How to Say No: Boost Focus and Reclaim Your Time for Business and Life

Why is saying no the secret to thriving in business and life? Discover the power of saying no in this quick-hit episode of the Overlap Podcast. Hosts Sid Sexton and Keith Glines dive into how mastering this simple word can transform your focus, protect your time, and align your priorities—whether you’re a small business owner, a leader, or just trying to balance it all. Drawing from personal stories and actionable insights, they explore the shift from saying yes early in your career to embracing no as a tool for growth and fulfillment later on. Tune in to learn how to make intentional choices that fuel success across work, family, and personal goals.

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What You Will Learn

• How saying no can sharpen your business focus and profitability.
• Why saying yes early in your career builds a foundation for later success.
• Practical ways to identify what deserves a no in your life right now.
• The hidden cost of overcommitting and how to avoid it.

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Key Topics Discussed

• The Early Career Yes Trap: Why stretching yourself thin can pay off—until it doesn’t.
• The Turning Point: When does saying no become more valuable than saying yes?
• Core Competencies vs. Shiny Objects: How to stay laser-focused on what drives profit.
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Episode Transcript

Sid (00:00):
That's the thing that I don't think people understand is when

(00:02):
you say yes to something, you'reinadvertently saying no to something else.
'cause it is a zero sumgame with your time.
You're just going to miss something.
Welcome everyone to the Overlappodcast, and this is a quick hit
overlap podcast and we're still gonnadive into the intersections of work,

(00:25):
fitness, family, faith, parenting,and leadership with the idea that,
uh, growth in one area of your lifefuels growth in all areas of your life.
And that's why we're committed to takingthe lessons we've learned from business.
Breaking them down into simple,actionable insights and empowering small
business leaders and everyone else thatlistens, uh, to this podcast to thrive.

(00:47):
We want you to not just survive,we want you to thrive in

Keith (00:50):
25.
I'm so glad that you'remaking our intro now.
All inclusive.
It is inclusive to say everyone else.

Sid (00:59):
Well, yeah, because it's not just business leaders now that, now that
we have seen the data, it's not just,uh, it really isn't entrepreneurs.

Keith (01:07):
I'm, I'm super, and there's a female cohort too.
I'm super blown away.
Yeah.
The people that are listening that come upto me and say, Hey, we like your podcast.
It is nice.
It is nice.
We're making it a little bitof an impact, perhaps, maybe.
So.
Yeah.
Well, you know, what's made an impact?

(01:27):
What's that me learning to say?
No.
Well, that's the, that'sthe quick hit today.

Sid (01:32):
So, uh, learn to say no, right?
Yep.
That's it.
Quick hit done.
Oh, well, maybe we'll give youa little bit of context on, uh,
why it's important to say No.
My wife's good at it.
Yeah.
Oh my God.

(01:52):
Yeah, I bet she is with your attitude.
I would too.
But, uh, on another note, like, youknow, more importantly, why is it
important to say no, let's start withbusiness and we can go from there.
It's

Keith (02:04):
been one of the most valuable things that I've learned.
But we were talking aboutit a little earlier.
When you first start out, you probablydon't need to learn the word so, so

Sid (02:17):
much.
Yes, no is good once you'vegotten to a certain point.
Right.
I can't tell you specificallywhere that's at though, but
like you and I said that saying.
No.
Too early is,

Keith (02:32):
is, uh, is not good.
However, I probably went a littletoo long without learning to say it.
Well,

Sid (02:40):
I think that's okay.
You, you learn the lesson.
Yeah.
Whatever it takes to learn the lesson.
But let's go back to,uh, saying yes early on.
Why is that important?

Keith (02:48):
Because you're building something right and you need to know it.
Saying yes allows you one to stretch your.
Capabilities.
Mm-hmm.
And I think in starting anythingthat you really need to take
stuff on that's new, right?
That may be outside your skillset, thatyou need to learn to do what you like,

(03:13):
the purpose in which you're doing it.
Mm-hmm.
But then there comes a point when youcontinue to say yes to everything and it
eats up the real thing that you do well.
Okay.

Sid (03:28):
I think we're aligned in that.

