Your Values Determine Your Habits

Every Friday night, JC Jobs would go to Huddy’s Inn, one of his favorite watering holes in Colts Neck, NJ. There, on every Friday, he would order a steak and two beers. He considered his Friday night meal at Huddy’s his reward meal. You see, during the work-week, JC adhered to a very strict Rich Habit of intermittent fasting which included eating one very healthy meal every day, Monday through Thursday. So, JC’s Friday night was a very special night for him.

As he approached his car, a Hyundai Elantra, another couple was exiting their car, not far from JC.

“Excuse me. Excuse me. Are you JC Jobs?” The woman asked.

“That I am,” JC replied, smiling. Over the years, JC had grown accustomed to strangers coming up to him.

The woman was beaming a big smile at JC as she tightly wrapped her hands around her husband’s arm. “We’ve seen you on TV. You’re that famous Rich Habits author, aren’t you?” The woman asked.

“The one and only,” JC smirked back at the woman.

The husband noticed the car JC was driving and seemed somewhat confused.

“Excuse me JC but why are you driving a Hyundai Elantra?’ The husband asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be driving a Hyundai Elantra?” JC replied.

JC could see the confused looks, now etched on both faces.

“Well. You’re, well, famous. We heard you sold half a billion books. You must be rich,” the husband said.

“You got me. I am very well off,” JC confessed.

“But if you’re so rich, why aren’t you driving a Mercedes or Lexus or some expensive car?” The man wondered.

JC stopped fiddling around with his keys and turned to the couple, recognizing an opportunity to teach them an important Rich Habits lesson.

“How you spend your money says a lot about your values,” JC said, as he casually approached the couple.

“Most people who buy expensive cars do so because they are trying to impress other people. In their distorted value system, they place how others perceive them at the very top of their list of priorities in life. You see, your values are the things that represent your most important priorities. When you make something a priority in life it becomes part of your value system. You will then create habits around your values. Habits are values in motion. When impressing others becomes part of your value system, you will create spending habits around the need to impress others. You will forge the habit of spending money on expensive things, just to impress others.” JC paused a few moments for his words to sink in, then continued.

“I, on the other hand, place very little value on what other people think of me. It’s not a priority to me. I have no desire to impress others by what I own. Why, if I wanted to, I could buy every luxury car dealership in all of Monmouth County with the money I have. Instead, I spend my money based on my values – my priorities in life. And my values are: number one family, number two my friends, number three my community and number four local charities. My value system has served me well over the years. You see, when your priorities are right, your life is good. When you priorities are wrong, your life is bad. There’s nothing wrong with owning an expensive car. But do it for the right reason – because you love the way it looks and drives. Don’t buy expensive things because you place a high priority on impressing others. The sad truth is that the very people who would be impressed by the expensive things you own, are not people worth knowing.”

With that, JC gave the couple a salute and walked away. The couple stared at each other, lost in a fog of thought.

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