Unintentional habits let life happen to you. Intentional habits allow you to make life happen.

Psychologists estimate that around 40–43% of our daily actions are habitual, carried out almost automatically. In other words, nearly half of your waking hours are shaped not by deliberate choice, but by patterns you may not even notice. Left unchecked, unintentional habits quietly drift you away from the life you want. But when you design your habits with purpose, they become the most reliable way to move toward it.

I don’t come to this as someone who has it all figured out. I come with more than a decade of experience in education, helping people learn and grow. Along the way, I’ve read and tested ideas from hundreds of books, tried countless personal experiments, and kept only what works. And while research gave me the tools, life gave me perspective.

A few years ago, I came home from work and my three-year-old daughter came running toward me, her face lit with joy. Like any dad would, I scooped her up and lifted her into the air. Then, suddenly, my legs became paper weights.

At the hospital, doctors explained that a herniated disc was pressing against my spinal cord. With therapy, they said, I might walk again. But they warned me: I should never lift more than fifteen pounds again. My daughter already weighed more than that.

The thought that I might never carry her on my shoulders, chase her in the park, or run beside her broke me in ways I can’t describe.

And yet, the very next morning, I woke to feel her tiny hands massaging my feet — her childlike attempt to help me heal. In that moment, I realized my “why” was bigger than me. I could surrender to my circumstances, or I could show her what resilience looks like.

So I started where I was. At first, I could barely shuffle across the living room. But little by little, that shuffle turned into swimming a few laps at the pool. Then came short bike rides around the neighborhood. Eventually, tentative jogs stitched together into miles. Over the next six months, I lost forty pounds and slowly rebuilt my strength.

When I crossed the finish line of my first triathlon and lifted my daughter onto my shoulders — her little hands gripping my forehead, her laughter ringing out above the crowd — it hit me: this wasn’t just about completing a race.

It was proof that tiny, deliberate steps repeated over time can rebuild not just a body, but a life.

The clarity I had gained about what mattered, and the consistency I built through daily habits, naturally spilled over into connection with others. My daughter has grown up embracing the idea of doing hard things. At just four years old she ran her first Spartan race. By five, she had earned her own trifecta medal. At six, we crossed the finish line of her first 5K hand in hand. And now, at seven, she’s dreaming about her first triathlon.

My wife was inspired too. Together we’ve finished some of the toughest Spartan races in the country, run a half marathon side by side in Long Beach, and encouraged each other to attempt things we once thought impossible.

Then my parents, both in their early sixties, joined us for a Spartan race in San Diego. Not to be outdone, my father-in-law and mother-in-law — also in their sixties — laced up and ran a race with us, proving that age isn’t a barrier when consistency builds confidence.

And beyond family, something remarkable happened. By sharing our story and showing up at these events, we began to inspire strangers. More than once, people have come up to us after a race to say thank you — for showing them that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they commit to small, intentional habits.

What began as my private effort to rebuild myself has grown into a movement of connection — family, friends, and even strangers united around the power of choosing hard things together.

That journey became the seed of this book. I realized that everything I’d built — my recovery, my finish lines, my growth — came down to three pillars: Clarity, Consistency, and Connection.

• Clarity gave me direction. Knowing why I had to keep going anchored every step.

• Consistency gave me strength. The small daily habits that seemed insignificant became the foundation for resilience.

• Connection gave it meaning. My choices rippled outward, deepening my relationships with my family, friends, and even people I’d never met who were inspired by our story.

That’s why I wrote Intentional Habits: Tiny Changes, Huge Impact. Because this isn’t just my story — it’s a framework you can use to transform yours.

In a world full of distractions, it’s easy to drift through life on autopilot. This book is your guide to breaking free from drift and designing a life that feels meaningful.

Inside, you’ll learn how to:

• Cut through the noise and uncover your deeper why, so every action is grounded in purpose.

• Build habits that last — small enough to survive your worst days, strong enough to carry you through setbacks.

• Create ripple effects that strengthen your relationships, shape your legacy, and connect you to something bigger than yourself.

This isn’t about hacks or quick fixes. It’s about building a foundation of tiny, repeatable actions that add up to transformation.

With research-backed insights, real-life stories, and practical challenges at the end of each chapter, Intentional Habits will help you reclaim your attention, align your habits with your values, and live a life of clarity, resilience, and connection — not by accident, but with intention.