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Success Advice

Are SMART Goals Holding You Back?

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Everyone’s always talking about their GOALS. They want to make it seem like they’re making some great big strides toward some region of perfection that they’re going to nail like a bullseye with their focus, intention, manifestation, whatever. And the framework they apply to this?

SMART Goals!

Yup. That vestigial acronymous pulp of industrial-age gaslighting. “Whoa!” I can hear you saying. “Pulp? Gaslighting? But…this is the most important and effective way to structure your goals so you know what you’re looking for in life!!”

Really? OK, SMART guy. Let’s dig in…

S = Specific. Cool. How specific do you want to get? Do you want X dollars in the bank? What if you end up with more? Less? Is that a failed goal? What if your ACTUAL goal is to feel great about what you do every day? How specific is that? Specificity is a moving goalpost, folks. 

M = Measurable. I’m good with this, to an extent. What gets measured gets managed, right? Unless, of course, the goal is something that can’t be measured. Like a feeling. Or a place. Or a condition. 

A = Achievable (or attainable). Here’s where the baron class rears its head on this one. Achievable for whom, exactly? For the person telling you it’s not? Or for you? Or for someone else who’s done it? Think of anything you’d like to do in life. If even ONE person in history has done it, it’s achievable. Any reason not to is a limitation.

R = Realistic (or relevant). I don’t like the “relevant” version, because obviously if you have something you want to do it’s relevant to you, and that’s all the relevance you need. But…realistic? I picture a maudlin old filme noir with a guy at desk saying, “some day, you’ll all be workin’ for me,” and big boss man with a fat cigar and oiled back hair laughing, “be serious…you’re a desk jockey, and that’s all you’ll ever be! Just be happy you have a job with a good pension!” Everything that surrounds you in life, from your shoes to your computer to the paint on your walls to the device in your hand that can access ALL of human knowledge in milliseconds–all of it– was created by people no smarter or more talented than you. Except, to them, “realistic” was a fluid concept.

T = Time-based. Another one. A deadline. Make it happen by [DATE] or you failed to achieve your goal (ergo: it’s not Achievable). Except…what happens if you reach it a year later? Or earlier? Or never, but you still feel amazing? The time-based structure is another system-based marker to determine the validity of a goal, and it’s simply not right. Not for lifetime goals.

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” —Pablo Picasso

SMART is old news. SMART keeps people average, but gives them the illusion of doing something extraordinary. SMART is comfort, pretending to push you out of your comfort zone.

SMART actually works really well for business projects: We need to get X results (specific) up to Y level (measurable), on Z budget (achievable) with A deviations (realistic), by the end B months (time-based). 

Your life is not a company project. So don’t confuse SMART goals with feeling or intuitive goals. Of course plan for what you want, but pay attention to the two actual types of goals you’re pursuing:

Process goals. These are the goals that take you toward the thing you actually want. Funny enough, they’re not goals in themselves, but steps along the path. “I got into graduate school!” isn’t a goal. It’s a process goal. Why are you going to graduate school?

Ends goals. These are the goals you’re actually seeking. The thing you want, to give you the feeling you want, based on the intuition you have about your path.

How do you know? Think about the next thing on your list. The next milestone. Is that a goal? If you think it is, say the thing out loud. Then add “so that” to the end of it, and complete the sentence.

  • “I want to lose 20 lbs by summer.” so that…
  • “I can feel better about myself.” so that…
  • “I can spend more time with my family.” so that…
  • “I will be able to enjoy them as long as possible.” so that…
  • “They will remember me at my best.”

You see? The goal isn’t the 20 lbs. It’s the idea of making an impact, of FEELING like they’re going to be remembered at their best.

This is only an example. You can do “so thats” all the way down, and probably go on forever for some goals. But the point is, know when your goal is a process goal, and when it’s an end goal. And don’t worry if you’re not SMART about it…you’ll know when you’re on the right track when you can feel, intuitively, that you’re doing what you need to be doing, and you feel comfortable with it.

Steve Baric is an ISSA Elite Trainer, Nutritionist, and Transformation Specialist, as well as a certified Master Life Coach. As the founder of the Man Under Construction Project, he helps men recover from the trauma and confusion of divorce. His annual fall fitness challenge, Your Personal Reset Button, helps busy moms and dads shed extra pounds and reset their metabolic hormones in the privacy of their own homes.

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Change Your Mindset

You Become What You Absorb: How Input Shapes Your Life

We let the world dictate who we spend time with and what input we allow in, rarely stopping to consider the effects it’s having on us

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How Input Shapes Your Life
Image Credit: Midjourney

“Input” is anything from the outside world that influences your mood, mindset, and emotional state. It includes the media you consume, the books you read, the podcasts and music you listen to, and the movies and shows you watch. But it also encompasses much more: the environment you live and work in, the conversations you have, the people you surround yourself with, and the events, personal or global, that unfold around you. (more…)

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Success Advice

This Overlooked Skill Drives Real Business Growth

It strengthens relationships, enhances decision-making, and fosters trust.

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Importance of listening in leadership
Image Credit: Midjourney

In every successful leader’s toolkit, one skill stands out above the rest: the ability to listen. While good leaders are known for making confident decisions, great leaders understand that those decisions are only as strong as the information they’re based on. And that information? It comes from truly listening to their teams, peers, and even critics. (more…)

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Scale Your Business

Tired of Wasting Money on the Wrong Marketers? Here’s How Smart Entrepreneurs Are Finally Hiring Right

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truthmetric, burning money on marketing

If you’ve ever Googled how to hire a Facebook marketer or best TikTok marketing agency only to spend thousands on someone who couldn’t deliver…congrats, you’ve joined a very expensive club! For many entrepreneurs, hiring a digital marketer feels like more like visiting a casino and gambling with your runway, than it feels like securing a partner who’ll help build your business. Often,  it feels like you’re betting on a stranger to grow the dream you’ve poured your savings into.

