MBA2667 Why I Never Say Yes To Anything Immediately

How can I help you today?

Hey, I need to talk about my loan. No problem. So I got the email. Sandy Spring bank is becoming Atlantic Union Bank. That's right. And will you still be your banker? Of course. More branches and ATMs. Way more. Still community driven, still live here, still give here mobile app.

Easy.

Everything right at your fingertips. And what about my business? Always here to help you reach your goals.

Sandy Spring bank is becoming Atlantic Union Bank. October 2025. Same bankers you love, with even more to offer. Introducing the new Dell AI PC. Powered by the Intel Core Ultra processor, it helps do your busy work for you so you can fast forward through editing images, designing presentations, generating code, debugging code, summarizing meeting notes, finding files, managing your schedule, responding to Nicole's long emails, leaving all the time in the world for the things you actually want to do. No offense, Nicole. Get A new Dell AI PC at Dell.com AI PC how those ahead Stay ahead. There is one word I never say without serious thought. And that word is yes. Why? Because every single time I say yes to something, I say no to everything else that matters. Whether it's a dinner invite, a coffee meetup, a podcast interview, or a spontaneous trip. If I say yes on impulse, I'm giving away something I can never get back. My time. And here's what most people don't realize. Time is your most valuable asset. Not money, not attention, not even energy. Because you can make more money and you can rest and regain energy. But once your time is gone, that's it. It's gone forever. We can't take that time back. So in today's lesson, I'm going to share with you exactly why I never say yes to anything immediately. And how that principle has helped me protect my business, my relationships in life, as well as my sanity. And how you can use it as well to level your decision making. Instantly. You're going to feel empowered. You're going to feel like you're valuing yourself and your time. But most importantly, you're going to make better decisions. Let's get into it. Welcome Back to the $100 MBA Show. I'm your host, Omar Zenholm, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday to help you start, grow and scale your business real quick. If these episodes help you in any way, hit subscribe. It helps us keep bringing you practical business insights three times a week for free. Thanks. Let's start with the dangerous cost of saying yes. Stay with me for a moment. Here's a little thought experiment I want you to do. Imagine someone walks up to you and asks you for a thousand dollars. You wouldn't just say, sure, right? You wouldn't just, like, open up your bank app and transfer them $1,000. You'd ask them questions, right? Say, why do you need it? Maybe what's the return on investment? Can I even afford that right now? But for some reason, when someone asks for a chunk of your time, we don't think twice. We say yes out of politeness, out of guilt, out of impulse, out of whatever. Just like that. We give away time like it's nothing. When most of us are broke or on time, we're not sitting around twiddling our thumbs with billions in the bank with nothing to do. I find it absolutely insane how casual we all are when it comes to giving away our most precious thing we own, which is yes, our time. Every yes is a no to something else. Because you can only do a single thing at any single time that might mean a lot of things. So if you say yes to somebody about something, about, let's say, a lunch or whatever it might be, or you're saying no to everything else you could possibly do during that time. You're saying no to focus work on your business. You're saying no to the gym, you're saying no to time with your family. You're saying no to even sleep. It's invisible, right? This cost of saying yes. But the cost is actually massive. It's so subtle, and that's why it's so dangerous. You have to be very careful about what you say yes to, because, again, your time is limited. So what do I do instead? I have a script I use every time. Yes, a script. It saves my butt every single time. And you can use this script. Steal it. Use it. My pleasure. And here's a script. Thanks for the invite. That does sound like fun. Let me check my calendar and my other commitments and I'll get back to you soon. That line buys me space. It buys me a bit of time, and it doesn't offend. And more importantly, gives me time to think, right? To think if I want to commit to this thing that I'm being invited to. Sometimes after a few hours or after a day, I realize that invite didn't actually excite me. Or that meeting could be replaced with an email instead. Or that commitment doesn't really move me towards my goals, right? And here's the thing. Most of the things you're going to get invited to are going to be things that you probably want to do. See that's the thing. And the question here is not do you want to do it? Is it the best thing to do with your time? I mean, it's easy to say yes to things you like to do. It's hard to say no when you know you should be doing something else. Let me give you a story here, a real example here to show you what I'm talking about. This year, I was invited to speak at a conference in Nepal. It was flattering and a huge opportunity. I mean, it was really exciting, too, because you would get to go on these great hikes as a part of this conference. And I've never been to Nepal before. It seems like a great opportunity. There were a lot of big names that were going to go and speak there that I get to meet. There were some old friends I could get to catch up with. But I didn't immediately say yes because I used my script like I tried to do every single time. I bought myself some time. And when I looked at the commitments I had on my plate for this year, the idea of international travel to Nepal, a week away, at least a week away, the prep time for my speech, getting ready for the trip, all that kind of stuff, and realizing that I will be at a commission for that week, focusing on this conference. This opportunity was going to derail me from a major project that I was launching and gearing up for. So it was very clear to me that this was a no. Even though this is something that I. I'm excited for and it seems like fun. But my need to accomplish my goals is greater than my need to just fulfill my wants. I didn't say no to the conference, but more like I said yes to my business and what I was already working on. These are the tough decisions you need to make in business, because if you say yes to everything, you're not focused. You're not really focused on a goal or a particular set of goals. And if every time you get an opportunity or a chance to do something else than your goals, those goals will get forgotten about and never get accomplished. And listen, I was honored to be invited to that conference, and I'm sure it would have been fun. But it was the choice I had to make so that I can be true to my own goals, my own ambitions, my own priorities.

