Make Money by Saying Yes to More

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: Travis Makes Money

Episode: Make Money by Saying Yes to More
Host: Travis Chappell
Guest: Eric Skorzinski (Producer)
Date: January 2, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This episode centers on the idea that saying "yes" to a wide array of opportunities—especially in the early stages of your career or side hustles—can lay the groundwork for making more money and ultimately crafting a work life that's both lucrative and personally fulfilling. Travis and producer Eric dig deep into the "jack of all trades vs. master of one" debate, share real-world stories of testing many options before specializing, and offer strategic advice for knowing when to double down on your true passion.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Value of Saying "Yes" Early On

• Experimentation Leads to Discovery (01:14–03:58)

  • Travis explains that when you’re just starting out, it’s wise to take on as many different gigs or jobs as possible since this variety will eventually help you discover what you’re truly passionate about and where you excel.
  • Quote:

    "It's really valuable to say yes to every opportunity and to do a bunch of different stuff because the result is going to come from mastery of one thing. But if you don't care about what you're doing, you'll never get through the struggle needed to become great at it." — Travis (01:14)

• The Importance of a Purposeful "Why" (02:24–03:40)

  • Travis references insights from Arthur Brooks and Simon Sinek on picking something meaningful as a long-term path, ensuring obstacles feel worth overcoming.
  • Quote:

    "If you just jump into one thing, and you have no idea why you chose that thing, and there’s no deeper purpose... at the first sign of obstacles, it's gonna be really difficult to stay engaged in that thing." — Travis (03:20)

• Financial Realities for Beginners (03:41–05:20)

  • Multiple income streams might be a necessity when starting out, helping build a financial runway and discover what genuinely works.

From "Yes" to Focus: When to Specialize

• Real-World Example—Ben Shapiro (04:00–05:34)
  • Travis recounts Ben Shapiro’s early career—working multiple jobs post-law school, eventually discovering that writing, not law, was his passion, leading to the creation of the Daily Wire.
  • Quote:

    "Even people you look at now and go, 'Yeah, but they're really good at that one thing,'—well, he wasn't a classically trained journalist. He applied himself to multiple things, figured out what he loved, and doubled down." — Travis (05:14)

Knowing When to Commit Fully

• Balancing Many Gigs vs. Going All-In (05:34–07:53)

  • Eric poses: When do you go from dabbling in several things to putting all your effort into one?
  • Travis’s advice:
    • Set a time limit—don’t let yourself “coast” doing a broad array of things forever, especially if you’re feeling aimless.
    • Make sure busyness doesn’t masquerade as business or productivity.
  • Quotes:

    "Busyness does not mean business." — Eric (07:07)
    "Don't be the person who's always busy but never changing, never progressing." — Travis (07:11)

• Strategy: Use Time Limits to Transition (07:53–09:00)

  • Pick a period (e.g., two or three years) to experiment financially but start building toward that one thing you can see yourself doing with purpose.

The Role of Fear—And Regret

• Facing the Jump: Worst-Case Scenario Analysis (09:01–10:48)
  • Travis argues that the worst-case scenario—if you’re skilled and hardworking—is rarely as bad as it feels. In a dynamic job market, you can typically return to a “safe” job if needed.
  • Story:
    • A Gary Vee anecdote about a man debating quitting his marketing job to focus on his profitable garage cleanout side hustle. The takeaway: If it’s working, say yes and make the leap.

Motivating by Regret, Not Just Fear

• Reframing Fear as Regret (11:40–13:15)

  • Travis recommends visualizing your deathbed and asking: Will I regret not trying? If the answer is “yes,” you owe it to yourself to take the leap, shifting motivation from the fear of failure to the fear of regret.
  • Memorable Quote Sequence:

    "You can train yourself to fear something different. Instead of fearing failure or embarrassment or losing, you can fear regret. That I found to be a much more helpful frame to motivate me." — Travis (11:53)
    "If you think you might regret not doing it, then do it." — Travis (12:58)

• Keep Perspective About Others' Opinions (13:34–13:52)

  • Most people whose opinions hold you back won’t matter years from now. Focus on your own long-game.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Saying Yes Early

  "At the beginning, it's really valuable to say yes to everything." — Travis (05:17)

• On Productivity

  "Busyness does not mean business." — Eric (07:07)

• On Motivation

  "You can train yourself to fear something different... I found fearing regret is a much more helpful frame than fearing failure." — Travis (11:53)

• On Taking Big Leaps

  "If you think you might regret not doing it, then do it." — Travis (12:58)

---

Important Timestamps

• [01:14] — Travis explains the value of saying yes to various opportunities early in your career.
• [03:20] — The necessity of having a deeper purpose or “why.”
• [04:30] — Ben Shapiro’s multi-job grind before specializing and succeeding.
• [07:07] — The difference between busyness and real business.
• [09:45] — Gary Vee’s advice: if your side hustle is already profitable, say yes and quit.
• [11:53] — The power of fearing regret over failure.
• [12:58] — Crystalizing the “if you’d regret not doing it, do it” mantra.

