Daily Boost — Motivation and Personal Growth

Daily Boost Podcast

9-Year Life Cycle: How to Plan Your Life Around Where You Are

November 4, 2026 | Episode 5583

Host: Scott Smith

Go beyond the boost! Join my Skool group at https://faceyourpassion.com.

Episode Description

Life runs in patterns. If you've been around long enough, you've seen them repeat again and again.

Today I'm sharing something my friend and spiritual advisor Lewis Gates taught me 25 years ago. It's called the nine-year life cycle, and it fits this time of year for planning perfectly.

It's a little woo-woo. I know. But I've watched it play out in my own life and with client after client. You'll learn the nine stages, from asking for something new to clearing the clutter, and figure out which year you're in right now. Then plan around it.

Featured Story

I can tell how old my notes on this are. My first notes on the nine-year life cycle stop at age 54. I guess I never figured I'd get past that cycle.

Now I'm turning 67. So I did the math live on the show, which isn't easy at my age. I'm in year five, the year of evaluation.

That stopped me. I'm looking at everything I've built, where I'm going, and what I want. I didn't even know I was doing it. I just started.

It's why I'm changing this show after 20 years. I've also said for years I'll make another shift around 71. The cycle ends at 72.

Important Points

* Your life runs in nine-year cycles from birth. Count from 0, 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, or 72 to find where you are.

* Year five is evaluation. If you've spent the last year searching for a different path, you might be right on schedule.

* Whatever you do every day is your purpose right now, whether you like it or not. Pay attention to where your time goes.

Memorable Quotes

* Life is nothing more than patterns. If you've been alive long enough, you start to recognize the ones that repeat.

* Whatever you do every single day, 24 hours a day, that is your purpose. Whether you like it or not, that's your purpose.

* You can't keep building on top of things forever. You've got to make some space for what is coming next in your life.

Scott's Three-Step Approach

* Count from your last cycle start: 0, 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, or 72, to figure out which of the nine years you're in.

* Read what that year usually brings- asking, focusing, gathering, evaluating, or clearing- and look for it in your life.

* Build your 2027 plan around that stage, so you're working with the season you're in instead of fighting against it.

Chapters

0:18 - Why planning matters more the older you get

1:37 - The show is changing, but it isn't coming to an end

3:46 - Lewis Gates and the nine-year life cycle he taught me

5:37 - Every nine years a new cycle starts, from birth on

6:23 - Years one to four: asking, focus, goodies, purpose

8:35 - Year five is evaluation, and that's where I am now

9:58 - Years seven to nine: clear the clutter, decide next

Connect With Me

Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify

Join my Face Your Passion Skool group: https://faceyourpassion.com.

* 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

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Daily Boost Podcast

80/20 Rule: More Is on the Other Side of Less

November 3, 2026 | Episode 5582

Host: Scott Smith

Go beyond the boost! Join my Skool group at https://faceyourpassion.com.

Episode Description

Eighty percent of what you're doing today is messing with you. You're spending your day managing stuff that doesn't move you forward.

We all do it. We add hacks, frameworks, apps, and blueprints because nobody likes having things taken away.

Today I'm taking the 80/20 rule you've heard a hundred times and adding some special sprinkles on top. More is on the other side of less. The people who get what they want are subtractive. I'll show you why, and I'll throw in a Tesla story that proves the point. Find your 20 percent and start cutting.

Featured Story

Twenty-some years ago, I watched David Allen teach his Getting Things Done system. It's an awesome system. After the talk, I walked up on stage and asked him what most people won't.

Let me know what you do. Not what you wrote.

He smiled, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a folded yellow sheet from a legal pad. He told me he carries it around all week.

I cracked up. That was his review. That was how he ran his life.

I can't tell you how many executives I've met since then with one piece of paper in their pocket. I carry one too. It changed how I think about keeping up.

Important Points

* Only 20 percent of what you do gets you results. Find those few actions first, then question why you keep the rest.

* Adding more means more to manage. The people who get what they want are subtractive. They take things off the plate.

* You likely know enough to do what you want already. What's missing is discipline, desire, and the nerve to cut stuff.

Memorable Quotes

* More is on the other side of less. The people who actually get what they want in life are subtractive in nature.

* Instead of keeping up, get rid of the stuff you're trying to keep up with. Then you won't have to keep up anymore.

