Why Productive People Aren't As Busy As You Think | 2026 Business Growth Advice

Speaker A: That's what I think the big hot tip is for everybody going forward for this year. Think with a big vision. Get rid of what is not working for you and is not emulating who you want to be and put more of what you want to be able to say you did and the time you spent in the future on your calendar. Now,

Speaker B: um, can you talk to us a little bit about the difference between being busy and being truly productive?

Speaker A: The biggest thing is that you think it's just going to be this hack and that it really isn't just this hack. It's a whole fresh approach that makes you more productive, mostly because you decide you're the authority in your life, you're the CEO of what you're going to do with your time, and you can start making executive decisions that work for you. Busy is a cop out. And that hurts a lot to someone who takes a lot of pride in how busy that they are. Especially you. Ever meet those people? Because I've been these people, okay, when they're late to everything, but you know, I'm late because I have very good reasons. I am so busy. I am a busy person with many commitments. It's just like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it, but it's still a cop out and you're still not being respectful of people's time. And at, uh, its core, you're not being respectful of your own time.

Speaker B: Today we're thrilled to welcome Amy Landino, a three time author, inspiring speaker with Vayner speakers, and the force behind the popular YouTube series Amy TV. With almost half a million subscribers. Known for her transformational insights on time management and personal branding, Amy brings her no nonsense wisdom to this conversation, reminding us all that we are the CEOs of our time. In this episode, Amy challenges the concept of busy as a badge of honor and flips the script on what success truly means. So if you're ready to stop making excuses, take control of your schedule, then this episode is for you. So Amazon. Amy, we are so excited to have you here on, um, not nice. Clever. And our Clevver crew is really in for a treat. And you're like the productivity queen, so this is the perfect place to start our new year. So we're super excited to have you on.

Speaker A: I'm honored. I love a new year moment.

Speaker B: Love it. Um, so you've been talking about productivity for a long time now in your YouTube videos and everywhere else on social media, and you talk about it in a whole new way, in a different way, different lens than other people have

Speaker C: talked about productivity before.

Speaker B: Can you tell us what makes you so passionate about this?

Speaker A: It's a good question. I think that the reason I'm passionate about it is because just. It's inherent for me to want to just teach everything I learn. And so when I first got started, I really had a lot more business advice to share, But I found people were watching or tuning in or just, like, kind of catching a glimpse of what I was talking about. And they were interested, and they enjoyed listening about it and learning about it, but weren't doing it. And they liked telling me, I don't have time for this, I'm not going to do it. But great advice, Amy. And I thought that was super interesting. I thought it was like, okay, well, what is that? What. What does that mean? You don't have time? That you think this is a huge opportunity that could totally change your life, and you're just like, um, but I don't have time, so I can't do it. And, um, that just cracked something open in me. And when I realized I could go there at, like, a higher level and help people from a holistic way, that's when everything in my career changed and became much more interesting. So I love the conversation around productivity. And I think the biggest thing is that you think it's just going to be this hack, and that it really isn't just this hack. It's a whole fresh approach that makes you more productive, mostly because you decide you're the authority in your life. You're the CEO of what you're going to do with your time, and you can start making executive decisions that work for you. And I think a lot of people wanted that permission slip. I love being the person, the teacher, the principal that writes permission slips in people's life.

Speaker B: I say that all the time because I used to actually teach middle school for seven years. Okay. So I used to give people permission. I realized how ridiculous permission was. I'm like, you have permission. Like, that's so dumb. I'm literally just signing this note, like, anyone can give anyone permission. It's fake. And so I love that you said that, because I.

Speaker A: Exactly.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Yeah. I think that's a big one. And people, when you don't realize it until you get a certain point in your adulthood, it's crazy.

Speaker B: It is crazy. Can, um, you talk to us a little bit about the difference between being busy and being truly productive? Because I know that a lot of our clients that we work with, we're consultants who work with, um, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and A lot of times they're just like, well this is my calendar. These are the things that I'm doing. I'm. I can't fit that in. I, I'm busy. But yeah, there's got to be a difference between busy and productive or efficient or effective.

Speaker A: Busy is a cop out. And that hurts a lot to someone who takes a lot of pride in how busy that they are. Especially you ever meet those people? Because I've been these people, okay, when they're late to everything, but they're like, but you know, I'm late because I have very good reasons. I am so busy. I am a busy person with many commitments. It's just like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it. But it's still a cop out and you're still not being respectful of people's time. And at its core you're not being respectful of your own time. Like you're just deciding that busy is good enough because your calendar is so full that you have the ultimate excuse at any time that you need it, that someone should just be respectful to you and all that you've decided to take on. But we specifically as women do this to ourselves a lot. We where we know we can do something and so therefore we have to prove that we can by actually doing it. And if you have ever sat in a business seat before and gotten to a higher level, you know that the actual reverse engineering for success is proving that you don't have to know how to do everything. You just need to have the vision and be able to activate a team of people that can bring it to fruition. And in fact you doing it all yourself and is a limiting belief, not an abundant belief. Believing you can do it all yourself means there is going to be a cap on this because truly only one person is doing it. So therefore it can only go so far. So I just want to shake everyone who finds themselves and I do it too, saying oh, you know, just super busy. You know how you reply to people, oh uh, you know, just keep em busy. What are you up to? I'm busy, I'm so busy. It's the thought that we're continuing to reiterate to ourselves. We say it out loud, we use it as an excuse, we use it as a way to not describe what we're at actually doing that's changing the world. And we stick to that story instead of going and like I'm going to audit my time and see what I'm actually busy doing. When was the last time you woke up excited to go after your busy schedule, that's what I want someone to think about. And if you are so busy but so happy with everything, you're busy with everything, then that's a great place to be. Use whatever lexicon you like. But productive means you are producing something. If you are busy, what are you producing? Uh, that's what I think that the holistic look at this whole thing is about.

