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Hello and welcome back. This episode I call Impact. I'll say it again, Impact. So what I'm going to do in this episode on Impact is I'm going to zoom way out and then we're going to zoom way in with four questions. So in zooming out, I want to start with the true self model. Now you will find this true self model. If you want to see the visual on page 216 of the revised version of SHINE or page 91 on the original version, or you can go to the website and just search there and you'll see it. But you don't need to do any of those things if you don't want because I'm just going to articulate the visual because it's really simple at a high level and it's in the form of an infinity model, which is basically a figure 8 laying on its side. And in the right hand side is the word peace. And in the left hand side is the word impact. And the point of the true self model is with Peace on the right and Impact on the left, it's all about this flow. And so if you picture that infinity line, just flow flowing back and forth and this balance between living your life, both making an impact on the left side and doing that, experiencing absolute peace on the right side. And so there you are out in the world, making an impact, feeling peace, the balance of those two things are you fully being your true self in the world, I. E. The true self model. So, impact. I want to start with a couple questions. These are not the zoom way in questions yet. We are still zoomed way out. And so the question is, what impact are you making? Another question. What impact do you want to make? Another question, do you even want to make an impact? I sure hope you do. We, the world needs you to because you have a gift, a skill set, a craft, a superpower, a unique ability as Dan Sullivan calls it, AKA a purpose, a calling, a reason for being a on this planet, in this world. So to give an example of mine, it is three things all rolled up into one, which is creating content, teaching content, and providing navigation for the leaders in my life. And I do that for driven people and entrepreneurial leaders, helping them to get everything they want from their business and lives. That's why I'm here. And that's what I do all day, every day, in my working time, as much as possible. And so the question here is, what is yours? Because the reality for me and for all of us, living within our purpose, calling and reason for being and Providing our gift and skillset and craft to the world. I we are happier, we're more fulfilled, we learn more, we grow more. And maybe most important, my humble opinion is we make a bigger impact on the world. So think about you. And as you're thinking about you, I'm going to share a story. Now, this story brings together three of the 10 disciplines to help you make a bigger impact. So as I share this story, I'm going to be bringing into it. Know thyself. That's your gift. And so at the root of you fully knowing yourself and being yourself in the world is applying that gift to the world. The second discipline I'm going to bring into this story is discipline number five. Knowing your hundred percent, your work container. And again, using me as a an example here I work 40 weeks a year, 40 hours a week. That is my hundred percent. That is my work container. And so with my gift that I bring to the world, I've got 40 hours and 40 weeks to do that. That's my happy place. That maximizes my energy. And then the third discipline is discipline number seven. Don't do twenty five dollar an hour work. And so when I'm applying my gift to the world, it is worth considerably more than $25 an hour work. So I'm absolutely cr spend one second doing $25 an hour work because that takes time away from me making an impact. And so with that said, here comes the story. But better said, it's not a story, it's a metaphor. And what I'm actually going to do is I'm going to read something to you right out of Shine. And so this will be my first attempt at providing you an audio version of one of my books because I've never read the audio version of any of my books. As I begin, I want to direct you to the page that I'm reading if you want to follow along. So on the revised version, it's page 99. On the original version, it's page 180. And again, that's just if you want to follow along. But here's the metaphor. Pretend you are a gifted surgeon. You are so specialized in your gift that only you can perform your life saving surgery. You love doing it and every time you do it, you make $1,000. You can perform this surgery in 30 minutes and it saves a life every time you do it. This surgery requires you to be energized, rested and alert to stay that way. You can only work 40 weeks a year and 40 hours per week. If you do Any more, you burn out, you start making mistakes and kill patients. The quick math is that you would save 3200 lives per year if you put all your working time into performing your life saving surgery. The only drawback is that you spend 10 hours per week booking your travel, checking your mail, reading your emails and other administrative tasks. So do you pay somebody $25 an hour to do your administrative work or do you do it yourself and let 20 people die per week? Okay, you're not that surgeon. But you do, however, have a superpower unique to you that makes an impact on this world. And if you spend all your working time doing it and delegating all else, you will make a much bigger impact on this world. Okay, and so there's my attempt at providing you an audio version of the book. Now, as I said, zoom out, zoom in. We are now about to zoom in and I've got four questions for you. And as we go to these questions, hopefully you've connected the dots. You are the surgeon. Extract the word surgeon and replace it with what you are. For me, it's I am a content creator. I content teacher and navigator to the leaders in my life. You have a gift and your gift is a life saving surgery. Strike life saving surgery and replace it with fill in the blank for you. For me, it's helping these driven people, entrepreneurial leaders, get everything they want from their business and lives. So what is that for you? Here come the four questions. Question number one. What is your life saving surgery? Was working with a client, three partners, a financial advisory firm, and one of the three partners. His gift, his