The Strategy Spiral and the Snowball Debt Strategy

Darryl:
I don't know how to say this nicely, so I won't.

René:
If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything. My mom always taught me that.

Darryl:
I have to say this. There is something about a man over the age of 30 who wears a backward baseball cap. I don't know what it is, but nine times out of ten, the guy's about to give you some unsolicited advice. He's going to park like a jerk. Or say, I work hard, play hard. Like it's 2007.

René:
Grow up, turn your ball cap around, or take it off and comb your hair.

Darryl:
I don't know what it is. They always seem to be jerks. And I'm sure there's some nice people out there.

René:
Backward ball cap jerks.

Darryl:
I don't know. Like, listen, if you're over the age of 30 and you're rocking the backwards hat and you think you might be one of the nice ones, I'm not saying you're the problem. I'm just saying if there's a line at the golf course or the bar patio, I already know who's going to start the drama.

René:
Yeah, that's right. It's a stereotype. But. But for the most part, it's true.

Darryl:
It's science.

René:
It's your science.

Darryl:
This is taming the hustle.

René:
Or is it something of the sorts?

Darryl:
I know hats don't come with instructions, but when the logo's on the front, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to wear it that way.

René:
Yeah. The only exception that I would say to that are-

Darryl:
If you're welding, you're a baseball catcher.

René:
A welder, and you're about to weld something.I've seen surfer bums out in the Okanagan that they're super chilled. They got the hats backwards, they got long hair super laid back.

Darryl:
Not all of them are assholes or jerks. My favorite is when someone cuts me off in traffic and then you line up with them at the light and the guy's head is tilted forward so much because he can't rest his head back on the headrest because the ball cap is in the way.

René:
Tell me how you really feel.

Darryl:
I'm not going to tell you what happened to me this morning, but it involved a guy with a backwards ball cap hat.

René:
There you go. I don't. Spare me.

Darryl:
All right, let's talk about something that I call the 'Strategy Spiral'.

René:
Okay. That's very similar to what I'm talking about today, so please enlighten me.

Darryl:
I know. Hopefully mine's not about financial planning because if so, I'm screwed. I don't know what I'm talking about.

René:
Mine is I'll help you recover.

Darryl:
Okay, perfect. So mine, the strategy spiral is about how one great idea can fuel five more.

René:
Okay.

Darryl:
Anytime I do a consulting session or meet with a client for the first time or do a talk, I get asked the same thing over and over and over again. And basically it's business owners at some point put all their efforts into creating one amazing piece of content. Maybe it's a blog post, maybe it's a reel, a newsletter, a TV commercial, whatever.

René:
It's their thing.

Darryl:
It's their thing.

René:
They're one thing.

Darryl:
They're so proud of it. They've worked hard. They spent a bunch of money and time on it. Then it's out in the world for a couple days and it just kind of disappears and they're left wondering why is this piece that took hours upon hours to create.

René:
Or days and weeks and months.

Darryl:
Yeah. And it's just nothing like. The question I get is, now what? Like, people barely notice. What do I do? So today we're flipping that script because here's the deal.

René:
We're flipping it like a ball cap.

Darryl:
That's it. We're going to flip it like a ball cap. But the non asshole jerk way.

René:
No, you're putting the well cap back in front. Forward ball cap wearers.

Darryl:
Exactly. This is for forward ball cap wearers only. But here's the deal. Great marketing and ideas don't have to be a one and done. In fact, your best idea should spiral out into more. More reach, more formats, more value. And one idea becomes five. If you know how to expand.

René:
It's no different than us as human beings. We continue to evolve and try to become better people.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
And continue to learn. It's not like you have one little recipe and you sit on it for the rest of your career. That's fuck if that's what you think. That's very false. You're setting yourself up for failure.

Darryl:
And some people preach though.

René:
Is that wine that you're drinking there? Is that fucking grape juice?

Darryl:
It's tea with honey in it.

René:
Boring. I thought you were getting juiced during a podcast. I love it.