Speaker C: Amy, I love that you're. You say that busy is a cop out. We like at not nice clever like to say permission granted for XYZ and permission revoked. So like permission revoked to be busy. Because honestly some of the busiest people that I know are on time. In fact they're early, they're proactive. And so maybe I should just replace that in my head with they're not busy, they're very productive and they're very intentional with their time. Because this was the thing that always like got me. And when I made the switch in my head, I thought my most valuable resource in business was money. But it wasn't for me.

Speaker A: It was crazy when you learned that.

Speaker C: I know. And I'm like, shit man, that's not my priority. Money in the bank is not my priority. Oh no. Time and using my time to make more money, right?

Speaker A: That's a big revelation. When you realize that money is just energy and it is the resource for you to actually spend the day doing the things that you actually want to be doing. Mo money is just making sure that that conveyor belt keeps going without stopping so you can keep things interesting. And the next delicious line of sushi just keeps coming out. It is so amazing because then you realize that, that you going after a financial gain is not selfish or greedy. It is actually for the betterment of all you, uh, especially uh, as you become a parent, you become so much more thoughtful about how you are affecting other people. Because it's not about the hustle of the money to save it, put it away. Of course we need to have great financial plans, but it's about having it to have more choices. Everybody's asking for more freedom. Everybody's like, I want to work remote from my job. It's just um, like. But you're not in charge. If you want freedom, you need to have an energy source that's going to fund that effort. And that's I think was just the most eye opening thing. And you learn it in so many different ways. You don't just. It doesn't just click one day it might click for somebody right now, but then it's going to click in so many different capacities and you go, oh my gosh. Yeah. Here's another example why money is so important. Not because I'm obsessed with it, but because I'm obsessed with making the most of every moment.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's an interesting mindset shift, but it's necessary to, to actually live the life that you want to realize that money is a tool and it's energy and you can use that tool wisely or you can just, you know, I don't know, chase the tool.

Speaker A: Absolutely.

Speaker B: Which doesn't make much sense. Yeah. So, um, I'm super excited that this is our first episode of the year because I know a lot of our clever crew is thinking about exactly how they're going to be even more effective, productive. This is when I know people, it's January. I know people are excited to build new habits and make new plans. So, uh, what tips can you give at the beginning of the year for our clever crew to just really start the year off right?

Speaker A: A couple things. First of all, what is your vision? Now that's going to sound awesome, like, woo, great. How am I going to feel about myself in 25 years? What do I want to hang my hat on? But now I'm going to challenge you to say, like, well, what do I want to be able to say for myself at that point in time? How can I make, uh, it a thing I could do even faster? And um, instead of taking something that's a 25 year goal, let's say I want to write a book someday. Why can't we do it now? Why can't we make that a one year milestone? So I just wish people would realize that you can achieve so much more in a short period of time when you audit your time, when you look at what am I producing, how am I working toward the person I want to be or to be able to say I am by 2050? And what can I do to emulate that today? Because what matters is not that you make good on some resolutions right now or that you have the best goals of all time, but it's that you elevate your standards. What are the standards of the person that you need to be today to be able to say that about yourself in 25 years? And I think that's the part people misunderstand about habits. That's all habits are. Habits are just you on a loop doing the things that you've set a standard for and not, oh, let me go through this season of fitness. You know, let me just get through January See, if I go to the gym every day. When you think of it like that, it's not a standard, it's a conquest. And once it's done, it's done. And then you can just go any which way. So I really want people to not be thinking, having the perfect goals or having the perfect habits or whatever. How are you raising your standards when we fall into bad, bad, um, habits of listening to what other people think we should do and saying fine and adding it to our calendar and calling it ourselves busy. And I'm also going to do this because I am ambitious and I can do it all. So this is important. But I also have children and there's this husband, person or partner and there's so many things and then we go, I don't have time for what's important to me because I have all these other things. What was the standard? If the standard was I want to have a family, have the family. Don't be confused. Later on when you have the family and you're like, wait, this family wants attention, what do I do? It was the standard. So how, how are we now emulating the person that has all of these facets of, of their life today so that we can say these things about ourselves in 25 years? And who cares what we're even going to say in 25 years? The point is to just think big, think bigger, and to zoom out. So I, I hope that's what people are thinking about. Not to make this any less evergreen right now, but like, that sounds so big, like I must do everything right. No, you don't. You just need to show up at the standard of the person that you believe you truly are so that you can do the bigger things. So think big picture, but then decide that you can do something about it now by stepping into who that individual is that you hope will be.