Running a business is complicated. There's dozens of software programs that you need, and they're all so expensive. And since they come from different companies, they don't always play nice with one another. But what can you do, right, Odoo? That's what Odoo has all the software business owners need. We're talking sales, CRM, manufacturing websites, literally every kind of software, and it's an all in one platform. So it all works together and it's quality software, so you're not sacrificing.

It's simply a better experience than a.

Hodgepodge of programs trying to fit together. You'd expect to pay a premium for it, right? But that's the most amazing part about Odoo. This interconnected suite of business software costs less than the mismatch of disconnected programs you're currently using. So the question is, why spend more on software programs that are less efficient when Odoo's simple software program can handle everything for a fraction of the price? Discover how Odoo can take your business to the next level by visiting odoo.com that's o d o o.com you might.

Associate oil and natural gas with running a car or heating a home, but these resources go beyond fuel. More than 6,000 everyday products are made using oil and gas. From soap to toothpaste, bed sheets to contact lenses, and so much more. Oil and gas are an essential part of your world. People rely on oil and gas and on energy transfer to safely deliver it through an underground system of pipelines across the country. Learn more@energytransfer.com.

Here'S the thing about saying yes. In my world, if I say yes, I follow through. Every time. Whether it's a team member, a friend, or myself, my yes means something. Okay? Sometimes I say yes to something and I regret that I said yes, that I should have not said yes to this opportunity. I should have said thanks but no thanks, but I follow through. And I do it anyway because my word means something. So if I commit, I'm locked in. And that's why I don't commit lightly. Because a cheap yes leads to broken trusts. Especially with yourself, which is one of the worst trusts to break, where you tell yourself you're gonna do something and you don't do it. And you just train yourself that you don't mean nothing, right? Your, your words mean nothing, your commands mean nothing. And it tells yourself that you don't follow through. And therefore you start believing that if you ever feel over committed and then backed out in the last minute, you know the feeling of guilt and stress and resentment. Maybe you don't feel any of this stuff. Maybe you're like oh whatever. But personally when I say yes to something, it means something. And I rather just say no up front before they Expect me to do something than for me to reluctantly do something just because I committed to it. This habit doesn't just protect my time. It helps me build a reputation as someone who's reliable, someone who doesn't flake, someone people can trust. People know in my circle of friends and my colleagues in business that if I say yes to something, I will do it. It's locked into the calendar and I expect it to happen too. So if it doesn't happen, I will be disappointed because I'm just giving you my time. And then if you don't value that time for some reason, you decide to back out for some reason. It tells me a lot about you and how you value my time. But when people could trust your word because you are somebody of your word, that's powerful. When you stop, just by reflex saying yes to things, you start respecting your time more. You become intentional about what you do and what you do with your time. You actually start hitting your goals because you go back to your goals, because you got the bandwidth to do so now, because you're not saying yes to everything. And people, they start respecting you even more. You know who does this masterfully, actually? Warren Buffett. He once said, the difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything. Think about that. When you say no to almost everything, that means whatever you say yes to. You are all in focused and you are committed to it because you have sacrificed all the no's you've given said no to everything else