If you are a dad, you know the feeling. Life gets loud. Work deadlines. Kid schedules. A garage that looks like a Home Depot had a meltdown. Most of us are not short on things to do. We are short on intention.
Which is why Jesse Itzler hits so hard.
He is an entrepreneur, ultra endurance athlete, co founder of Marquis Jet, early partner at Zico Coconut Water, owner of the Atlanta Hawks, bestselling author, and creator of the famous Big Ass Calendar (worth a look if you have never seen it: ). He also happens to be a guy who built a big life while staying highly present as a husband and father.
His recent video titled If you want 2026 to be the best year of your life is basically Jesse handing you his entire operating system. It is simple, practical, and built to snap you out of autopilot.
Below is our hot take on it: useful, and written for dads who want a year they can actually remember living.
Why This Video Matters for Dads
Dads drift. It happens slowly. School pickups, work sprints, coaching soccer, a weekend Costco run. You look up and the whole year evaporated.
Jesse’s system stops the drift. It forces you to pause, reflect, clean house, and design a year instead of reacting to one.
This is not a vision board. It is a blueprint.
THE BIG IDEA: Play 2026 on Offense
Jesse’s philosophy:
If you do not plan the year, the year will plan itself. And you probably will not like the result.
Most dads live on defense. We respond to whatever hits our inbox, our calendar, or our kitchen table. Jesse flips it. He wants you attacking life, not absorbing it.
His method has three parts:
-
Close out the year with intention.
-
Identify what needs fixing.
-
Schedule the good stuff first.
1. Close Out 2025 Like a Pro
Before you build 2026, Jesse wants you to clear the runway. Think of this as the dad version of cleaning the garage before starting a big project.
Do a What Worked and What Did Not Audit
Two columns. Be honest. What actually moved your life forward. What drained you. What you tolerated instead of solved.
Declutter Everything
Physical clutter. Digital clutter. Emotional clutter.
Clean the closet. Empty the junk drawer. Delete files you know you will never use. A clear environment creates momentum. A messy one steals it.
Handwritten Thank You Letters
This is Jesse’s superpower. He writes thank you letters to people who impacted his year.
It is old school. It is rare. And it builds real connection.
More important for dads. Your kids see you modeling gratitude and relationship building. That lines up perfectly with our Dad Day principle of creating a life worth copying.
Write five to ten letters. Keep them real and specific.
2. Run Your Life Through the Blender
Jesse’s Life Blender exercise is simple and brutally clarifying.
Rate the major areas of your life from one to ten.
- Health
- Marriage
- Parenting
- Fun
- Career
- Finances
- Community
- Personal Growth
Pick the two or three categories that need the most attention. Not everything should be a priority. Most dads score lowest on fun, health, marriage time, and personal adventure.
That is the signal. Those are your 2026 levers.
3. Build Your Year With Jesse’s Offense Trifecta
Here is where the magic happens. Jesse organizes his entire year using three tools that create momentum instead of waiting for it.
A. Mogis
These are your year defining accomplishments. The big wins you will remember years from now.
Examples:
- Run a half marathon
- Take a one on one trip with your kid
- Start guitar lessons
- Launch a side business
- Repair a relationship
- Complete a 75 day challenge
Pick two to four. No more.
B. Kevin’s Rule
Every sixty days you schedule one new experience. Something you have never done before.
This is the antidote to the dad rut.
Ideas
-Go to a jujitsu class
-Go to a concert with your teenager
-Take a cooking class
-Camp in the backyard with your kid
-Visit a city you have never seen
Newness keeps you awake. It also shows your kids that adulthood is not a slow fade into routine.
C. One Winning Habit Per Quarter
Not ten habits. One habit every ninety days.
Examples
Q1: 10,000 steps per day
Q2: Phone free bedroom
Q3: Weekly date night
Q4: Strength training
Stack four habits and you are a completely different dad by next December.
4. Use the Big Ass Calendar to Schedule the Fun First
This is Jesse’s signature move.
Most dads plan the year like this:
- Work
- Kids’ activities
- Random obligations
- Maybe a little time for yourself if anything is left
Jesse plans it like this:
- Fun
- Mogis
- Adventures
- Family experiences
- Then work fills in the remaining space
It is simple. If you do not aggressively schedule the life you want, someone else will.
That is why his Big Ass Calendar is so effective. You can see the entire year at a glance. You cannot hide from blank space.
Color code it
-Blue for family adventures
-Red for personal Mogis
-Green for health habits
-Yellow for work
-Black for personal reset days
When you schedule the meaningful stuff first, life gets better instantly.
The Takeaway: Build a Year Your Kids Will Remember You Living
This system is not about productivity. It is about presence.
Your kids do not need a perfect dad. They need a dad who is awake. A dad who is intentional. A dad who takes action. A dad who builds a life worth copying. (Our past Dad Day newsletters echo this exactly. Kids watch the pattern. Not the perfection. )
Jesse’s method is your blueprint.
- Audit the past.
- Plan the future.
- Put the fun on the calendar early.
- Live on offense.
Your kids are watching. Give them something worth imitating.
