DISCIPLINE
Question, what is discipline? Many answers exist, many definitions of the word have been given by various people. In my personal experience, discipline has long been associated with unpleasant things, hard and difficult things, things that are tiring and taxing to the mind and to the body. Things we would rather skip doing or if possible, not do at all. These things we like to skip or rather not do at all; it turns out to me, that they are what makes the difference between making happy successful people happy and successful and leaves others with unfulfilled dreams, putting them squarely in the jaws of poverty for a lifetime. It is funny, these things are usually small things.
So, what is discipline? Mike Tyson, world heavyweight champion boxer, famous all around the world, met and ate kings and queens, presidents of countries, prime ministers, famous politicians, made acquaintances and friends with almost all the famous people of his time from musicians, artists, models and movie actors: has an interesting way of defining discipline. “It is doing what you hate, but doing it like you love it,” he says. When competing, his routine consisted of running 10 miles, 1000 push-ups, 1000 sit-ups, weighted neck exercises, jumping rope for ½ hour, sparring 8-10 3 minutes rounds, each round with a different fresh sparring partner. All in a day’s work. Then he would go back to the house in the evening after training, read all about the warriors who came before him: Alexander the great, Charlemagne, Napoleon Bonaparte. Or, he would watch films of champion fighters in the ring and study their methods, study how they broke down their opponents, study how they move, how they threw punches, what were their defenses.
Jocko Willink: a retired Navy Seal commander. Navy Seals are in a branch in the American Navy, special warriors credited with the successful operation of the most difficult missions all around the world. You may remember Osama Bin Laden, terrorist who instilled fear into the hearts and minds of people for a long time. Everyone in the world knew of him. He is said to have been the mastermind behind the bombings and plane crashes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC on September the 11th 2001. This act of pure terrorism resulted in the death of people in their thousands. His bringing to justice for his terror acts came through the hands of the Navy Seals in Pakistan. Jocko Willink commanded ‘Task Unit Bruiser’ the most decorated fighting unit of the Iraq and Afghanistan war. His mantra is a simple one; easy to understand, easy to comprehend, ‘DISCIPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM’.
There are many more worthy definitions to discipline from people worth listening to. Their success in their fields of profession whether it be warriors and fighters, actors, musicians, artists, presidents, multi-billionaires, doctors or successful business people, gives them the authority and qualifies them to be listened to. Personally, I believe the most accurate and truthful answer is to be found with the person of achievement. They have done it; they have achieved what most of us dream of. In essence, they are living in reality, what the other person is dreaming. The fancy car one dreams about, these successful people have the privilege of driving, rightly so. They have earned it. The beautiful house with a garden and swimming pool, the beautiful family and kids going to private schools, with the finest clothes: these successful people have them, because they have earned them. Yet, we may ask ourselves, these people are just like us, they breathe same air we do, they eat like we do, they have two hands, feet, ears like we do, they speak like we do, how come they are successful, how come they live the ‘good and soft life’ yet we do not?
The answer ladies and gentlemen, is in a word. A single powerful word. Discipline. Technology has brought access to these brilliant individuals; we are able at the moment, to hear directly from them of their secrets to success that for so long had evaded most of us. The secrets remained hidden from our ears and eyes for many years. No longer. We are now able to hear from the horse’s mouth. Listening to them it is now clear as day. That to achieve anything worthwhile, to get achieve wealth and riches, to achieve success in business, any business in particular, to climb to the heights of any profession and be among the small 1% that makes things happen; that runs things and leads when others follow, to be the champion in any sport: rugby, football, long distance running, boxing, mixed martial arts, golf, tennis you name it, one thing is of paramount importance. One quality must be present. One attribute must be cultivated. That is discipline.
It is the thing that makes champions out of ordinary men and women, it is the quality that differentiates the successful entrepreneur from the failure, it is the deciding factor between riches and poverty. It is the fire that keeps the ship moving when storms come, it is the thing that enables the individual to get out of bed when the alarm goes, stops them from hitting the snooze button and moves him to do what he or she knows must be done to achieve success even when they don’t “feel” like it. It is what prevents the man from gambling away his rent money despite the lure of instant thousands, it is discipline that prevents the girl from dating multiple men and rescues her from a fatal love triangle. It pushes the athlete to the gym on the weekend when his or her friends are out partying and having a good time because they know there is glory and much to be won at the end of it all. Fame, money, recognition, a chance to be in the history books. Without it, all dreams are just that, dreams. Without discipline, whatever is started is never finished, without discipline a life is only half lived. Without discipline only the graveyard is enriched. With millionaires and champion sportspeople, greatest musicians and artists that could have been but were not. All because one thing was lacking; DISCIPLINE.
Now that we know the secret to our desires, how do we go about making it a part of our life? How do we ensure we reach our destinations through this never-failing vehicle called discipline? This vehicle that lifts one from obscurity and misery to a life of opulence and success and fulfillment and happiness? The answer is simple. We do what we say we will do. We walk the talk. That simple! It is simple but not easy. Remember in the beginning when we said these things are often small things? It is because they are. Waking up when the alarm rings and getting out of bed at that time without snoozing the alarm sounds simple enough for most of us right? Going to the gym after we decided in our new year’s resolution to cut that weight sounds simple right? Refraining from eating those oily fried foods because we decided to eat healthy this year even though the fries and the donuts look so sumptuous sounds simple right? Saving that money in an account instead of risking it in a gamble sounds simple right? You get the idea. These small things, simple things; are what make all the difference! They are what separates us from what we desire! They are what deny us our cherished heart desires and aspirations!
I strongly believe, at this moment in time, we can now reduce discipline to one single philosophy, ‘DOING WHAT WE SAY WE ARE GOING TO DO, EVEN WHEN WE DO NOT FEEL LIKE IT.’ I find it is the feeling part that brings all the trouble. This is another topic of discussion. DISCIPLINE will make ALL the difference! FREEDOM IS HERE! THROUGH DISCIPLINE. VICTORY IS HERE. SUCCESS IS HERE. HAPPINESS IS HERE. FULFILLMENT HAS ARRIVED. IT IS WITHIN REACH. SO, REACH OUT. The best time to start is now. Do not wait. Begin at once. DISCIPLINE!!