Keith (03:29):
Yeah.
Rick Miller helped me with thatmore than anything is, Hey,
what, what are you good at?
Hmm.
Let, let's get that list of thingsand then let's backfill those things
that, that maybe you need to say noto, but your organization needs to do.
Mm-hmm.
But then there's some thingsthat your organization shouldn't

(03:53):
do at all, either 100%.
And so in the media world especially,it was very easy to say, yes.
Hey, I can do that.
I can do that.
And, and that was right.
I could do most of the stuff, but therewere products that I would take on just
because it was in the media realm thathindered the real, the base products.

(04:19):
Okay.
That that was profitable and that, uh.
As we've talked about before, thecreative stuff fun for me to do.
Mm-hmm.
The boring stuff is theprofitable thing for me.
Yeah.

Sid (04:32):
What makes you money?
Business is usually not sexy.

Keith (04:35):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So if you think you're beingsexy, you may wanna look at it.
You, you may wanna look at it andsay, am I am, am I making money?
Do this.
Are you,

Sid (04:46):
there's so many, there's so many overlaps in that deal.
Yeah.
You might wanna look in the mirror.
Uh, yeah.
No, but, uh, I thinkwe're aligned in that.
I would say, um.
I would say it this way, and Ithink we're saying the same thing.
I'm just gonna say it alittle bit differently.
Uh, and maybe we'll both connectwith, uh, whoever needs to hear us.
Uh, so early on, you need to say yes.

(05:07):
You say no too early on, and you robyourself of a couple of different things.
Number one, when you're early on, whenyou're coming out of school or getting
into the, uh, the job marketplace,you don't have lots of things.
Number one, you usuallydon't have capital.
Capital helps you say no, uh,'cause you're secure or whatever.

(05:29):
You don't need someone else's money.
Uh, number two, you generallydon't have a lot of experience.
So you don't have experience,you don't have wisdom, you
don't do, uh, you're not there.
Um, you generally don't have abunch of connections where I don't
know how to do that, but thisperson does that kind of stuff.
Um, so.
What you're doing when you're young sayingyes to more things is you're leveraging

(05:55):
the one thing you do have and, and ideallyyou're young and you don't have kids and
a family, and all these other constraintsthat you do have when you're older, um,
is so what you're, what you're doing whenyou're young is you're leveraging the
one thing you do have, which is talent.
And people will pay you for your timeso they don't have to spend their time.

(06:16):
And when you are spending your time doingthat thing, number one, you're getting
some experience in doing that thing.
And number two, if you're working forthe right person, you get experience
and you're building relationshipwith that person, you know?
And then how you're doing the workand who you do the work with and
for and you know, around, givesyou some more connections there.

(06:36):
And you start to.
Get an idea of how business works,and then you may go into a different
department or just, you know, line ofwork all together and you're piecing
those things together and then maybeyou've saved a little bit of money
over the, over these five, seven yearsand you said yes, a lot of things.
And then you can startsomething different.
You know, you're leveraging what youdo have, which is time and effort.

Keith (07:00):
Or maybe you've said yes to a lot of things and you've lost money on it,
so that should tell you I've done that.
Yeah.
You and me both.
I've done that.

Sid (07:08):
I wanna take a moment to talk about someone who's been instrumental
in my personal and business success.
That's Johnny Barranco andhis team at Barranco and
Associates for over seven years.
Johnny has been my go-to accountant.
And financial consultant, I can tell youthat he's more than just a tax preparer.
Johnny takes a holistic approach to allmy financial dealings, aligning them with
my long-term plans and personal lifestyle.

(07:31):
I've recommended Johnny to several friendsthroughout different business groups
around the country, and the feedbackhas been nothing short of exceptional.
His expertise and service are topnotch, so if you're looking for someone.
Who not only prepares your taxes,but also helps you strategize for the
future, Johnny and his team at Barrancoand Associates are the ones to call.

(07:52):
Trust me, you won't regret it.
So contact Johnny Barranco today and takethe first steps towards financial peace.
You're not gonna regret this.

