Order of Priorities
Rank God, spouse, kids, health, business in that order and everything else thrives.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 86%
Order of Priorities is Greenfield's explicit ranking of what comes first each day: God, then his wife, then his kids, then his health, then his business. He argues everyone has an eternal hole that cannot be filled by houses, cars, money, sex or hobbies, and that the only two eternal things we interact with daily are God and the souls of other people. By prioritizing those two above everything else, all the lower priorities become more fulfilling and the person becomes happier. It's a reversal of his earlier life when business (and health, since his business is health) came first.
Origin
Greenfield shifted from a life where business and health topped his list to one ordered God, wife, kids, health, business, a change he credits with allowing him to genuinely thrive and feel fulfilled as a Christian entrepreneur.
Core principles
- 01A fixed daily order of priorities creates fulfillment; a scrambled one creates emptiness.
- 02Everyone has an eternal hole that only something eternal can fill.
- 03The only two eternal things we interact with daily are God and the souls of other people.
- 04Putting business first leaves the deepest needs unmet even when you succeed.
- 05When the top priorities are eternal, everything else becomes more fulfilling.
How to run it
- 1
Name your eternal anchors
Identify the things that are eternal and can actually fill the hole: for Greenfield, God and the souls of other people.
Pro tip Stop trying to cram achievement, money, sex or hobbies into a hole only something eternal can fill.
- 2
Set the explicit ranking
Write down a fixed order of priorities and keep it consistent from the moment you wake until the end of the day.
Pro tip Greenfield's order: 1) God, 2) wife, 3) kids, 4) health, 5) business.
- 3
Structure the day around the order
Protect the higher priorities first (morning spiritual time, family gatherings) so business never quietly climbs back to the top.
Watch out When business sits at the top, even success leaves the deepest needs unmet.
In the wild
Greenfield used to put business first, with health a close second because his business is health; he re-ranked his life to God, wife, kids, health, then business and structured his days accordingly.
→ He reports thriving and feeling fulfilled, crediting the reorder for making every lower priority more rewarding.
Common mistakes
Filling the eternal hole with achievement
Piling houses, money, businesses and hobbies into a void that only something eternal can fill leaves you perpetually unsatisfied no matter how much you win.
Is it for you?
Best for
Driven entrepreneurs and high achievers who feel something is missing despite winning at work.
Not ideal for
Those who reject a faith-based framing (though the relationships-over-achievement logic still transfers).
From the transcript
“number one, God, number two, my wife, number three, my kids, number four, my health, and number five, my business. And that has allowed me…”
“until you filled up that hole with something eternal, you're never going to be fulfilled or satisfied”
From the episode
Ben Greenfield: Biohack Your Way to Peak Health and Overall Wellness
Ben Greenfield