Shed & Shine – Duo Episode: Do More by Slowing Down
00:00:00 - 00:00:05
Gino Wickman
Rob, you're like this, and you just need to be more like this. You just need to be more like this.
00:00:18 - 00:00:26
Rob Dube
Hello everyone, my name is Rob Dube, and I am here with Gino Wickman. Gino, what is happening?
00:00:27 - 00:00:36
Gino Wickman
I feel like I'm in professor stance. I feel serious with it. For some reason, I feel serious with this. I don't know. I feel serious. Slowing down. Something to do with slowing down.
00:00:36 - 00:00:41
Rob Dube
I really don't think it has anything to do with the topic. Either you're pissing me off right now or I'm just feeling.
00:00:41 - 00:00:41
Gino Wickman
Pissing off energy?
00:00:42 - 00:00:43
Rob Dube
I feel yeah, that might be.
00:00:43 - 00:01:12
Rob Dube
Okay. All right. Okay. So what we're going to talk about today is why slowing down actually scares driven people, high performers. I love this topic. Slowing down scares people, especially the driven. Many can't even take a vacation without slowing down. They're constantly on the go. How do I know this? I was one of them. I'm still recovering, and I want to say that slowing down is simple, but for driven people, it really isn't.
00:01:13 - 00:01:50
Rob Dube
Most high performers are wired to keep moving, solving things, producing, creating, don't want to stop the momentum. And when things get uncomfortable, the instinct is to go faster, not slower. And what I see in my work with clients is that much of the reason we don't slow down is because we might feel our actual emotions. And that can be scary, and it can be painful. I always like to share my favorite quote from Anne Lamott. She says, "My mind is like a bad neighborhood. I never want to go there alone."
00:01:51 - 00:02:19
Rob Dube
So driven people just keep doing what they've always done. They keep going. They stay busy. And they may not realize that they're out of alignment in their life, but continuing to move at this pace actually feels safer than being still for them. And yet slowing down is often what really creates clarity. It's where the best decisions come from. It's where you reconnect to your body. You feel what's actually happening inside and respond instead of react.
00:02:20 - 00:02:31
Rob Dube
And your drive, your work ethic isn't a bad thing. I want to say that to all of you. Gino and I just want to help you channel it most effectively. So what's coming up for you?
00:02:32 - 00:02:47
Gino Wickman
A lot is coming up. Great tee-up. I wrote six things down, and I now know why I'm feeling serious because this is a serious topic, Rob. This is a serious.
00:02:47 - 00:02:48
Rob Dube
Here we go.
00:02:48 - 00:02:57
Gino Wickman
Serious topic. I want to expand your topic from why slowing down scares — would you call them high achievers?
00:02:58 - 00:02:59
Rob Dube
Driven, high achievers.
00:02:59 - 00:03:07
Gino Wickman
Driven, high. I'm trying to use your words. To why stopping scares high achievers as well.
00:03:07 - 00:03:10
Rob Dube
Wow.
00:03:07 - 00:03:10
Gino Wickman
Because we got to stop from time to time. We got to stop.
00:03:11 - 00:03:38
Gino Wickman
So on that point, one of the reasons I believe it scares us is because when we stop, shit comes up. And that's your Anne Lamott quote in its purest form. When we stop, stuff comes up. Everything that your soul has been trying to get you to see and hear and listen to and feel and experience, it's all coming up. And that's really freaking scary.
00:03:38 - 00:04:35
Gino Wickman
Now, I'm not just going to focus on stopping because slowing down is as vital, and I think this conversation can be more 80% slowing down than stopping. But slowing down feels like stopping. So for instance, if you go 100 miles an hour every day, to start going 75 miles an hour is going to feel like death to a driven person. It's literally going to feel like you're dying. And at least for me, where my mind goes is, "Well, is this it? It was a good run. It's over." It's like, "All right, something changed. I don't have motivation anymore." So we could come up with 100 psychological things that happen when we slow down, but going from 100 to 75 is going to feel like death to a driven person. And so it takes time. It's hard. It's a habit. We're building a muscle.
00:04:35 - 00:05:07
Gino Wickman
And so it's reminding me of a conversation I just had yesterday sitting in a deli with a client/friend. And he — I'm going to not use names or businesses to protect the innocent — but he built a great business. He then sold that great business five years ago, stayed on, and really wanted to and loved it, and then helped roll up a bunch of acquisitions in the next run and did it again and then resold it, just sold again last year.
00:05:08 - 00:06:03
Gino Wickman
But now he's realizing with this new sale and the new company, he doesn't want to go as hard as he went in the previous stuff. And so now he's trying to decide how involved he wants to stay in this company, and the new owners want him to stay involved. And so we're having this conversation, and he's picking my brain and asking for my advice. And I saw it so clearly, and I don't think he quite got it. But this is the best way I can describe it. I'm hoping this resonates for everyone out there. But all he has known is going hard — there's a story I've written about him in one of my other books — since age 12. I mean, just a pure entrepreneur, really cool story since age 12. And now he's in his 50s. So going hard for, quick math, 40 years, 30 years.
00:06:04 - 00:06:27
Gino Wickman
All of a sudden, he's now faced with this point in his life that he definitely still wants to work. So the first thing I ask in this type of a situation, I say, "Are you ready to throw in the towel and ride off into the sunset, or do you still want to work?" And he definitely still wants to work. So it's like me. I sold, but I still want to work. My energy wants to make an impact. He still wants to work and make an impact.