Darryl:
I wish maybe. I guess if I was, this would be a little more interesting. Okay, now I forget what the hell I was talking about.

René:
Just sitting on one idea forever, thinking it's going to be like the be all, end all.

Darryl:
That's the crazy part is people do it and then when they don't have success, they blame other factors. So let's get into this strategy spiral and how to turn that one great idea into a ripple effect. The first is to start with a core idea that has layers. This is so key. Don't try to build five ideas from something that's flat. Pick a topic. Pick a story or a message that has a little meat to it. Something that could work as a post but also has enough depth to be turned into a reel or a visual or a podcast, even an email campaign.

René:
Peel your onion.

Darryl:
Peel your onion. Exactly. So let's say you run a local bakery and you post a photo of grandma's secret cookie recipe. And I've seen this before. That's great. And I watch them and they say, now what? What do I do now? We'll spiral that out. Do a video tutorial about making grandma's cookies. Have a story post about how it came to be and where the old recipe cards came from.

René:
Do a video of grandma eating.

Darryl:
If she's alive, you know, if she's dead.

René:
Don't feed her a cookie.

Darryl:
Don't go to the graveyard and do a cookie video.

René:
If Grandma got run over by a reindee, don't feed her a cookie. And make a YouTube video out of it, please.

Darryl:
But do a short TikTok. Again, not at a graveyard, but maybe it's with baking fails. You tried grandma's recipe for the first time and you got a bunch of eggshells in the. In the flour or whatever. Design a carousel, breaking down the baking tips step by step, whatever it is. That's one idea multiplied into many things.

René:
I love it.

Darryl:
But here's the secret is to change the format, not the message.

René:
That is very wise, Darryl. Honestly.

Darryl:
Thanks. I got my wise cap on the right way today.

René:
Wise guy.

Darryl:
People consume content differently, right? Some love videos, other are email readers. Some are addicted to Instagram stories. Don't rewrite your idea, just repackage it. That same advice post, turn it into a short video. Then pull quotes from that video and use them on graphics. Then expand that into your newsletter. If you have a podcast, bring it up in your podcast later on. It's not repetitive, it's reinforcing.

Darryl:
And your audience needs to hear these things more than once before it sticks. And I've said this before, that message stays the same, but the media changes.

René:
You're absolutely right. I mean, and that becomes your brand, right?

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
When you develop a brand, you have to have a consistent message. So your message isn't changing, it's just the way you're delivering it.

Darryl:
Yeah. And it's not repetitive. It's reinforcing it.

René:
Right.

Darryl:
Your audience needs to hear things more than once before it sticks.

René:
Repetitiveness is reinforcement, and it's necessary for proper branding.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
I think. I mean, look, we're in everybody's face about our brand.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Live well today while planning to live well tomorrow. Look at how the early days, how #callRene took off. We weren't being repetitive about hashtag call Rene. We were reinforcing.

Darryl:
We use it in different medias with the same message, but again, a different format.

René:
Yeah, absolutely.

Darryl:
So the next is to build systems so you're not starting from scratch every time. This is where small businesses burn out, constantly creating something from nothing.

René:
Reinventing the wheel is exhausting.

Darryl:
Oh, it's exhausting. And. But if you've got a strategy for spiraling your content, you always know what's coming next. Having one big idea per week, and I know I'm a broken record on this, but schedule it and break it down into smaller pieces, like three smaller pieces even. Assign each to a format. Maybe it's a reel, maybe it's a blog. Whatever it is, schedule it out. That's your content engine, and it runs smoother.

Darryl:
Exactly what you said. Reinvent the wheel on Monday morning.

René:
Yeah. Especially when it's a hamster wheel. That's really exhausting.

Darryl:
Exactly. Oh, I've lived in one of those. It's not pleasant. Well, something we talked about last episode is reuse the winners if you have great content that really took off. Here's the thing. Half your followers didn't see your best stuff the first time, and the ones who did, they might need to hear it again.

René:
If Your audience is 100,000 people and you look at that reel and you've had 1600 views, it means you're missing out on pretty much everybody.

