We'd love to hear from you!

Quotes:
"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." — Thomas Jefferson
"Truth never perishes." — Seneca
"No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar." — Seneca

🎧 Episode Summary:
Scott delivers a heartfelt reflection on honesty as the foundation of all effective leadership. Drawing on Jefferson’s belief that honesty is the start of wisdom and Seneca’s unshakable confidence in truth’s endurance, he unpacks why integrity matters more than strategy. He also shares personal wisdom passed down from his dad and the insight his wife Robin offers about secrets losing power when spoken. This episode is a powerful call to choose honesty, even when it’s hard—because it’s not just about morality, it’s about freedom and trust.

🧠 What You’ll Learn Today:

• Why honesty is the non-negotiable cornerstone of leadership
• How lies and secrets weigh you down and damage trust
• The personal and professional freedom that comes from telling the truth

💬 Share This With a Leader Who:

• Wants to build a culture of trust and transparency
• Struggles with difficult conversations or hiding mistakes
• Needs a reminder that truth is strength, not weakness

🔁 Stay Connected:

Subscribe to The Inner Strategy on your favorite platform.
New episodes drop daily—short, strong, and grounded in timeless truths.

🔑 Keywords:

Honesty, Integrity, Thomas Jefferson, Seneca, Leadership Trust, Truth, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, The Inner Strategy

—

The Inner Strategy is your daily shortform podcast—your blueprint for modern leadership rooted in timeless truths.

Hosted by Scott Smith, founder of Akhada Consulting, co-founder of ChatWorx, and host of The Outsourcing Blueprint podcast, this series blends ancient Stoic wisdom with real-world business strategy to help you lead with clarity, manage both your teams and yourself effectively, and move with purpose.

No fluff. Just focused, grounded insight you can apply right now.

🔹 Subscribe to the show and leave a review if today’s insight helped you lead with more clarity and strength.
🔹 Connect with Scott at akhadaconsulting.com or on LinkedIn.

Follow for daily episodes. New drops every weekday morning.

Memento Mori — so live today to your fullest!

We'd love to hear from you!

Quotes:
"Faith is not expecting things to turn out the way you want, but accepting how they turn out." — Epictetus
"There are times when we have to step into the darkness in faith, confident that God will place solid ground beneath our feet once we do." — Dieter F. Uchtdorf

🎧 Episode Summary:
Scott reframes faith as an action word—accepting reality, facing uncertainty, and moving forward without seeing the whole path. He draws on Epictetus’ wisdom about letting go of control without surrendering responsibility, and Uchtdorf’s call to step into darkness trusting solid ground will appear. He even brings in the unforgettable "leap of faith" scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, reminding us that real leadership often means taking the next step even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

🧠 What You’ll Learn Today:

• Why faith is active acceptance, not passive hope
• How to move forward despite uncertainty and lack of guarantees
• How stories, metaphors, and personal courage help us lead with trust

💬 Share This With a Leader Who:

• Hesitates to act without a perfect plan
• Wants to build trust in themselves, their team, or something bigger
• Needs courage to take the next step without knowing the whole path

🔁 Stay Connected:

Subscribe to The Inner Strategy on your favorite platform.
New episodes drop daily—short, strong, and grounded in timeless truths.

🔑 Keywords:

Faith, Stoicism, Epictetus, Leadership Courage, Trust, Uncertainty, Indiana Jones, Action, The Inner Strategy

—

The Inner Strategy is your daily shortform podcast—your blueprint for modern leadership rooted in timeless truths.

Hosted by Scott Smith, founder of Akhada Consulting, co-founder of ChatWorx, and host of The Outsourcing Blueprint podcast, this series blends ancient Stoic wisdom with real-world business strategy to help you lead with clarity, manage both your teams and yourself effectively, and move with purpose.

No fluff. Just focused, grounded insight you can apply right now.

🔹 Subscribe to the show and leave a review if today’s insight helped you lead with more clarity and strength.
🔹 Connect with Scott at akhadaconsulting.com or on LinkedIn.

