Tag: persistence

Discipline, forward-thinking, and your success

Do what you need to do now, even if you don’t want to, so you can set yourself up for success and reap the rewards later.
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” – Muhammad Ali

Do what you need to do now, even if you don’t feel like it, so you can set yourself up for success and reap the rewards later.

Does a farmer plant seeds only when he feels like it? No, because then when he needs to harvest his crop, it won’t be there!

Success takes time, it takes hard work, and it takes consistent action. If you work out once, you’re not going to have six pack abs. If you save money to invest one month, you’re not going to be able to retire off of it. But if you do those things consistently over time, you’ll eventually achieve things that most people aren’t disciplined enough to do.

“Suffer” now. “Sacrifice” now. Live below your means, take care of your mind, body, and spirit now. Do these things consistently and continued take massive actions daily, weekly, and monthly towards your goals, and you will achieve success. Think about your future self, not just about what you feel like doing right now.

Effort over (natural) ability

Everyone wants to be extremely talented and to have incredible natural ability. But the reality is that not all of us are blessed with that natural ability. We can’t change that. But what we can change is our effort.

How hard are you willing to work? How much are you willing to sacrifice? Are you determined to make it happen? Do you make a plan and work the plan? Are you intrinsically motivated? Do you work well with others? Do you have a good attitude? Do you show up? Do you follow through with what you say you’ll do?

Your effort in life will play a bigger role than your natural ability. The more effort you give, the more ability you can develop.

Requirements for success

“The three things you need in life to be successful are: hard work, stick to-it-ivness, and common sense.” – Thomas Edison.

My modified version: The three keys to success are diligence (working hard, smart, and with an end goal in mind), persistence (not giving up, OR knowing when it is right to let go), and pertinent intelligence (not just book smarts or common sense, but intelligence in the field of study that you are pursuing).

What are you doing today to lead to your success tomorrow and beyond? What quick wins can you get to build momentum? And what are big action steps you can take that may take a while to see the result, but are still incredibly important?

Overnight success

Consistent good or great action will produce great results. One great action does not.

Did the person with a six pack only do one really hard ab work out or did they work out consistently and eat well every day of the week? People who become rich… Did all of them inherit that wealth or hit the lottery? Or did they work hard, save money, and invest consistently (and intelligently) over time? There are very few overnight successes – only illusions to make you think that there are many.

Random thoughts on mindset, boredom, taking action, and failure…

Embrace challenge. Work on mindset. Your situation becomes as good or as bad as you tell yourself. Manage your emotions/beliefs.

Be ok with boredom. Notice what you’re thinking of. Use this to your advantage. Be creative. Don’t have too much structure. Be flexible. “Be like water.”

Take action. Learning/acquiring new information is good, but doesn’t do much for you if you don’t act on what you learned.

Live to fight another day. Don’t give up. Be persistent. Things may not have gone your way this time, but if you keep chipping away at success (steadily/consistently), you will get there.

“Failure” is final. You don’t fail unless you quit. Use the experience from disappointment to learn from and gain in the future.