The Discipline Blog

You learned addition and subtraction as a child. As an adult learn which things to embrace and which ones to eliminate. Once you develop a list – execute and build the life you desire!

Additions: Always keep learning, save money, live a healthy lifestyle, remain structured (adhere to a routine, treat everyday equally, and always strategize on how to accomplish more). Most importantly live life with a sense of urgency.

Subtractions: Don’t dwell on the past, credit card debt, impulse buying. Eliminate time wasters (Watching too much TV, surfing the internet aimlessly for hours, people that babble too much and take too long to get to the point).

STRATEGY

Remain future-focused
If you only stay in the now, you run the risk of getting lost and distracted. Your actions here and now lead into the future. Tomorrow comes.

Consistently strategize (always looking forward) to achieve success. Just like strategy works to build successful businesses, the same needs to be done for your life:
How can I accomplish my goals faster?
How can I be more efficient today?
How can I create more services that people will want to purchase?
How can I be healthier?

You are programming that personal computer you carry in your head to be goal oriented, a problem solver.

Ace says – Visualize your future and how you want it to be. Doodle it out on a piece of paper. Make it real. Make it solid. The more energy you put into creating Your future, the better it acts as a magnet to attract what you need. You can create a vision board, using photos and drawings that symbolize what you want in your future.

Don’t get stuck on what happened in the past
If you made a mistake, understand what happened, institute a policy so it doesn’t happen again and move on. Just as you got back up when you were learning to walk.

Example:
You wind up being late for an appointment. You look at your usual routine that made you late and realize you have a tendency to leave things to the last minute and that you don’t give yourself any leeway. So you make a rule for yourself – Give myself extra time and then you start acting on that rule. Ask yourself “am I giving myself enough time or do I need more?” Do this until the rule becomes a habit.

Don’t get stuck on what’s happening today
Don’t waste precious cycles thinking about what to do throughout the day; have each day scripted the night before.

Write down your agenda (errands and tasks) the night before. Make sure everything is prioritized.

So many times we give ourselves excuses as to why we fail. We blame others, our childhood, our boss, our wife. We get lazy, or upset at a setback and then stop ourselves.

If you fail a goal you should be very upset with yourself - downright irate! The more you train the mind it’s the worst possible thing that can happen to you, the better your odds will be that you will never fail.

We all have a saboteur inside of us. The one that is afraid if we succeed.” If I become rich then I won’t have any friends.” “If I get the job I want then my sister will die from envy and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Make a list “10 reasons why it’s ok to fail” Write down whatever comes to mind, no matter how strange or weird it may seem. Find out how this saboteur of yours works. Aren’t you curious?

Recall times when you did the wrong thing and you knew it was. For example you stayed up late before an important exam, you didn’t give yourself enough time to prepare for a presentation, and you kept putting off that important phone call. What is your pattern? Do you put things off? Say the wrong thing to the wrong person? Start a fight? Doing these exercises gives you more insight to what has been stopping you.

Perfection is something we all desire. However, it’s something no one will ever achieve, but you should always keep trying!

By acquiring discipline you WILL always keep trying. Your mind is being trained to improve and achieve.

Manage Life by the 80/20 Rule
80% complete is better than another missed or failed project. Accomplishments are addicting. Remember the last time you were proud of yourself for achieving something. What was your mood? Get that feeling back.

Put a stake in the ground and bring projects to fruition. Once version 1.0 of your project is complete you can always re-visit it to make improvements.

Life Is All About Accomplishments
We’re all on this planet for one time and one time only. There are no second chances. I continually ask myself; why are millions of people wasting so much time everyday?

I can’t imagine not accomplishing one goal after another until the day I drop. If there are no accomplishments, there is no life, or at best it’s an unfulfilled life.

There is no purpose for living. You may exist, but that’s not living. Living is progressing, becoming more aware, more ethical, more able to enjoy things, more able to get things done.

There is no greater feeling in the world than accomplishing a major goal. Once you complete a goal you will never forget it.

It’s hard to describe in mere words what the feeling is like. It’s a kind of euphoria that not only makes you feel invincible, but is extremely addictive as well.