---

Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, motivational, and sprinkled with dry humor and personal anecdotes. Travis balances practical, hard-won advice with philosophical asides, always returning to actionable insights.

---

Summary Takeaways

• Say yes early and often. Explore, experiment, try different hustles—you’ll learn what motivates and sustains you through inevitable challenges.
• Find your "why." Prioritize meaningful work so you'll persist when obstacles arise.
• Make focused decisions. Set clear time limits to prevent endless dabbling; shift into specialization when patterns of success and interest emerge.
• Reframe fear. Don’t let fear of failure paralyze you—fear long-term regret instead.
• Remember: The worst-case scenario is usually survivable, and the risk is often outweighed by the potential for fulfillment and meaningful progress.

---

This episode is a practical, energizing listen for anyone stuck between starting many things and committing to the next big leap in their money-making journey.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to the Travis Makes Money podcast presented by GoHighLevel.com for a free 30 day trial of the best all in one digital marketing software tool on the planet, just go to gohighlevel.com travis. What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to the Travis Makes Money podcast where it's our mission to help you make more money. Today on the show, I brought on my producer Eric Skorzinski to chat a little bit about some things online. So, Eric, what's up?

[B]

What is going on? You're always talking about ways people can make more money and there is no shortage of opportunity to do that. But this does raise a really interesting question because there are a lot of people, especially now with technology and all the different side hustles you can have where they are in everything. Like they're doing photography, they're doing social media, they're doing sales on the side. How much should people, you know, kind of mitigate their risk and be involved in a bunch of different things so they can accept a lot of opportunities versus kind of focusing in on one thing and compounding results in that one area? Jack of all trades versus mastering one thing. What do you recommend to people in regards to that?

[A]

I think if you're first starting, I think it's really valuable to say yes to every opportunity and to do a bunch of different stuff because the, the result is going to come from mastery of one thing. But it, but the inevitability of the struggle of mastery in that one thing is, is something that I think a lot of people aren't willing to do because they chose a path that they're not, they don't really care about and they don't really want to do it. They just want the result. You know what I mean? So they're not, they're not in it for the journey. And it's as cliche as it sou. It really is about the journey. It's, you know, it's not just a thing that you see on coffee mugs and embroidered pillows. It's, it's a, it is the truth. And I was listening to Arthur Brooks on Simon Sinek's podcast and they were talking about that. They're like, yeah, we try not to, you know, embrace all these cliches, but some of them are just really true. And that's absolutely one of them. And for those who don't know, Arthur Brooks, he's a, he's a professor at, I want to say Harvard, but he has a, he has a class on happiness, which is what he's got gotten really known for. And he wrote a, a book, I believe it was with Oprah recently, was a, was the co author and it was all about happiness. And so Simon Sinek had him on to talk about happiness and it was, it was basically, it was basically that conversation that picking something that matters to you, something that has meaning to you, something that will light you up and make you happy in the pursuit of that thing. Because there will always be struggle involved, there will always be obstacles involved. It's important to pick something that's gonna, that's gonna allow you to have that along the way. But sometimes if you can, if you just jump into one thing and you have no idea why you chose that thing and there's no deeper purpose or why behind it, which is the Simon Sinek part of the conversation where we talk about the why and the purpose and find your why and start with why. If you don't have any of that, then first sign of obstacles, it's gonna be really difficult to stay engaged in that thing. And then secondarily when you're first starting, you probably don't have any money. In fact, you might be in debt, you might have student loan debt, you might have credit card debt, you might have, you know, vehicle debt. There's a lot of other things that could be potentially financially prohibitive. So it is somewhat valuable at the beginning to say yes to a bunch of different things and work five different gigs and side hustles and jobs just to store away cash, you know. And then, and then once you put yourself in a position to succeed, the thing that's doing the best that you have the most interest in, then you can just plow all of your resources, time and learning into that one path until it is the most successful something that you're working on. And I know this, this, this is not a, a political podcast, but I saw a, a clip of Ben Shapiro recently talking about his business when he first started, but before the Daily Wire was a thing and he was talking about how he was just out of law school and he was, he was working three or four different jobs as well as a side hustle writing for some paper or website or something like that at the very beginning of his career. And he was working 12 to 14 hour days at the that time he was able to make three to $400,000 a year in income. And that was the inception of the Daily Wire. And obviously he ended up finding his path and choosing one, one thing and doubled down on that thing. And obviously it turned out pretty well for him from a business standpoint. But he didn't just start that thing out of college and raise a bunch of debt or raise a bunch of capital to get it started. He applied himself to multiple things, figured out that he didn't want to be a practicing attorney, that he actually way more enjoyed this writing gig that he was doing on the side to extra income. And that ended up being the path that he pursued full time and he turned it into a really successful business. So even, even people who you look at now and you go like, yeah, but they're really good at that one thing. It's like, yeah, but that. What? He wasn't a classically trained journalist. You know what I mean? He was, he was an attorney, he was a lawyer, he went to law school. So. But he was just like, hey, that seems interesting. That seems interesting. That seems interesting. And then worked his ass off at a bunch of different stuff for a long time to, to increase income, put himself in a position to be able. That thing with everything that he had in his, in his, his energy. So pick, pick the path eventually. But at the beginning, it's really valuable to say yes to everything.

[B]

Yeah. And hopefully Ben gets good at someday. Anyway. No, I was going to say how do you, how do you determine that moment when you're ready to leap in? Because I think that's another piece. And I know we've talked about this before, but sometimes you are doing yes to everything and, and you get a taste of, okay, maybe you landed this one big client in this one area. Like, someone's out there, they're washing, you know, windows on the side and they get that one person that's working just with them and they're charging them more than they thought they could ever charge. And it's like, do I try to get another one like this? And do I eventually buy a truck and bring someone in to help me? And. Or is that a one off thing? Like, how do you determine whether it's worth going all in on that versus, you know, because there is, there's plenty of people who think my podcast, you know, I had a couple hits on an episode. I'm going to be the next Daily Wire. I'm going to be the next whatever. But it's a pipe dream. Like, how do you determine whether there's some reality to that equation?

[A]

I think first you set a time limit at the. Be that. That's what I think I see most people get wrong. Like the people that I know who they've Made the same amount of money. They made 80, 90 grand a year doing the same freelance type work for the, for 12 years. And they're always doing six different things. And you talk to them at a given time, they're like, oh, I got a lot going on, man. And they look at it almost as like a point of pride. It's like, oh, cool. Like, you know, how much you making over in a business context? Or like we'll do six, you know, we're doing like 7,000.

[B]

Busyness does not mean business.

[A]

That's true. It also does not mean productivity. You know, it's not, not the same thing. They are not, they are not created equal. So don't be the person who's in the same. Like that's, that's the worst case scenario to me is looking into the future and seeing yourself in the same exact spot. And not to say that like if you're in the same spot, you know, from the lagging indicator perspective, like you might be in the same spot financially or something like that, but maybe you took a big swing and it didn't work out or something like that, or you went down this path and you chased it with everything you had and it just couldn't piece it together. That, that's not what I mean. I mean, I mean you haven't actively changed anything about what you do on a day to day basis. But you know, you're not actually super happy about what you're doing. That's a bad case scenario.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So put a time limit on it. Just say like I'm going to give myself whatever three years to do this thing that's making me money but that I don't really enjoy and this other thing on the side, and I'm going to give it three years all like give it my best to make sure that this other thing is going to be successful in the meantime and then if it happens before that, then make the switch before that. You know what I mean? But, but also, I just think that some people are too risk averse and the bottom line is not to get morbid or anything, but death is the great equalizer. And it, it doesn't, the thing that you're afraid to do will not matter at all to anybody on the planet in 150 years from now. So why, why do you keep making the same decision over and over? Like, the worst case scenario is often not that bad. Which is a game I like to play sometimes is like, what is the absolute worst case scenario here? Like worst case scenario, you have, you Have a job that is paying the bills, but you don't really like it. But this side hustle thing, that you see some promise there and you're like, I know if I put my full time effort into that, that I could probably do pretty well with it. But it's really scary to make this jump from this to that. There's another job out there. You can always, you can always settle for the job that you don't like if you're good at what you do anyway. There's a caveat to that. If you're good at what you do, you can always go get another job. I literally just saw a video on this probably like 2 hours ago from Gary Vee, who was talking to this guy and he was doing this garage clean out business. Charges like 700 bucks to clean out people's garages for them. And then he also gets to. To keep whatever the stuff that he cleans out. And so sometimes he'll find a diamond in the rough and be able to. To sell it for increased profit. And Gary, and he was asking this exact question, when should I. When should I leave this? When should I quit? He was like, how much are you charging? It's like $700. He's like, $700? That's crazy. Like, flipped out. You know what I mean? Like, that's, that's so much more than I thought you'd be able to charge for this. Have you had. He's like, we've had 14 and how much time the last month? It's like you've had 14 customers at $700. Say yes. Because the guy was a marketing director somewhere. So he was running his own ads and. And landed 14 jobs at 700 bucks and found a few diamonds in the rough. And he was just like, bro, you're already doing it.