Speaker C: I love the sense of ownership that you are weaving in throughout all of this. You know, recognizing that busy is a cop out and taking ownership and accountability for. If you are saying yes to these things, know that you're saying no to others and don't blame anybody else if you're running late or if you end up a year from now, 10 years from now, with the things you didn't want. It's like, what were you making decisions to say yes to in the past that led to where you are now? That is huge. And I think like one of the things that Candace and I really love about being in the branding field and the personal branding field, brand building field, is that we are always thinking long term and always asking our clients like what's future you? Right. And let's take that as uh, Candice like to say the next best step toward that. You're not going to conquer it tomorrow, you're not going to achieve it or realize it tomorrow. But I just, I love that sense of accountability and ownership and I think everybody can really benefit from honing in on that part of it. Because productivity is like a practice, like anything else. Right. It's not a hack or a tip. We might frame it as that to get your attention. So we tricked you guys on YouTube for your own good. But it's really a practice.

Speaker B: You've built the brand, you've built the business.

Speaker C: But when your team can't help you show up authentically online, you end up doing all the things and your business

Speaker B: hits a wall, which just sucks.

Speaker C: That's why we created Amplify.

Speaker B: It's your hands on workshop where we show your team how to show up online on brand and create content that actually generates business.

Speaker C: This so you can stop micromanaging and start leading like the CEO you are.

Speaker B: Your workshop can be live or virtual, whatever works best for you and your crew.

Speaker C: Cuz even the boss deserves a break.

Speaker B: Check out the link in the show notes to get the full scoop.

Speaker A: I want to just bounce off of what you just said because I love this concept of when you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else. And when you're saying no to something, you're saying yes to something else. Audit your time for the last year. If you do nothing else to start the year, if it's like, okay, I'm not doing resolutions, I'm against that. I don't need goals. I have an idea. I know my vision. Great, then let's just make sure we're on the right path. And if you go back week by week. I actually just did this in a recent YouTube video. I actually have done it two years in a row now. It's a great challenge from Tim Ferriss, who's the author of the Four Hour Work Week. Go back and look at every week of your year and look for the appointments on your calendar. Or if you're like me, you put a lot of things on there that weren't appointments or appointments with yourself. Like I need to write my book or whatever just holds on the calendar for things you had to do. Right? All the busyness. Go week by week and watch for emotional peaks. That was so fun. I never want to do that again. Just I Don't like that person. Like, uh, that's okay. Whoever it is, the thing, the task, the event, the travel trip, the, uh, engagement. You said yes to the client. You knew in your gut was not the right one, but you still said yes, Took the check and wished you hadn't. But happy you cashed it and you can move on. Write that name down, write that situation down, write that type of client down, write the trip down, write the place down. And then have this list, this emotional list of things that you have experienced. We don't want to look back at our own experience. We're constantly looking at everybody else's experience to try to gauge what we should be doing. Go back to your own emotional home. Look for the things that are a, uh, negative and agree that they go on the not to do list. Tim would actually tell you, take the top 20%. So let's say you have a long list of, um, of yuck. You're not going to be able to get rid of all yuck.

Speaker C: Okay?

Speaker A: If you don't like PTA meetings, then we can reassess being on the pta. But if you don't like doing drop off of the kid at school, somebody's got to drop the kid off. So you know they're not going to hit a top 20%, right? So what is the top 20%? Then get rid of that top 20%. It goes on a not to do list. Make yourself a sticky note that says not to do list and remind yourself that next time somebody asks you, are you volunteering for the PTA this year? Then you're going to say, no, I actually don't have the bandwidth for that. But thank you so much for thinking of me. And then on the positive side, looking at the good and saying, I'm a step down right now, and I'm going to say, I love concerts, I love taking my kids to the zoo. I love what, what, what. You name it. I love speaking on stage. Whatever it is, I want more of that. What can you do to make more of it? If it's literally in your control, like time with your kids, vacations, whatever, mark it off, it's gone. Reserve that calendar now. We don't have time for the things that matter to us because we never set the appointment in the first place. But the second we get a meeting, invite to something that does not need to happen, it's like a reflex. You're like, uh, yeah, you just hit yes to that. But you didn't say yes to taking your family to Mexico or something. I mean like we don't make a point to reserve what we want more of to happen. So make that a possibility. Now take your top 25, whatever it is, percent of your positive and your negative and make the proclamation for your next year. It's amazing what will happen. I think the biggest pro tip that Tim gives on this is you can't just have a not to do to do list. The biggest mistake people make is they get rid of something and they don't fill it with something else. Think about even just like healthy eating. I'm never eating chocolate again. Okay, great. But if you just give yourself these no rules, it's discouraging. And you don't look at the positive. You have to fill it with something that's going to take care of you, take care of your body, make you feel good. And so you're going to fill that space. What are you filling the I refuse to do those things now time with that you actually look forward to. And that's, I mean that's what I think the big hot tip is for everybody going forward for this year. Think with a big vision. Get rid of what is not working for you and is not emulating who you want to be and put more of what you want to be able to say you did and the time you spent in the future on your calendar now.

Speaker B: Yes, I love that. So last year I bought Jesse Itzler's the Big ass calendar. Have you heard of that? So Jesse Itzler has.

Speaker A: I've always wanted one and I keep thinking about that this year.