The level of intensity is relative to the difficulty of the goal. The harder the goal, the stronger the “feeling of accomplishment” will be. You can take my word for it. I still remember each and every goal, even the ones I accomplished over 30 years ago.

To me, life is about accomplishments and feeling on top of the world each time you achieve one. What a rush, one after another, like no other feeling. Those are REAL highs.

It’s a self-inflicted adrenaline rush that you can’t get out of your system once you’ve experienced it. The more you accomplish, the more you crave more accomplishments for yourself. You will never be satisfied.

What a feeling it is to always want more and have that hunger to take on new challenges and to accomplish more year after year. Life now has purpose. You don’t need to worry about boredom.

Discipline opens the door to accomplishment and greatness.

Continuously Seek Knowledge
Not just formal education that you get by going to school. I’m talking about after high school and college and beyond.

I mean those everyday experiences and challenges we all face. Whether it comes from traveling (cultures, languages, etc.), understanding your body’s physical limitations, or completing a huge project at work; keep on learning.

Story: The Continuous Thirst For Knowledge
I was on assignment in Washington, D.C., the home of politics – the most dreadful word (in my opinion) to ever come out of Webster’s Dictionary. “Politics.” God, I hate that word – always have, until recently. I felt that politics was for people who cannot accomplish anything and politicians were spineless weasels. (As you can tell, I have a very negative outlook in this area.)

I was facilitating a week long strategy workshop at a very large and profitable corporation in the DC area. The first day was miserable. I felt sick: my frustration level was at an all–time high.

In attendance were Vice Presidents and Directors. By the end of the first day, it was apparent that very little would be accomplished because of all the hidden political agendas. I was ready to burst. I made a comment to the attendees: “You guys are lucky that this company is so profitable. I don’t understand how things get done.” Up till then, my fixed idea had blocked me from seeing any usefulness to politics and the political way.

However, things get done even in their own bureaucratic, entangled way.

I started to see that even in the midst of all these agendas, things could get done. Unbelievably, by the middle of the second day, I wanted to learn how they did it. I had become curious.

Something that I had felt so strongly against was now something I wanted to learn about. I had an incredible thirst to understand politics, agendas and how to weave in and out of them to accomplish an objective; and by the end of the week, it made sense. With politics, especially the D.C. type – you learn not to fight it but work within the system.

This article comes from the forthcoming book “Take Control of Your Life, The Ten Commandments for Mastering Discipline” by Harris Kern and Adriana (Ace) Lewis.

To effectively accomplish your lifelong goals and aspirations you must be in good health. This means eating healthy, managing your weight, and consistently exercising.

Your mind needs your body in perfect condition. Without your body in the best possible condition you will be adding another obstacle on your road to success. The body and mind need to work as one.

Exercise
Be consistent. Do whatever it takes to complete your milestones on schedule. Your mind needs to get used to accomplishments vs. failures.

Establish doable targets. If you’re someone that has difficulties achieving your exercise-related goals, be realistic and start out small (milestones that are attainable). Exercise twice a week to begin with or even once a week. When you’re consistently achieving your milestones then increase your exercise time to 2-3 times a week.

Maintain a Personal Banking System (PBS). The concept is simple. It’s the same notion as putting money away in a savings account in case it’s needed for an emergency. Except this isn’t about finances it’s investing in a healthy lifestyle. Let’s say your milestone is to exercise twice a week, the objective is to always try to do more. If you exercise more then 2 times on any given week – deposit the extra workouts into your PBS and build a nest egg. Emergencies will occur and if you don’t have a savings of workouts to withdraw from then you will have a setback. The objective is to never withdraw from your PBS. Unfortunately in life emergencies do happen, so be prepared, stay ahead of the game and stay healthy.

Define exercise criteria. Our bodies need some form of exercise on a regular basis and you don’t have to go to the gym each day. Walk up and down the stairs vs. always using the elevator, cleaning the house vigorously, washing/waxing the car, lifting weights, running, take long brisk walks, etc. Train your mind that cleaning the house is exercise, as is washing and waxing the car. It really works. You’ll get a pretty good sweat out of it and accomplish two things at once.