because this really matters. Here's a quick exercise you could try this week. Something simple that you could try to implement what you're learning today every time someone asks you for your time. Now, we're not talking about five minutes of your time, but if they're asking for and 30 minutes of your time, an hour of your time, pause and use this line. Let me check and get back to you. Then actually check. Does it align with your goals? Are you saying yes out of guilt or out of pleasure? Will this cost you more than it gives you? And if it's not a hell yes, it's a no. Or at least not now. By the way, there's a great book on that topic called Hell yeah or no by Derek Sivers. It's a great read. Practice this muscle. You'll be shocked at how much focus and freedom you gain. Now, what really helps when you're doing this exercise is maybe taking a few minutes beforehand before you start doing this this week. And brainstorm, what are the three Four, five things in your life that are a hell yeah. Things that you absolutely love, that you enjoy, that are a part of your life, part of your business, part of what you do. Okay? So for me, anything that helps me get better as a podcaster or grow the show, that's a hell yeah for me. On a personal side, I love basketball. I love snowboarding. I love poker. These are my three favorite hobbies I like to do. So if there's an opportunity to do one of these things, it's probably a hell yeah for me. Most of us, we have families, partners in life, you know, people that are important to us. So anything that helps my family, that helps me support them in any way, it's a hell yeah. So I. I prioritize that because then I might not be able to do the things I actually want to do, because I've already committed to things that are not a priority. So you see how it goes. So if I say yes to something else, that's just not one of those things on my list. And then there's a chance for me to support a family member of mine and show them that I care, and I can't do it because I already committed to something else that's not important. You're in a tough situation here. See, that's why you need a little bit of wiggle room. You need a little bit of breathing room so that when the opportunity arises where you can do the things that are important to you, you can say yes easily. Look, I'm not antisocial. I'm not trying to live like a monk here. But I've learned the hard way that protecting your time is essentially protecting your life. If you want to build something meaningful, a business, a body of work, a legacy, you've got to treat your time like gold. And this takes practice. It's not going to immediately feel this way from day to night. The more you do it, the more you start to realize how valuable your time is. So say yes slowly. And no. Often you should be saying no more than yes, for sure. And when you say yes, mean it with your whole chest, right? And be proud. Yes. These are one of the things I have to say yes to, because I love these things. This is important to me. This is something I value. So when you say yes, you fully commit. Here's a little tip. If you're backing out of things, if you're canceling on people, if you are not fulfilling promises, then that's a clear sign you're saying yes too quickly and saying yes too often. To things that you don't want to do. So I mean, why are you canceling? Because either you don't want to do it or something else that you rather do came up. Okay, so slow down. No reason to say yes immediately. Slow down a little bit and understand that whenever you say yes, you're saying no to everything else. Thanks for tuning in to the 100 Ombie Show. If you love the show, keep tuning in and we'll keep on delivering Practical Business Lessons if you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast, Hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now. Whether it's Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business. And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.

Hi, we're all modern. We have the best of modern furniture and decor, plus our fast and free shipping lets you upgrade your space for fall with ease. Shop now@allmodern.com that's modern made simple.