Speaker B: Let's get that this year. So for Clevver crew listeners, the big ass calendar. We'll drop a link in the show notes. We'll also drop a link to your video. Amy. Um, um. But basically it is one big ass calendar that has every month on a single line. So it's January all the way across, February all the way across and comes with little post it note post it style notes. I guess it's not actually post its, but that you could put on there and like write things out. So at the be at the end of last year, end of 2023, my husband and I looked at the big ass calendar and we're like, we're only working 10 months this year. That's it. We're not working more than 10 months. And so we blocked out every vacation, every trip, every, like we're gonna work on the house this week, whatever. Like we blocked out. So we can only work 10 months. And then you know what happened? We actually only worked 10 months. I mean, we have like a couple weeks off coming up still. But at the end of the year, we will have only worked 10 months. We'll have made more money than we did last year. And we easily said no to things when they were in conflict with the plans that we already had, even if it was just going two hours away to visit my family in la. And it made such a huge difference because I knew what to say no to and when.

Speaker A: It's amazing. And then you go back and you count up all that time. And let's say you do take a certain amount of time per year. The average American, what, gets two weeks of vacation if they're super lucky and have a great job. Think about that. Two weeks versus two months. And let's say you write an article called, you know, because us content ladies were always thinking that way. Like, I took 60 days off work last year. Here's how I did it. Everybody wants to know, uh, thank you. Write it off. Like, I just. Yeah, yeah. Because you have to phrase it in a way of how much time you had off, not how many days you worked, it's how many days you had off what they were off work in one. Exactly. So you do that and it's. It just is mind blowing to people. But it's just because they took, you took that one step of I'm the CEO of my time. I'm going to make this decision. Things are going to change. I might have more time off, I might have less time off, but I could have had maybe two weeks squeaked in here and there throughout 12 months. Or I had these great trips planned and it ended up being a total of 60 days in my year that I got to take for myself. Because you marked it off. It's about taking the initiative, not being reactive, not being on defense.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I think it's about not having a scarcity mindset too. Because I think automatically people might assume that because you're working less, that means you're going to make less money. And that's not true.

Speaker A: Of course. People think they're going to make less money because they're working less. I don't know about you guys, but when I like, for instance, when I pull back, not my set. Yeah. I'm like, the second it's time to get ready to go somewhere. Like, I am doing the most. And it's amazing what you can do when you have a deadline. If the deadline. Because you get to let off the gas. Use deadlines to your advantage 100% Yep,

Speaker B: I couldn't agree more.

Speaker C: There's this funny phrase, uh, because, uh, Amy, work with a lot of folks in the housing industry in real estate, mortgage title. And there's the joke of if you want more business, go on vacation. And my hypothesis about that is because everybody loves somebody who loves themselves and who takes care of themselves and who is unattainable. It's almost like dating. Like, what's the best time to get a girlfriend or to get a boyfriend when you already have one, right? Same thing with job hunting. It's the best time to find your next job when you already have one. Throwing all the analogies here, but I love it.

Speaker A: And do you know what it is? It's an attraction thing. You know, I always found that weird, and now I find it less weird because it's. It's what you're giving off when you're not looking for a girlfriend and you already have one. I guess I'm a guy now or whatever. You know, we're very trying to put myself in this. I haven't dated in so long. But it's like, you're not looking because you're just in the mode of being. And when you're in the mode of being, you're. You're thinking about how to first take care of yourself because you have to put your mask on first and then taking care of those around you. And that's a characteristic of a person that gravitates another person to you. Like, oh, wow. I like how she is or how she cares for people or how she conducts her life. And I'm not in the mode of looking for a partner because a partner is going to complement that life. So that's one example. But the same thing I think goes for business. People are constantly looking for their clients or looking for the business or looking for the next deal. But I want to do a deal with somebody who looks like they already know how to do a deal. Like, that's m what matters to me. So by you being busy, productive, producing, I want to know more about you. Actually, my husband and I have been thinking about finding the right real estate agent for us in the near future, too. And we found somebody that's like, we can help you. This person looks interesting. We haven't reached out yet because, yeah, I'm sure. It's like, she seems really, really, really, really busy, like, to the point where she's so attractive to potentially work with. I'm worried she won't even get back to, uh, a text hello, because I'm Just like, she has to be so crazy busy. You doing the best, you being the 10 point version. Exactly. She knows what she's doing. That's what is going to attract someone to you. And it's really hard to teach that for somebody that's in a rut. You have to agree, um, to trust the process. And that's. That's a big piece of it.

Speaker B: So, Amy, you mentioned content a few minutes ago, and I'm gonna go off on a tangent here, because I saw one of your reels yesterday that was so good and definitely Kat and I's style. You talked about. You referenced a video that Hugh Grant had made where he said he had a fake assistant or agent, and you talked about how you also had a fake assistant, and you named her Olivia, who is one of my favorite television characters ever. Someone asked me before, like, which TV character would you be? And I said, 100% Olivia Pope. Anyhow, um, you named her Olivia because of Olivia Pope. And can you just walk us through that whole scenario? You guys have to watch her reel. We'll drop that, too. We're dropping all the links.

