which is similar to what you're saying, but I just think that in itself is a powerful question. It never feels good or bad in the moment that you're making the decision because you're still making it from a place of being torn. So after you make it, no matter what you make, how are you going to feel tomorrow when you make it? When you. Is it going to feel light? Is it going to feel relief? Is it going to feel horrible? And if you can picture that, then that's your answer to number five.

I morphed that into the question I wanted.

I like it. Number six, Will this create more freedom, joy and momentum or will this create more stress and obligation?

Oh, man. Well, these are so good, but also so tough because there are certain things in life that you feel you have to do, maybe for friends or family. And I think this is where it comes into. Obviously this is a great question that can help simplify a lot of things, but we know that in decision making it's really layered because it depends on who you're making this decision around. So if this is around family and you are like, well, it's gonna, if I'm being honest, some of this is gonna create more stress and obligation. And then you have to say, okay, but does this line up with who I want to, like, be known as and what type of family member and person that I wanna be? So, yes, we have this question, but also Chris and I are working on kind of like these life core values of who we wanna be. So if we feel good, like we fulf contract for that month or week or whatever it looks like that, yes, I'm acting as like the daughter and, you know, sister and friend that I want. So I feel okay saying no to this or I feel okay saying yes to this. Even though it feels stressful, it does fulfill the contract that I've made with myself around wanting to be this type of person for this person. So at the end of the day, that's going to help me let go of the resentment because that's what we're trying to get to. We're trying to let go of, you know, get you to a place with a decision that you make that you feel committed to. Either way, even if it's what Chris and I call the best worst decision. Sometimes you have to make the best worst decision because it doesn't feel great to you, but it fulfills on who you want to be.

Love it. And number seven is fun, but actually really helpful. It's. If I had $10 million extra in a bank right now, what choice would I make for my happiness and goals? And now some people can hear this like, yeah, but I don't have $10 million or $5 million or $50 million. It doesn't matter. Right? I don't have in the bank right now. So it has nothing to do with me making this decision about do I take this job or not. And actually that's not necessarily true because the spirit of this question helps you identify. Am I making this decision out of scarcity? Which sometimes that's reality. Am I making this out of scarcity or am I making this out of alignment and what I really want if I wasn't making just a pure money decision?

Totally.

And guys, I'm telling you, in life I know it's when you got financial stress and trust us, we've been there before. Like broker, then broker, then broke the whole nine yards. So I'm not speaking from theory here. I'm telling you when you make something out of purely a financial decision and nothing else 9 out of 10 times, you're going to end up not liking the results of that decision. You have to let these other things come into play even when money is tightest. And I hope that lands on someone where money is tight right now and they were about to make a decision that was going to just set them back even further. You know, taking that high interest debt or whatever it might be. I'm telling you, you can't make financial only decisions. So have fun with number seven. If I had an extra $10 million to make right now, what decision would I be making? So hopefully these help you guys out a ton. Go through them, they're in show notes. Same with the link to the 90 day blueprint which is Chrisharter me 90 day. That's nine zero day. Chrisharter me 90 day. And one more really fun thing, you guys have been hearing rumor, some of you been hearing rumor that we are launching a more entry level online business incubator where we're pulling in some of the most talented friends that we have in their areas of expertise that will be available to you as a free resource if you're in the program literally to loom back and forth within Giguides. It's a the freaking coolest thing we've ever put together.

We are so excited about this because we've had something similar in the past and it was so insanely popular and Chris and I got super busy and now we've learned how to be able to fit this in so that it benefits you guys beyond anything that we've ever created before. So I literally cannot wait for so many reasons. But one of the biggest reasons is because I know what this is about to do for so many of you because we've seen these results and impact on things that we've done and this has improved like 10x.

Yeah. We're basically giving you the access to the experts that you can't afford to assemble on your own. And it's unlimited. It's freaking cool. Anyhow, we're not going to tell you where to get it. We're not going to tell you. We just wanted you to know it's coming. Start to build the appetite a little bit. And we will drop more details on that soon. In the meantime, thanks for listening. We love and appreciate you.

Bye, everyone.

See you next week.