I survived cancer. Then I nearly lost to my own habits.
When I fell off my roof, while my wife was seven months pregnant, doctors found kidney cancer by accident. The fall saved my life, but five years later I found myself in the worst shape of my life. I built a simple habit tracker to change that. 186 weeks later, and counting, the streak is intact and I want to share what I learned.
186consecutive weeks of habit goals met — and counting
The Falling Up Story
Growing not despite adversity, but because of it.
In November 2017, I fell off my own roof. My wife was seven months pregnant. In the ER scanning for internal bleeding, doctors found something else entirely: kidney cancer. The terrifying kind, the kind that doesn't show symptoms until it's already too late. I was one of the lucky ones.
"Five years later, I'd beaten cancer — but I was losing to my bad habits. Overweight, exhausted, out of shape. That was the real wake-up call."
It was November 2022 when something lit inside me. I told myself: if I can stay committed through the holidays, I can stay committed to anything. So I wrote down my Vision. I defined my Goals. I chose my Habits. Six months later, I'd lost 46 pounds. Since then, I've used this method to help me accomplish anything I put my mind to. I have managed over $1.2 billion in construction projects, built a leadership program, and spoken in front of rooms of 500 people. All because of one simple weekly habit tracker I made for myself.
The Falling Up Effect is what happens when adversity becomes the catalyst, not the obstacle. I built this brand to share the system that changed my life.
The system
Three things. In order.
Most habit trackers skip straight to habits. This one starts with why.
Vision
Define the life you want. Your vision is your guiding star — what you return to when life gets hard or unclear.
Goals
Turn your vision into something measurable. SMART goals that stretch you without breaking you.
Habits
Small weekly actions that compound into transformation. Not perfection. Consistency. Flexible enough to keep.
Get started
The habit tracker, your way.
Physical journal, printable digital version, or the Ascend app — now live.
Printed Journal
52-Week Tracker
Physical Journal
A full year of weekly habit tracking with the complete Vision → Goals → Habits setup. Available on Amazon.
Digital PDF
Print at Home
eBook & Printable
The same system as the journal — print as many times as you need. Download instantly.
Now Live
Ascend App
Ascend Habit Tracker
The full system, digitized. Track streaks, set habit buckets, and stay accountable — on any device. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
Start this week. It's free.
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