UNSUBSCRIBE™: Why Letting Go is the Secret to Getting Ahead with Ginny Priem

0:02Who's ready to rock today, Fire Nation? JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today, we'll be breaking down unsubscribe, why letting go is a secret to getting ahead. To drop these value bombs, I brought to Jenny Priam into EO Fire Studios. Jenny is a keynote and TEDx speaker, number one best-selling author and creator of Unsubscribe. She helps high achievers reclaim time, energy, and boundaries by letting go of what no longer serves them professionally and personally. And today, we'll talk about the power of unsubscribe, the turning point, the hustle trap, the four pillars, productivity with purpose, and oh, so much more.

0:38And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Jenny and our sponsors. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today. Jenny, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. What is up, Fire Nation? I'm so excited to be here. I think one thing that I believe that a lot of people might not agree with is that success is actually a subtraction game.

1:26So what I mean by that is we need to have the ability to recognize what's holding us back. And that's why like that's where unsubscribe kind of comes into play. And we've got to release all of that before we ever add anything new. And all entrepreneurs, I think we all can relate to failing at some point in some capacity. And I don't think we usually fail because we're not doing enough. It's because we're doing too much of the wrong things. We might have the wrong expectations or the wrong relationships or the wrong beliefs about who we should be. But the moment I stopped gripping so tightly onto all of those things, the things I thought I needed or who I thought I needed to be, and like releasing all of that pressure of things that weren't aligned to who I truly am, that's when everything started to accelerate for me.

2:20And Fire Nation, that leads perfectly into the focal point, the theme of our episode today, which is unsubscribe, why letting go is the secret to getting ahead. And I want to talk, Jenny, about the power of the unsubscribe. I mean, what does it really mean to unsubscribe and how can one simple word completely transform the way that we live? Yeah. So thank you for kind of teeing that up of like, why letting go is the secret to getting ahead. That's really what it's all about. And I think that we live in this hustle culture, right? And to me, hustle culture is kind of like running in place, you're moving, but you're not really going anywhere.

2:58And so unsubscribe is really this idea of letting go what's holding you back so you can move forward. So unsubscribe is actually running, right? You're actually making progress and moving forward. And when this word becomes your filter, it helps you identify what's draining you, what's distracting you, what's diminishing you as a person. When leaders use this filter, clarity starts to replace confusion. Your decisions get easier. Did you know that we make on average about 35 ,000 decisions a day? That's insane. It's no wonder we're overwhelmed, right? So your work becomes more intentional instead of reactive.

3:38So by using unsubscribe, you can really reset your entire life because it helps you reclaim your time, your energy, and the boundaries you need to actually lead and be successful. Fire Nation, as you can tell, we're going to kick this off with a bang. Jenny's got the heat for us today as we talk about the turning point. I mean, Jenny, every big idea. It starts with a personal shift. I love personal stories. I just love them. So what was your personal own unsubscribe moment? Well, John, that is a loaded question. And I will tell you, it's pretty juicy. My unsubscribe moment came when I realized that I was in a relationship that was like absolutely breaking me.

4:26So I came home one day to a friend wanting to urgently meet for cocktails on a Tuesday night. And all day I was wondering what was going on with her? How do I show up and be a good friend? Is she sick? Is her family sick? What is going on? And how do I just show up and be there to support her? her. Well, tables turned and I showed up and she proceeded to share pages of documentation of information about my partner and the man that was living in my house with his two children. Turns out he was living a complete double life, just an absolute fraud and monster in every way imaginable. And that was kind of the start of my story where I share all the juicy details in my first book, you're my favorite.

5:07That whole experience sent me on a deep self-discovery journey. And man, did I ever need that. I ended that relationship immediately. And then I really had to like turn the lens inward and start taking a look at my own patterns, my own behavior, the people that I had in my life and what I was participating in. So that decision didn't just end a chapter. It really started an entirely new life for me. So saying that I was done to that horrifically wrong relationship and honestly so much more created space for everything that was right. So it did lead to that first book and then a second book and then a soon-to-be third book next year.

5:59It led me leaving my corporate job, becoming a keynote speaker, starting my podcast, and really the foundation of my entire brand and everything that I do now. So it was really all born out of that moment when I let all of that go, everything that was hurting me and holding me back. Well, first off, thank you for sharing that. I mean, it's tough to be vulnerable. It's tough to share things that can kind of stir and bring up past just struggles that we've gone through. And as entrepreneurs, we've all gone through struggles on the business side of things. So I want to talk about that hustle trap because entrepreneurs, I mean, we wear hustle like a badge of honor, but you know it, I know it.