Speaker A: Yeah. The context for the video. I actually have made a TikTok about this. I don't do as much on TikTok, and it did really well on TikTok a couple years ago, but my husband sent me that video that Hugh Grant was on, Howard Stern. And Howard was like, so how does somebody, you know, get Hugh in their movie? You have an agent or something? And he's like, yeah, but at one time, I didn't. I was just my own agent. And it was like, what? Who says that? Like, m. I'm so excited that somebody actually said this out loud, because I know how many professionals do this. They just don't talk about it because nobody talks about their fake assistant. Like, why would you talk about your fake assistant? Because you don't want somebody questioning when you have to send something to your fake assistant. So I talk about this because I think it's really important to give people a permission slip, but a really actionable step they can take to begin to emulate the person they see themselves as. So, for instance, if you're a team of one right now, but you say, someday we're going to be in the mold, multiple seven figures as a team, there's going to be 10 of us. And if you never act as though, then it can be hard to become the person that would. And the example of the assistant is, let's at least pretend like there is someone who does your Scheduling does your dry cleaning, takes care of the travel booking, makes sure the reservations are on the books, and et cetera, et cetera. Let's pretend like that person exists and all you have to do is open an email account. And, you know, I like to give the person a name. I get so much pushback on this because people are like, can't we just make it generic so that someday somebody could take it over? And if they have a different name, it's like, oh, my gosh, you're getting married to the process here. I mean, the person. Because I don't want to be like, m. My assistant, who is unnamed. Uh, in an email, I'm going to say, contact Olivia. Olivia is a mode. When you're just starting and you don't have an assistant. Olivia is a mode. When I sit down to do my admin, I log into Olivia's email account and I do all my travel booking and my scheduling, and I make sure the reservations are good and I sign up on the calendly and I do the administrative things. And the reason this matters is not for the ruse. Maybe for Hugh Grant, maybe sometimes it's for the ruse. It's for the fact that someday someone is going to sit in that seat for you. And instead of coming up with some arbitrary job description and hoping it works out and that you get some unicorn to come on your team that knows how to handle your stuff, you could have a perfectly conducted email inbox for them to just start and all of the training be laying right out there for bonus points if you screen record yourself being your assistant. Here's why I'm saying what I'm saying in this email, because this is what matters to me. So someday, when you're scheduling my lunches, I like them to. To be at 12:30, and I never take them. On Mondays, you do this and you act like someone's going to step into the assistant role at some point. And then hiring somebody isn't like, this crazy idea that it's going to take me so long to train them. Because you're training them by acting like they already exist. So it was just a really great opportunity to say, look, guys, you think the crazy girl that you know looks 15 on camera but has actually been doing this a really long time is, uh, a charlatan when she says that having a fake assistant is okay. But let me show you Hugh Grant did it, and I'm going to show you how to do it. Gangbusters. People love it.

Speaker C: Wow. It's so funny. So I hadn't seen that reel yet. But I did the same thing when I was starting my agency, and it was just a team of one Studio Friday. And I had a hello, Studio Friday co. And I named my assistant after one of my best friends at the time who wasn't working for me. But it felt better to be like, oh, just Mariah will take care of it. Just D.C. mariah. Like, just. We'll send it to Mariah and she'll handle.

Speaker A: And then I've been such a realistic name. Like, you don't just, like, pull that one out of nowhere. Right?

Speaker C: I was like, that's a real person.

Speaker A: She's totally.

Speaker C: And she was a real person. So whenever I would talk about her, I'd imagine my best friend being in business with me.

Speaker A: Yeah, Isn't that really what it is? Because I'm always trying to resist calling anything fake Sarah, because I'm like, someday my best friend and I are going to work together. It's just a matter of time. We wrote a book together, but we don't work together. I'm like, well, I'm just going to start saying it's Sarah because someday I'm going to poach her and it's going to be great. And, like, that's a real thing. Like pretending to hire your best friend.

Speaker C: Amy, you mentioned. You mentioned before we popped on here, um, you know, you've been in the content game, specifically on YouTube for a while. Since 2007, I believe. Right. And so, you know, for our clever crew, listening. And Candace is when you guys hear this, beginning of the new year, um, she'll be giving birth in about a month. And, you know, Amy, you were not a mom when you started online and becoming a mom. I have a great stepdaughter to be. But when I do become a mom myself, like, that's on the vision board for me. I'd love to hear, because I know we have a lot of busy. A lot of productive parents and entrepreneurs listening in. What was that shift like for you? What were some ahas? Maybe some agony moments that you could share and maybe save our crew a bit of a learning curve?

Speaker A: Listen, I'm not gonna say it's. It's it's hard, guys. Just FYI, everybody is very hard. Being a parent, it's very. I think the fun part for me has been that I've been putting myself in the trenches on this as much as I could before actual children existed to the best of my ability. Um, so what happened was I. I mean, I started 2007. I didn't know there was a YouTube game. Did anybody know there was a YouTube game in 2007? Of course not. I found it because I could upload.

Speaker C: No, I was taking my. My. My SAT prep. Like, there you go.