Darryl:
Well, exactly. And with all the shadow banning that Facebook and Instagram does, it makes it so your following isn't seen everything. They see a small portion.

René:
Yep, for sure.

Darryl:
So update the intro and repost it. That email that got tons of replies. Read it out loud on your podcast. That graphic with the quote on it from a video you did before that got 10,000 likes. Put that quote on a T-shirt and sell it. Figure out ways to reuse that media. Reusing doesn't make you lazy. It makes you fucking smart.

René:
Reusing the content. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense, and it helps, again, with the same message and developing your brand.

Darryl:
Yeah, I see this problem with many, many people online is they feel they need to keep creating brand new content. Brand new content. New ideas. Fresh ideas. Which in a way, yes. But at the same time, if stuff is working and that's what your clientele wants, feed that to them. Right. You don't need more content. You need more impact from good content that you already have.

René:
Mr. Miyagi of marketing.

Darryl:
Well, you know, we wax on and wax off all the time in our office.

René:
Ah, so you have no stress in your life.

Darryl:
That's it. My forearms are huge, though.

René:
Your forearm?

Darryl:
My forearm, yes.

René:
Yeah. Oh, that went dark. I love it.

Darryl:
Oh, man. All right. This topic isn't a long one, but it's an important one.

René:
There are some very good points, by the way.

Darryl:
Thanks. So here's my challenge this week. Take one thing. You've already made something you're proud of, something that seems successful on Instagram or Facebook or an email, whatever it is, and spiral it out. Five new ways to share it. Five new places to put it. Five new chances for your audience to fall in love with what you do. Because marketing doesn't have to be a grind. It can be a ripple effect, a snowball, a spiral.

René:
The snowball effect. That's my topic. But I don't have a challenge for anyone. You get a lot of challenges on your episodes lately. I like.

Darryl:
I love the challenge. That's my fun part. Yeah. All right. If I talk about this any longer, I'll start to spiral. So we'll be right back.

Darryl:
I didn't even spiral once during that commercial break.

René:
Yeah, you didn't even stop for a pee break. That's impressive.

Darryl:
I know, I know. My. My eyeballs are floating, though.

René:
Yeah. Well, whenever you can make it through a podcast without peeing, I go buy a lottery ticket.

Darryl:
Because I'm like, I don't blame that. Shit's lucky.

René:
I turn my ball cap around, I go buy lottery tickets.

Darryl:
I feel bad because I know there are some nice people who wear their ball caps backwards. And we do love you. We do see you.

René:
No, we're just talking to the jerk that need to turn the ball caps around. Stop being dicks.

Darryl:
Yes. Yes.

René:
100%.

Darryl:
Oh, man. So I, I stole a bit of your topic today about snowball effect. So what's.

René:
Yeah, yeah. You didn't steal the topic.

Darryl:
Okay.

René:
But not really. It's spiraling. Snowballing. It's great, man. It goes hand in hand. That's awesome.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
So this is something. So I'm going to share one of the strategies that we implement as part of our financial planning process.

Darryl:
This is like pulling the curtain back here.

René:
Yeah, we're sharing some secrets.

Darryl:
Nice.

René:
Well, it's not secret to our clients because we talk about this strategy with every one of our clients that we work closely with is the snowball effect to debt elimination.

Darryl:
Right. Okay.

René:
Not much different than, you know, what we've done with your situation and pretty much every other client that we work with closely. So let's say you have a $10,000 net cash flow. So that's after your mortgage payment. That's after all of your payroll deductions, your income tax, you're netting 10 grand, which is what your lifestyle is costing you. So we call that cash flow, essentially. But on top of that, you have a two thousand dollar a month mortgage.

Darryl:
Okay.

René:
And you have a thousand dollars a month worth of other debts. You know, it's, let's say it's a boat or a camper or a cottage or a side by side. Those things are like 80 grand now.

Darryl:
Oh, no kidding.

