⏱️ millionaireME Minute: Success Without Values Is Just Motion 😵‍💫

Jon Goodman

5d • General discussion

Greetings!

It’s Friday, December 12th, 2025.

Less than two weeks till Christmas and three until the New Year. 🎄 🎊

One of the most powerful tools I’ve ever been given had nothing to do with money, markets, or tactics.

It was values.

Years ago, Coach K introduced me to the idea of clearly defined core values—not as a poster on the wall, but as a daily operating system.

He has often credited his five core values as much as his players for becoming the winningest coach in college basketball history:

Coach K’s Five Core Values

• Caring

• Trust

• Commitment

• Accountability

• Pride

Simple. Memorable. Actionable.

Those values didn’t just guide recruiting or practices—they guided decisions, relationships, and culture. When pressure mounted, the values did the thinking.

That’s the real power of values:

They keep you on track when emotions, distractions, or short-term incentives try to knock you off course.

Recently, my wife and I were so inspired by a values conversation that we started discussing a family summit. Not to impose our values on our kids—but to help each of them discover their own. That distinction matters.

Values discovered → ownership

Values imposed → resistance

In the process, we identified ours as well.

Interestingly, they overlap—but they aren’t identical. And that’s a good thing. Shared direction doesn’t require identical wiring.

Here’s the one-sentence summary of my values that came out of the exercise:

“Live faithfully, love deeply, steward wisely, create meaning, and play the long game.”

But what came next was the real breakthrough.

The question wasn’t, “What values should I add?”

It was:

“Are there any values I need to pay less attention to—for the sake of balance?”

For me, the answer was clear (and uncomfortable):

I need to prioritize presence over productivity.

More output is not the answer.

More trust is.

Trust that the work already done will compound.

Trust that rest has ROI—even when it can’t be measured.

Trust that stopping to smell the roses is not falling behind.

Why this is hard for me, I’m still unpacking.

But it’s now a priority for 2026.

If you want to try this exercise, run it with good old ChatGPT—or better yet, over coffee or a meal with someone you trust. Ask them what they see. Then listen.

Sometimes success doesn’t come from doing more.

It comes from finally doing what matters most.

Your move:

Which value is guiding your decisions right now—and which one might be asking for a little less airtime?

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