* If you're not making the money you want, I guarantee you're not focused on the right 20 percent of your day.

Scott's Three-Step Approach

* Write down everything you did this week, then circle the 20 percent that actually moved your results or your money.

* Take a hard look at the other 80 percent and decide what you can drop, hand off, or stop managing starting today.

* Cut those things and keep your day so simple you know what matters without checking a system or a review again.

Chapters

0:20 - My wife's princess life gives me a prince's life

1:01 - Buying a Tesla got me thinking about efficiency

4:08 - The 80/20 rule with some special sprinkles on top

5:21 - Why we keep adding hacks when we need to subtract

7:20 - What David Allen pulled out of his pocket on stage

8:54 - The Tesla app versus the car dealer's back room

11:40 - My Australian shepherd and a NASCAR recliner

Connect With Me

Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify

Join my Face Your Passion Skool group: https://faceyourpassion.com.

* 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
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Daily Boost Podcast

Finish the Year Strong: No More, Many More, and Planning for 2027

November 2, 2026 | Episode 5581

Host: Scott Smith

Go beyond the boost! Join my Skool group at https://faceyourpassion.com.

Episode Description

Most people wait until New Year's Eve, grab a glass of champagne, and try to plan a whole year in sixty seconds. That's not you.

High achievers plan in November. They settle things before Thanksgiving, enjoy December, and hit the ground running in January.

Today I'm walking you through the first steps I take my private clients through. No wheel of life. No stack of goals you'll never reach. Just a debrief brief, a look at what you'll create, and two simple lists I call the no mores and the many mores. Grab a pen and think.

Featured Story

The government keeps handing me titles. Two years ago they said I was a senior citizen. I told them to get out of my face.

Now they say I hit full retirement age on November 21st. Evidently that means I get to stop—recliner and crosswords for me.

It's not even possible.

Last year's word of the year was six-seven. I'm turning sixty-seven. This year's word is maxing, so I'm thinking about some six-seven maxing.

That takes planning too. Your mindset changes at this stage. I'm asking what more fun I can have and who else I can impact. That's why I'm changing the show. I'm not retiring. I'm rewiring.

Important Points

* Plan in November. Settle the big decisions before the holidays, rest in December, and start January already moving.

* Start with a retrospective debrief. Write a page on how this year went and how you felt, not just which goals you hit.

* Skip the values list up front. If you haven't done the awareness work, you'll make up your values and get them wrong.

Memorable Quotes

* You can't make a whole year plan in 60 seconds with a glass of champagne and a girl on your arm on New Year's Eve.

* You filled out your wheel of life last year, and it ran you over this year. So I think differently about planning.

* In year-end planning, we don't want to do anything about it. We want to create on top of it. That's the difference.

Scott's Three-Step Approach

* Look over your shoulder at this year and write a paragraph or a page about what happened, why, and how it felt to you.

* Use that debrief to decide what you'll create in 2027. Don't rush into action yet. Build something new on top of it.

* List your no mores, the things that are gone for good, then your many mores, the things you love and want more of.

Chapters

0:13 - Fifteen takes later, this Monday show rolls finally

1:02 - Why high achievers do their planning in November

4:07 - The government says I'm retiring on November 21st

6:06 - The debrief brief: looking back over your shoulder

7:48 - Prospection: you can build the track for your horse

9:22 - No mores, many mores, and why values come later

11:02 - Not retiring, rewiring, and becoming Benjamin Button

Connect With Me

Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify

Join my Face Your Passion Skool group: https://faceyourpassion.com.

* 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
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Daily Boost Podcast

Motivation Isn't Dead. You're Just Using It for the Wrong Job.

October 30, 2026 | Episode 5580

Host: Scott Smith

Go beyond the boost! Join my Skool group at https://faceyourpassion.com

Episode Description

The internet says motivation is dead. Jocko says count on discipline. My buddy Billy says all you need is execution.

I get it. I don't buy it.

I've worked with some of the most disciplined people in the world, and they still call me saying they need help getting moving. Today I'm throwing a few stones at the motivation-sucks crowd and showing you why motivation, discipline, and execution are three tools with three different jobs. Use the wrong one, and you'll blame yourself. Plus one question to ask before your weekend starts.

Featured Story

I have a lot of friends who do podcasts. Or want to. Some tell me they record one every couple of weeks, and that's okay. Others can't get themselves into the studio.