Keith (08:01):
Hey, let me tell you about a friend of the show called Content Fresh.
Since they've taken over our socialmedia for the Overlap podcast,
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When you combine the growth fromall social platforms, we're looking
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This partnership has trulytransformed our reach and engagement.
If you're passionate about growingyour business, partnering with content

(08:24):
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Sid (08:34):
But once you get to a certain point, this is where I was gonna land the plane,
and you were saying this with Rick Miller.
What saying yes to too manythings starts to dilute your
focus from your core competencies.
And in that.
Regard is what is profitable.
And I like to say the differencesthat make the difference.
Like, you know, if, uh, if our corework is this, but we start doing

(08:59):
all this other stuff on the side, Iand our, my team can't help but be.
Fixated on the shiny new object.
And so without, you know, prettyconsistent eyes on the ball over here
on our core competency or our corebusiness, it will start to, uh, fade.
And, and, and the standard starts todrop because people respect what you

(09:22):
inspect and all that stuff, you know?
Um, and it's just, it's just a bad idea

Keith (09:29):
if you're a visionary of a company.
Yeah.
Thinking that, have you evermet like the, the founder of a
company and then they think they'regood at everything that they do?
Yeah.
I And don't need to backfill anything.
Yeah.
I've been there.
I've been there.
Yeah.
That's been me.
Yeah.
Me too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I used to think I was good at details.
Oh, I don't know why you thought that.

Sid (09:49):
Yeah.

Keith (09:49):
I don't either.

Sid (09:51):
I, I've never really thought that.
I just thought I had to do it.

Keith (09:55):
Now, and I think you should early on, uh, yeah, you should.
I, I think you should have to knowthe process of being detailed.
I am

Sid (10:00):
not a very good bookkeeper, but I can damn sure get the job done.
So doing that makes me know if someone'sstealing or I can look in a p and l going,
I. That says other, that's not right.
Right.
And they'll go, oh,well what should it be?
I don't know, but itdamn sure ain't other.
You've got it allocated wrong.
Let's go and look at what that is.
Or the percentages get all out of whack.

(10:23):
I know what the percentages are,just without even looking, you know?
I mean, well, I gotta look, butI don't know what's wrong, but
I don't know something's wrong.

Keith (10:30):
Yeah,

Sid (10:30):
because that GP is definitely not 68% or whatever.

Keith (10:34):
I, I probably shouldn't be the one that job cost.
No, but, but.
I can tell you what that job's gonna cost.
I can do it.
Yeah.
Like in my head.
Mm-hmm.
I'll be a thousand dollars to the

Sid (10:49):
front of the back.
I'll go even further.
Yeah, I'm pretty good at marketing.
I'm pretty good at writing out themarketing pieces and all that stuff,
but I don't need to be the one to do it'cause I just have a 60 minute meeting.
Actually it's 45.
We talk about what we're gonna say andsome general guidelines and someone
that's very organized and very detailedexecutes and she does a great job.

Keith (11:12):
Hey, Sid.
You know what?
You don't need to say no to who?
Our sponsors.

Sid (11:16):
Oh my God, that's a good one.
The sponsors.
Yeah.
So, uh, if you says yes

Keith (11:22):
to something, say yes to the sponsors.
We have.

Sid (11:24):
If you're a small business owner looking to take your business
to the next level, listen up.
My good friend Chris Francis, hasspent over 20 years growing his tree
care business to national success.
Now he's partnered with Rick Miller.
You've probably heard himhere on the podcast before.
Harvard, MBA and business consultantto create Roadmap for Growth, an
online course to help you scale buildteams and create systems that last,

(11:49):
it's not just for the tree industry.
This course applies to anysmall service business.
Check out tree business.com or hit thelink on the overlap homepage to learn

Keith (11:59):
more.
Hey guys, I wanna tell youabout my friend Wes Cody.
He's the president of C two WealthStrategies, a financial advisory firm
dedicated to providing personalizedsolutions for your financial needs.
Wes and his team of professionalsare passionate about helping clients
create wealth and achieve financialfreedom at C two Wealth Strategies.
They believe in taking a holistic approachto financial planning and are committed

(12:22):
to building long lasting relationshipswith their clients, ensuring their
financial wellbeing every step of the way.
Don't leave your financialfuture to chance.
Contact Wes and C2 [e-mail] to
schedule a consultation.
Let we and his team help youbuild your financial future.

Sid (12:47):
So saying, no.
Think about it.
If you're listening to thisright now, what are some things
that you should be saying no to?
Are you on a board thatyou don't need to be on?
That's it's outlived its time.
Are you on a, are you in some sortof social group that is just taking
too much of your time and you'renot getting anything out of it?
Your life has evolved andit's moved beyond that.

