Daily Boost — Motivation and Coaching

Daily Boost Podcast

Money and Muscles

July 14, 2026 | Episode 5497

Host: Scott Smith

Episode Description

I stayed home over the holiday, skipped Virginia, and wrote 25,000 words in seven days. That's what motivation does.

Today I'm talking about my friend Croy, who's about to run 110 miles across Death Valley and climb Mount Whitney — solo, unassisted, at 55. He's scared, and that's the point.

I'm digging into why setting a goal with a wall at the end changes you from the inside out, whether you reach it or not. Plus money, muscles, and the strange currencies that keep us moving.

Featured Story

My friend Croix is getting ready to run across Death Valley. On August 5th, he starts at Badwater, 250 feet below sea level, and runs 110 miles across the desert toward Lone Pine. Then he climbs Mount Whitney, peaking near 15,000 feet. Solo. Unassisted. Towing a wagon. Trying to break a 48-hour record at 55 years old.

We worked together to get him a sponsor, and he told me last night he's scared. His body is acting up. He's pulling 75-mile training days and second-guessing everything.

I asked him why he's doing it. He said he'll have to die on the course to finish. That's a man who found his motivation.

Important Points

One of the greatest ways to get motivated is to set a goal with a wall at the end. The payoff is who you become, not just reaching it.

The minute you set a nearly impossible goal and step into it, it changes you from the inside out — win or lose. That's the payoff.

Motivation is multifold. Find the benefit that keeps you showing up, even if it's not the one you put on the poster. That's the payoff.

Memorable Quotes

It doesn't matter whether you achieve the goal. The minute you set it and step into it, everything starts changing. That's the payoff.

I don't like to do impossible things because they're impossible. The only time I do them is when I don't know they are.

When you set a goal like running across Death Valley, first you think it's stupid. Then you can't wait to try it.

Scott's Three-Step Approach

Start by setting a goal so big it scares you — something with a wall at the end that you almost think you can't do. The payoff is the change it creates.

Then step into it immediately, because the change begins the minute you commit, not the day you finally finish. That's the payoff.

Finally, borrow motivation from someone else's climb. Tie your goal to theirs and let their finish line pull you. That's the payoff.

Chapters

0:01 - The staycation secret I almost didn't share

1:34 - Skipping Disney to write 25,000 words instead

2:13 - Croy's solo run across Death Valley in August

4:25 - Setting a goal with a wall at the end of it

6:50 - Cardio, the stair mill, and honest motivation

8:58 - What Elon Musk said about money and muscles

10:07 - My own kill-yourself goal on the climb mill

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

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Stop Looking for It: Motivation Is Automatic

July 13, 2026 | Episode 5496

Host: Scott Smith

Episode Description

Most people I know are out looking for motivation. I think that's silly, and yes, I'll die on that mountain.

You don't have to find motivation. You were born with it. It's automatic, already running inside you, waiting for you to notice it. The very fact you're searching proves it's there.

Today I'm unpacking why chasing motivation keeps you stuck, what the motivation monster is really saying when it chases you, and what happens to your execution the minute you recognize the gift you've carried since the delivery room. Stop looking and press play.

Featured Story

I was walking down a hallway at a convention when my friend Joel Comm came after me, yelling, "Hey Scott, motivate me!" Joel is a New York Times bestselling author with 17 books. He answers when I call. And there he was, chasing me down like I had something he needed.

I froze. I have no power to motivate anybody. I started this business thinking I would motivate people, and one of my very first listeners, Jim, used to say the same thing. "Scott, motivate me." I had no idea how to do it.

That hallway taught me something I've never let go of. Everything in life is motivated by something else, and the person asking is already motivated.

Important Points

The number one thing you can do when you're looking for motivation is move. Move your body, and everything else moves.

The very fact you're looking for motivation means you're already motivated. It's been in you since the delivery room.

Once you recognize motivation is automatic, execution takes care of itself. Nobody fired up can hold themselves back.

Memorable Quotes

Life begins when you move — intellectually, emotionally, and physically. If you move, everything in your life moves.

The motivation monster isn't chasing you. It's saying Wait, don't run so fast; let me catch you. It's already yours.

Motivation is automatic. You were born with it; it's already there, and once you recognize it, you can never unsee it.

Scott's Three-Step Approach

Start by moving your body, because motion is the number one trigger that wakes up everything else waiting inside you.

Then notice the wanting itself. The fact that you're even out looking for motivation is proof it's already alive in you.

Finally, let that automatic drive run. Once you see it, execution follows on its own, and nothing holds you back.

Chapters

0:02 - Feeling like a North Carolina cabin deck day

1:11 - Why looking for motivation might be silly

1:34 - Jim, the first listener who said Motivate me

3:38 - Joel Comm chases me down a convention hallway

4:57 - What the motivation monster is really saying

6:19 - The real monster is hustle and grind culture

7:54 - Motivation is automatic, and you were born with it

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Description

A goal without a launchpad is just a daydream without a deadline. Today we build the structure that makes your Mars mission real before you move a single inch.

