45) Decision Making

Decision Making

Every day we’re faced with decisions. Most of the time, we already know what’s a good decision and what’s a bad one. Are we going to get everything right? Absolutely not. That’s just life.

The Moment

Take diet, for example. Some people know exactly what to do. Others don’t have a clue. That’s why people like me exist. To help educate you. When you actually take the time to learn something, decision-making gets clearer.

It’s Tuesday and I want to cheat. I walk into the pantry and see marshmallows, cookies, Oreos... all of it. My kid’s eating ice cream. And I think to myself, Yeah, I want this… but will this decision take me one day closer or one day farther away from my goals?

It Compounds

Your life works just like compound interest. You make decisions over and over again, and the result is what you see today. It’s the same in finance. The same in your career. The same in your diet.

The scorecard doesn’t lie. How you look. How you feel. How your business performs. It all traces back to repeated decisions.

Are your choices moving you forward or backward? When you look at it this way, it becomes pretty black and white.

Momentum Matters

The decisions you make daily determine the trajectory of your life. Think about a locomotive. It starts slow, barely moving. Then it builds speed. Momentum builds.

Now imagine throwing a car in front of it. Boom. It slows down. Two days later, you throw another one. Slower again. That’s exactly what poor decisions do... they kill momentum.

If you stack consistent, quality decisions, momentum compounds. If you keep throwing junk on the tracks, progress dies.

The Cost

Should I mess up now, even though no one will know? Can I get away with it? Probably. But if I’m trying to separate myself from the pack, can I keep doing that? No.

This way of thinking forces me to look at how decisions affect my body, performance, business, and mental health. Not just the moment.

I’ve made terrible decisions. Training mistakes. Diet mistakes. I remember modeling in New York in my early 20s. I was deep into a low-carb diet and completely depleted. I was binging, mentally wrecked.

I was meeting with Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie, Calvin Klein, Polo — all early in my career. Then I lost it. I hit a carryout and couldn’t stop eating. My brain wasn’t working. I didn’t even tell my agent. I just got on a plane and went home. That’s how messed up I was.

Clarity Wins

Clear decisions require a plan. When your brain is cloudy, you can’t think straight. If I grab the Oreos, I’m compounding the wrong decisions... moving the wrong direction.

Then I ask myself, Do I really want this that bad?

Make the right decision as often as possible, knowing you won’t be perfect. A higher batting average across your life creates a scorecard you can actually be proud of.