Judgment Index in life, sports, and business. Understanding yourself is where I help. [email protected] · IG kensmithmiersenior · Also: @lifeafterglp
Nashville, TN
Joined April 2009
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Something I've been working on: short mindset nudges for people keeping the weight off, on or after a GLP. Real life, one text at a time. Follow @lifeafterglp.
There is no “there” there. Human potential is essentially limitless. You set a goal, work toward it, and as you get closer you realize you can go further than you first thought. Picture running a 100-meter sprint, and as you near the finish, you reach out and push the line a little farther away. Think about athletic records that were once considered impossible. But don’t let that turn into constant dissatisfaction. Acknowledge your progress, celebrate what you’ve done so far, then ask, what’s next? Where have you already gone further than you thought you could?
A very interesting day in Tunis today, including an unexpected visit to the only American Armed Forces cemetery in North Africa. Many of the graves here are yet to be identified but DNA testing continues and in fact, they identified another soldier just a few days ago. @usarmy
what a great writer and historian. If you are looking for something on WWII just pick a book by Craig Symonds and you will never regret it.
Friends of the National World War II Memorial mourns the passing of Dr. Craig L. Symonds, a distinguished historian, gifted educator, and valued friend.
We were privileged to work with him as emcee and expert historian for the Memorial’s 2014 D-Day 70th anniversary commemoration, our 4th Annual Legacy Lecture speaker in 2016, and a participant in our monthly virtual education conferences. In 2025, we welcomed him back for our inaugural Legacy Lecture Conference commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII.
His books, including The Battle of Midway, Neptune, World War II at Sea, Nimitz at War, and Annapolis Goes to War, leave an enduring contribution to our understanding of the war and those who served.
We are grateful for his friendship and all he shared with our community. Our deepest condolences are with his family, friends, students, and colleagues.
#CraigSymonds #WeRememberThem
“Envy is the thief of joy.” A lot of people fall into the trap of constant comparison — scrolling through social media, seeing only the highlight reels of other people’s lives, and missing the good in their own. Admiring someone’s success can be healthy if it inspires you to set a goal. But when admiration turns into envy, it becomes resentment toward people for having what you want. Remember, what you see online is curated, not reality. Pull your focus back to your own life and your own progress. Where are comparisons stealing your joy right now?
Last week I asked whether your culture happens by default or by design. If you chose design, here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be complicated. A football team might run on three rules: be on time, do your job, give maximum effort. Basic? Sure. But they remove guesswork and hold everyone to the same standard. The catch is that the leader has to live it. If punctuality supposedly matters but the head coach or CEO is always late, that double standard kills trust fast. And when you spotlight the people who live the standards, you build momentum. Simple, clear, repeatable. Could everyone on your team name your top three standards?
I meet a lot of people stuck in The Grind. So many competing responsibilities that they can’t tell what really deserves their time. They give everything to work and family, and the things that used to recharge them — the gym, golf, a good book — are a distant memory. I often ask one simple question: Could you sustain this for the next ten years? No one has ever said yes. Most people don’t realize how deep in it they are until it becomes unbearable. Recognizing where you are is the first step. Small adjustments now can prevent burnout later. What’s one small change that would lighten the load this week?
Procrastination is a hidden form of stress. It looks harmless in the moment, but it quietly builds. When you put off a task, your mind doesn’t forget it. It keeps nudging you: “I’m still here. When are you going to take care of this?” The longer you wait, the heavier it gets. That’s why people say it feels like a weight was lifted off their shoulders when they finally deal with it. That’s not just a figure of speech — your brain really is relieved. One habit that helps: do the worst first. Knock out the hardest item on your list before anything else, and the rest of the day gets easier. What have you been putting off that you could chip away at today?
Personal improvement follows a simple sequence: understand yourself, manage yourself, achieve your goals. Most people want to jump straight to step three. But if you skip understanding yourself, you’ll struggle to manage your actions, and your goals stay out of reach. A lot of people avoid self-awareness because they don’t know where to start or they’re afraid of what they’ll find. Start by looking honestly at your wins and your misses — what worked, what didn’t, what you’d do differently. Without self-awareness, the path forward is blurry. What’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself this year?