I think SMART goals are stupid, at least the time-based, realistic part. Ask Elon how long Mars should take. A big goal doesn't fit in a tidy box.

What it needs is one thing. A decision to begin, a date on the calendar, and a few visible markers so you can feel yourself moving. Build it to pull you forward, not push you. Let's build your launchpad.

Featured Story

I'm recording this on Monday the 29th, right before I head out on vacation.

I've got a goal that splits the year in two, the first half from the second. So every single thing I'm doing today and tomorrow is cleanup. Clearing stuff out, tying off loose ends, getting it all off my plate.

I'm not white-knuckling it. I'm building momentum on purpose. When July 1st hits and I kick into the next stage, the obvious next step is already carrying me there.

That's a launchpad. The decision is made, the date is set, and the runway is clear. All I have to do then is light it up.

Important Points

A goal without a launchpad is a daydream without a deadline. Make it real before you move with a date and a structure.

The decision to begin is the one move that fuels everything after it. Decide first, and the motivation shows up next.

Lay small visible markers between here and your goal. They prove you're moving so you don't get lost in the dark middle.

Memorable Quotes

A goal without a launchpad is a daydream that doesn't have a deadline. Your daydream without a deadline is nothing.

There is one thing that gives you the motivation to continue your goal, and that is the decision to begin it. Decide.

You decide to go, you go. Your commitment is automatic if you're motivated enough to reach the freedom on the far side.

Scott's Three-Step Approach

Start by making one clear decision to begin, because that single choice is what fuels every step that comes after it.

Next, make it real before it's real, naming a date, putting it on the calendar, and saying the goal out loud to someone.

Then lay visible markers down the runway, benchmarks that prove your momentum so you never stall in the dark middle.

Chapters

1:53 - A goal without a launchpad is just a daydream

2:42 - Why SMART goals are stupid for a big goal

4:15 - The decision to begin is your only motivation

5:31 - Make it real with a date you say out loud

5:58 - Anticipation is the fuel that pulls you forward

6:37 - Designing the next step to be totally obvious

7:29 - Runway markers that prove you are moving

Connect With Me

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

If you enjoy the Daily Boost, you might like Notes From Scott. A few mornings each week, I send a short note with something I've been thinking about or noticing lately. Sometimes those ideas turn into podcast episodes later. You can sign up at https://notesfromscott.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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Episode Description

We've got the planet in sight. Today you name your Mars mission, the one goal so big it almost scares you to say it out loud.

Forget the vision board the size of a wall. You don't need ten goals. You need one, the single goal that makes everything else either serve it or fall away.

The right goal pulls you. You'd chase it even if nobody else cared or noticed. The wrong one just pushes you around to impress other people. Today we find the one that's been sitting on the tip of your tongue. Come name it.

Featured Story

I had a client once with a Harley-Davidson on his vision board.

He made good money, so I told him to take it off the board and go buy the thing. He hesitated. Said maybe he'd put two-thirds down and carry a small payment. I told him I don't give financial advice; just go buy your motorcycle.

He did. Loved every minute of it. Then he called me back. Now I have a payment, Scott. Thank you; great coaching.

The point wasn't the bike. A vision board the size of a wall keeps real goals at arm's length. Sometimes the move is to stop dreaming and just go get it.

Important Points

You don't need ten goals or a giant vision board. You need one goal big enough to make the rest serve it or fall away.

Spread your fuel across ten rockets, and none of them leave the ground. Pour it into one, and that one actually flies.

The right goal pulls you, and you chase it for its own sake. The wrong goal pushes you to impress people who don't care.

Memorable Quotes

You need one goal. The single biggest goal that makes everything else either serve it or fall away. It's your mission.

Spread your fuel across ten rockets, and none of them leaves the ground. Pour it into one rocket, and you get to go.

The right goal pulls you. You'd chase it even if nobody cared. The wrong goal pushes you. Pick the one that pulls you.

Scott's Three-Step Approach

Start by pushing your goal bigger and bigger, past comfortable, until you reach the scary one sitting on your tongue.

Next, pour all your fuel into that single rocket, letting everything smaller either serve the mission or fall away.

Then run the freedom check, keeping the goal only if nailing it hands you the whole life and freedom you actually want.

Chapters

0:56 - The scary goal sitting on the tip of your tongue

1:28 - Using Claude to label a transformational goal

2:22 - A Harley and a vision board the size of a wall

3:00 - Ten rockets, or all your fuel poured into one

5:04 - The right goal pulls, the wrong goal pushes you

5:56 - Finding the work you would happily do for free

7:18 - The freedom check that names your Mars mission

Connect With Me

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

If you enjoy the Daily Boost, you might like Notes From Scott. A few mornings each week, I send a short note with something I've been thinking about or noticing lately. Sometimes those ideas turn into podcast episodes later. You can sign up at https://notesfromscott.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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices