What You Don't Know About Goal Setting

What You Don't Know About Goal Setting

Daily Boost Podcast What You Don't Know About Goal Setting August 25, 2026 | Episode 5527 Host: Scott Smith Episode Description Yesterday I told you I wasn't going to teach goal setting. Today I'm going to teach you how to set goals. Sort of. Most of what you were handed about goals has quietly fallen apart. The 21-day habit. The Harvard study everybody quotes. Smart goals. Gone. Disproven. And yet you're still sitting there in August wondering why the thing you decided in January never happened. Two words fix most of it, and one measurement that explains why you quit. Ten minutes, and you'll never look at your goal list the same way. Featured Story I mentioned to my wife the other day that I'm in the mood to get a Tesla. Just shopping around. Looking. She got quiet. Then a little scared. Because after all these years, she knows exactly what that sentence means in my house. She knows my brain already flagged it. She knows the velocity has started. And she knows that if I keep drifting in that direction, week after week, there will eventually be a Tesla in the driveway and nobody will remember deciding on it. That's not a car story. That's the whole mechanism of how you get anything, running right out in the open. Important Points * Start your morning retrospectively. Not what you did yesterday, but what really happened and how it honestly felt. * Then go prospectively. Ask what you'll create today to close the gap you just found, and only three goals max. * Velocity keeps motivation alive, so chop any goal more than six months out into segments you can actually feel finishing. Memorable Quotes * Velocity is the key. It's more important how fast you're getting to your goal than if you're getting to your goal. * The daily awareness diary will hold you to your honesty forever. It exposes what you said you want and what you're doing. * Remember the Harvard study where people who set goals are 93% more effective—never done, ever. It's a wives' tale. Scott's Three-Step Approach 1. Tomorrow morning, ask retrospectively how yesterday actually went, and be honest about whether it matched your want. 2. Then ask prospectively what you'll create today, and write down the single adjustment that closes that gap for you. 3. Now break your big goal into velocity segments close enough together that you feel you're finishing one each week. Chapters 0:02 - A twist on the goal setting I said I'd skip 0:38 - The obsession behind everything I teach you 1:47 - Goal setting myths that got quietly disproven 3:22 - The retrospective question I ask every morning 4:48 - Prospection, the one thing only humans can do 6:09 - Why velocity beats the goal itself every time 8:36 - The Tesla my wife is hoping I forget about Connect With Me Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify Email: support@motivationtomove.com Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyscottsmith Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Being Human in an AI Era

Daily Boost Podcast Being Human in an AI Era August 24, 2026 | Episode 5526 Host: Scott Smith Episode Description Something shifted in my calls this month. The people I work with are all over AI. Some are building with it. Some are making money with it. And they still can't sort out a decision without help. I've been three years deep in this stuff. Agents, apps, automation, the whole office running while I'm out of the room. I love it. It still can't do the one thing you get paid for. Today I'll show you exactly where the machine stops, and you start, and why that line is worth more this year than it was last year. Featured Story I'm mid-sentence on a client call last week, and I catch it. Eyes drop. Fingers moving. They're running my answer through ChatGPT while I'm still talking. I love it. Check me. I'm not worried about a machine that reads everything and decides nothing. What comes back is a beautiful, balanced, on-the-other-hand answer with six options. And they sit there. Still stuck. Then they look up and ask me what I'd do, and I tell them in about nine seconds, and off they go. Same information. Totally different result. Once I understood why, I rebuilt my entire business around it. Important Points * AI will hand you every option, and it will never pick one. The deciding is still your job, so quit waiting on it. * Use AI for your figure-it-out mode at two in the morning, then shut it off and ask what you would actually do. * Being curious about everything used to look scattered. In an AI world, it's the trait that lets you zero in fast. Memorable Quotes * Humans are coming back in the mix, believe it or not. Human wisdom in an AI world is now very, very, very valuable. * You're busy. The trip from a data center to your iPhone is very long, so this will take longer than you think. * AI does it cheaper, easier, better, and faster, and I can't compete with that, so I'll just do what it can't do. Scott's Three-Step Approach 1. Dump the whole mess into AI tonight and let it pull every angle, every option, and all of the data it can find. 2. Then shut the machine off, take a walk with your eyes open, and answer one single question: what would you do? 3. Write that answer down, act on it before today ends, and let your life experience be the tiebreaker from now on. Chapters 0:02 - Why human wisdom is suddenly in high demand 1:44 - Three years deep in AI and what it changed 3:20 - The clients who hire me to decide for them 4:30 - AI as your two in the morning life coach, flaws included 7:03 - The polymath advantage nobody warned you about 9:49 - Three things AI will never do for you, ever 12:43 - Take the position that turns you into a superstar Contact Email: support@motivationtomove.com Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyscottsmith Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Telling the World About You