Follow for daily episodes. New drops every weekday morning.

Memento Mori — so live today to your fullest!

We'd love to hear from you!

Quotes:
"Justice is the source of all the other virtues." — Marcus Aurelius
"Mercy is the highest attribute of the strong." — Seneca

🎧 Episode Summary:
Scott explores one of leadership’s core tensions: balancing justice with mercy. Using Marcus Aurelius’ declaration that justice is the foundation for all virtues and Seneca’s view of mercy as strength under control, he challenges leaders to hold these opposing forces with care. Drawing on the imagery of Lady Justice's scales, he invites us to consider where we need to hold the line—and where we need to soften—to lead with both integrity and compassion.

🧠 What You’ll Learn Today:

• Why justice provides the foundation for trust and integrity
• How mercy, as power under control, humanizes leadership
• Practical ways to hold tensions that demand both firmness and compassion

💬 Share This With a Leader Who:

• Struggles with finding balance between accountability and empathy
• Wants to create fair, humane solutions in tough situations
• Needs to navigate complex leadership tensions with wisdom and care

🔁 Stay Connected:

Subscribe to The Inner Strategy on your favorite platform.
New episodes drop daily—short, strong, and grounded in timeless truths.

🔑 Keywords:

Justice, Mercy, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Leadership Integrity, Empathy, Decision-Making, Emotional Intelligence, The Inner Strategy

—

The Inner Strategy is your daily shortform podcast—your blueprint for modern leadership rooted in timeless truths.

Hosted by Scott Smith, founder of Akhada Consulting, co-founder of ChatWorx, and host of The Outsourcing Blueprint podcast, this series blends ancient Stoic wisdom with real-world business strategy to help you lead with clarity, manage both your teams and yourself effectively, and move with purpose.

No fluff. Just focused, grounded insight you can apply right now.

🔹 Subscribe to the show and leave a review if today’s insight helped you lead with more clarity and strength.
🔹 Connect with Scott at akhadaconsulting.com or on LinkedIn.

Follow for daily episodes. New drops every weekday morning.

Memento Mori — so live today to your fullest!

We'd love to hear from you!

Quotes:
"Stand firm in your refusal to remain conscious of anything but the truth." — Epictetus
"The truth is simple. If it was complicated, everyone would understand it." — Epictetus

🎧 Episode Summary:
Scott delivers an unflinching look at the importance of truth in leadership. He challenges us to recognize that truth exists independently of belief—and that it's rarely popular or convenient. Drawing on Epictetus, he explores how modern leaders must resist spin, echo chambers, and the temptation to tell people what they want to hear. Instead, real leadership demands honesty, clarity, and the integrity to speak truth even when it’s hard.

🧠 What You’ll Learn Today:

• Why truth remains constant whether people believe it or not
• How echo chambers and overcomplication can obscure clarity
• Why integrity in leadership requires honesty, even when it’s costly

💬 Share This With a Leader Who:

• Struggles to speak hard truths or challenge popular opinions
• Wants to build greater integrity and trust within their team
• Needs to break out of comfortable echo chambers to grow

🔁 Stay Connected:

Subscribe to The Inner Strategy on your favorite platform.
New episodes drop daily—short, strong, and grounded in timeless truths.

🔑 Keywords:

Truth, Honesty, Epictetus, Integrity, Leadership Communication, Critical Thinking, Echo Chambers, The Inner Strategy

—

The Inner Strategy is your daily shortform podcast—your blueprint for modern leadership rooted in timeless truths.

Hosted by Scott Smith, founder of Akhada Consulting, co-founder of ChatWorx, and host of The Outsourcing Blueprint podcast, this series blends ancient Stoic wisdom with real-world business strategy to help you lead with clarity, manage both your teams and yourself effectively, and move with purpose.

No fluff. Just focused, grounded insight you can apply right now.

🔹 Subscribe to the show and leave a review if today’s insight helped you lead with more clarity and strength.
🔹 Connect with Scott at akhadaconsulting.com or on LinkedIn.