Play Mind Games to Consistently Exercise
Here are some examples of mind games to get yourself into the groove of exercising daily:
. Associate exercise with pleasure.
. Visualize yourself enjoying exercise, winning at it.
. Before going to sleep, see yourself exercising. Working your body should be enjoyable. It is your first tool for getting things done.
. Think of an image that gets you excited about exercising.
. What is your favorite way of exercising? Imagine being admired by your friends for how well you’re exercising.
. Give yourself a pep talk.
. Hook up to someone, such as a trainer or a coach or a loved one who really wants you to succeed.

Train your mind that exercise is not a supplement; it’s an integral part of your life. The sooner you can incorporate it into your daily routine – the more in control you will feel over your life and the more you will be able to accomplish in other areas.

Challenge yourself
When it comes to our body, society has turned us into wimps by telling us that we are at the effect of the body, that we must bow down to the weaknesses of the body, to be scared of anything and everything.

Of course you need to be in touch with your body and listen when it says enough is enough, don’t injure it. But you also need to give the body a game. Your body will respond by changing its structure.

It is intent and purpose that monitors function and form. What if Lance Armstrong had listened to all the reasons why he couldn’t come back after cancer? You have the ability to achieve more than you will ever believe.

In order to excel in anything you need to be constantly challenging and pushing yourself. The same goes for your body. Great athletes always push their bodies past any and all barriers. Others who make this a goal can do the same with their body. Always be upbeat and positive about exercise.

Even though there will be some bumpy spots on the road with loads of excuses why you shouldn’t go, i.e., you’re tired, you’re feeling sick, you’ve got too much work to do, etc., you need to go anyway. If your body is really under the weather, just do a gentle workout. Push yourself by continuously playing mind games and eventually the mind will take over and automatically push you.

Don’t EVER Diet - Manage Eating Habits
The English language should abolish the word diet. I hate it with a passion. Unfortunately, there are so many books written with the word diet it has brainwashed much of the population.

Eating smart has nothing to do with dieting – diets rarely work. It’s all about training the mind to effectively manage your eating.

Play mind games and train your mind
. Get a photo of a body you would like to have and look at it every day.
. Tell yourself daily that your body is strong and healthy and that it chooses the right foods to keep it so.
. Practice stress techniques to reduce comfort eating
. Twin up with someone who needs to get healthy and help them out.
. Find a partner who encourages you.
. Make an image board that represents the benefits of the body you are aiming for.

Eat smaller portions and fewer carbohydrates
It’s all about strict maintenance of your carbohydrate intake (breads, pasta, potatoes and rice) as well as portion control (total number of calories consumed)..

Ace says – It’s all about learning to control the urges of your body. You do have the ability to say no. You can regain your power over food. You can stop being hypnotized by food and the demands of your fat cells. .

Manage your weight
If you indulge one day then cut back the next day – become aware of your energy intake. However, don’t waste precious cycles by measuring calories every meal – unless you have nothing better to do with your time.

This article comes from the forthcoming book “Take Control of Your Life, The Ten Commandments for Mastering Discipline” by Harris Kern and Adriana (Ace) Lewis.

I’m not saying don’t be hopeful – I pray every day for good things to happen to my friends and family. All I’m saying is to put more effort into strategizing and execution vs. sitting around waiting for good things to happen. Extensive hoping utilizes valuable cycles from actually accomplishing things.

Based on thousands of evaluations from life coaching engagements, the top challenges affecting people, which I refer to as the dirty dozen are:
1. Failed goals
2. Lack of focus
3. Poor time management skills
4. Poor financial management skills
5. lack of confidence
6. Lack of motivation
7. Inconsistency
8. Missed commitments
9. Procrastination
10. Disorganization
11. Poor communication skills
12. Ineffective leadership skills

The first 10 issues fall under the category of self-discipline. Without these discipline-related skills it is impossible to effectively manage your life. Whether it’s your personal life or career, improving these skills is the key ingredient to improving the quality of your life.

