What To Do When You Get Less Than You Want

Summary

Podcast Summary: Help Wanted — “What To Do When You Get Less Than You Want”
Date: April 30, 2026
Hosts: Jason Feifer & Nicole Lapin

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Overview

This episode tackles a common work dilemma: what to do when a person or situation is good, but not everything you want. Jason Feifer introduces the “Bag of Chips” test—a practical mental model to help listeners decide whether to accept a less-than-ideal situation as it is or seek alternatives. Drawing from a real-life example, the hosts guide listeners through reframing their expectations, making more empowered decisions, and embracing abundance in work and beyond.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Stage: The Frustration of Less-than-Perfect Situations

• [03:15] Jason Feifer: Shares the story of his friend Jana, who’s frustrated by a business advisor who is valuable but unreliable.
  • “He’s super slow to respond. He often reschedules meetings. Jana is clearly not his top priority and it is driving her nuts.”
• This is framed as a universal frustration—be it work, relationships, or opportunities, we all deal with versions of “almost but not quite.”

2. Introducing the “Bag of Chips” Test

• [04:00] Jason Feifer: Offers a method for objectively assessing what you have, without focusing on what’s missing.
  • “Whenever I am evaluating a complex situation, I like to make it as simple as possible. Just strip away all the emotions and treat it like an object…Think of this business relationship like it’s a bag of chips.”
• The metaphor: Just as a bag of chips is sold full of air with some great chips inside, people and opportunities rarely offer everything we wish for.

3. The Power of Accepting What Is

• [05:15] Jason Feifer: On making clear-eyed choices, not trying to “change the bag.”
  • “You can’t negotiate with the bag or try to change its contents. You can only decide, is this the bag I want, knowing exactly what is inside?”
• Key exercise: Describe your situation aloud, only stating the factual positives, no negatives. This strips away emotional language and lets you evaluate the true value.

4. Decision Framework: Is the Value Worth the Cost?

• Break down what you actually get and ask: Would you knowingly buy this ‘bag’ again?
  • Example from Jana: “This business advisor makes valuable introductions, has strong advice, responds to needs within a week, and is occasionally available for discussions.” (06:00)
• The idea shifts agency back to the individual—choose rather than wish or wait.

5. Living in Abundance, Not Scarcity

• [07:00] Jason Feifer: Encourages listeners to see satisfaction as something you piece together from different sources rather than expecting fulfillment from one place.
  • “You can have many business advisors, many mentors, many friends, many whatever. Each can provide you with part of what you need, which you assemble into a whole.”
• Applies to jobs as well: a job can deliver part of your satisfaction, with side projects or other pursuits making up the rest.

6. Real-World Resolution: Jana’s Choice

• Jana decides to keep the partnership, now with clarity.
  • “Now I know what I’m signing up for… I’m going to put my energy into finding other advisors too.” (07:45)
• This shift eradicates frustration by trading wishful thinking for conscious decisions.

7. Closing Exercise: Asking the Essential Question

• Next time you’re frustrated: “If this situation, person, or opportunity never changes, do I still want it—not as a stepping stone, but as the complete thing that it is?” (08:20)
• If yes, embrace it. If no, move on—either way, reclaim your energy and focus.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Everything is a bag of chips. I know this sounds silly, but stay with me here.” — Jason Feifer (04:20)
• “When you stop trying to change the bag and start deciding whether you want the bag, as is, something liberating happens. You regain control over your decisions.” — Jason Feifer (06:35)
• “You can have many business advisors, many mentors, many friends, many whatever. Each can provide you with part of what you need.” — Jason Feifer (07:05)
• “If this situation, person, or opportunity never changes, do I still want it—not as a stepping stone to something better, not as a compromise…but instead as the complete thing that it is.” — Jason Feifer (08:20)
• Jana’s realization: “Now I know what I’m signing up for…I’m going to put my energy into finding other advisors too.” (07:45)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [03:15] — Introduction of Jana’s business advisor dilemma
• [04:00] — The Bag of Chips test explained
• [05:15] — How to assess a situation without emotion
• [06:00] — Application of the “describe only what you get” exercise
• [07:00] — Reframing abundance: assembling satisfaction from multiple sources
• [07:45] — Jana chooses clarity and abundance over frustration
• [08:20] — Essential closing questions for listeners

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Tone and Language

The tone blends practical advice with light-hearted analogies and candid self-reflection. Jason’s “bag of chips” metaphor is accessible and a tad whimsical, grounding the episode in everyday experience while pointing toward pragmatic action. The hosts’ banter is friendly, supportive, and solution-focused throughout.

