So, here is my question for you:
What’s it going to take for you to follow through on whatever it is you said want to do?
In last few chapters we talked about what’s you dream? What’s your why?
What is the thing you want?
What’s your drive?
Today, we are going to talk about DISCIPLINE.
What’s it going to take for you to actually follow through?
Today, we are going to talk about DISCIPLINE and what it’s going to take to get you to actually follow through?
Today, I am celebrating one thousand one hundred and seventy six days exercise for every single day in a row. Now, that’s pretty cool… I didn’t even realize it, (but my wife helped me with the “math” the other day) and that’s over three years of working out every single day!
I haven’t missed a day… that’s even when I’ve been sick, or traveling… it didn’t matter what the issue was, I always found a way to do it.
But, believe me… that’s not the way it’s always been:
You know the truth is that a few years ago, I was disgusted with myself…
I don’t know if you know my story or not, but a few years ago I lost everything.
I lost my house.
I lost my stuff.
I lost my girlfriend.
I even lost my daughter – now she didn’t die, but I’ll tell you a little more about that in a second.
I was actually homeless.
At that point, I was so upset with myself because that was not who I was at my core. I was running these patterns and at the time… we’re talking about discipline right now… I mean, the last thing in the world I was, was disciplined…
If anything, I used to say, “I’m consistently inconsistent.“
So, I was given a book. One of the chapters was about discipline; and I realized that up until that point… for me – being disciplined meant being caged!
I didn’t want anybody telling me what to do. I didn’t even want MYSELF telling me what to do…
It felt like it would hold me back. Look, I didn’t even know what discipline meant to me.
So I first needed to redefine what it meant.
For me, I started to realize that discipline, instead of caging me, actually equaled freedom.
It ultimately meant total freedom, giving me all the things I ultimately wanted… that’s what discipline could really give me.
That’s what I was missing.
So, I’m gonna give you three things right now to help improve your discipline.
First, DEFINE what discipline means to you.
In the context of me exercising, I knew I need to commit to something specific.
I thought I could start with a simple goal of: exercising 20 everyday.
If I chose to do more than that, all the better, but at a minimum – 20 minutes a day.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized what an incredible simple discipline this would be. It was a way to be disciplined each and every day. It would help me create a new habit. It would be great for my overall health. I’d have more energy. It would be an example to my daughter. It could set a precedent and new-normal for other areas of my life.
Simple.
The second thing to do is DECIDE.
This means you “cut off all other options”. There are no longer any “shoulds’. It’s an absolute MUST!
You just have to decide.
Cut the excuses out!
Burn the bridges!
DON’T STOP!!!!!
It’s so easy to give up.
It’s so easy to say I’ll do this for a little while.
But don’t stop until you get it, until you follow through and truly get your results so that it can set you free.
I’ll give you a little example here:
I want to have an amazing relationship with my wife.
So, one of the disciplines in our relationship is every night we do something we call “Questions.”
We don’t miss a night.
It doesn’t matter whether we’re travelling or if we’re not in the same place. We might even be in different time zones, but we’ll make sure that every night, we ask each other:
1. What did you accomplished today?
2. What are you grateful for today?
3. What makes you feel loved? (As in, what makes me feel loved?)
4. And what do I love about you? (The other person?)
We do this every single day, because we are committed to creating an extraordinary relationship.
But it’s up to you, how often you commit to something like this.
So, you might define one of your disciplines as being something ‘weekly’ instead of ‘daily.’
For example, I’m making these greatness quest videos weekly. That’s one of my decisions. I cut off all other options and I defined what discipline actually means to me in this area.
So first: DEFINE what discipline really means to you.
Then: DECIDE what it is that you really want – CUTTING OFF ALL OTHER OPTIONS!
Lastly: DON’T QUIT – until you follow through.
So here’s the deal.
I know it’s not easy.
In fact… every time we’re doing something new, it’s hard.
I’ve got to say, it’s not always fun. I sure didn’t necessarily like being out in 16 degrees doing exercising. You just have to decide that you’re gonna make it happen, even when it gets hard.
Earlier I mentioned I lost everything including my daughter and that I’d explain it later. So here we go…
When my daughter’s mother and I were together, I had REALLY wanted the relationship to work out. But it didn’t work out that way.
Instead, it fell apart right around the time that I lost everything and I filed my bankruptcy.
My girlfriend left me, took our daughter and left the state.
After I gave my house back to the bank, I ended up homeless.
A friend of mine let me move into his family’s house… and I moved into in his sister’s lime green room at their house.
I was in my 30’s, broke and …experiencing a very low time in my life.
From there, I moved to another friend’s house and stayed in his attic, and later the basement. (Classy)
So, please don’t wait for it to get that bad. You don’t have to lose everything.
I don’t know why I had to do that to myself. It really sucked. I wouldn’t recommend it for anybody.
But, it doesn’t matter how bad it gets.
There’s always a way out and hopefully, my experience has been helpful.
So here we go… I’m sending you on your way, to go out on your own greatness quest – to become your best and remember, as long as you’re alive, you have the power to rise.
So if you can look up, you can get up. So eyes up, chest up, step up and go out and make your dreams and your life awesome. Take it to the next level.
I’ll see you next week.