The Power of Intentionality: How a Simple Decision Can Change Your Life

Back in 2019, I was drifting through life when my daughter got into an accident that changed everything for me. It was raining, and she was driving her old blue Honda Fit on the highway when it started to hydroplane. Maybe you’ve felt out of control before, too. In that moment, right in the middle of traffic, she lost control of her car.

There have been plenty of times when my life felt out of control and turned into a mess. One important lesson I picked up from the John Maxwell Team program is the Law of Intentionality. John Maxwell talks about the 15 Laws of Growth, and the first one is all about being intentional.

The Law of Intentionality states that if you want to grow in life, you need to be intentional and have a plan. Before I joined the John Maxwell Team, I didn’t have any plan for my life. I was seeing where things would go. It felt like being the main character in a movie, but without a script to guide me. My life has been an “accidental success”. What I mean by that is that I wasn’t intentional at all but was often surprised at where I ended up. My story about our “Accidental Farm” shows how that happened.

When my daughter’s car hydroplaned in 2019, thankfully, she wasn’t hurt, but her car was totaled. She needed a used car, so my wife suggested, “Why don’t you sell her your car and we can get a new one?” I liked the idea, thinking I’d get to pick out a new car. But I was wrong. When we went shopping, she, my wife, wanted a 4-Runner for herself. I asked, “Well, Sweetheart, what am I going to drive?” In the end, I got her old car, but at least we were able to ensure it was paid off.

When we got her 4-Runner, I noticed it had a hitch receiver for towing a trailer. So, I thought to myself, “Hmmm, we could get a small travel trailer and go on trips with our two German Shepherd dogs.” Through a series of events, instead of a little travel trailer, we ended up with a large, 31-foot, Class A RV. Since we couldn’t park it permanently in our neighborhood, we decided to build a barn on some farmland we have about 3 hours north of our home.

That barn became a cabin and a barn. Then a pregnant cat adopted us. Then we added a bunch of chickens, which morphed into building a $3,000 chicken coop. Then COVID happened, and suddenly we’re living and working on a farm. I’m thinking to myself, “How did this happen?”

It happened because of not being intentional. What was intentional was the actual construction. You can’t just go to the local lumber yard, buy a bunch of wood, and start nailing it together. You need plans, architectural drawings, costs, and schedules. If you don’t, you’re going to end up with a hot mess.

The same thing is true of our lives. You probably know of someone whose life is somewhat of a mess, and maybe it’s yours. But the 15 Laws of Growth and the first Law of Intentionality can put us on a path of intentional growth that will transform our lives and those of the people around us.

My daughter had an accident, which eventually led to our building a farm. I'm not sorry we did this, but a little intentional planning along the way would have saved us a lot of stress, sorrow, and cost. The lesson is simple: intentional planning can spare us unnecessary stress. It shows how much smoother life can be with intention. That is the lesson I want to remember.

Now I'm on a path of intentionality, and you can be too. It just takes a decision to be intentional and a first step in that direction.