Speaker A: I'm literally just uploading videos there because I was like, what? I don't have to burn this on a DVD. Sweet. So that's what YouTube was to me. I found out it was a game in 2009, but in that time, you know, I'm doing what I'm doing. I started talking about productivity, and that really became a moment for me in 2018. It was very much like, morning routines were hot, and we were talking about really important to people, and I loved it, and I leaned into that. But I had this wonderful community of people who were parents who were like, this girl ain't got no kids. And she's telling me, uh, how she's productive. Please, please, this is not going to work for me. And I was like, whoa. Like, first of all, I don't get a lot of trolls, so thank you. And secondly, that's actually a solid point. There are constraints. I work for myself, and I'm talking about being productive. Like, I get to decide. I get to decide. Everybody has their constraints in their life. It goes back to busy. I can't because of X. If X is that you took a job, you agreed to take that job. We can implode our lives at any time. I don't recommend it if you've got a family. I don't recommend it if it's not a good idea, but we can make that decision at any time. But they made me realize, wow, yeah, I do give some pretty good advice, but I wouldn't even know how it works in that context because I don't have personal experience. I can't speak from personal experience about adhd, which I get asked about all the time. I can't speak from experience about parenting. And so that really kind of got to me for a while. And I was like, now would be really interesting if I had kids, I could find out. And so then I was like, all right. I'm just kidding. That's not how I decided to have children.

Speaker C: Trolls do not come for Amy. Okay? That was a joke. That was humor.

Speaker A: They're like, ha, ha. We're the reason that Amy had kids. Yeah. But I did think a whole heck of a lot about myself when the kids did come, and I was like, well, I'm super productive, so I already kind of know what I'm doing. It's great. When I had kids, my world was rocked. I mean, ah. And you have. I want you both to know this for when you have children. And Candace, you're coming up on this. You always have the kid you need at the moment that you are supposed to have them. And I mean that from the best place in my heart. And what I mean by that is my first child who I thought was just so easy, uh, was not. Because now I know what an easy kid is like because I got one. The second one is easy, but the first one, Bianca, introduced so much to my life and I. You just have to learn in the moment and you just have to go and you just have to do the best to your ability. And there was so much I had to learn in that time. But I was able to call back from all of the productivity. 4:00am mornings, just because I could. 4:00am when you're a parent. Yeah, makes sense. 4:00am m. Just because you love it. That's a different breed. And that was me. But I had to pull back from all of that that I learned when I didn't have the constraints, but I was learning the practice and trying to figure out now, how does this actually work in a real world scenario where the stakes are higher? The time I clock out to spend time with my family matters. It mattered with my husband before. But we're both entrepreneurial, work for ourselves, travel together all the time. It wasn't the same. The stakes were not the same. We knew we were going to get that time together. We didn't have this hard, like, no, I haven't seen you all day. Now we focus on one another moment. So it was really funny at the start because I thought, all these people think I'm going to be an incapable mother. I'm going to be so full of crap by the time I have them that these tips work. They do work. You have to take what works for you and you have to stick with it. So like I said before, it's not about a hack or a tip or a tactic or just like one solid good habit that you end up developing. The morning routine of dreams. That's Instagrammable. It's about none of those things. It is that the whole picture looks the way you want your life to go. Is it going in the right direction? Do you see the lighthouse? Because if you're not headed toward the lighthouse, where are you going? So that's, that's really. It's, uh, a convoluted advice. But you're not going to know till you're in it, but knowing beforehand that you've done some of the inner work that's going to serve you when you, you actually need it. And you need to be able to tap into that person that, you know, has had that experience. That was probably one of my favorite things about it.

Speaker C: Convoluted, potentially, but authentic and real. Like, yes. So I appreciate that, Amy. And I am, I am forewarned as much as possible until I am walking in your shoes and Candace's.

Speaker A: Get all the good practice now while it's just practice.

Speaker C: Just.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Where I can be like, send them back and be like, pop into San Diego for the weekend, be auntie and, and then pop back home.

Speaker B: Thanks for that, Amy. I really appreciate it. I'm definitely thinking about all those things now. Like, Candace is loving. My husband and I are both entrepreneurs, same kind of thing, traveling, doing all that. So definitely what I needed to hear.

Speaker C: So I have um, kind of a. One last question before we, you know, head into our kind of like wrap here for the episode. Amy, you. And this is more shifting to the idea of personal branding and branding. Um, you know, we've talked a lot about productivity, Candace, and you and I all know you can give the best business and branding advice. If somebody doesn't have the bandwidth, they're not going to do shit with it. Right. So now that we've kind of addressed productivity as a practice and all these nuggets you've shared, I want to hone in on one thing that you really talked about again, it's very much speaking to your long term mindset of, uh, brand durability and what does it mean to build a durable brand. And I think given the givens of how chaotic our landscape can be, how polarizing things are these days on and offline, building resilience and durability is, is a very key aspect. So I'd love for you to just kind of like share your insight on, on that, on that, uh, that phrase and what it means for you.