Holy cow I love this story. How does he explain War Eagle to his parents 😏🏈
Alex Golesh's parents left Moscow with two kids, four hundred dollars and no English. Today as coach of Auburn he beat number 1 Georgia
His father was a telecommunications engineer. In New York he drove a truck.
His mother was a medical aide. She cleaned houses.
Their seven year old is the head coach at Auburn. Tonight he walked into Athens and beat number one Georgia on the road.
Here is the whole thing.
The Soviet Union was coming apart. Vladimir and Bella Golesh decided they were taking their sons out.
Here is the father, on why.
"We were scared."
"We didn't know exactly what life would be like. We just knew we had to get to America."
"Leaving Russia was the only decision."
It took about two years of paperwork and interviews before they could go. An aunt in New York sponsored them and met them at the airport.
They brought a few bags of clothes and four hundred dollars. Not one of them spoke the language.
They landed in Brooklyn and lived in a two bedroom apartment above a bodega. Alex was seven and learned English at school.
Now here is what he actually remembers about arriving in America.
Bananas.
"I loved bananas. That was like my thing."
"They were really hard to get. They were like a delicacy almost."
"Man, in America, you can get all the bananas you want."
That was the measure of the whole country to a seven year old. You could have as many bananas as you wanted.
He remembers the street vendors too, and wanting to try what he had only seen people on television having.
"I was like, I just want to try that."
"I thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever tasted."
Later the family moved to Ohio because it was cheaper to live there. And that is where he saw this sport for the first time.
Here is how he describes figuring out what he was watching.
"These dudes are running around and hitting people, and it's encouraged. Like, people are clapping for people smacking people."
"That was the first time I ever saw a college football game. I thought it was the coolest thing ever."
Here is his wife Alexis.
"I'm absolutely astonished every time I hear the story."
"Alex had never even seen American football."
And here is the line from him that explains all of it.
"When you're a kid, you don't really know what you don't have."
His father never stopped working. He drove for a pizza company, then managed a store, then ran a warehouse.
And his mother, who got off that plane unable to say one sentence in English, works for a language translation service now.
A man who fixed telephone lines in Moscow got in a truck in New York instead. His wife cleaned other people's houses. They did it with four hundred dollars and no way to ask anybody for help.
Tonight their kid walked into Sanford Stadium and beat the best team in the country in front of its own crowd. 27 to 24, on a field goal at the end.
Here is the last thing his father said about leaving.
"We are free."
For more stories like this, follow us on any platform @thesportsontap
Ken Smithmier retweeted
Alex Golesh's parents left Moscow with two kids, four hundred dollars and no English. Today as coach of Auburn he beat number 1 Georgia
His father was a telecommunications engineer. In New York he drove a truck.
His mother was a medical aide. She cleaned houses.
Their seven year old is the head coach at Auburn. Tonight he walked into Athens and beat number one Georgia on the road.
Here is the whole thing.
The Soviet Union was coming apart. Vladimir and Bella Golesh decided they were taking their sons out.
Here is the father, on why.
"We were scared."
"We didn't know exactly what life would be like. We just knew we had to get to America."
"Leaving Russia was the only decision."
It took about two years of paperwork and interviews before they could go. An aunt in New York sponsored them and met them at the airport.
They brought a few bags of clothes and four hundred dollars. Not one of them spoke the language.
They landed in Brooklyn and lived in a two bedroom apartment above a bodega. Alex was seven and learned English at school.
Now here is what he actually remembers about arriving in America.
Bananas.
"I loved bananas. That was like my thing."
"They were really hard to get. They were like a delicacy almost."
"Man, in America, you can get all the bananas you want."
That was the measure of the whole country to a seven year old. You could have as many bananas as you wanted.
He remembers the street vendors too, and wanting to try what he had only seen people on television having.
"I was like, I just want to try that."
"I thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever tasted."