Daily Boost Podcast Telling the World About You August 21, 2026 | Episode 5525 Host: Scott Smith Episode Description People are watching you right now. Not in a creepy way. In a normal, human, sizing-you-up kind of way. They find you somewhere online, they binge your stuff, they ask AI about you, and then they quietly decide whether you're worth their time. I call it the shadow search, and it's happening whether you like it or not. Today I'll give you the two moves that turn all that watching into opportunity. One of them nobody wants to do anymore. The other takes more patience than most people have. Both of them still work. Let's go. Featured Story I was twenty-six, and I'd been to Larry's house: five thousand square feet, the cars, the whole thing. I wanted what he had, and I wanted it on my schedule, not his. So I pinned him down at the office and made my best case for a raise. I'd shown up. I'd done the work. He had gobs of money sitting right there, and I figured my share belonged in my pocket. Larry gave me an answer I did not want to hear at twenty-six. I stomped out and complained about it in the office kitchen. Twenty years later, I finally understood what he was actually telling me. Important Points * Outbound beats waiting around, so send the letter, knock on the door, and make the call nobody else will make. * Segment and target every piece of outreach, because blasting the same thing at everybody reads as noise, not help. * You can't manipulate what people find, so build something honest enough to survive their shadow search on you. Memorable Quotes * Sometimes you have to keep showing up long enough for the right people to notice. Then they will step up for you. * There is a hidden layer of successful people all around you, and they are keeping an eye out for somebody like you. * Just do what you do so people can see what you do, then reach out and give them the chance to get to know you. Scott's Three-Step Approach 1. Pick one person this week and reach out to them first with a real letter, a phone call, or a knock on their door. 2. Keep showing up the same honest way every day, so whatever they dig up about you backs up what you already told them. 3. Give it longer than feels comfortable, and then let the right people come to you once they have seen enough of you. Chapters 0:13 - People are watching and learning about you now 0:45 - The attention era and why outbound wins today 2:06 - The shadow search happening behind your back 3:33 - Why the influencer act finally stopped working 4:24 - Larry, a raise, and the answer I hated hearing 6:44 - The hidden layer of successful people watching 7:41 - Three cruises later, Donna finally said hello Connect With Me Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify Email: support@motivationtomove.com Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyscottsmith Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Don't Be a Negotiating Underdog