Speaker A: That's such an interesting question. Like, I feel like you're asking me the opposite of, of like. Or are you asking me don't get canceled? It feels like we're having a conversation about not getting canceled. That's just what I'm hearing with durability. Right. So it's not, it's not something that I've really given consideration to, but I feel like if I was going to answer that, I would just say that you need to be authentic. And I talked about this, um, in a keynote recently. Um, Candace, you might have actually seen it where authentic is this word people throw around for the like, oh, be. Be authentic with your brand. And people get very confused by that. They're like, oh, be authentic. So, okay, I'm going to post that I just ate some tacos. And, um, I'm going to say what I think about the election and that. And it's just like, I'm going to be authentic. But a personal brand is actually mostly personal for the people you do this for. So rather than thinking it has to be all about you all the time, you should be showing up for who your person is or who your audience is, who your ideal client is, who your whoever is. So emulating the person being that person for who you do this for. That's what I think brand durability is founded in. Because you can't just show up to be a personality or show up to be a certain prescription every day and have to research it and make sure you're on point. It should be true to you. But your trueness comes from the relationship that you have with someone. And that's why a personal brand is much more about who you do this for than it is about you. I. And, uh, personally, I think that's the most freeing thing about personal branding, because people get really hung up on it. Like, I have to become famous in order to become successful because it's the only brand I know how to build. And yet that's a lot of pressure. Take the pressure off by simply agreeing to be useful and generous and curious about another person, and that's going to be complete and utter success for you. And the reason why that made me think of canceling is that if you really, truly are in this for the right reasons and you show up as that person who is truly you, uh, who and interested in being of service, like, you really can't go wrong with that. You can always wake up and look at yourself in the mirror and say that I'm doing this for the right reasons. Even if so. And so who sees me posting some crazy video doesn't get it. Well, why don't they get it? Because they're not my person, they're not who I'm doing this for, and someday they're going to jump on the bandwagon and say, wow, that's so cool when a CNBC article comes out about you or your video goes viral in the same day, which is what happened to me yesterday. You get everybody suddenly understanding your weird antics when things are going well, but in the meantime, you have to be focused on the right person. Otherwise none of it's going to work.

Speaker C: Could not have thought of a better answer. Honestly. Like, we, we preach that even though it's got personal in the name, even though you are the face of it, it is not about you and it is about being consistently there for the person, regardless of what's going on in the larger landscape.

Speaker A: That's preach.

Speaker C: Preach.

Speaker B: So previously in our talk today, you mentioned that you were an author and we know you wrote Good Morning, Good Life and 365 Days of Good Morning, Good Life. Tell us about what our audience could expect from reading your books.

Speaker A: Listen, I think they are for you if you're ready to do the inner work. Uh, that's, uh, always what I've felt called to do. The first book I wrote, which was called Vlog Like a Boss, was truly exactly that. I just wanted to write about my experience with leveraging video to gain attention. It was the beginning of my personal branding journey with that book. Every time I've written a book, I kind of did it kicking and screaming. Because as much as I see myself as an author, it was not something like, I didn't understand why I would write a book when I give away free content on the Internet. But I don't get to decide the medium. The audience does. And they asked me for these books. So I felt like if I'm going to put something in writing, which is so uncorrectable in so many ways, it's like, really profound to write a book. I want this to be something that's really going to change somebody's life for the better. So Good Morning, Good Life was the morning routine manual that I wrote in 2019. And it came from a lot of those conversations I had with my audience, you know, parents and not. Not parents, you know, about what it meant to start the day on your terms. And I just wanted it to be something people could actually do. There's a lot of morning routine advice out there about, like, you should do these things. And it's like, those are good tips, but it's very discouraging and you can't tick off all five things every single day. And I just wanted it to be more of a bucket that somebody could fill that made someone feel like they didn't just have to roll out of bed to report to someone else or to just do the things that they've busied themselves with. So I think it just gives you an opportunity to really assess what do I do to decide that today is my day? And not someone else's every single day. Because then, um, that empowers you at the moments that you should say, no, thank you, and the moments that you should say, hell yes, instead of, oh, no, I don't possibly deserve that. So I. I recommend all of them. I think 365 days, uh, of Good Morning, Good Life was inspired by the fact that one of the buckets we talk about in Good Morning, Good Life is mindfulness. I wanted everybody to have a mindful moment in the morning. If you're not a big reader, a page a day. Just a page a day. That's it. Just something to help you get your head right to start. So that one's a really good one for people to start with. That was what I just came out with in 2023. But truly, just, if you don't do anything else, you don't have to read any of my books to know and take away from this. That, uh, we've given you the forever permission slip that, uh, you get to decide what's right for you.

Speaker B: Okay, so next up, our audience sends us questions, and we're going to ask you the question that our audience sent us. So here we go.

Speaker A: Great.

Speaker B: All, uh, right, so this one says, I've been wanting to pivot my business for a while now, but I'm terrified of losing everything that I've already built. Because of that fear, I keep saying yes to projects that don't align with my bigger vision because I feel like it makes me safe. How do I break this cycle and finally start moving toward the business I really want to?

