I didn’t realize how powerful a single choice could be until I found myself strapping stacks of cash to my thighs in a Hawaiian hotel bathroom. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about long-term consequences or who I wanted to become. My focus was mechanical—tighten the rubber bands, hide the bulges, walk through the airport without sweating. Be cool.

For a moment, I thought I’d pulled it off. When I landed back in Phoenix, I felt invincible. But three months later, when U.S. Marshals pounded on my parents’ door, reality came crashing down. The truth hit me: It hadn’t been one huge mistake that got me there. It had been a series of small choices I hadn’t fully thought through.

Getting arrested had happened one choice at a time.

Why Choices Matter

Life constantly demands decisions from us. Some are small, like hitting snooze on the alarm. Others are defining, like who we trust, what we value, and what path we choose to take in life.

Many people drift through these moments, letting habits or impulses drive their choices. That’s how I lived for years—making unconscious decisions that felt good in the moment but left me stuck in a cycle I couldn’t control.

But here’s the truth I discovered the hard way: your choices shape your identity. They either build you up, or they break the person you’re becoming. I now know that you make the most powerful choices when you pause, think, and align your decision with your values and your future.

My Every MOVE

Today, I live by a principle that’s tattooed on my arm: “My every MOVE is a calculated step.”

To me, this tattoo is more than ink. It’s a daily reminder to think before I do. It means slowing down long enough to measure the cost, weigh the consequences, and make sure that what I’m about to do aligns with the life I want to create.

Every MOVE I make now is intentional. Every “yes” or “no” carries weight. That shift—from unconscious to conscious decision-making—changed the trajectory of my life.

Simplify to Yes or No

The world we live in today floods us with options. Every app, every store, every ad is designed to grab your attention and offer you instant gratification. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by too many “maybes” and “what-ifs.”

But life gets clearer when you strip it down to two words: yes or no.

If a choice aligns with your values, your goals, and your vision for who you want to be, the answer is yes. If it doesn’t, the answer is no.

Simplicity creates freedom. The more you practice this discipline, the more space you create for what truly matters—and the less energy you waste on distractions that only give you a quick hit of gratification.

Changing Behavior Through Thought

Here’s the key: Your thoughts shape your behavior, and your behavior shapes your choices.

When you start thinking differently, you begin acting differently. Thought gives you the pause between impulse and action—the space to evaluate instead of react. Over time, those small pauses become new habits, and those habits become the foundation for you to make stronger choices.

Correct choices don’t come from luck. They come from conditioning your mind to slow down, reflect, and respond with intention. When you think first, you behave differently. When you behave differently, you change the trajectory of your life.

This is how you train yourself to make the right choice and become the kind of person who consistently makes the right choices over time.

The Second of 10 Codes to Transform Your Life

At the core of my book, Mind Over Virtually Everything®, are 10 codes that can transform your life. In this blog, I’m concentrating on the Second Code: “Master the power of choice to take control of your life.”

This code is about reclaiming ownership of your path. While the world offers endless distractions, and fear tries to steer you off course, the real power lies in how you choose to respond. Every decision pulls you closer to—or further away from—the person you’re meant to be.

Decision + Action

There’s a reason choices only matter when you act on them. As Tony Robbins says, “A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.”

Choices without action are just thoughts. A decision becomes transformative the moment you move on it. Every step you take, every yes or no you act on, establishes your identity and creates momentum toward the life you want.

The Discipline of Conscious Decision-Making

Making conscious choices doesn’t guarantee success—you’ll still get it wrong sometimes. But it does something far more important: It strengthens your decision-making muscles.

When you stop to ask questions like,

• What’s the real cost of this choice?
• How will it affect the people I care about?
• Does this align with who I want to become?

. . . you step out of autopilot and into intention. You reclaim control.

The act of conscious choice is more than just thinking. It’s acting. Once you realize you hold that power in every decision, big or small, you begin to reshape your identity and your life in remarkable ways.

The Book Behind the Story

This is just a glimpse of the journey I share in Mind Over Virtually Everything®: 10 Codes to Transform Your Life. In Chapter 2, entitled, “Yes or No,” I reveal how I went from unconscious decision-making that led to handcuffs, to building a life rooted in purpose, awareness, and growth.

My book is not just a story about past mistakes. It’s about how you, too, can start making conscious choices—even in the face of fear—that will transform your future.

So Ask Yourself . . .

“What behavior can I change today that will turn my next YES or NO into a conscious choice that shapes the life I want?”