If you’d rather watch instead of read, or if you want to listen while you scroll, here’s a video of me walking you through this article 👇

Your decision to read this article

Happy Sunday, Drive to Strive squad. Speaking of decisions, you’ve made the decision to spend your time reading my words.

Time is our most valuable resource and I don’t take that lightly.

In return for your time, you will learn how to think about and make decisions in a way that will positively impact your life.

Buckle up, let’s ride *Russell Wilson voice*

The questions you should be asking yourself

Can I ask you something? Ten years ago, who were your friends?

What were your dreams? What did your life look like? Did you end up where you’re at today on purpose or by accident?

Imagine you and I are crushing a few beers at a bar and I asked you “what are some decisions you made over the past decade that made your life exceptionally better or worse today?

“Sonny, can’t we just chill” isn’t an option. I bet there were some key decisions you made, and some that you failed to make, that swung your life in both directions.

Now, do you want the next ten years to be the best decade of your life? Here are two of the most important questions you should be asking yourself:

Have you ever worked at a company and wondered why one person is way more successful than everyone else, even though they both have the same resources?

Why does this happen? It’s because different actions create different results.

If you want to truly change your life, you have to remember this one thing:

We need to control our consistent actions. And what drives actions? Decisions.

The Niagara Syndrome

Tony Robbins coined the term “The Niagara Syndrome”. Sadly, most people live life this way.

Take a second and imagine life as a river. Now, most people jump on that river of life without thinking of where they’ll end up.

They get caught up in current events, fears, challenges, and just go with the flow. They’re on auto-pilot.

One day, they wake up in a boat with no oars and see that the raging waters have taken them to a waterfall.

It’s too late. The fall is inevitable. It might be a relationship fall, a financial fall or an emotional one.

How do you prevent this? You have to make better decisions upstream.

The three most important decisions you should make are:

• Your decision on what to focus on

• Your decision on what things mean to you

• Your decision on what you’re going to do to create the results you want

Step One: Realize the power of decision

You know what’s mind-boggling. That people live their lives as a victim to their habits and don’t realize they have a choice in what they do.

I often hear people say “I have to go to work today” or “I have to take this call”

You don’t “have” to do anything, you get to decide.

Right now, you could book that French class. You could change your job. You could buy a book to learn how to invest your money. You could book a flight to that country you’ve always wanted to go to. You could ask that person out. You could start that business. The possibilities are endless.

Isn’t it crazy how we can change our lives in a second? Take a moment to think about that and feel that energy. Right now, you have life-changing power in your hands, how freeing is that?!

If you really want to, you can do almost anything. You can turn any thought into a reality. You just have to decide.

Step Two: Make more decisions

Some of us can’t even decide what we’re eating for dinner or what restaurant we’re going to. We have more information at our hands than ever before, and yet we still lag in our decisions.

Tony Robbins talks about how there was a study that showed that the most successful people make decisions rapidly because they are clear on their values and know what they want for their lives.

People who fail are slow to make decisions and quick to change their minds.

Start to see decision-making as a muscle. The more decisions you make, the stronger that muscle becomes, and the more confident you’ll feel.

Step Three: Learn from your decisions

You’re going to make some boneheaded decisions 🤦‍♂️ You’ve probably made tons already. I know I have.

Did you beat yourself up for them or did you learn something to make your life better?

One key difference between the ultra-successful and the average Joe is how they each view mistakes.

Successful people view poor decisions as a gift in the form of a learning lesson instead of as a failure. They’re okay with the trial and error of life and are fearless in their decisions.

If a decision leads to a poor result, change your approach until you achieve what you want.

Step Four: Have a long term focus

If you want your decisions to stick, you need a long term focus. If we look at why we fail, it’s often not a big decision that goes wrong.

It’s a series of small decisions:

• The missed workout

• Failure to follow-up on commitments

• Not taking action

• Doomscrolling on your phone

Success is the same. Success is the long term result of small decisions compounded:

• Holding yourself to a higher standard

• Feeding your mind

• Discipline in your nutrition and workouts

• Surrounding yourself with the right people

• Being relentlessly focused and taking consistent action

You can’t become an expert in a week. When we see a “natural” or a “gifted one”, we’re really seeing the end result of small decisions compounded with a long term focus.

Tony Robbins wasn’t speaking weekly, like everyone else in his organization. He was speaking three times a day. That means that in a month, he’d have two years of experience. After a year, Tony had a decade’s worth of growth. 🤯

Step Five: Enjoy making decisions

A decision can change the course of your life. You should enjoy making them.

Want to drive passion in your life? Start to live with a mindset of expectancy.

Believe that the next decision you make could change your life forever.

The next person you decide to meet could be a game-changer for you. The next phone call you make could change your life. The next sentence you read could lead to the breakthrough you’ve been waiting for.

Decisions create your destiny. Enjoy them, my friend ❤️

Action Items

• Avoid the Niagara Syndrome and write down the three decisions that control your future

  • Your decision on what to focus on

  • Your decision on what things mean to you

  • Your decision on what you’re going to do to create the results you want

• Make more decisions this week and move with urgency on them

• What’s something you’ve been putting off? Take action on it today

Did you get your ROT (return on time)?

Are you thinking of decisions differently now? Reply back and let me know!

If you found value in my newsletter, do me a solid and share this with a friend.

See you next Sunday, my drivers!