One of the most interesting things I found in my 1997 journals is a two-page exercise from my friend Jerry Ballinger called the Ferrari Mind Tune-Up.
At first glance, it looks like a productivity system.
Looking at it 30 years later, I realize it’s something much more important.
It’s an operating system.
Most people want to optimize before they’ve stabilized.
They look for hacks, shortcuts, AI tools, or better calendars.
Jerry’s framework starts somewhere completely different.
First, fuel your mind.
What are you reading? What are you curious about? What ideas are you collecting?
Those inputs become the raw material for everything you create.
Then build your 24-hour franchise prototype.
What does your ideal day actually look like? Not what happens by accident—but by design.
Your rituals, your schedule, the shape of your day.
Only then do you stabilize, systemize, standardize, and optimize.
That order matters.
W. Edwards Deming taught that you can’t improve a system until it’s stable. If every day is different, every result is different too.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past year.
My friend Dr Ned Hallowell describes the ADHD mind as a Ferrari with bicycle brakes.
Left alone, the day can feel like “a toddler at a picnic”…following whatever happens to grab your attention next.
The solution isn’t more discipline.
It’s better rails.
I’ve started thinking of my day like a slalom ski course.
I don’t schedule every minute. I just have a handful of gates I never miss.
Phone in the lockbox at 10.
Lights out at 11.
Out the door at 8.
Writing from 10 to noon.
Lunch at 12:30.
Appointments at 1.
Steak at 6:30.
Between those gates there’s plenty of freedom.
Ironically, the more structure I create, the more freedom I experience.
Ironically, the more structure I create, the more freedom I experience.
And once those rails are in place, I can spend my energy on my Unique Ability…the work that gives me energy instead of taking it away.
Thirty years after I first copied that Ferrari Mind Tune-Up into my journal, I realize I’m still following the same roadmap.
The destination hasn’t changed either.
Help business owners build better prospect vending machines so they can attract more customers, create more opportunities, and spend more time doing the work they love.
Sometimes the fastest way forward isn’t pressing harder on the accelerator.
It’s tuning the engine first.