Follow for daily episodes. New drops every weekday morning.

Memento Mori — so live today to your fullest!

We'd love to hear from you!

Quotes:
"If you wish to be a writer, write." — Epictetus
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." — Seneca

🎧 Episode Summary:
Scott calls out the tendency to overcomplicate and postpone our dreams, reminding us that action—not talk—is what makes them real. With Epictetus’ blunt advice to simply do the work and Seneca’s reminder that luck is built on preparation, this episode is a rallying cry for leaders to stop waiting for perfect conditions and start moving toward what matters.

🧠 What You’ll Learn Today:

• Why dreams demand disciplined, consistent action
• How preparation turns opportunity into success
• How to overcome perfectionism and start pursuing your goals today

💬 Share This With a Leader Who:

• Feels stuck waiting for the "right time" to start
• Wants to turn plans into real, meaningful action
• Needs a push to show up for their own dreams with courage and consistency

🔁 Stay Connected:

Subscribe to The Inner Strategy on your favorite platform.
New episodes drop daily—short, strong, and grounded in timeless truths.

🔑 Keywords:

Dreams, Action, Epictetus, Seneca, Preparation, Opportunity, Leadership Motivation, The Inner Strategy

—

The Inner Strategy is your daily shortform podcast—your blueprint for modern leadership rooted in timeless truths.

Hosted by Scott Smith, founder of Akhada Consulting, co-founder of ChatWorx, and host of The Outsourcing Blueprint podcast, this series blends ancient Stoic wisdom with real-world business strategy to help you lead with clarity, manage both your teams and yourself effectively, and move with purpose.

No fluff. Just focused, grounded insight you can apply right now.

🔹 Subscribe to the show and leave a review if today’s insight helped you lead with more clarity and strength.
🔹 Connect with Scott at akhadaconsulting.com or on LinkedIn.

Follow for daily episodes. New drops every weekday morning.

Memento Mori — so live today to your fullest!

We'd love to hear from you!

Quotes:
"No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity." — Seneca
"What stands in the way becomes the way." — Marcus Aurelius

🎧 Episode Summary:
Scott reframes resilience not as a buzzword but as something forged in the fire of real challenges. He draws on Seneca’s belief that adversity is essential for growth and Marcus Aurelius’ insight that obstacles aren't barriers but the path itself. This episode is a call to stop avoiding hard things and instead see them as the training ground for becoming who you’re meant to be.

🧠 What You’ll Learn Today:

• Why adversity is essential for real growth and preparation
• How obstacles can be embraced as opportunities for transformation
• How to reframe challenges as the path to becoming your best self

💬 Share This With a Leader Who:

• Feels overwhelmed by obstacles or setbacks
• Wants to develop stronger resilience and grit
• Needs to see adversity as necessary training, not punishment

🔁 Stay Connected:

Subscribe to The Inner Strategy on your favorite platform.
New episodes drop daily—short, strong, and grounded in timeless truths.

🔑 Keywords:

Resilience, Adversity, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Stoicism, Leadership Development, Growth Mindset, The Inner Strategy

—

The Inner Strategy is your daily shortform podcast—your blueprint for modern leadership rooted in timeless truths.

Hosted by Scott Smith, founder of Akhada Consulting, co-founder of ChatWorx, and host of The Outsourcing Blueprint podcast, this series blends ancient Stoic wisdom with real-world business strategy to help you lead with clarity, manage both your teams and yourself effectively, and move with purpose.

No fluff. Just focused, grounded insight you can apply right now.

🔹 Subscribe to the show and leave a review if today’s insight helped you lead with more clarity and strength.
🔹 Connect with Scott at akhadaconsulting.com or on LinkedIn.

Follow for daily episodes. New drops every weekday morning.

Memento Mori — so live today to your fullest!

We'd love to hear from you!

