I got punched in the face this morning

OCT 20, 2026

By Brandon Turner

I got punched in the face this morning.

I'd been awake for about three seconds.

No fist involved. Just my phone.

A long text thread between a couple of my business partners. Almost all of it bad news, with hard decisions attached.

And I'm the one who picked it up.

(Yes, I'm the guy who wrote a journal called The Intention Journal. I'm aware.)

Because I made a choice this morning to read my texts before I could read my Bible, pray, stretch, meditate, or sip a cup of coffee.

I chose to start my day with chaos, not peace.

Now, those texts mattered.

But they would've said the exact same thing an hour later.

I just wouldn't have been the same guy reading them.

Who got the first word this morning for you?

Maybe it was a contractor with a "quick question" (it's never quick!). A rate alert. A group chat. Your own bank balance.

Do you remember what it said?

You already know the oldest rule in money: pay yourself first. Off the top, before a single bill gets paid.

Then we wake up and pay everybody else first... with the one thing we can't refinance.

The morning.

So who gets mine?

Six mornings a week, I aim for a very simple morning routine:

THAT is how I start my day right. That's an intentional morning.

Today I failed.

And it's made me grumpy, reactive, and irritable all day.

But - thankfully I get another shot... tomorrow.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says God's compassions never run out. They're "new every morning."

That text thread opened with everything going wrong.

God's morning opens with compassion. It was there before I woke up.

I blew it today. I get a new one tomorrow.

So do you.

Tomorrow's first word is already spoken for. I'm deciding tonight. Three seconds awake is a terrible time to decide anything.

Try it with me. Pick tonight who gets the first word. Give it to them. Then go ahead and open the texts.

The punch will still be there. (It's very patient.)

You'll just see it coming and be in the right mindset for it.

So - now it's your turn.

What's YOUR ideal morning routine look like? Reply to this email and let me know.

To your Better Life,

Brandon

P.S. A few ways you can work with me:

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