Self-discipline skills are difficult to acquire. Although acquiring discipline is not rocket science it does take time and hard work to leverage its power. It’s easier for people to train for a college degree then it is to embrace and eventually leverage the power of discipline.

Discipline is the defining element in your life. With it you can achieve almost anything; without it, you will struggle to exist. Those who do will have no limitations in accomplishing their wildest aspirations. Regardless of your chosen personal and professional endeavors, discipline remains the single most critical ingredient required to bring fruition to your goals and desired outcomes. To acquire discipline follow these 4 principles:

1. Focus
Establish and adhere to a maximum of 2 priorities ONLY (i.e., career and health).

De-clutter the mind of everything else.

Establish goals with simple milestones and realistic due dates. Build in safeguards (plan for emergencies and worst case scenarios).
Treat everyday equally by focusing on your priorities first.
Be efficient by keeping every day organized. Write down your daily tasks/errands the night before.

2. Commitment
Train the mind to think with a sense of urgency by playing mind games. The method I use to play mind games is the man in the mirror (MIM) technique. You’re conversing with yourself repeatedly in a negative manner. Just like a drill sergeant would mentally beat up new recruits in boot camp. Adhere to a daily routine and it will eventually become habitual.

3. Management
Manage Milestones NOT goals.
Plan your milestones for the entire week. For example, if one of your milestones is to exercise 3 times a week and you will be going on vacation Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun that week – make sure you exercise Mon-Wed.

Establish a Personal Banking System (PBS). The concept is simple. It’s the same notion as depositing money in a savings account in case it’s needed for an emergency. For example, If your milestone is to exercise 3 days a week then on the weeks that you feel energetic and have additional bandwidth do an extra workout and deposit it into your PBS. You never know when an emergency arises and you cannot workout. Your milestone will still be on target.

Manage time in minutes and always forecast wasted time in months/years.

Manage energy (mind and body) for peak performance. If you’re a morning person then do all of your brain intensive projects in the AM – as you get tired in the late afternoon do less brain intensive tasks (i.e., administrative).

Control
• Sacrifice. Before charging forward you must realize that you can’t have it all - if you try you will always fail. Learn to say no with grace.

The effort to develop your skills to consistently achieve results and improve your quality of life is a difficult one. Although the approach seems fairly easy to follow no one should underestimate the resources required to dramatically change your life. I don’t think this is news to anyone. It’s a lot of hard work and only a handful of individuals are willing to sacrifice their unstructured lifestyle in the short-term to enjoy a more productive and balanced future.

Do you honestly think reading a self-help book, listening to a 1-hour talk or even attending a 1-day seminar on wealth management will provide you with the necessary level of discipline for success? It may for a day/two or perhaps even a week, but then it’s back to business as usual. Acquiring discipline is a huge commitment of resources and sacrifice. That’s why people fail in this endeavor and self-help experts are making millions. Everyone is looking for a quick fix. Unfortunately there are none. Very few are willing to sacrifice their unstructured and just barely surviving lifestyle for a more disciplined/structured and productive lifestyle.

Once you have acquired discipline the accomplishments have been piling up, there’s a high probability that you start to get cocky. I’ll make it simple – don’t go there. With discipline you have an edge over so many people but learn to use it in a favorable manner - never let it get to your head.

What’s this world coming to? No wonder there are so many children that are overweight and out of shape. Wheeled backpacks were created for those years when the load of books may be too much for a child who would be walking a good distance. Some young children were developing back problems because the weight of their books was too much for them and this was a solution. But in most cases they are not being used for these circumstances. Use common sense here. You might ask yourself what difference does it make whether or not a child carries their books. Children need all the exercise they can get. Even worse are those parents and grandparents who carry their backpacks for them. It also sets a bad precedent for years to come. As these kids get older they will continue to be lazy.

Every time this friend of mine caught a cold, or had a new ache or pain, she went to the doctor. Is her behavior right? No–first of all there are no cures for the common cold and why waste your time for every little ache? I’m sure you can find more useful things to occupy your time. On the other hand, I went 10 years without going to a doctor. Now, is my behavior right? No, you should go at least once a year for a physical.