• To me, discipline is one of the biggest keys to success.  I have adopted Nick Saban’s definition of discipline; “discipline is doing what you are supposed to do, how you are supposed to do it, when it is supposed to be done.  In other words it’s doing the right thing, the right way, at the right time.  Discipline is formed from your thoughts, your habits and your priorities.”  This is such a simple yet powerful way to look at discipline.  Discipline is formed from the inside out, the only person that can truly create discipline is you.    
  • The first step in buying into discipline is that you must have your “why.”  You must know what you want to ultimately achieve in order to have the discipline to stay on the path every day.  It has been said by many people that if you lose your “why” you will lose your “way.”  As we talked about last week, people love to find an excuse to not get something done.  If you can stay focused on the big picture it is easy to say yes to the daily habits needed to win.
  • When it comes to discipline I live by the saying that “grinders win.”  Look at coach Saban. Why is he always on top?  The answer is “the process.”  Look at Cal Ripken.  Why was he such a great ball player?  He showed up every day.  Look at John Lee Dumas of EO Fire. Why is he a top podcaster?  He does a podcast every day of the year!  These people are on top in their industry because they show up and have the discipline to do what needs to be done every day to get better. 
  • Being a “grinder” is half the battle.  To have true, long term success a grinder needs to be intentional about what they do.  Anyone can work 60+ hours per week, the difference is what you get done with those hours.  If you’re not intentional and productive being a grinder will eventually lead to burn out and losing your “why.”  We need to be an “intentional grinder.”
  • When someone asked Steven King how to become a great writer, he simply said; “great writers write.”  When Jon Gordon was asked how to become a great speaker, he said; “great speakers speak.”  It sounds overly simple but at the end of the day this is the simple truth.  If we want to improve and become better at doing something we need to do whatever that is as much as possible.  The discipline to follow the process will lead to success. 
  • Ask yourself what you really want to accomplish and if what you are doing every day is getting you closer to that goal?  Do you show up every day?  Are you intentional with what you are doing?  Are you doing it the right way to achieve success?   

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