Everyone is just 2-3 decisions away from a completely transformed life.

I read this idea years ago and it’s stuck with me.


It almost feels too simple to be true; but more and more, I find myself agreeing with it.


The word decision comes from Latin roots, meaning “to cut off.”


The picture is that of severing one branch or path, so you can put all resources into another.

Like pruning a tree.

Or burning a ship.


It just takes 2 or 3 of those kinds of decisions — commitments with permanence and lock-in — to completely transform almost any situation.

Those 2 or 3 choices look different in every case, and they’re definitely manifest with varying levels of difficulty, but they’re there.


Dealing with obesity? Maybe your three decisions are to 1) intermittent fast, 2) eat according to your macros, 3) exercise/sweat for 45 minutes a day.

Struggling with finances? Maybe your three might be 1) aggressively cut unnecessary expenses, 2) build up an emergency account (or, if you have one already, pay off all debt with extreme aggression), 3) invest in acquiring skills to increase your earning capacity.


And sometimes it’s much easier than 3 decisions…

Sometimes it’s just one.


Trying to grow your “thing” (business, organization, personal brand)? Implement the rule of 100.

Overwhelmed as a leader in your organization? Buy Back Your Time by hiring an assistant.

Feeling like you don’t have enough skills to adapt to a new AI-driven economy? Decide to complete one of the many amazing and free courses available, and set yourself apart from everyone else not willing to put in that work.


Each of these are decisions in they’re most literal sense: they will require cutting off some practice, habit, or possibility and committing to another. It will take work.


It’s not a magic bullet. It’s pruning shears.


And pruning (and getting pruned) is hard.


But, transformation is on the other side.

And that is amazing, and worth it.