Shed and Shine Podcast – Episode 68: Gino's Riff – Swap Dollars for Hertz

Host: Gino Wickman
Date: June 25, 2025

Brief Overview

In this solo riff, Gino Wickman introduces the concept of "swapping dollars for Hertz" to help entrepreneurs identify and eliminate low-energy activities from their lives. Moving beyond the classic advice of outsourcing low-dollar tasks, Gino reframes the decision as an energy management challenge. Using an interactive, self-reflective exercise, he leads listeners through an audit of draining tasks and guides them to replace one with something that energizes them. The underlying mission: free up space to let your true self shine.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Concept Shift: From Dollars to Energy (Hertz)

• Traditional productivity and entrepreneurial wisdom says: "Don’t do $25-an-hour work."
  • Gino acknowledges progress many have made in delegating these tasks but pushes for a new lens.
• Insight: Instead of thinking in terms of dollars, shift to thinking in terms of energy (Hertz, frequency, vibration).
• Energy maximization is the goal: the higher your energy/vibration, the more effectively—and joyfully—you live and work.
  • Reference: David Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness (see the book Shine).

“The higher your energy, the higher you vibrate… And the higher your frequency, the more you shine.”
— Gino Wickman [01:15]

2. The Four-Part Low-Energy Audit Exercise

Gino guides listeners through an introspective exercise, urging them to identify their most draining activity in each of four life domains:

A. Work

• Think about all your tasks: meetings, admin, travel, people issues, etc.
• Identify those that leave you feeling depleted.
• Example (Gino): Email and opening his laptop are particularly draining.

“Just listen to your body, read your energy, think about these activities. Which is the one that really drains your energy?”
— Gino Wickman [03:15]

B. Personal Time

• Activities when alone (chores, running errands, booking travel, working out, home repairs, etc.).
• Example (Gino): Cutting the lawn, which he delegated at age 26.

“Thank God I figured it out at 26 years old... to pay somebody 25 bucks to do it and free up that hour is heaven.”
— Gino Wickman [05:25]

C. Family Time

• Interactions with family members—events, visits, commitments.
• Gino notes that long family gatherings sap his energy after a few hours.

“My energy's very high for an hour or two, maybe three. But when we start closing in on the sixth, seventh and eighth hour, I start to lose energy.”
— Gino Wickman [07:00]

D. Friend Time

• Social time spent with friends or in social events.
• Again, for Gino, duration is key; after a couple hours, energy wanes.

“It's just the amount of time. The first hour or two, energy’s through the roof, but then it starts to wane.”
— Gino Wickman [08:30]

3. Prioritizing What to Shed

• Pick the one activity among the four that drains you the most.
• Important: Sometimes even high-paying activities are low-energy—and still worth shedding.
• Goal: Replace that draining task with something that energizes you.

“Sometimes that low energy activity is hundred dollar an hour work... Great reason to stop doing it and replace with something else.”
— Gino Wickman [09:30]

4. High-Energy Replacement Audit

• Go back through each category. What are the activities at work, in your personal time, family, and with friends that light you up?
• List at least one for each category.
• Make a trade—remove one low-energy activity and add one high-energy activity.

“When I learned that cutting my lawn drained my energy... I could take that one hour of cutting the lawn, pay somebody $25... and go work that extra hour and make that much more money.”
— Gino Wickman [11:15]

• Emphasizes it's not always a direct one-to-one (work for work, etc.), but the energy swap is key.

5. The Challenge: Implement the Swap

• In the next 7 days, commit to making that change.
• Do it again the following week, then again—ideally, every month, quarter, or even week.
• The end goal: No more low-energy activities—only things that make you shine.

“Utopia: every week. Ultimately, to where you’ve gotten all low energy activity out of your life and replaced it with high energy activity—that is don’t do low energy work.”
— Gino Wickman [13:25]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The higher your energy, the higher you vibrate... and the higher your frequency, the more you shine.”
  — Gino Wickman [01:15]

• “Thank God I figured it out at 26 years old... to pay somebody 25 bucks to do it and free up that hour is heaven.”
  — Gino Wickman [05:25]

• “Sometimes that low energy activity is hundred dollar an hour work... Great reason to stop doing it and replace with something else.”
  — Gino Wickman [09:30]

• “Ultimately, to where you’ve gotten all low energy activity out of your life and replaced it with high energy activity—that is don’t do low energy work.”
  — Gino Wickman [13:25]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00] – Introduction: The “Swap Dollars for Hertz” Framework
• [01:15] – Explanation of Energy, Frequency, and Shining
• [03:15] – Work-Related Low-Energy Audit Exercise
• [05:25] – Personal Time: Example of Cutting Lawn
• [07:00] – Family Time: Energy Drain at Long Events
• [08:30] – Friend Time: Energy and Time Spent
• [09:30] – Choosing the Biggest Drain, Even if High-Paying
• [11:15] – High-Energy Alternatives and the Swap Principle
• [13:25] – Challenge: Commit to One Swap This Week

Action Steps & Closing

• Identify four draining activities (work, personal, family, friends).
• Pick the one with the biggest impact and make a concrete swap to a high-energy activity this week.
• Repeat regularly; the more often, the faster your energy and impact will grow.

Further resources: See the “Map of Consciousness” in Shine, take the True Self Assessment at shedandshinepodcast.com, or join the 10 Disciplines group coaching program.

Summary:
Gino Wickman’s episode delivers a powerful, practical method for entrepreneurs (and anyone) to perform an “energy audit.” By reframing productivity as an energy—not just a financial—game, and committing to small, regular swaps of draining for energizing activities, listeners are equipped to move closer to their true selves, maximize their frequency, and shine.