Then some of them finally come in, record an episode, and never post it.

I asked one of them why not. I can do five a day, and you can't post one every three or four weeks?

They aren't short on motivation. They're fired up about it. Something else is in the way.

This show is 5,600 episodes, every day for 20 years. Plenty of mornings I walked in here not feeling it at all. I showed up anyway.

Important Points

* Motivation is your why, discipline is showing up, and execution is knowing the next step. Each one has its own job.

* If you're fired up and still not moving, you either don't know the next step or you're scared of it. Fix that first.

* Shrink the job with an if-then plan. If this happens, then I'll do that. One small, clear step beats a wall of tasks.

Memorable Quotes

* People say motivation doesn't last. Neither does taking a bath. That's why we recommend it daily. It's maintenance.

* Discipline can't march you down a road you can't see. That's not a character flaw. That's just being human, guys.

* Motivation gets you to the start line, and it brings you back. Discipline keeps you showing up. Execution makes it real.

Scott's Three-Step Approach

* Let motivation do its job. Find what inspires you and use that spark to get yourself up to the starting line today.

* Build the discipline to show up every day, even on the mornings you're not feeling it, so the work keeps moving.

* When you stall, make an if-then plan for the next step, take it, and let motivation pull you home on the final lap.

Chapters

0:12 - Happy Friday, and some TMI you didn't ask for

1:48 - The question to ask before your weekend even starts

2:31 - Jocko, my buddy Billy, and the motivation-is-dead crowd

4:35 - Three tools, three jobs, and why you blame yourself

5:44 - Why every coach is suddenly selling you a framework

7:20 - The if-then plan that shrinks a scary next step

8:56 - 5,600 episodes and all the days I wasn't feeling it

Connect With Me

Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify

Join my Face Your Passion Skool group: https://faceyourpassion.com

* 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
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Daily Boost Podcast

Most Businesses Don't Fail. The Owners Run Out of Time.

October 29, 2026 | Episode 5579

Host: Scott Smith

Go beyond the boost! Join my Skool group at https://faceyourpassion.com

Episode Description

Resilience is just about everything. And it's simpler than you think.

Ask ChatGPT or Claude how to stick with something, and you'll get a list of 50 things. You don't need 50. You need four honest questions.

I've picked these up over years of coaching business owners, and I still ask them in my groups every week. They're common sense, but most people never sit down and answer them. Today I'm walking you through all four, and why most people who quit didn't fail. They ran out of time or money first. Hang on for the ride.

Featured Story

Our HOA said paint the fence. It's a 20-year-old wrought iron fence, well made and expensive to replace, so painting it made sense. Simple enough.

Except it wasn't. We had to find people, get estimates, listen to how each one would do the job, and figure out the right way when we didn't even know what right looked like.

Then the crew showed up to spray paint it on a windy day. They pressure washed, sanded, primed, and laid down two coats. I watched how hard they pushed.

When they finished, they were all smiling, and they got paid fast. And it hit me how much resilience it took from all of us to make a fence better.

Important Points

* Whatever you think it'll take to learn your new business, it'll take longer. Plan for it, and lean on what you know.

* Decide you'll work as long as it takes. Put a three-year limit on it, and you've already set yourself up to fail.

* Know how long your money will last before you start. With six months of runway and no real plan, don't even start.

Memorable Quotes

* You're broke when you have no keys to anything. If you have any assets at all, you have more money than you think.

* When I set this business up, I said I'm willing to work as long as it takes. I don't care. I like what I'm doing.

* If you've never made $500,000 a year before, you don't understand what that feels like. You're just guessing, guys.

Scott's Three-Step Approach

* Figure out honestly how long it'll take to learn what you need to succeed, then add time, because it's always longer.

* Decide how long you're willing to work for it and how long your money will last, and make sure both cover that time.

* Set a realistic number for what you'll earn once money comes in, based on real figures, not what the internet says.

Chapters

0:15 - Four questions, not the 50 things ChatGPT hands you

1:16 - A windy day, a wrought iron fence, and a really hard job

3:21 - The struggling martial arts school that started it all

4:08 - Why it always takes longer to learn than you think

7:01 - How long your money will last, and when you're really broke

8:47 - How $100K a year quietly turned into $20,000 a month

Connect With Me

Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify

Join my Face Your Passion Skool group: https://faceyourpassion.com

* 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
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