Speaker A: Oh, man. It's not nice advice to just say that. You are literally just disrespecting yourself by assuming you still have time. So, like, you just actively not choosing what you want your business to pivot toward, Even if it's, like, a 2% move. 2%? Just agree to take on a project that would make you happier. Uh, we latch onto the things that feel more. Sure. I just talked to a, uh, client the other day. They're like, okay, I'm so excited to be here, and you're gonna help me. I have two businesses. I have this one, and I have this one. Like, great. So why do you have this one? Oh, well, because I'm just getting it started, and I have this one. Okay, great. Then that one must be doing, what, 3 million or. No, no, the other one's doing, like, m. Not much. Okay, great. So then why do we. Do you love it? No. No, I don't. I don't love it. Okay, great. So we're holding on to something we don't love, and it's like not six figures yet. Okay, all right, so why, like, why we give bandwidth to it? Oh, because I have like three potential clients over there that I haven't actually converted yet. There's demand over there because maybe something you did to climb a ladder against that building worked a little. And you haven't even put your ladder on that building yet, the one you actually want to climb to the top of. Uh, that's the distinction. We m. Get so afraid to move the ladder, but you can't just halfway climb up. You can't just stand next to the building and hope that somebody just kind of elevates you to the top. You have to climb, and you have to climb with every ounce of your ability. So you have to move the ladder, you have to go all in, you have to start climbing. And by the way, tallest ladder ever. You're, huh, climbing a skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan. Because it's going to be a long journey, and if you want it bad enough, it's going to take a decade. So if I told you today you're actively not choosing something every day that's going to take you 10 years to get to where you want, wouldn't you rethink the fact that you have time or don't have time to do that? That's the thing. We think we have time because. Oh, it'll. Oh, if I know what I'm doing, then I can apply those skills over there and it'll pop off. No, it won't. No, it won't.

Speaker B: No, it won't.

Speaker A: You won't be ready. It will not happen. And you know what? Here's what. I'm going to say this too. For this person, I have an extraordinary action framework. I'm for the only. For this person, only this person that asked that question. I'm just kidding. Everyone in the audience can do this. Go to my Instagram and send me the dm, um, with the word action. If you DM me the word action, you're going to automatically get this Google Doc. It's not even an opt in, just very easy Google Doc that helps you to come up with an extraordinary action plan. The point is, it starts with problem solving. What is the problem you're trying to solve? When you get better at asking yourself that question, you get a lot better at solving your problems. Because right now it's like, my problem is I don't want. I don't know if I'm Ready to pivot my business. Okay. Is that really the problem we're trying to solve? I think the problem we're trying to solve is you're not fulfilled in your work. Okay, okay.

Speaker C: All right.

Speaker A: There's a different place to start. I'm, um, not fulfilled in my work. Why am I not fulfilled in my work? Now let's unpack that. And then when you start to go through the framework and see, here's some solutions, and then you have. You're forced to look at the solution. That hurts a little bit because you're like, ooh, that one would work if I did it. And then, you know, and then, you know, then you just have to come up with the master plan of, um, okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna make this happen. Now I've solved that problem because I know what the answer is. I'm going to completely bail on this business. I'm leaving if I can't leave today.

Speaker C: Cool.

Speaker A: Break out your big calendar, just like we were talking about. Break out your big calendar and pick the day. That's the last day. I can only work with clients until this day. The campaigns can only go for this long. This is the expiration date of that kind of work. And now I know I have a deadline that's going to help me work on the main thing, the thing I have to do. But if you don't even have any clients, business isn't that good. No one's even going to notice. And you hate it. Let's just cut it off. Let's be done. Come to that conclusion so that you can build the master plan that matters. Because every single day, if somebody just said, I want to be in a different business, and I promise to go on Instagram and make a video every single day talking about that business, your life would look completely different in a year. Completely different. We just don't do it because we're afraid of getting started. And in this day and age, all you have to do is post a night. Uh, not. Please don't post 90 seconds, 30 second video on an Instagram reel talking about what you do and somebody might find you and hire you, and you're waiting. You don't even have to be doing it for that long. But every day you chip away at it, you get better, stronger, and it's going to happen. And not. Nice advice. Could be a segment we talk about for another hour. So everybody just DM me the word action and I can unpack it more, but you'll get that framework and just start answering Better questions for yourself and you're going to change your mind. And changing your mind moves the ladder.

Speaker B: So good. Just can we do like a little

Speaker C: round of applause emoji?

Speaker A: Seriously love round of applause. That's what we do in the group coaching program. We do rounds of applause.

Speaker C: I love it. Back to like summer camp, like, you know, 98 now. This is great.

Speaker A: Exactly.

Speaker C: Amy, thank you so much. I like truly, this, this was so refreshing. We so appreciate all of the advice that you shared, especially the not nice advice, um, and how real you were through all of it. It's. This has been a delight. I really appreciate you giving your time here.

Speaker A: I'm honored that you guys had me at all, much less first episode of the new year. It's my favorite time of year. So thank you so much to both of you. Kat, Candice, it's been fabulous.

Speaker B: Before we head out, just tell the people where they can find you and how they can connect with you.

Speaker A: Just search for me. Amy Landino. You're gonna find so many things, but on Instagram will be the easiest. You can get in touch with me there. And uh, yeah, yeah, I'm on YouTube. YouTube.com amytv Just come find me.

Speaker B: There we go. Thank you so much.

Speaker C: Thank you.

Speaker B: Thanks for joining us. On Not Nice Clever.

Speaker C: Remember to follow not nice Clever wherever you listen to audio.

Speaker B: And if you haven't already, drop that five star review.

Speaker C: Share your takeaways, tell us your story. We love to hear it.

Speaker B: Signing off, your not so nice but oh so clever besties that mean business.

Speaker C: See you soon.