René:
Once that mortgage is paid, two things happen. You either get accustomed to living off of a higher lifestyle. Right. So now all of a sudden your cash flow is $12,000 a month. Or we make the conscientious decision to apply the thousand dollars to other debt or to reinvest it. And that is very, very impactful.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Because if you have a $10,000 a month cash flow and all of a sudden you get accustomed to living off of 12,000 because you're like, fucking right, I've got my mortgage paid. I'm going to reward myself by spending it now to live the life I've always wanted. And I'm going to live on $12,000 a month.

Darryl:
I see people do this all the time.

René:
Well, the most significant impact on all of that is you now have to replace $12,000 a month in retirement.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
Otherwise you have to reduce your lifestyle in retirement, which again, we've talked about the toothpaste syndrome.

Darryl:
Yes.

René:
Once you're accustomed to that toothpaste, which is 12 grand a month, it's really hard to put it back in the tube.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
Nearly impossible. You tell me you can do it. It's like timing the market. People think they can do it.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
But in reality is really tough. Really, really tough. You have heated seats or cooling seats in your car and all of a sudden you're fucking manually rolling up your windows because you have a lower cash flow in retirement is a total buzzkill. And it's really difficult.

Darryl:
I've told Erin, I don't care what happens in our life. The cool summer in my vehicle is a must have for the rest of my life. There is nothing better feeling than the boys getting a little cool air on a real hot day.

René:
Did she say it's because you have a hot ass?

Darryl:
And you know what? She did not.

René:
How dare she?

Darryl:
I know.

René:
So now you've got a $10,000 cash flow which you're living below your means or within your means at least. And then your mortgage is paid and now you're spending 12 grand a month and now you're both boat payment is paid. So now you're living off $13,000 a month. You're not going to be able to retire with the same lifestyle or you're going to have to work a lot longer.

Darryl:
Right.

René:
So now you're creating a monster.

Darryl:
Yeah, no kidding.

René:
So then our strategy and our recommendations are as soon as the mortgage is paid, you got $2,000 a month extra. You then apply that to the boat to quick pay it, not pay the interest. Yeah, unless your interest is super, super low. Right. We did see an era where you'd have a mortgage on your cottage and you were paying 1.9% or whatever. Then all of a sudden you then start to entertain the idea of investing it instead of applying it to the debt because you can make more money with the investment. But let's just assume we're in current times where interest rates are high and you want to get rid of that debt.

Darryl:
Yeah, no kidding.

René:
And then once the $3,000 a month is up and you have no further debt, you've paid off the camper, or whatever debt you have, you've paid off the mortgage, then you take that $3,000 a month and you reinvest it into either your RSP, your TFSA, your non registered investments, whatever vehicle is most appropriate from a tax perspective to try to close the gap on your retirement income plan. So if you have a shortfall, it's going to help close the gap. If you don't have a shortfall and you're fully funded, it gives you a bit of a buffer in the event that you would decide to retire a bit sooner or that you live longer than anticipated or that there's a hiccup in your retirement where you need to have, you know, some special renovations because you're now in a wheelchair and you want to stay in your home or you're super healthy and you decide you're traveling and you love traveling and you travel more than anticipated. So all of that will give you a little bit of an extra cushion in the event that things go sideways. Like we talk about pivoting lots lately is we have to be ready to pivot if things don't turn out as planned. Because there's no such thing as a perfect plan. Because then life unfolds and we have to deal with it, right? So if you're right down to the last penny, it becomes stressful not only for you, but for us as your advisor. If we have every penny accounted for for the success of your plan, it becomes really stressful because we then don' flexibility to account for changes in returns, inflation, unexpecteds, you know, whatever.

