Your Habits Predict Your Future

You can’t predict your future.

But you can predict your habits.

And your habits? They’re writing your future every single day.

At the recent Perform Better Summit in Chicago, Todd Durkin asked the crowd a powerful question:

“What are your best habits?”

That got me thinking. Back when I owned my gym in NY, we had this quote on the wall:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

For whatever reason, I’ve always needed a lot of structure.

So I’ve built habits not just in business, but across the areas that matter most to me.

Here are some of the ones that have shaped my life. I hope they spark something for you.

Faith

1. Memorizing scripture

2. Solitude

3. Compline before bed (i.e. saying goodnight to God)

4. Sabbath

5. Church

6. Small groups

7. Daily prayer

Family

1. Daddy-daughter/son dates each month

2. Reading our “Family Constitution” weekly

3. Sharing 3 things we’re grateful for at breakfast

4. Family walks

5. Prayer with Melissa each morning

6. Sharing 3 feelings from the day with Melissa

7. Reading together

Fitness

1. Packing all food the night before

2. Weights / Cardio / BJJ

3. Early to bed, early to rise

4. Drinking lots of water

5. Daily walks

6. Journaling

7. Prehab work (low back, rotator cuffs, neck, etc.)

Friends

1. Monthly game night with our couple friends

2. Daily text + weekly call with my friend John

3. Monthly processing group

4. Send handwritten cards

5. Weekly check-ins with business owner friends who share values

6. Checking in when someone is going through something hard

7. Inviting friends into meaningful activities (walks, BJJ, prayer, etc.)

Finances (Personal + Business)

1. Monthly Money Meetings (with Melissa) - We’ve done this for 15+ years. We review our budget, goals, giving, spending and it’s hard to overstate the impact. It’s brought peace, clarity, and unity to our marriage and our money.

2. One Powerful Financial Target at a Time - It’s easy to get overwhelmed. So we pick one thing — early on it was building an emergency fund or paying off debt. In business, it might be saving for a team trip or building 3 months of reserves.

3. Creating and Revisiting a 3-Year Vision - Without vision, people perish. We've written three 3-year visions so far, and the biggest win isn’t always what we achieve, but who we become by moving toward it.

4. Automating the Important - James Clear says to “make it easy.” I say make it automatic — things like paying myself, saving for a car or college, or investing. Set it and forget it.

5. Playing Financial Defense - Not glamorous, but crucial. We’ve prioritized insurance, reserves, and margin. When life throws a curveball, we’re ready.

6. Spending According to Our Values - Some think I’m cheap. I just spend on what matters. I’d rather invest in family memories and personal growth than a brand-new car.

7. Following Financial Rhythms - Budgeting. Tracking. Forecasting. Allocating dollars into buckets. Systems > goals, always.

You don’t rise to the level of your goals.

You fall to the level of your systems.

What’s one habit you could start this month that would make everything else easier?

Your future is watching.