21. Your "NO" Era

There are so many great reasons to embrace your “Yes” era. Saying yes to as many opportunities as you can fit into your day. Taking the job, taking the trip, going to the conference, joining the club and showing up to as many things as possible. And with each experience that you have, you walk away with more knowledge about yourself, the world, and your place in it. 

But maybe now it’s time for your “No” era.

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Amplify with Jess is produced by Earfluence, and brought to you by Mic Drop Workshop.

What is Amplify with Jess Ekstrom?

Amplify with Jess Ekstrom is a top rated business podcast designed to help you amplify your ideas, influence and income. We have a special focus on amplifying women's voices, but this show is open to everyone. Tune in every other Tuesday to hear from Forbes Top Rated Speaker, Jess Ekstrom as she talks to speakers, authors and entrepreneurs who are crushing it in their own way.

Jess Ekstrom - 00:00:02:

Welcome to Amplify with Jess Ekstrom, a show designed to help women get out of their head and into their zone of influence. Happy Monday, everyone. Here's some food for thought to start your week. Hello, and I would like to welcome you to your no era. Let me explain. There was a phase of life for me. It was like up until the age of 30. Where you get so much benefit and value from saying yes, saying yes to as many opportunities as you can fit into your day. Take the job, take the trip, go to the conference, join the club and show up to as many things as possible. And with each experience that you have, you walk away with more knowledge and more knowing about yourself, the world and your place in it. That is your yes era. I did this in my 20s. I'd find myself like saying yes to anything and everyone. I would get a call on a Monday that there was a business gathering in Utah on a Friday. And I would be there. I would say yes to anything that came across my inbox, my phone, or just through my ear. I would collaborate with anyone. I would jump through hoops to sometimes win, sometimes lose. But. I was saying yes to everything. As I entered my 30s, I realized that a few things started to shift in that like always yes belief, that default to yes. And the two things that shifted are this. One, my time. My time, my attention, and my energy are now my most valuable resources. And maybe in my 20s, I didn't think of them as such. And now in my 30s, I do. Maybe it's just realizing that I only have so much time in the day. Maybe it's becoming a mom. The first thing that started to shift to me was realizing my time, my attention, and my energy are my most valuable resources. The second thing that shifted for me was because of my yes era. I now had so much great data and information about where I wanted to be spending those resources. I had a huge pile of research, of yeses, of what I was good at, what I loved, and what I never wanted to do again. So I started to change 90% of my yeses to nos. And I will tell you, the first thing that comes when you start to leave your yes era into your no era is guilt. First came guilt, then came the exhale. So I'm going to tell you something that I wish someone would have told me. You have full permission to enter your no era. You can switch your default answer from yes to no. That way, something has to be super duper, duper, duper compelling to override that default no. And those are exactly the things that we should be saying yes to and putting our time and energy into is the ones that are so attractive and so compelling that it overrides our no default. You don't need to be everywhere. You don't need to be everything to everyone. Save your superpowers for the things and the people that matter to you the most. I'll leave you with this quote. I used to think yes had all the power, but now I realize the power is in the freedom and the time behind the no. Thanks for listening to Amplify. If you are a fan of the show, show us some podcast love by giving us a rating and review. And give us a follow at Mic Drop Workshop and at Jess Ekstrom. Coming up on Amplify.

Heather Monahan - 00:04:07:

And then I just let go. And I did this when I gave my TEDx talk, I closed my eyes and I said. If you don't walk out there, you're never going to forgive yourself. If you walk out there right now and you blow it, I'm going to be so proud of you. Like, I just take all the pressure off of me. And I'm like, I'm going like this. If I'm not doing it for me, I'm going to do it for that girl coming after me. I'm going to do it for that person coming after me. I'm going. And then I just let go and let God. And it works out.

Jess - 00:04:34:

This episode was edited and produced by EarFluence. And I'm Jess Ekstrom, your host. Remember that you deserve the biggest stage. So let's find out how to get you there. I'll see you again soon.