René:
One example I have is a client that I worked with with a plan revision. So long term clients, we did a plan review in the last few weeks and the client had an $800 biweekly contribution to their mortgage and they were going to have their mortgage paid 12 years before they retired, right? So if we reinvest that say at 7% in a non registered investment or if the client has the room in the tfsa, not including investing in the RSP for some tax savings, if you're in a really high tax bracket, just ignoring the taxes for one minute. Just as an example is if you invest $800 BI weekly for 12 years at 7%, you're going to have nearly $400,000 extra for retirement over and above your regular plan. So you can either start spending the $800Bi weekly and now you've increased your lifest. Now you have to replace your current cash flow plus $800 biweekly or you reinvest it, maintain the same lifestyle and you grow an extra $400,000 in your portfolio for retirement. Either to help close a gap in some shortfalls of yours or give you the ability to have some flexibility for some unexpected changes like early retirement.

Darryl:
I feel like this goes back to our imaginary topic last episode of what would it be like if you could retire between the age of 20 and 65 and then work your ass off after 65? This is the case. You spend all this money that you're making now and then when you retire you need to work. So it is possible to do it.

René:
Yeah. Except you may be working at Walmart as a greeter.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
That senior that's working at Walmart as a greeter is either A) Looking for a social life.

Darryl:
Yes.

René:
Right. Which is music to my ears. Because you continue to contribute to society and you're doing something good and you're doing something fulfilling for yourself.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
But that poor bastard that's doing it because he had to because he couldn't control his cash flow and his saving habits is really bad.

Darryl:
Sorry, I had to make fun of that for a moment.

René:
Yeah, yeah. So to reiterate, it has a double effect. If you do not save that mortgage payment or you apply it to other debt and you get used to spending it, you're going to have a higher cash flow with less resources.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
But when you have the discipline to reinvest that mortgage payment into other debt debt, or to reinvest it again, you're maintaining the same lifestyle so nothing's at risk.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
You're saving more money and you're closing the gap on any shortfalls in your retirement income plan. And you're reducing stress, man. You, you've become financially independent. You've got financial freedom, which again, to me my definition of financial freedom is having control over your money rather than your money controlling you.

Darryl:
No, stresses. That, that's worth millions in my books.

René:
A hundred percent. It's worth a mortgage payment.

Darryl:
It's more than a mortgage payment. That's two mortgage payments.

René:
My mortgage is paid. What are you doing now? I'm investing in my stress free life.

Darryl:
Yeah. Oh, there's a tagline.

René:
Yeah.

Darryl:
See? Layers.

René:
Yeah. Onions, man. But we're sweet onions.

Darryl:
Yes. Yeah, definitely.

René:
Nothing strong and bitter like a red onion or something.

Darryl:
No, no, we saute. Nice. You know what? I think this topic is so important and I agree with you. It's like you don't want to become dependent on this lifestyle you create by constantly spending money. As your payments go down, you spend, spend, spend. And then when you retire, you're stuck with the money you have and you have to decrease your lifestyle because there's nothing worse. But I will say I was a little sad because I thought today when you said, I'm going to talk about the snowball effect and how to reduce debt, I thought like you were talking about my kids moving out.

René:
Yes.

Darryl:
I thought that's where we're going with this. But okay, whatever you do, you.

René:
Hey, prom just happened for you, man. It's just around the corner and it's going to be one of our not so distant future episodes..

René:
I'm sure. But how many times, dude, like, we've had these conversations about, you know, people living above their means and stuff, but how many times have I come across someone that has like a $250 a month, 7 year or 15 year boat payment, and when the boat's finally paid, they're like, "oh, what else can I buy now for that same amount?" And then they buy a fucking sled. It's just like, you're just so at the mercy of debt. Like, just live below your means for a while so that you can get accustomed to living that lifestyle.

Darryl:
I feel like this is a Marie Kondo Netflix type style documentary that we should be shooting. That is to reduce debt instead of clutter.

René:
Darryl, I live my own life, and not for a moment do I try to keep up with the Joneses. There is no shame in living within your own means. There. There's no shame in that. Just. Do you, man.

Darryl:
Yeah. Don't keep up with the Joneses. You are the Joneses. Yeah.

René:
Wax on, wax off.

Darryl:
We'll be right back.

René:
Paint the fence. Paint the fence.

René:
 

Darryl:
I got tea with honey and ginger ale.