00:06:28 - 00:07:03
Gino Wickman
But he's so in the swirl and the hurriedness and the intensity, and all he knows for 30 to 40 years, he's making some bad decisions within this new owner. And he's saying, "Oh yeah, well, I'll help you with that, and I'll do that, and I'll do this," because it's all he knows. And what I believe in my soul for him is there is a piece of that that he should hang onto because it's really a sweet spot for him, but it's like 10 hours a week. And he'll be bored just working 10 hours a week. And I think there's this beautiful opportunity for him to fill the rest of that time, whatever he wants. He's got more money than he'll ever need.
00:07:03 - 00:07:29
Gino Wickman
But whether it's 10 more hours, 20 more hours, 30 more hours, this guy goes pretty hard, and I think will continue to. But man, what an impact this guy could make if he just goes and pursues the next thing that's going to fully fill him up. And so I call it creating space. So this year, I've disclosed on the podcast episode, in 2026, I've created 25 days of new space this year, and I'm so excited about how that space is being filled.
00:07:29 - 00:07:57
Gino Wickman
And so what I advised him, I said, "I suggest you create space. Say no to all that other crap. Do this 10-hour-a-week thing, and just create space. Feel bored for a little bit. Go get a little office and go to that office every day and just sit there and read and research and learn." And what I know, inside of two months, this guy's going to discover the next thing because that's how he works. Long response to your tee-up, but hopefully that stirs the pot.
00:07:57 - 00:08:19
Rob Dube
You're bringing to mind somebody that I know that has a very valuable company, is considering going through the sale, selling, having it acquired, and it's the perfect time. But he's really worried about what he's going to do next. And I threw out this idea to him, and I'm curious what you think about it.
00:08:19 - 00:08:48
Rob Dube
I said, "Why don't you just take a year off and see what happens?" He was like, "A year? Well, maybe. I don't know. Maybe 30 days." And I'm like, "Dude, you've been going hard for decades. Try it on. See what it feels like. Yeah, you can go do some traveling and yada yada, keep yourself busy. But what about just being uncomfortable, not having the thing to do, and not knowing quite yet, what is my next purpose here in this life?" What do you think of that?
00:08:48 - 00:09:25
Gino Wickman
Yeah, two things. The first is great advice because you're telling him to create space, create space, create space. I think there's something to that. It's time for you to create space. And I think about when I sold the family business. When we sold, there I was, 31 years old or 30 years old, right in there. I took nine months off. I created nine months of space. And for lack of a better term, EOS was birthed. I read these amazing books that stimulated me to see my calling so, so, so clearly. So I created nine months of space. Your advice to that person, I believe, is incredible and spot on. Take a year.
00:09:25 - 00:10:13
Gino Wickman
With this gentleman, the other thought that's coming to mind, I'm just urging him to not worry about how much time, how much space. Lop off all that shit you're used to. So it's like the visual. It's like I'm doing this with my hands right now, and most people can't see it because they're not on video. But all he knows is this industry that he's been in. And so it's like all he knows is just keep doing something in that, keep doing something in that. And if he could zoom out and see this world of opportunity and his gifts, because I believe this thing for him, this next thing has nothing to do with the industry that he's in. And it was not computing for him, and I think it's going to. But there's something else out there for this guy because he's just a pretty special dude. He's got a big heart.
00:10:13 - 00:10:27
Rob Dube
And that visual you're doing, actually, you invented that — well, I don't know if you invented it with me, but you did it to me 25 years ago. It's crazy. It was crazy. So it's still out there. It's still a thing, that energy.
00:10:27 - 00:10:41
Gino Wickman
And for those that are on video, because I've given that advice several times, but it's like, "Rob, you're like this, and you just need to be more like this. You just need to be more like this." So it's that intensity with the hands, and then it's just flowing. Just chill, man. Chill.
00:10:41 - 00:10:54
Rob Dube
I was thinking about that when you're slowing down and you have decisions to make. You have the ability, I think, at that point to be more intuitive. Your intuition kind of rises more.
00:10:54 - 00:11:15
Gino Wickman
Well, don't even get me started. So again, speed. When you slow down and find your speed, yes, you're going to see everything. You're going to fly. I can feel it right now in my body and hands. It's like you find that sweet spot, and it's like, man, you are now in that pocket, and you are freaking seeing it, understanding it, knowing it, and stuff just comes up. All the right things come up in that place.
00:11:15 - 00:11:37
Rob Dube
Yeah. Reminds me when I was young, I used to play tennis, and there's a term in tennis called treeing, tree, T-R-E-E-I-N-G. And this is where all of a sudden, you're playing way above your normal level, almost unrealistically well. And it's often just for a short period of time. So it's like you're out of your mind good for a while.
00:11:37 - 00:11:49
Rob Dube
And in this case, when you're truly slowing down, you can be treeing, maybe in your career or your work life, and maintain that for a long time. Gino, anything else coming up for you on this?
00:11:51 - 00:11:53
Gino Wickman
Yeah, I got nothing for you, Rob. I got nothing for you.
00:11:54 - 00:11:55
Rob Dube
That's not what you usually say.
00:11:55 - 00:11:57
Gino Wickman
Yeah. I know. I wanted to mix it up a little bit.
00:11:57 - 00:12:00
Rob Dube
Oh, okay. That's fine. You have a new way of saying it.
00:12:00 - 00:12:06
Gino Wickman
But my well has run dry on this particular topic at this exact moment.
00:12:06 - 00:12:15
Rob Dube
All right. Well, thank you all for listening to us, as always, and we'll see you next time. In the meantime, stay focused and much love.
00:12:16 - 00:12:29
Gino Wickman
Thank you for listening in today. We truly appreciate you taking the time to spend with us. And please tune in for the next episode. Until then, we wish you all the best in freeing your True Self. Stay focused and much love.