Daily Boost Podcast Don't Be a Negotiating Underdog August 20, 2026 | Episode 5524 Host: Scott Smith Episode Description Almost everything you do today involves negotiating something, squeezing your car into a parking spot, asking for the raise, and closing the deal that pays your bills this month. Most of us walk into those moments feeling like the underdog. Like the other person is holding all the cards and we're lucky to even be at the table. I want to fix that for you today. I'll take you to an airport food court, a contract with my fee scratched out, and the thirty seconds of silence that showed me what's really going on across the table. Come find out. Featured Story Twenty-five years ago I flew to Atlanta and spent a whole day with a client I couldn't afford to chase. My flight was forty minutes out when he pulled me into an airport food court, bought tacos, and slid my contract across the table. He'd scratched out my fee and written a number thirty percent lower. Then he handed me the pen. Sign it now, he said, and I'll write you a check right here. He knew I needed that money. He knew my wife was waiting on it. I looked at the clock, and I almost signed my name. Then I remembered something experience had already taught me, and I set the pen down. Important Points * A deal that starts bad never gets better, so walk away from anything that feels wrong before you ever sign it. * Everybody sitting at that table feels like the underdog, which means the fear you're carrying runs both ways too. * Price yourself fair instead of cheap, because a stupidly low number invites people to beat you down even more. Memorable Quotes * All parties feel like the underdog. All parties naturally feel they won't get the deal done at all. * When you're in a negotiation, make sure you really want it, because it's never going to get any better than day one. * These days I don't charge really stupidly low prices. I charge fair, reasonable prices. Scott's Three-Step Approach 1. Decide your walk-away number before you sit down, and know exactly where you will stand up and go home. 2. When they push back, restate your original terms one time, calmly, and give them a real deadline they can meet. 3. Then close your mouth and let the silence do the work, because whoever speaks first ends up handing over the ground. Chapters 0:02 - Why the happy theme music means a heavy topic 1:07 - The group that gets you when nobody else does 1:47 - Every single thing in your life is a negotiation 2:33 - Atlanta, a taco stand, and a ticking flight clock 4:14 - The scratched-out fee and the pen he handed me 5:48 - Everyone at that table is scared of the same thing 7:37 - Thirty seconds of silence and a signed contract Connect With Me Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify Email: support@motivationtomove.com Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyscottsmith Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Getting Things to Click

Daily Boost Podcast Getting Things to Click August 19, 2026 | Episode 5523 Host: Scott Smith Episode Description I hit the wrong theme music button this morning, and that's a decent metaphor for how most days go. You click something, and something happens. Twenty years into this show, people still ask what I'm really doing here. Am I selling something? Sure, I want clients. But that's not what gets me out of bed. What gets me out of bed is the click — that millisecond where your eyes open and everything shifts. I'm not here to give you notes to take. I'm here to pass out clicks, and today I'll show you exactly how one landed. Featured Story I was on a call this morning with a client up in New York. Smart guy, runs businesses, does really well. We were talking about how everybody's busier than ever now that we can all do more. Then he leaned back in his chair and asked me something. When do I get to do what I want? The look on his face was heartbreaking. I've heard that question a thousand times, and I still didn't see it coming. I let it sit. Didn't jump in. When I finally answered, he leaned forward and took a note. It wasn't the answer he wanted, but it opened his eyes. Important Points * You are not stuck. You are still thinking about it, and that is a very different problem with a much faster fix. * Clear the deck before you chase the dream. You cannot see what you want while everything else is still in the way. * Most of what fills your day is stuff you chose. Cut the few pieces you hate, and the rest starts to feel lighter. Memorable Quotes * The trick is the click. It's that millisecond in time where it just makes sense, and you sit back and finally get it. * It's impossible to know what you want to do when you're busy doing everything else that is sitting on your plate. * I'm passing out clicks because if I can give you just one single click, you will finally break free. Scott's Three-Step Approach 1. Clear the deck first. Finish the small things stacking up so you get some real space to think instead of react. 2. Once you have that space, name the two or three things you dislike the most and pull them out of your week. 3. Then use the room you made to test one thing you want to do, and let the next click pull you toward the one after. Chapters 0:03 - Wrong theme music and a day that still works 0:55 - Why I still show up after twenty years of this 2:02 - I don't want to give you note-taking moments 3:36 - A client in New York asks a heartbreaking question 5:13 - You are probably already doing what you want 7:17 - Clear the deck so you have room to think again 9:01 - One small click turns into unstoppable momentum Connect With Me Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify Email: support@motivationtomove.com Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyscottsmith Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]