---
title: Beyond the Benchmark - Episode 18
description: Doug Walters explains why personal goals—not market benchmarks—are the best way to measure investment success in this insightful Life by Design episode.
---

[Strategic’s Life by Design Blog | Retirement Planning, Insights & Inspiration ](https://marketing.investstrategic.com/lifebydesignblog)

# [Beyond the Benchmark - Episode 18](https://marketing.investstrategic.com/lifebydesignblog/beyond-the-benchmark-episode-18)

 Written by [Strategic Marketing](https://marketing.investstrategic.com/lifebydesignblog/author/strategic-marketing) | Jul 3, 2025 4:00:00 AM

[View full post](https://marketing.investstrategic.com/lifebydesignblog/beyond-the-benchmark-episode-18)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Strategic Marketing"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2025-07-18T13:55:42.357Z",
  "datePublished" : "2025-07-03T04:00:00Z",
  "headline" : "Beyond the Benchmark - Episode 18",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 1080,
    "url" : "https://47450171.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/47450171/lifebydesign-podcast-strategic-ep18.jpg",
    "width" : 1920
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://marketing.investstrategic.com/lifebydesignblog/beyond-the-benchmark-episode-18",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Life by Design Blog"
  }
}
```