Later the family moved to Ohio because it was cheaper to live there. And that is where he saw this sport for the first time.
Here is how he describes figuring out what he was watching.
"These dudes are running around and hitting people, and it's encouraged. Like, people are clapping for people smacking people."
"That was the first time I ever saw a college football game. I thought it was the coolest thing ever."
Here is his wife Alexis.
"I'm absolutely astonished every time I hear the story."
"Alex had never even seen American football."
And here is the line from him that explains all of it.
"When you're a kid, you don't really know what you don't have."
His father never stopped working. He drove for a pizza company, then managed a store, then ran a warehouse.
And his mother, who got off that plane unable to say one sentence in English, works for a language translation service now.
A man who fixed telephone lines in Moscow got in a truck in New York instead. His wife cleaned other people's houses. They did it with four hundred dollars and no way to ask anybody for help.
Tonight their kid walked into Sanford Stadium and beat the best team in the country in front of its own crowd. 27 to 24, on a field goal at the end.
Here is the last thing his father said about leaving.
"We are free."
For more stories like this, follow us on any platform @thesportsontap
Don’t live your life according to what others say you should do or be. The opinions of people who genuinely care about you — family, close friends, mentors — are worth considering. But how many people like that are really in your life? Yet a lot of us let strangers and casual acquaintances shape our choices and our moods. Trying to please everyone is exhausting, and you’ll never pull it off. Get clear on what matters to you and who matters to you. Next time someone’s comment gets under your skin, ask yourself: does this person’s opinion deserve power over my life?
Every team, business, and family has a culture, whether you planned it or not. If you leave it to chance, you get culture by default — shaped by whoever has the strongest personality or the loudest voice that day. Sometimes that works. More often it leads to confusion and clashing values. Culture by design is different. Leaders decide which standards and behaviors matter, say them clearly, and reinforce them through daily actions. Even a brilliant strategy falls apart if the culture doesn’t back it up. Is the culture around you happening by default or by design?
I would start giving out the biggest damn candy bars I could buy.
My HOA sent me a letter requesting that I stop handing out full-size candy bars for Halloween this year.
-Fun-size bars are usually 15–25¢ each.
-Full-size are around 75¢–$1.
Most people give out 2–3 fun-size anyway, so the real difference is often only a few cents per kid.
Am I crazy, or is it weird for an HOA to police this?
I started 2024 with a big goal: squat 315 pounds and deadlift 405, as I was turning 70. Serious numbers for anybody. With the help of my coach, I followed a program and stacked small wins week after week. Five more pounds. Better form. One more rep. By the end of the year I hit 325 on the squat and 415 on the deadlift. It works the same way in business, fitness, and personal growth. You don’t get there in one leap. You stack small wins until one day you look back and realize how far you’ve come. What’s one small step you can take today toward your big goal?
Ken Smithmier retweeted
On a mountain trail, the path can disappear into a rock field. Hikers follow cairns, little rock piles left by others. You can't see the next one until you reach the first. Life after a GLP can feel like that. Take the step you can see.
Ken Smithmier retweeted
Who are you beneath the title, responsibilities and expectations?
Hartman’s emphasis on Self-awareness invites a deeper question: Am I defining myself, or allowing the world to do it for me?
Full story on AXIOLOGY by JI: axiologybyji.com/2026/09/19/… #HartmanPartonParadigm | 5/7
Want a stress-free life? Just quit. Quit trying to raise a family, build a career, or compete at anything that matters. But if those things matter to you, understand this: the stress you feel is a choice you made. You took on the challenge because you believed the reward was worth it. Any parent will tell you raising kids brings years of stress — and they’ll also tell you about the joy of watching them grow into responsible adults. Stress isn’t proof you’re failing. It’s proof you’re chasing something worthwhile. What stress in your life did you choose on purpose?
13 seconds left. No timeouts. Chip-shot field goal to win.
And the clock ran out while everyone scrambled.
Crunch time doesn't build your judgment. It reveals it.
My take on yesterday's NFL meltdowns and the 1% decisions: kensmithmier.substack.com/p/…