One Question That Protects Everything

Daily Boost - Motivation and Coaching

Scott Smith

Health & Fitness, Business, Education, Self-improvement

3.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 November 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Episode Description On Monday, you wrote your internal mission. Tuesday, you discovered 80% of your daily actions are completely Irrelevant to your vision. Today, Scott gives you the one question that filters everything. No complicated system. No elaborate planning. No superhuman willpower. One question asked every single day that protects your vision from the thousands of opportunities trying to derail you. A client used this filter for just one week and avoided seven or eight things that would have derailed her for a month. The question forces you to be honest about whose agenda you're serving—yours or everyone else's. Fair warning: This might make you ruthless. That's the point. Featured Story She had a clear vision. She'd written out her internal and external missions just like Scott asked. But life kept getting in the way. Her phone wouldn't stop ringing. Opportunities showed up constantly. People needed things all the time. She was working incredibly hard but felt like she was moving backward. When Scott asked what she did when opportunities arrived, she admitted the truth: "I listen. I think about it. I consider if I have time. And then I usually say yes because I don't want to disappoint anyone. I figure it out later." She was making dozens of decisions every day without a filter. No wonder she was exhausted. Scott taught her one question. She didn't believe it could be that simple. But after one week, she'd avoided seven or eight derailments that would have cost her a month of progress. The question changed everything. Important Points Every single day, thousands of opportunities will cross your path trying to detour you from what you want. Most opportunities that show up in life are other people's dreams disguised as your opportunities. There is no neutral—you are either moving closer to what you want or moving away from it. Memorable Quotes "Will this opportunity move me closer to the lifestyle I desire, or further away?" "Most emails are usually somebody else's to-do list being sent to you." "Every yes to something that doesn't deserve your attention is a no to something that does." Scott's Three-Step Approach Before you say yes to anything, ask yourself if this opportunity moves you closer to your desired lifestyle or further away. Remember, there is no neutral—time, energy, and attention are finite resources. Be ruthless with your filter but not mean—protect your vision without explaining or justifying yourself to anyone. Chapter Notes 0:40 - One question that filters everything daily 1:41 - Client overwhelmed by life getting in the way 3:12 - The powerful question that changes decisions 4:48 - Thousands of opportunities derail you daily 6:18 - Most opportunities are someone else's dreams 7:16 - You don't have to justify your no to anyone 8:06 - There is no neutral—closer or further away Connect With Me Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify Email: [email protected] Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast Instagram: @heyscottsmith Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook decision making, protecting your vision, saying no, opportunity filter, lifestyle design, vision protection, daily filter question, boundary setting, ruthless prioritization, serving your agenda, defending your vision, avoiding distractions, time management, energy management, attention management, finite resources, mission alignment, closer or further away, goal protection, intentional living, practical wisdom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	what's happening happy happy wednesday come on in here so monday we're talking about internal external
0:19.3	missions things like that and then the 80% that is getting in your way. Interesting way, 80% of what you do every single day
0:25.8	is literally, I mean, you're protecting. By doing that stuff, you're protecting the same things
0:31.7	that are taking away from your ability to become who you want to be. Man, keeping you from what's
0:36.7	relevant in your life. Today, I want to dive into something that keeping you from what's relevant in your life.
0:38.0	Today, I want to dive into something. It's kind of simple. It's pretty powerful. I use it to protect my vision. My clients use it as well. It's one question asked every single day. That's it. No complicated system. Elaborate planning. Willpower. Willpower. One question. Filter out everything. and I will show you how it works.
0:54.6	It's a daily boost from Motivation.com.
0:56.8	Every single thing you hear on these shows today, One question. Filter at everything. And I will show you how it works.
0:54.6	It's a daily boost from Motivation.com.
0:56.9	Every single thing you hear on these shows today. By the way, my name is Scott. Thanks for stopping by. I know I talk too fast. I get it. All right. Get excited. Everything you single here. I mean, this is nothing that I go out and like do the AI and say me what to talk about. This all comes from coaching clients,
1:09.4	comes from experience,
1:10.2	comes some massive studies over the years,
1:11.8	and my ability to kind of observe the world,
1:13.7	I call it observational motivation. Hey, tell me what to talk about. This all comes from coaching clients, come some experience, comes some massive studies over the years.
1:11.8	And my ability to kind of observe the world, I call it observational motivation. What I mean by that is say, okay, what motivates people, what stops people, what's actually working, what's not. And I kind of just throw the rest of it away. So what you're hearing this week is just stuff that I have just learned over time, all put together in a beautiful five days of free shows.
1:27.4	It's awesome stuff.
1:28.7	So a few years ago, I was talking to a client who was completely overwhelmed, duh, who hasn't been completely overwhelmed at least 10 times of their life, right? She had a pretty clear vision. She knew what she wanted. She'd even written out that internal mission, like I'd asked her to do it, the internal and the external, the two things, it's on Monday show. But every day, life kept getting in the way. Oh, oh, stop the presses. Life will always get in the way. There's nothing you can do about it. That's pretty negative, Scott. No, it's not. It's just honest. It's truthful. The truth is, the truth is, it's not bad. It's how it is. opportunities. Opportunities show up left and right. People need things all the time, right? Her phone at this case wouldn't stop ringing. She couldn't figure out why. I said, well, you don't have to answer. You can turn it off. I can't turn my phone off. It's got an off switch. You actually can. Hmm. All this activity, she felt like she was moving backward.
2:18.5	Do you ever feel that way?
2:19.2	I bet you did.
2:20.0	I bet you do.
2:21.1	Working so hard, but I can't.
2:22.2	I'm just two steps forward, one step back, that kind of thing.
	...

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