René:
Oh, my God. You should have definitely put, like, some brandy or some whiskey or cognac or something in your tea.

Darryl:
I know. You know what? I haven't been drinking at all. Like, I haven't drank since New Year's.

René:
That's why you're so miserable. You notice I barely text you anymore? Like, I don't want to be in this guy's life. He's miserable.

Darryl:
I'm trying to get healthier and lose weight.

René:
My mom says if you got nothing nice to say, don't say anything. You just need to start drinking again.

Darryl:
All right, today we're going to talk about something that's ridiculously simple, but it's low key, life changing, and that's giving compliments.

René:
Oh, yeah, that's an interesting one.

Darryl:
Yeah, it sounds basic. But stick with me for a second because we're going to get into how small, kind moments can snowball. See, I'm stealing that word again into something bigger. And this is about how kindness, like, real, intentional kindness, not the bullshit stuff, but the real intentional stuff can start a chain reaction that doesn't shift somebody else's day, but yours, too.

René:
It's funny. As soon as you said compliments, I immediately went to the backwards ball cap type guy. That would give you a false, like, sleazy compliment.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
I'm guessing that's not what you're talking about.

Darryl:
No.

René:
Oh, you have a really nice short skirt.

Darryl:
Exactly. Something very bro-ey.

René:
That's a genuine compliment. But inappropriate.

Darryl:
Yeah. Yeah.

René:
But then there's also not genuine compliments that are appropriate.

Darryl:
Oh, exactly. But. And we've talked about this subject before, and honestly, the more and more I watch our society function, or lack thereof, I think it's an important topic. And again, it's not about being fake, like the backwards ball cap guy or buttering people up just to get something. It's about that kind of authentic connection that happens when you just notice something good about someone else and you say it out loud. Right.

René:
We had guests stay with us for a few days while we were in Kelowna and we were out. You know, we'd go to coffee shops, we'd go to wineries or whatever.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
And I kept getting chirped that I was kind of talking and making connections with people everywhere I went, like it was a bad thing. I'm like, I connect with everybody I cross paths with, and it's with genuine compliments. It's really funny that you bring that up. Like, just a couple days ago, there's a little place in Lake Country. It's called Lake Country Radio Cafe.

Darryl:
Oh, nice.

René:
And I think you and I went a couple years back. Anyway, young girl, just a summer student, probably younger than my own kids. She's there every day making this cup of coffee. And I said, I've tried most of the good, reputable coffee shops in Kelowna and Lake Country. I said, the coffee that you just made me is my favorite cup of coffee. And it just, like, she just loved it. She lit up. But it was also true.

René:
I wasn't just saying, yeah, yeah. Like, I went there three times in a row, made a dynamite coffee, like, just the perfect oat latte.

Darryl:
Nice.

René:
But you create a genuine connection. There's there because she remembers me going in now, and she knows who I am.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
So the humanizing factor that we preach all the time is treating people like humans and making yourself human. Just being at the same level with people. Right?

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
And making it less transactional. Like.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
I'm not just buying a cup of coffee. I'm buying an experience. Well, sometimes you got to share that you're having a good experience. And by way of compliments, like, you say that not only do you make their day. It feels good to be nice to people.

Darryl:
Yeah. And people are starving for validation, even if they don't know it. Like, here's the wild part. Most people are walking around with a million little insecurities on loop in their head. Like, am I doing enough? Do I look tired? Is everyone secretly judging me for forgetting my friend's birthday? Whatever it is, you have these insecurities. So when someone actually pauses and says, hey, I really admire how calm you are in meetings, or that color looks amazing on you.

Darryl:
Or this is the best cup of coffee I've had, it hits way harder than you think.

René:
100%. I feel like I've got a solid level of confidence, but I'm from my loved one especially. I'm always looking for validation.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Because I try to be as selfless as possible without doing it purposefully. I wanted to do it genuinely. But you also look for validation from the ones that you love most to make sure that you're having that impact in their lives that you're looking for.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
Meg will say, well, I don't need validation like you do. But I give her the validation.

Darryl:
Yeah.

René:
Right. So she doesn't feel like she's lacking it because she gets validation.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
But I could just imagine, like any other human being on the planet, if I stop validating her worth and the importance of her in my life, that she would miss it.

Darryl:
Yeah. Well, that's the thing. When you're getting it, you don't notice it.

René:
I don't care who you are. We're all secretly or subliminally looking for it.

Darryl:
Yeah. And that one compliment might be the nicest thing you've heard all week or maybe all month, and you just became the person who helped someone stop spiraling.

René:
Spiraling, snowballing.

Darryl:
But that's the thing. Like, even if it's for a minute and you've helped somebody just because of a nice thing you said, even if you don't know it, that makes a world of difference. But the best part is you never really know where that compliment goes next. And you kind of laughed about the snowball spiral. So let's talk about the snowball. You tell the cashier at the grocery store that her nails are incredible. And maybe she makes the next person in line smile because now she's on another level of feeling great. And maybe that next person decides not to yell at their kid in line because the cashier made her feel great.

René:
100%.

Darryl:
And maybe that kid goes home and hugs mom for no reason. Because mom was nice at the grocery store.

René:
100%. Dude. Dude. We were at Cactus Club the other day. The hostess was just this young girl. Like, she had a million dollar smile. I said, never stop smiling, man, because you shine like a light. She's like, oh, really? No one's ever told me that.

Darryl:
Oh, that's amazing.

René:
We went to sit down and I could tell she was just smiling the whole time. And when we left.

Darryl:
Yeah, yeah.

René:
She had this million dollar smile on still. Look at all the people that she would have served after us.

Darryl:
Exactly.

René:
And be in a better mood because of that genuine compliment. Because it was true. She had a million dollar smile.

Darryl:
When you didn't just make her feel good, you started that ripple effect.

René:
Yeah. And it cost nothing.

Darryl:
Nope.

René:
This kid had a mouthful of Chiclets that was like, whoa, I wish I had that smile.

Darryl:
99% of the time. You'll never really know the full effect of what that one compliment is, but it's happening. It's quiet, it's powerful. And you were the spark that created it.

René:
It's contagious. And it's the pay it forward. Right. In so many ways. Well, look at you earlier. You know, look at how proud I was of you that you didn't stop for a pee break at our last commerical.

Darryl:
And I'm very happy about it. I've been giddy since.

René:
Yeah, that's going to carry on the whole day. And Erin's going to feel more in love with you because your mood and you're going to be more affectionate with your kids.

Darryl:
I do really have to pee right now. I'm not gonna lie. I've been holding it since you said it because I wanted to make you feel good that you said that.

René:
I take it back. Be shitty to everyone around you today.

Darryl:
Look, I'm not saying compliments are gonna fix the world, but they can fix a moment. And sometimes that moment is exactly what someone needs.

René:
It hurts no one to be nice.

Darryl:
No.

René:
And a compliment does go a long way, but just be sure it's genuine and it's not creepy.

Darryl:
Exactly. So here's your challenge. I know. I love my challenges.

René:
Yeah.

Darryl:
Give five compliments this week, but real ones. Not just nice shirt, but specific, meaningful stuff. Tell a co-worker you appreciate how organized they are. Compliment someone's storytelling. Tell your kid they're brave for trying something new. No strings attached, no follow up needed. Just drop good into the world and let it do its thing.

René:
Yeah. Absolutely.

Darryl:
If something we said got your wheel spinning or just made you laugh while folding laundry, then we've done our job today. Make sure you follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And if you want some more chaos, hit us up on Instagram.

René:
Thank you so much to our listeners. By the way, we've been getting so much great feedback lately about our episodes that it's really heartwarming that you guys are listening in and that you're seeing value in the topics.

Darryl:
They''re giving us compliments. It's making us feel good. We're talking about comments. It's the spiral effect.

René:
It's the snowball effect.

Darryl:
We'll see you next time.

René:
Ciao.