The 97% Rule: How to Cut Distractions and Hit Your Goals This Year

This podcast is brought to you by Shopify Northwest registered agent OC Bravo. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today@shopify.com Happy. Protect your privacy, build your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Visit www.northwestregisteredagent.com forward/earnfree. Give your skin a rest with clean, clinically tested skin care from Osea. Get 10 off your first order sitewide with code earn@ocamalibu.com Are you ready to take your business marketing to the next level? Meet Breville. Just head to www.brevo.com forward/happy and take your marketing further with Bravo and Aura. I've actually unsubscribed from every one of my favorite brands right now. All of them, every text, everything. But I did it for a really big reason. I notice that it just throws you off site. It literally just takes your brain off of what you're doing because it's another ping, it's another ding, it's another thing you see pop up, it's another email in your inbox. And all of those things add up. And we're back with another episode of He Said, she Said.

Guys, stop the press. Real. Like, I'm not even being funny. My wife did something this week that I never, ever thought I would see her do in my entire life. Laurie, you have to tell them what the f you did. I, like, I'm in shock. I, I, I want to see if you're okay. Do you need medical help? What the f?

Some of you are gonna get this. And when, when I say you're gonna get it, you're gonna deeply get it. Some of you aren't even gonna know what I'm talking about, but I unsubscribed from Revolve Clothing in my email and in my text message.

Wait, this is all you do in your spare time is buy clothes from Revolve, trust them on, and then send them back.

I'm there. No customer. Okay, but let's, let's chat about it.

What are we going to do with that extra 20 grand a month?

Stop it. So, not even close, you guys. But I certainly enjoy a good scroll on Revolve. I love a good break in my day when I have a break to drink my shake and scroll on Revolve. I love getting all of their texts about their sales of shit that I don't need. I can't even tell you how many times I've been looking at fur coats for an Aspen Trip that I am not taking, but I feel like I need one. Like, come on, ladies, you know that you've looked at those mob wife fur coats and fur hats. Faux fur, faux fur. Don't freak out, but I did it for a really big reason. And I know that I told you about Revolve Chris, but I've actually unsubscribed from every one of my favorite brands right now. All of them, every text, everything. Which means I'm missing out on a lot of great sales.

But are you about to disappear, like, off the face of the planet? Are you just gonna be, like, poof, gone one day?

Like, I might be.

They're gonna be like, where'd Lori go?

Whatever happened, a husband won't even understand this, okay? And, like, some of you aren't even gonna get it, but. But some of you, you're gonna really get this. I want you to think of all of your favorite brands and just completely unsubscribe as if they don't even exist anymore.

Those that get it will really get it. And honestly, here's what this is about. Here's why we bring this up. You know, you're focused when you decide not want, not consider, but decide to shut out the 97% of life, that is a distraction. Guys, we are inundated with. With distraction. We are inundated with things that are going to pull us off size for my football fans. We are inundated with things that are going to rob you of your time or your money or your energy or your focus. And I know a lot of you say, hey, this is the year. Hey, I'm going to build my business. Hey, I'm going to hit this goal. And then you wonder what happened. It's because you didn't know how to manage the 97%. And I'll take it a step further. You didn't have the courage or maybe the fortitude to shut out the 97%. Let me give you another example. 97% of the emails that come into your email box are not your agenda. They're somebody else's agenda. Somebody wants to sell you something. Somebody wants you to do something. Somebody wants you to know something. Even if it's stuff you like, it's still not for you. It's not part of the mission right now. 97% of the phone calls that you get throughout a day is not you. It's someone else's agenda. It's someone soliciting. It's a family member that wants to share what's going on. With them, it's a friend, whatever. And listen, those things are good. But let's be truthful. 97% of it is not part of your mission. It's not for you. 97% of what is in your head is not serving you. It's worry, it's concern. It's what if it's distraction. It's all, oh, this story that I remember, guys, 97%, your ability to block it, to knock it out of your life, to filter it, is going to make or break if you're going to hit your goals this year or not. And this is how you know if you go Lori, harder level of focused and unsubscribe from your favorite things. I. I cannot stress enough how favorite this is to her. If you are willing to unsubscribe from your favorite things and every other little distraction. And here's the problem. Distractions feel good. They trick you. Distractions are enjoyable. Distractions are things you asked for. They're things you like. And that's what makes it so difficult. So don't tell me you're serious about your goals. Don't tell me this is going to be your record year. Don't tell me this is the year that revenue doubles. Don't tell me that you're going to knock it out of the park if you're not willing to. To feel the pain of deflecting the 97%.

