Hard Things Make You Grow

Jan 15, 2026

Explore the fascinating tension of being an optimistic pessimist as the host shares how to rise after life's setbacks. A pivotal coaching call reveals the importance of uncomfortable conversations for personal growth and identity shifts. Discover the power of alignment and how hard experiences serve as mountain-climbing metaphors that accelerate development. Listeners are encouraged to forge ahead with big goals, even in uncertainty, and to write their legacy today instead of postponing it.

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ANECDOTE

Tough Coaching Call Moment

Scott Smith describes an uncomfortable Inner Circle coaching call that forced deep identity work and honest confrontation.
A participant texted “You are brave, man,” after the tough but necessary conversation about change.

ADVICE

Start With Alignment

Get yourself in alignment by doing what you like the way you like to do it so your heart sings daily.
Stand up, take a step toward that alignment, and repeat every day to build momentum.

INSIGHT

Identity Shift Is The Real Work

Identity shift is the internal change that actually makes new behaviors stick and creates a new life path.
Talking about change isn't enough; you must become the person who already lives that change.

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I'm the most optimistic pessimistic guy you'll ever meet. Got it from my mom. She'd answer the phone with "What do you want?" then offer me money.

I see the world exactly as it is. But I don't let it punch me in the face. Well, sometimes it does. Then I turn face first into it.

Had a coaching call today that got uncomfortable. The kind you don't want but desperately need. We talked about identity shifts and climbing mountains. About writing your legacy letter today instead of waiting. Because whatever you do today is your legacy.

Featured Story

Had an inner circle coaching call this morning. My buddy Croy texted me afterward: "You are brave, man."

We had a conversation that was really deep and really uncomfortable. The kind you don't want to have but need to. You know what you need to do. You know what mountain you need to climb. But you can't get yourself to do it.

Is it pride? Ego? I don't know. My job isn't to hurt people. It's to help them figure themselves out. We're going for an identity shift. And man, I felt like I was climbing a mountain ready to get pushed off the ledge. I said no. I'm standing here. Hard things make you grow.

Important Points

• If your life isn't going the way you want, you're not in alignment - doing things you like, the way you like them.

• Identity shift is the real work - you can talk all day, but you must shift deep inside your soul to become it.

• Whatever you do or don't do today is writing your legacy - someone's watching and they've already got you figured out.

Memorable Quotes

• "Every great lesson I've ever learned in my life has been because of a hard thing just before it, mountain climbing."

• "You're writing your legacy today. Whatever you do or don't do, you are writing your legacy right this very second."

• "Stand up, take a step, repeat. It doesn't matter what gets in your way. Just get out of bed and do it again tomorrow."

Scott's Three-Step Approach

• Get yourself in alignment first - doing the things you like, the way you like to do them, making your heart sing daily.

• Commit to the identity shift deep in your soul - talking means nothing until you actually become that new person.

• Stand up, take a step toward it, and repeat tomorrow - your legacy is being written by what you do today, not someday.

Chapters

0:00 - The most optimistic pessimistic guy you'll meet

0:31 - Show format evolving into longer episodes

0:45 - The coaching call that got really uncomfortable

1:16 - Identity shift and alignment explained

2:18 - Scott Adams' powerful final legacy letter

4:43 - Writing your legacy starts today, not someday

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