And way too often, you lose that bet.

You don’t need another list of the “Top 10 Agencies” with five-star testimonials and polished logos. You need to know which marketer can actually drive results for your business. Not in theory. In practice.

This is where entrepreneurs are learning to pivot. And it’s why a new platform called TruthMetric.com is turning heads across the startup world.

Why Most Startups Burn Through 3–6 Marketers Before Finding the Right One

Here’s the hard truth: most startups don’t fail because of their product, they fail because they can’t get sales or sell it fast enough. And in trying to fix that, founders usually go through five or six marketers, burning tens of thousands before finding someone who truly knows how to convert.

You build your product, get your website live, maybe even launch an ad campaign. But when you search for help and look up how to “hire a YouTube ads agency” or “top Facebook ad expert for Shopify”, you get hit with a sea of shiny portfolios, “ninja” titles, and endless promises.

Three months later, you’re still waiting on your first profitable campaign, and you’re most likely out tens of thousands, feeling utterly defeated…and maybe grinning with an affinity for that upcoming boxing class with a picture of that marketer’s fac……nevermind.

If this sounds like you, it’s time for what one entrepreneur called a strategic shift to scale smarter, not harder.

Introducing TruthMetric.com: The Transparent Marketplace for Hiring Marketers Who Deliver

TruthMetric.com isn’t just another freelancer platform or agency directory. It’s the first hiring solution where you can see three years of real, verified marketing performance before spending a dime.

That includes:

  • Verified ad campaign performance
  • Actual return on ad spend (ROAS)
  • Industry-specific experience
  • Platform specialties (Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Google Ads, and more)

Whether you’re looking for a Facebook ads expert, a TikTok marketer, or a YouTube growth strategist, TruthMetric.com lets you filter and compare based on what actually matters, results.

This level of clarity is something you won’t find on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. And it solves what many founders know too well as the New York Pizza Problem: where every marketer claims they’re “the best,” just like every pizzeria in Manhattan says they’re #1. Often without showing you results, you get sucked into this dream of collaboration, until the nightmare commences the moment you fork that first invoice payment. Hence the deception that leads to many business owners losing their hard earned savings and budget to launch their grand idea.

With TruthMetric, you finally get the data to decide for yourself, BEFORE you hire. Now if only New York Pizza shops had the same transparency then maybe you’d finally find the best pizza in New York, perhaps the perfect post work out after a boxing sesh? I think so!

Why Founders Are Shifting to Results-First Hiring

Most entrepreneurs think they need to do it all themselves, until they burn out or burn through their budget. That’s exactly why this founder had to drop the Superman complex and hire a marketing genius.

What makes TruthMetric so powerful is that it turns hiring into a confident move, not a hopeful one. You’re no longer guessing. You’re choosing from proven performers. You know what vertical they dominate. You know their past client performance. You see the monthly results from the campaigns they ran, and the outcomes they achieved.

It’s not just efficient. It’s empowering.

Scaling Quickly Requires Automation and Eliminating the Noise

Founders who scale quickly understand one thing: growth isn’t just about hustle, it’s about systems. TruthMetric is the system for finding great marketers at speed. No more DM’ing ten freelancers or interviewing agencies feeling like you are asking the world of them to just see some prior results. Instead you get to see the information you need to make an informed decision and plug into verified talent, all ready to perform.

This difference allows for you to match perfectly with the right talent quickly. If you’re building your business to run lean and fast, this convenience plugged in with automation can help you scale your small business right alongside your new marketing hires.

Why TruthMetric Is Also a Boon for Marketers, Not Just Founders

This isn’t just a win for founders, it is a gift for great marketers, too.

If you’re a freelance marketer who’s been quietly pulling 10x ROAS for clients while being passed over for flashy agencies, you now have a stage where your results speak louder than your brand.

TruthMetric is a true meritocracy. No fluff. No sales tricks. Just data.

If you’re tired of being overlooked and ready to stand out based on what you actually deliver, this is your home.

The Secret Weapon for Investors and M&A Operators

There’s another angle here that some of our readers might miss.

Investors, private equity firms, and M&A advisors should be drooling at the thought of having a proven talent pool they can plug and play and the ability to use TruthMetric to revive underperforming companies. Imagine acquiring a business or becoming an active investor, then dropping in a verified operator with a history of explosive growth in that niche.

It’s plug-and-play. Scale on demand.

That kind of insight has never been available before. You couldn’t do this on Upwork. You certainly can’t do it through a friend-of-a-friend referral. 

And when it comes to attracting high-performing talent, here’s how to hire top talent and keep them around.

Let’s Really Drive This Home…

If you’ve wasted money on agencies or freelancers who couldn’t deliver, it’s not because you’re bad at hiring, it’s because the game was stacked against you. Trusting dreamy charismatic sales pitches over data was a doomed approach from the start. 

TruthMetric levels the playing field by showing you what no other talent marketplace does and that’s proof.

Real marketers. Real results. Real growth.

It’s time to stop guessing and start hiring based on data.
Visit TruthMetric.com and make your next marketing hire the one that actually works.

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Personal Development

The Real Reason Successful People Are Never Late

More than just good manners, punctuality is a vital professional and personal trait.

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Successful people are punctual
Image Credit: Midjourney

How do you feel when your flight is delayed, throwing your entire schedule into chaos? Or when a patient dies due to a doctor’s tardiness? What about missing a job opportunity because your driver showed up late? And how do you react when someone walks in late without the basic courtesy of apologizing? (more…)

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