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Takeaway

This episode empowers listeners to assess situations for their real, current value rather than potential or idealized versions. By choosing consciously to accept—or move on from—less-than-perfect situations, you free up energy and steer your work and life with intention. The “Bag of Chips” test invites you to make clearer, more satisfying choices, assembling what you need from multiple sources rather than chasing elusive perfection in one.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

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[C]

This is Help Wanted, the show that makes your work work for you. I'm Jason Pfeiffer, editor in chief of

[A]

Entrepreneur magazine, and I'm money expert Nicole Lapin. On Tuesdays, Jason and I answer the helpline and help callers solve their work problems.

[C]

And on Thursdays, I give you one way to improve your work and build a career or company you love.

[A]

And it starts now.

[C]

My friend Jana brought on a strategic advisor to help grow her business and it's going okay. He's smart, he's capable, he's well connected. He has already brought Jana tons of value. So all that is great. But he is super slow to respond. He often reschedules meetings. Jana is clearly not his top priority and it is driving her nuts. And look, we all have things like this in our lives. They are lesser versions of what we really want. Maybe it's the person you're dating who isn't responsive enough, or the job that's good but not great, or the business opportunity that's promising but limited. These things are frustrating, but you're not sure what to do because hey, this person or situation has some of what you want. So is it worth walking away from? Today I'll introduce you to a new method of evaluating these situations. I I call it the Bag of Chips test. It's a way to assess what you want and need so you can make better decisions about what to do next. But first, I'll tell you where the Bag of Chips test came from. So let's dig more into Jana's problem. Jana came to me for advice. What does she do about this semi absent business advisor? She'd already asked him to be more responsive and he says he is committed to working with her and he recognizes that he has been semi absent and he probably promises to do better, but nothing changes. Do I just settle for part of what I want instead of the full thing? She asked me. That's the wrong way to think about it, I said, because it means you'll always see him as deficient and you'll always feel bad about it. Whenever I am evaluating a complex situation, I like to make it as simple as possible. Just strip away all the emotions and treat it like an object so you can see it and assess it more clearly. Think of this business relationship like it's a bag of chips, I told Jana. It's on a shelf next to lots of other bags of chips and your question is, do you want that bag? Because look, everything Everything is a bag of chips. I know this sounds silly, but stay with me here. When we are frustrated with a person or a situation, we are often hung up on what it isn't. Instead, we must be clear about what it is. And imagine buying a bag of chips from the grocery store. You open it and it's full of air with a few chips inside, right? We've all bought that bag. They're delicious chips. Maybe they're amazing chips, but you wish there were more. Mostly you bought air. So okay, those are the facts. Will you buy that bag again? There are no surprises. Next time you can't shake it harder and make more chips appear. You can't negotiate with the bag or try to change its contents. You can only decide, is this the bag I want? Knowing exactly what is inside. Now, as soon as you think that, your mind immediately starts calculating, what's the cost? What's the value? Is the value worth the cost? And as you try to answer those questions, here is a helpful exercise. Describe the situation aloud to yourself, but without using any negative language. Only articulate what you get. For example, if we were evaluating an actual bag of chips, we might say this bag costs $6 and it contains about eight chips that are very tasty. Or Jana could say, this business advisor makes valuable introductions, has strong advice, responds to needs within a week, and is occasionally available for discussions. Notice the flat, unemotional language there. You are just stating what's true. And now you get to decide, do you want that? When you stop trying to change the bag and start deciding whether you want the bag, as is, something liberating happens. You regain control over your decisions. You're no longer a victim of someone else's limitations or a situation's constraints. You're not waiting for things to become what you wish they were. Instead, you're making clear eyed choices about what you actually want in the instead of what you just wish you had. You also get to live in a world of abundance. When we're focused on getting everything from one person or situation, we lose sight of how we can also assemble what we want from multiple sources. You can have many business advisors, many mentors, many friends, many whatever. Each can provide you with part of what you need, which you assemble into a whole. I mean, hell, this is even true for jobs. You can have a job that provides some satisfaction and side projects that provide what the job doesn't. This all felt like a revelation to Jana and she decided to keep the partnership. Now I know what I'm signing up for, she told me. I'M not frustrated because I know exactly what he is capable of and I'm going to put my energy into finding other advisors too. The choice is always yours. So next time you're frustrated with someone or something in your life, really just ask yourself if this situation, person or opportunity never changes, do I still want it not as a stepping stone to something better, not as a compromise while you wait for something else, but instead as the complete thing that it is. If the answer is yes, then you can embrace it fully, and if the answer is no, then move right along. Either way, you will stop wasting energy and you can focus on getting what you really want. Help Wanted is a production of Money News Network. Help Wanted is hosted by me, Jason

[A]

Pfeiffer and me, Nicole Lapman. Our executive producer is Morgan Lavoy. If you want some help, email our [e-mail] for the chance to have some of your questions answered on the show and follow us on Instagramoneynews and TikTok MoneyNewsNetwork for exclusive content and to see our beautiful faces. Maybe a little dance?

[C]

Oh, I didn't sign up for that.

[A]

All right, well, talk to you soon.