Discipline

I've been thinking a lot about what I believe to be the central challenge facing our clients right now, along with the rest of our society.� �It's not an original concept by any means, but more and more I come to believe that it is the key to unlocking every success principle in existence.

Discipline.

Discipline may seem like an odd thing to emphasize- but I see the results of real discipline every day.� I also see the results of the lack of discipline every day.� Here's what I mean:

Think about anyone who you would consider to have "made it".� You know the person- the woman who is the number one producer in your office and also has a family that loves her and is very close.� Maybe you think of the guy who consistently outperforms everyone else and still has time to take numerous vacations AND train for a marathon.� Perhaps you are envisioning the manager who genuinely loves developing the team and does a great job of it.� Maybe you are considering your own track record right now.� Whomever the example, picture clearly why they popped into your mind as an example of success.� Now, if you watched that person very carefully, I guarantee you that you will see that nearly everything they do is purposeful, focused and disciplined.� They are disciplined about setting goals and achieving them.� They are disciplined about maintaining a great attitude, and they're likely very disciplined about how they use their time.� You'll notice that when it's time to work, that individual WORKS- so that when it's time to play they can do so freely and without baggage.�

On the other hand, consider the individual who perpetually seems to get the short end of the stick.� You may know someone who is extremely intelligent, or is very positive and upbeat, or perhaps has a great sense of humor and everyone loves them.� Everyone either knows somebody or is somebody who seems like they should be extremely successful in Life, but for some reason they just keep struggling and scraping by.� If you watch that person very carefully, the underlying cause is almost always a lack of discipline- about Goals, about their Attitude, about how they use their Time, or about how they communicate- or maybe all of the above.� Either way, I notice more and more that the most frequently occurring theme in the lives of truly successful men and women is the theme of discipline.� As Albert Gray says in The Common Denominator of Success, they have "formed the habit of doing what unsuccessful people don't like to do".� They are motivated by pleasing results rather than just pleasing activities.� In other words, they are disciplined.�

So then what I got thinking about was the question:� "What is discipline?"

Well, I had heard once before that the word discipline has the same root as the word disciple. As in "a follower".� Now I didn't want to get all super-religious or cultish on anyone, so I started thinking about what it actually means to be a disciple.� I couldn't really put my finger on it until recently when the answer was physically handed to me in church.� The sermon was called "Majoring in the Minors" and the notes at the bottom read as follows:

"?a disciple is one who stays focused on what really matters, and is careful about letting other less important issues or concerns get in the way."

Says it all, really.� Again, I'm not trying to create some Cult of Personality here.� I just encourage you as you begin this day, this week, this month, Your Life- stay focused on what really matters to you- at Work and in Life.� Be careful about letting less important issues or concerns get in the way.� I urge you?be a disciple of your own success.

Roger Seip is co founder of Freedom Speakers and Trainers www.deliverfreedom.com�a national training company that focuses on memory training, goal setting, attitude management, time management and effective communication.� He is an instructor as well as personal coach.� Roger can be reached at 888-233-0407 ext 113 or [email protected]