I just feel like this year it wasn't just about the emails in my inbox, like, okay, I can go and delete those. And I have been, honestly, I haven't even. I haven't been looking because I decided this year, like, I'm really gonna stay focused. What it is, is even the reading them, like, as I'm cleaning them out of my inbox, like, reading them, and I'm like, okay, they send me two a day. Like, and even that process of it, like, distracting my brain and me going, no, I don't want to do this right now. I want to stay really focused on my goals. I want to stay really honed in on exactly what I'm thinking about. And then every text message that comes through about a sale from Alice and Olivia and a sale from Revolve, it's not even about, like, I'm going to go and shop on it. Which, by the way, I feel like I'm already saving a ton of money. I notice that it just throws you off site. It literally just takes your brain off of what you're doing because it's another ping. It's Another ding. It's another thing you see pop up. It's another email in your inventory box. And all of those things add up. So just the fact that I've already unsubscribed from like 10 of my favorite things that I just am like, eh, it's nice to know when this or that comes. Like, I really want to. I don't ever want to miss out on their sales or whatever. The reason is I actually can't believe how much I go in my inbox and it feels so much less distracting. And it's taking me less time because I don't read the titles and decide to see if it's worth my time or not. And I think that that is the point I want you to take. This is just the tiniest example. I'm doing this in all areas of my life. And there's. So I'll. I'll give two more examples. If it's taking brain space. I'm reassessing. So, like, I am obsessed with getting my nails done. Like, I, I love it. I always have. But here's something that I'm noticing. My nails break. And what happens is it's not just about the hour appointment that I have for the, you know, every two to three weeks that I get them done. I tend to always break one or two nails. Like, I'm pretty rough on my hands. And so add one more hour for each time to go drive to the nail salon for a broken nail and then to have it happen again and add another. This is three hours within two to three weeks of time that I am. I'm busy right now. Like, I cannot be getting pissed off about these little things to the point where I'm like, you know what, I'll either go with Nubbins or I will try these. Like, apparently there's press on nails that are freaking amazing that if one pops off, I could just glue it back on. And so I actually want to give people permission to go. Maybe this eyelash appointment is not serving me right now because it's three hours or whatever it is. That's actually why I stopped doing my lashes too. I love them. But I'm like, you know what? I'll throw a strip on. Because I cannot have a three hour distracting appointment in the years that I really, really, really want to be focused. And this might seem extreme to some people. And some people are like, nope, that's a self care thing for me. If it feels like a self care thing for you, do it. But what's happening for me Is it's starting to feel annoying. It's starting to feel like too much in my schedule. So when I can get back to that place where I'm like, nope, it just feels like self care or whatnot. But right now it just feels like a massive distraction to go and get certain things done. So I'm assessing all the places in my life where I'm like, oh, I'm more irri than happy about that. So what does this look like? If just for this six months or, or even three months, you guys, would I actually feel better? Do I actually need it? And honestly, if I feel like I still want nails after this, which I may or may not do this, great, I'll go and do it again. But if I find that I actually got brain space back and a little more peace and not having to be like, God, I can never get in for this appointment. Now I'm walking around with this broken nail that's pissing me off every time I look at it. Like, I don't know if I want that brain space taken from me.

Does this mean you can shave your head next?

No, absolutely not. I will always make my extension to.

NATO Counter was popular.

My extension appointment. I can work at my extension appointment.

Guys, here's the mathematical reason behind this. Each of these things on their own. And let's get back to something as simple as emails. Each thing on its own is pretty innocent, except it's not about the two minutes of you reading the email you enjoy. It's the 30 seconds per every single email that comes in your inbox every single day, multiple times a day. And then the two minutes of actually reading it and enjoying it. And then the 10 minutes of you getting focused again on the task that you were doing. So it's actually this innocent two minute thing is really a 15 minute distraction. And now take that times a multiple of whatever. So these things nickel and dime you without you realizing it's no different than your budget at home. The innocent this and the innocent that. And all of a sudden you're like, wait, where'd the extra grand a month ago? Why am I having trouble staying on my budget? The most powerful people in the world that I know, they are ninjas with the 97%. Whether it's people that want something from them, inboxes that want something from them, other people's agendas, it doesn't matter. Oh, and the 97% of stuff in their head, they are ninjas at only operating on the 3% that is for them every single day.