[B]

That forgot to move their car out of the garage before he went in. Say I get to keep it.

[A]

This is my Lambo.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

This episode is brought to you by Indeed. Stop waiting around for the perfect candidate. Instead, use Indeed sponsored jobs to find the right people with the right skills fast. It's a simple way to make sure your listing is the first candidate. C. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs have four times more applicants than non sponsored jobs. So go build your dream team today with Indeed. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at Indeed.com podcasts, terms and conditions apply.

[A]

Oh, he. So he was just like, quit the job now? He's like, yeah, I guess. I guess I'm just scared. I guess it's just Fear. He was like, you can always get another marketing job. And he's like, and I promise you, bro, even if this doesn't work out in a year from now, you're like, man, that Gary Vee guy screwed me. You know what I mean? Like, I shouldn't have listened to him. The next marketing job you get, I almost guarantee you it's going to be for a higher salary than the one that you have now. Somebody else is going to pick you up to do something similar for them, and they're going to pay you more then you're. Then you're getting paid now. It always leads to a greater opportunity. The problem is, like, we're so afraid to say goodbye to something, okay? To say yes to something that's potentially awesome. So let go of the thing. If. If fear, like, examine it and ask yourself if fear is really the thing that's holding you back, and if it is the thing that's holding you back. You know, fear can be a great mo. Fear is the best motivator. Objectively, it's. It is a better motivator. Fear of loss is a better motivator than. Than desire for reward. That's been proven over and over again. You can train yourself to fear something different. Instead of fearing failure or embarrassment or losing, you can fear regret. That I found to be a much more helpful frame to motivate me to go do something where I'm looking at my life on my deathbed and asking myself the question, will I have regretted taking this leap? And if the answer is even close to a yes, then I owe it to myself to take that leap. Because that's the worst thing, man. Like, I don't want to be in.

[B]

My dad's bed looking back and regretting a no.

[A]

What? What did I say?

[B]

You said, if I. If there's even a chance that I will regret this, then I gotta take that leap.

[A]

Yes. What? You said yes.

[B]

Wait, that's wrong.

[A]

I'm using too many negatives.

[B]

Wait, if you. Hold on. We'll figure this out. So if you. If you think, would I regret taking this leap and the answer is even remotely close to a yes, you won't take that leap.

[A]

Then. Then. Then do that thing is what I'm saying.

[B]

Wait. Do it. If you think you might regret it, do it.

[A]

If you think you might regret not doing it.

[B]

Okay. That's what you didn't say.

[A]

Okay, I got it.

[B]

Didn't say not doing it.

[A]

I apologize.

[B]

If you would regret this, then do it. And I was like, that's That's.

[A]

If you're gonna regret it, then do it.

[B]

Yeah, no regret.

[A]

You're gonna regret not doing the thing, then do the thing.

[B]

That's. That was good.

[A]

You have to. You have to. You gotta just take the leap.

[B]

Somebody stopped the podcast right there and was like, this guy. I'm. I'm. I'm fearing that I will regret doing this, so I'm gonna do it wholeheartedly. I learned this from Travis Chapel. I'm. I'm going headfirst into my train.

[A]

This is who I take my advice from.

[B]

Yeah, that's.

[A]

No, it's. It's the frame. It's the death bread. The deathbed frame is very, very helpful. You just got to think about it from that perspective, and it allows you to. It allows you to make the decision like that, because, like, the people, the people whose opinions you're worried about the most probably aren't even going to be in your life in five years or ten years from now, let alone when you're.

[B]

Got to outlive them. That's what I always say. Well, I certainly don't regret asking you questions about this topic, so I'm so glad I did. Go ahead and close this out.

[A]

Well, that's it for today's episode, everybody. Thanks for tuning in. Remember, money only solves your money problems, but it's easier to solve the rest of your problems if you got money in the bank. So let's solve that one first here on the Travis Makes Money podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Catch you next time. Peace out.

[D]

Close your eyes. Exhale, Fill your body. Relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. I was. Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order.

[A]

1-800-Contacts.