6:40There's really a hidden cost to that. So talk about the true ROI of just letting go instead of always grinding harder and harder and harder. Yeah, I love that you said that, that like we wear this busyness, like a badge of honor and really hustle culture is kind of sold to us that we should all be getting trophies for being exhausted. but the real ROI on letting go, it's pretty wild because when you're in that chaotic culture, it's almost like envision your brain being like a fire hose, constantly firefighting, right? Like if we're here talking, you know, on this specific show, I felt like that was the perfect analogy, but when you unsubscribe from it, that's when you create space for innovation.

7:28your best ideas don't come to you when you're in that constant grind i mean how often do we hear creators say that their best idea came to them when they were in the shower or on a random walk in nature you know they come to us when we finally have and give ourselves that oxygen to have the space to breathe and so you can only white knuckle your way to success for so long before something breaks and it's usually you. And I am a absolute testament to that. So ultimately you have to decide, are you gonna let go of the grip or completely let go of yourself and who you are? Fire Nation, that is such wise words because at the end of the day, we have to make difficult choices and these difficult choices are critical to either the success or failure we're going to have.

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11:54High level, join the revolution. Ginny, we're back and I want to talk about the four pillars because you've built Unsubscribe around four core pillars and I want you to break those down and share how we can start applying them today to find more freedom and of course my favorite word, focus. Oh, I love it. So this This is kind of my favorite part because we get to roll up our sleeves a little bit more. And I love giving examples. So each pillar of unsubscribe, the four pillars exist because there's more than just one way to address challenges. But I also wanted to make it incredibly simple. So unsubscribe, I've really built and designed because it creates new meaning from an everyday word that we all understand.

12:37We all understand what it means to hit that unsubscribe button from newsletters or, you know, from email lists that we somehow got onto that we have no idea how we got on in the first place. And so these four pillars exist because unsubscribe, it's not about being dismissive or just walking away from things. This really is about critical thinking, about taking ownership and accountability. And I also wanted to create a common language that is catchy, it's relatable, it's relevant, and it kind of helps make decision making a little bit lighter, like make it not quite so serious. So that's why I wanted to reimagine these words and put new meaning to them.

13:17So one of the four pillars is mute. You can think about this of, you know, when you just need a break from something, when things get a little bit too loud or, you know, you need to just step away from something. It can look as simple as like, say you do work in an office or you're frustrated. It could just be getting up and walking outside, or I like to call it taking an emotional lap, right? Just to kind of reset yourself. Another really great example of me that most people understand is dry January, right? Sometimes in the month of January, people just want to take a break from consuming alcohol.

13:54And then after that 30, 31 days, you can sort of reevaluate, you know, see what your relationship with that looks like, or maybe it is a person that you just need a break from there. It really applies to so many different things. and then we have swap so this is when old strategies systems they stop working and so this is a time to exchange it for something different or better so i can give like a work example and then also a really real life example so if we think about healthy eating if you are eating a candy bar every single day and you're like you know what this is not making me feel great.

14:32Maybe you choose to one day a week, two days a week, three days a week, change it for a piece of fruit instead of that candy bar and see how you feel. So that's like a really simple swap in everyday life. Or say you're working on a marketing campaign, and you've been trying to make this campaign work, and it's just not working. Maybe it's time to swap it for something different. It doesn't mean that that was a bad idea. It just means that there's something better suited right now at this, at this, you know, moment in time. And then block is when you really need to ultimately remove something or someone from your life.

15:10Trust me, I've done a lot of that. That's been a big part of my journey is blocking and removing toxic people, narcissists from my life. And when you decide to do this, I mean, ultimate block, like no creeping on their Instagram page to see what they're up to, right? Like no sneaky, you know, private investigator creeping on their socials. This is when you, like, this is the ultimate release. That's the block. And then manage is the last one. And this is how you really determine the things that are worth protecting. So managing communication, you can manage the type of communication, the duration of communication, the frequency.

15:50So this is for the more critical things that do need addressing that say you can't block and completely eliminate, but this allows you to address them with intention. So every challenge can really kind of fit into one of these lanes. And so if someone's overwhelmed and they come to me, we can literally diagnose why and where it goes in like 10 seconds flat. Fire Nation, value bombs being dropped by Jenny about the four pillars. And we're going to be talking about a lot more stuff around productivity with purpose, personal alignments. And that's actually where I do want to go next, Jenny, is productivity with purpose.

16:27I mean, specifically, how does unsubscribe reframe the way that we think about productivity and help us focus on what actually matters in this world, in our life? Yeah, that's a great topic because the way I I look at it, John, is so many people are busy, but they're not actually being productive. We're saying yes to way too many things. I bet you all can get out your schedule and your calendar right now and look at your what's on your to do list or what's on your schedule for this week and find at least one thing. I bet there's probably many more, but I bet you can find at least one thing that's on there that you are doing out of obligation.