Quote:
"Death is not an evil. What is it then? The one law mankind has that is free of all discrimination." — Seneca

🎧 Episode Summary:
Scott invites us to stop avoiding the topic of death and instead see it as the teacher Seneca described. He unpacks the Stoic idea of memento mori—remembering we will die not to scare us, but to wake us up. This episode challenges us to live with urgency, to value what really matters, and to show up intentionally for the people who count on us.

🧠 What You’ll Learn Today:

• How embracing mortality brings clarity and purpose
• Why remembering death is a call to love, lead, and live fully now
• How memento mori creates urgency for meaningful action in business and life

💬 Share This With a Leader Who:

• Struggles with procrastination or losing sight of what matters
• Wants to build urgency and intention into their leadership
• Needs a reminder to connect, appreciate, and act while there’s time

🔁 Stay Connected:

Subscribe to The Inner Strategy on your favorite platform.
New episodes drop daily—short, strong, and grounded in timeless truths.

🔑 Keywords:

Memento Mori, Seneca, Stoicism, Mortality, Leadership Purpose, Urgency, Emotional Intelligence, The Inner Strategy

—

The Inner Strategy is your daily shortform podcast—your blueprint for modern leadership rooted in timeless truths.

Hosted by Scott Smith, founder of Akhada Consulting, co-founder of ChatWorx, and host of The Outsourcing Blueprint podcast, this series blends ancient Stoic wisdom with real-world business strategy to help you lead with clarity, manage both your teams and yourself effectively, and move with purpose.

No fluff. Just focused, grounded insight you can apply right now.

🔹 Subscribe to the show and leave a review if today’s insight helped you lead with more clarity and strength.
🔹 Connect with Scott at akhadaconsulting.com or on LinkedIn.

Follow for daily episodes. New drops every weekday morning.

Memento Mori — so live today to your fullest!

We'd love to hear from you!

Quotes:
"The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject." — Marcus Aurelius
"Don’t allow yourself to be carried away by the noise of the world." — Epictetus

🎧 Episode Summary:
Scott calls out the loud, opinion-heavy world we all navigate—and challenges us to reclaim our focus by refusing to be swept away by the noise. Drawing on Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, he explores how stillness isn’t passive, but a powerful practice for clarity, peace, and purposeful leadership. Scott also shares a personal recommendation: Donia Becker’s Present Pause—a short, guided meditation program he’s found helpful for tuning out the noise and tuning in to presence.

🧠 What You’ll Learn Today:

• How to filter out unhelpful opinions and reclaim mental space
• Why quiet and stillness are necessary for clear thinking and strong leadership
• How to establish personal practices to resist the world’s constant noise

💬 Share This With a Leader Who:

• Feels overwhelmed by constant opinions and social noise
• Wants to build a practice of mental stillness and clarity
• Needs to protect their energy and focus for what matters most

🔁 Stay Connected:

Subscribe to The Inner Strategy on your favorite platform.
New episodes drop daily—short, strong, and grounded in timeless truths.

🌿 Recommended Resource:

Present Pause with Donia Becker
✅ You Deserve a 10 Minute Break.
✅ 11:30 AM PDT, 2:30 PM EDT, Tuesdays to Fridays (Add to your calendar)
✅ Guided meditation on Zoom
✅ Learn more about Donia: www.doniabecker.com

🔑 Keywords:

Noise, Stillness, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Leadership Clarity, Focus, Mental Health, Present Pause, Donia Becker, The Inner Strategy

—

The Inner Strategy is your daily shortform podcast—your blueprint for modern leadership rooted in timeless truths.

Hosted by Scott Smith, founder of Akhada Consulting, co-founder of ChatWorx, and host of The Outsourcing Blueprint podcast, this series blends ancient Stoic wisdom with real-world business strategy to help you lead with clarity, manage both your teams and yourself effectively, and move with purpose.

No fluff. Just focused, grounded insight you can apply right now.

🔹 Subscribe to the show and leave a review if today’s insight helped you lead with more clarity and strength.
🔹 Connect with Scott at akhadaconsulting.com or on LinkedIn.

Follow for daily episodes. New drops every weekday morning.

Memento Mori — so live today to your fullest!