life saving surgery is he was masterful at working with the client. That was his happy place. That's where he made the biggest impact. And as an owner of the business, most of them want to sit at the top, at the helm of the organization. He worked all the way at the, for lack of a better term, lowest level of the organization. He was one of multiple financial advisors and that's what he did all day, every day. The other two partners were visionary and integrator for the organization. And he was humble enough, aware enough, clear enough, knowing himself well enough that that was his gift and that's where he needed to spend most of his time to make the biggest impact on his clients, on the organization. So what is your life saving surgery? It might be solving complex problems, it might be developing leaders. Maybe that's your calling. Great quote from John Maxwell. You are not a leader until you've developed a leader who has developed a leader. And so if that's a passion of yours, start developing the leaders in your life and when they've gotten to a level, they've gotten so good that they start developing their own leaders, you have arrived. It might simply be selling. You might be a great salesperson and you just need to be out there selling every day. That's where you make the biggest impact. It might be creating products, creating services, it might be helping customers, helping clients. I don't know what it is for you, I'm just trying to stir the pot and get you thinking, but what is your life saving surgery? And so I would urge you hit pause right now and just ponder this question even for a few minutes. Now, assuming you hit pause and ponder a little bit and you've got some good ideas, hopefully though, you got this incredible flash of inspiration and the answer absolutely came to you. That's my goal. By the way. Question number two is how much of your time are you spending doing it? So what is your hundred percent again for me? My hundred percent? My work container, 40 hours a week, 40 weeks a year. That's how much time I have. That's how much time I have to spend doing it. What is your hundred percent? And whatever that math is, if that hundred percent is a hundred percent, what percentage of that hundred percent do you spend doing it? Once again, I urge you to hit pause and just spend at a minimum a few minutes pondering that thought. Question number three, could you do it more if you delegated some things? Said another way, what do you need to delegate to do it more often? And so are you really still doing $25 an hour work now that you know your gift, now that you know your life saving surgery, hopefully this will motivate you to delegate that once and for all. All $25 an hour work. Once again, I urge you to hit pause and just ponder. What can you delegate to add more time spent in delivering your gift to the world and making a bigger impact? And question number four, would you be happier, have more fun, make more money and make a bigger impact on this world? If you did that, bask in that for a minute, once again, just simply hit pause and just sit with the thought of oh my goodness, what if you doubled the amount of time you spend delivering your life saving surgery and you delegated all this stuff that drains your energy, $25 an hour work, Would you be happier, have more fun, make more money and make a bigger impact? Again, please hit pause and just ponder that. Bask in that for at least a minute or two. And assuming you've invested the time in answering these four questions. I hope it's so clear for you. And I close with urging, asking, pleading, begging you to please go make a bigger impact on this world. We need you too. I need you too. You need you too. Your family needs you too. And your true friends need you too. 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.
Host: Gino Wickman
Episode Theme: Impact
Date: July 1, 2026
In this solo episode of Shed and Shine, Gino Wickman takes listeners on a reflective journey exploring the concept of “Impact” as it relates to living out your true self, particularly for driven entrepreneurs. He focuses on helping listeners uncover their unique gift, maximize their contribution to the world, and reclaim time and energy by shedding low-impact work. The episode is structured as a guided conversation, featuring actionable questions, an impactful metaphor drawn from his book SHINE, and practical encouragement to embrace purpose-driven living.
Description of the Model:
Notable Quote:
“The point of the true self model is with Peace on the right and Impact on the left, it’s all about this flow. … The balance of those two things are you fully being your true self in the world, i.e. The true self model.” (02:02)
Key Questions:
Gino’s Purpose:
Notable Quote:
“We are happier, we’re more fulfilled, we learn more, we grow more. And maybe most important, in my humble opinion, we make a bigger impact on the world.” (05:05)
(Read from the book, see original/revised page references)
Metaphor Summary:
Notable Quote:
“If you spend all your working time doing [your unique gift] and delegating all else, you will make a much bigger impact on this world.” (11:17)
(Each question is presented with a call to pause and truly reflect.)
“You are not a leader until you’ve developed a leader who has developed a leader.” (18:28)
Final Words of Encouragement:
“I close with urging, asking, pleading, begging you to please go make a bigger impact on this world. We need you to. I need you to. You need you to. Your family needs you to. And your true friends need you to.” (25:37)
The episode ends with a high note of encouragement for listeners to act boldly in sharing their gifts, thus freeing their true selves and making a meaningful difference.
Gino’s delivery is direct, energizing, and encouraging, blending practical questions with motivational storytelling. He maintains a coach-like tone—compassionate, sometimes urgent, always focused on listener growth and action.
This episode serves as both a call-to-action and a toolkit for entrepreneurs to elevate their impact by discovering and dedicating themselves to their unique gift, delegating everything else, and embracing the harmony of impact and peace as their true selves. Gino Wickman’s guidance, metaphor, and clear self-reflection prompts make this episode a deep, actionable resource for purposeful living and leadership.