(13:10):
Are you, uh.
Are, are, you know, areyou in something else?
Are you in some sort of position that's,uh, that you shouldn't be doing at work?
You know that you've got people thatyou're actually paying that should be
doing that, but you, you feel guiltyasking them to do it for some reason.
And now you're not able todelegate and elevate yourself up

(13:31):
because of some weird guilt thing.
You gotta say no, you gotta say, yougotta, you gotta open yourself up
because, and this was really the.
The foundational principle of this,of this whole quick hit that when
Keith and I were talking about it,every time you say yes to something,

(13:52):
your time is finite.
So you can't keep stacking thingson because you're inadvertently
saying no to something else.
And most of the time, I'm not gonna sayall of the time, but most of the time.
You're saying no to themost important things.
That's either your wife, that's yourfamily, you're gonna miss dinners,

(14:14):
you're gonna miss something, you're gonnamiss, you're gonna miss some things.
That's probably so important thatyou'll never get to get that time
back, which you'll always get to work.
Um, and I can say that with, uh, ata certain point in my life with one
child gone and one getting close tobeing gone, but I've got another one
that's there for a while and I, and I'mprobably tuned into this now, so I'm,

(14:38):
I'm pretty conscious about how I spendmy time now because early on in my life,
I said yes to everything and I probablymissed a lot of little things that I, I.
I did a lot of things, but I probablysaid yes to a lot of things that
I shouldn't have, and spent a lotof time away from the people that
I'll never get that time back.

Keith (14:57):
A ball game's not worth missing for a board meeting.
And it sounds Yeah.
Yeah.
Like a, like a nonprofit board meeting.

Sid (15:04):
Nonprofit.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Uh, just board meeting and I, and look,I know those things need your help.
They need your help.
And if you can do it, God bless you.
Um, and, and if you can do, you,you can make it, you can juggle
it all and it all works out great.
Um, but.

(15:26):
Yeah, there's that.
There's also other aspects just inwork and, and life and everything.
But just saying no is so helpfulbecause saying yes, that's the thing
that I don't think people understand iswhen you say yes to something, you're
inadvertently saying no to something else.
'cause it is a zero sumgame with your time.
You're just going to misssomething and maybe you're not
missing anything important.

(15:48):
Maybe you're not missing aball game, maybe you're not
missing, uh, Sunday night dinner.
Those things are important tome, and especially once I've
missed some of 'em and they'regone and I'll never get 'em back.

Keith (15:59):
I'll break it down.
In the business world, business leader,if you're saying yes to everything,
you're missing the market movingwhere you need to be paying attention.
There's been times in my business overthe last 20 plus years that the market
has gone in a different direction,and I did not see it because I had
head down trying to do everything.

(16:23):
Myself.

Sid (16:24):
Yeah, I guess it's tough to lead and look out in front.
And where are you gonna take theteam if your head's always down.

Keith (16:29):
Yep.
Yeah, so see if you get, and that's Rick,help me with that more than anything.
That's a good one.
What, what are you view?
What are you viewing?
What?
What do you see?
Yeah.
Can't see if your head's always down.
That's a good point.
So what do you need to say no to?

Sid (16:46):
Yeah, probably lots of things.
So that's the quick hit for today.
Uh, learn to say no.
Because saying yes to somethinginadvertently says no to something else,
and it's probably the important stuff.
It al almost always is the importantstuff and you'll never get that time back.

Keith (17:05):
That's it.
Hey, y'all are welcome for thisphilosophical moment with Keith and Sid.

Sid (17:11):
Oh, and, and we started off the philosophical moment with Keith
saying, my wife says no a lot.
All right.
We hope you have a good day.
Thanks for listening.
Hey, like, and share this, uh,maybe not this one, but the
ones that you get a lot out of.
Uh, we know you've got friends.
At least you tell us you do.
Uh, send them a, send them thispodcast and see if they like it.

(17:33):
See if you can help them out too.
We appreciate you listening.
We appreciate you likingand sharing and commenting.
Uh, so thanks so much forbeing a part of the community.
Uh, we hope you're, we hopewe are adding value, peace.