17:07You're dreading it. You don't want to do it, it's not necessary. But for some reason, you feel guilty, or obligated to say yes to it. And there's so many things that we could remove that would help us not be so busy and actually be more productive. So a lot of people look at productivity, or they treat it like a scavenger hunt or a sprint, right? Like we're on this sprint, they grab everything and just hope that something that there's something in one of those eggs on the scavenger hunt, right? And that something's going to stick. But unsubscribe kind of flips that thinking right on its head. So instead of asking, what else can I do?

17:48And you start asking, what can I remove that's in the way of the thing that actually matters most? So this productivity, instead of busyness being that race or that sprint, productivity now becomes more of a strategy with unsubscribe. So I think a lot of people can do all these things right, but if they're not personally aligned, then the wheels are still going to fall off the wagon at some point. So let's talk about that personal alignment. I mean, for anyone who's listening, who feels stretched too thin, how can they identify what they personally need to unsubscribe from in their life? Like how do they actually identify those unsubscribe musts?

18:33Joan, I'm so glad you brought that up because alignment to me is really the core of what this all is about. It's getting into alignment with who you really are. And I think culture tells us so often that we should be a certain way or that we should be climbing the ladder, chasing that title or chasing that salary or whatever that looks like. And I think we get caught up in that rat race. but my personal alignment really goes back to my story. And so I'm going to get a little bit vulnerable here with you again. But alignment often is going to show up in your body before it ever shows up on your calendar.

19:12So the reason I know this is because when I was completely out of alignment, and I was going through my traumatic experience, I got shingles on my face in my 30s. and just for the record that is not normal i also had abnormal skin cancer lesions removed my hair all broke off and fell out so if your body is giving you signs like this it is your intuition telling you actually it's your intuition screaming at you to listen and if you feel dread or resistance or resentment or constant confusion, these are all signs that are leading to that. And entrepreneurs are usually incredibly intuitive, but unfortunately are just wildly, overly committed and often pretend that what's getting in the way isn't actually a problem.

20:12And I believe that part of that is due to the sunk cost fallacy. Are you familiar with that? I love this uncalled fallacy. Yeah. So, I mean, it's literally this idea of we're hanging on to things because we've already invested so much time. And whether it's a relationship, a job, and how many times, you know, just think to yourself, how many times have you done something where you're like, man, I wish I would have done that sooner, you know, or I wish I would have let go of that sooner. Like, this feels so good. And so it's paying attention to the signs that our body, our intuition are giving us because our intuition is usually never wrong.

20:50So I love ending with a bang. I love one value bomb. And if it takes, if someone takes just one action, Jenny, after this conversation, like you dropped a ton of value. We talked about the turning point, the hustle trap, the four pillars, productivity, the purpose, personal alignment. But if people would take just one action after our conversation, what would you say is the first thing they should unsubscribe from to reclaim their energy, their clarity, and then success? That's hard to pick just one, but I think it's to unsubscribe from the belief that you have to earn your worth by doing more.

21:28And I think especially as successful people, entrepreneurs, that is the goal, right? Like so many people get their worth out of their job and the work that they do and constantly doing more. And I completely get that because when I first left my corporate job and in corporate America altogether, I wanted as much business as possible. So I was trying to be everything to everybody. And it is so natural to want to have that broad appeal. But when you release that lie, because let's face it, we can't all be everything to everybody. That's when things start to shift. So you get a clearer message and that helps you get into alignment, as we just talked about, instead of constantly being exhausted.

22:15And that's when all of the right things start to fall into place. And this is how you really can perform better, lead better and live better. Jenny, thank you so much for sharing all this genius, all these value bonds with us today. What would you say your call to action for our listeners is today? Where can they connect with you? Where can they learn more? What is your CTA? I hang out most on socials on Instagram. I have a pretty robust YouTube channel. Unsubscribeofficial.com is a great place to go to access my podcast, the shop, the blog, everything. That's probably the best place to go is just Unsubscribe Official because all my socials are linked there and everything as well.

22:56And I heard you might have a book coming out in a little bit. Yes. So I will keep updates there. So February 6th, 2626, unsubscribe while letting go is the secret to getting ahead will be out in the world. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with GP and JLD today. So keep up that heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Type Ginny, G-I-N-N-Y in the search bar and the show notes page will pop right up. Ginny, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side.

23:32Thank you so much. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Jenny for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, are you an entrepreneur on fire who's looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we are now accepting applications for entrepreneurs on fire. To learn more about becoming a guest, visit eofire.com slash guest, And I'll catch you there or on the flip side.

24:22Thank you.