You know how much sleep affects everything from your mood, your energy and you hear me talk about this with skin all the time. But let's be really honest, unwinding at night for entrepreneurs and anyone who's listening to this podcast is probably pretty challenging because we love to replay the day and think of our big goals and all of the things that we want and need to be doing the next day. That's why my nighttime routine has become a non negotiable and it's become super sacred to me. And I've been using OSEA products and their Dream collection has completely up leveled how I wind down at night. Their Dream Night Serum and their Dream Night Cream are clinically tested formulas powered by bioretinol and they're designed to reduce the visible effects of stress on your skin while you sleep. Which I really need right now. I wake up feeling like my skin actually got to rest. It feels softer, it feels smoother and it feels really nourished. And as someone who struggles with really dry skin, I love how rich and creamy these feel without being heavy. So my nightly wind down ritual isn't just about skin care, it's about creating creating a sense of serenity at the end of the day. So it's choosing products that work while you sleep. And this helps me slow down, settle in and take care of myself because skincare really is self care. And I am also obsessed with the scent of these and I'm excited to share that OSEA just launched their newest product in the Dream collection, the Dream Bioretinol Body Serum, which is a full body overnight treatment that visibly de stresses the skin with a blend of bioretinol, red seaweed, magnesium and lavender. Which is why I love the smell. It helps reduce visible dryness and dullness, improves elasticity and leaves your skin feeling softer and smoother by the morning. This is absolutely becoming a core part of my body care routine in 2026. So give your skin a rest with clean clinically tested skincare from osea. And right now we have a special discount just for our listeners. Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code earn@oseamalibu.com that's O S E A M A L Ibu.com Are you ready to take your business marketing to the next level? Meet Breville, the all in one marketing and CRM platform built to help you connect with customers, boost engagement and grow your business smarter. With Breville you can manage all your customer interactions in one place. Nurture leads with their built in CRM reach your audience through email and SMS and keep them coming back with powerful automations. But here's where it gets really exciting. Meet Aura, Brevo's AI Assistant. Aura helps you craft smarter campaigns by suggesting personalized content, optimizing send times, and even analyzing performance data to help you improve your strategy in real time. It's like having a marketing Expert on your team 24 7. And of course Breville offers advanced analytics, seamless integrations and AI driven personalization. Everything you need to create multi channel campaigns that hit the mark every time. Get started for free today or use code HAPPY50 to save 50% on start, starter and standard plans for the first three months. For an annual subscription, just head to www.brevo.com happy and take your marketing further with Brevo and Aura.

Now are you going to get there perfectly? Probably not. Definitely not beginning. But what if you were able to deflect 50% and then operate on the other 50%? Still not good enough. But it's a big step. What if you're able to deflect 75% of the and now you only have 25% of the stuff pulling at your attention right now. That's a massive improvement. Your goal what will make or break you this year is how good can you get at deflecting the 97% of other people's agendas, the 97% of distractions and the 97% of stuff in your head that is simply not true. That is not empowering you. And when you do that, those of you that listen to my individual show, you know this saying. That's when good people like you make good money and you can do great things. Hey guys, real quick. The elite entrepreneur mastermind for businesses over $500,000. Most people are seven and eight figure earners in there is almost sold out. I mean like almost sold out. Now I know you probably don't care, but you shouldn't care about the following we have doubled people's revenues while teaching them how to work in half their time. We have helped people sell their businesses when they didn't even know that they could sell their business for multiple seven figures. Like imagine just getting a check and not having to do your business anymore. We have helped people eliminate $300,000 in shipping and instead create a brand new seven figure income source by vertical integration. If you're not familiar with vertical integration, something big that we talk about, guys, we get massive results in that room because of what Lori and I teach, but also because of the people we put in the room and the collaborations that we create. If you want one of the very last spots this year because we just enroll once a year, guys. That's it. And then we lock arms. It's Ride or die for a year is our highest touch, highest level program. Then right now hit stop and go to Chrisharder Me Mastermind. Fill out the app, we'll jump on zoom, we'll have a chat again. That is Chrisharter Me Mastermind. Chris harder, Me Mastermind. Okay, guys, thanks for listening. We love and appreciate you.

We truly, truly hope we get to work with you this next year. We are looking for those people who just know they are ready to take their business to the next level and that they have this feeling that they belong in a much bigger room because you know you belong there. And so I hope that we get to see you in the elite level mastermind. And we will talk to you next week. Bye, everyone.

Sam.