About Me

My name is Mark Proctor, and welcome to my little passion project, Decide To Think.

If you’re wondering about the name, it’s pretty simple: I genuinely believe that you can truly change your life the moment you Decide To Think. Whether it’s finding your purpose, nailing down your core principles, or just figuring out how to be a better version of yourself, it all starts with choosing to pause, reflect, and really question what life is throwing at you.

8 Years, a Business, and a Life Shift

So, who am I, really? I spent eight intense years building a retail business. I mean, I really built it—from sorting out the digital chaos of the online shop to figuring out the lighting in the physical store. It was my baby, my all-consuming project. And let me tell you, running both the online and offline sides taught me lessons I couldn’t have learned anywhere else—mostly about patience, stubborn persistence, and sacrificing a lot of weekends.

The payoff for that grind came when I successfully sold the whole thing for a multiple six-figure sum. That was the moment that truly changed my life, not just my bank account. Stepping away from the daily demands of inventory and staff allowed me to breathe and finally shift my focus from “How do I grow this business?” to “How do I grow me?”

That transition was deeply personal. It gave me the freedom to actively pursue the 7 Freedoms that now guide my life. More than that, it taught me how to apply the sharp, strategic thinking I used in business to my actual life—figuring out smart processes, systems, and ideas not just for profit, but for cultivating deeper relationships with my family, being a more present friend, and improving my own well-being.

The Simple Act of Deciding to Think

The truth is, all of this—the successful sale, the clarity in my personal life, the feeling of intentionality—happened because I literally decided to sit down and think. Not just worry, not just plan, but think—to connect the dots and create a roadmap. It’s a habit that transformed my professional success into a life I actually wanted to live.

Here on Decide To Think, I’m sharing those hard-won lessons, some of my deepest reflections, and the practical systems that helped me get unstuck. My goal isn’t to lecture; it’s to inspire you to choose that moment of thought for yourself, so you can stop running on autopilot and start designing the life, the business, and the goals you truly want.

To make this feel even more personal, what’s one thing you feel you currently run on “autopilot” in your own life?