the only thing separating you from everything you've ever wanted is discipline right there in that simple truth lies the key that unlocks dreams and turns Ordinary People into extraordinary Achievers I know this because I've seen it transform lives right before my eyes I remember watching a young man named Michael in our neighborhood every morning at 5:00 a. m. While others slept his shadow would move across the sidewalk as he jogged past my window rain or shine weekday or weekend he was there training for his dream of becoming a professional athlete most people said he wasn't talented enough wasn't built right for sports but Michael understood something they didn't Talent is overrated when measured against pure unwavering discipline 3 years later when Michael signed his first professional contract people called it luck but I knew better I had witnessed the thousands of early mornings the countless hours of practice the sacrifices most wouldn't dream of making his success wasn't a matter of luck it was the predictable outcome of discipline applied consistently over time this truth isn't just about sports it applies to every single area of your life your health wealth relationships and personal growth all Bend to the power of discipline the most successful people aren't necessarily the most gifted they're the most disciplined success has a secret that most people never fully grasp it's built one day at a time through consistent disciplined action turn on your television open a magazine and you'll see stories of overnight successes but here's what they don't show you the years of dedicated work that came before that overnight breakthrough take Thomas Edison for instance when he invented the light bulb newspapers celebrated his sudden breakthrough they didn't mention the 1,000 failed ATT atts that came before but Edison showed up to his laboratory every single day following the same disciplined process of experimentation and refinement he famously said success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration that perspiration that's discipline in action consider this simple math if you improve just 1% each day through disciplined effort by the end of one year you'll be 37 times better than when you started not 365 per better 3700% better thanks to the compound effect of daily discipline That's The Power of small actions multiplied by consistency look at someone like Warren Buffett his wealth wasn't built through lucky stock picks or Market timing it came from a disciplined investment approach he's followed for over 60 years every morning he reads Financial reports for several hours he follows the same analysis process he's used since he was 19 years old no exciting get shortcuts no secret formulas just discipline day after day the truth about success is that it's boringly predictable when you do the right things consistently success becomes almost inevitable a writer who writes 500 Words every day will have a novel finished in 6 months an entrepreneur who makes five sales calls every day will have contacted over 1,800 potential customers in a year a student who studies 2 hours daily will accumulate over 700 hours of focused learning annually this is why discipline creates predictable outcomes it removes luck from the equation when you rely on motivation alone your results will be sporadic some days you'll feel motivated others you won't but discipline discipline doesn't care about feelings it's about doing what needs to be done regardless of how you feel building a house you can't build it in a day no matter how motivated you are but if you lay one rck perfectly every day consistently following the blueprint you'll eventually have a magnificent structure that's exactly how success Works each disciplined action is a brick in your foundation of success the most successful people I've met don't have extraordinary willpower or superhuman abilities what they have is extraordinary discipline they've created systems and routines that make success practically inevitable they don't think about whether they'll work out today it's just what they do at 6:00 a.
m. they don't debate whether to make those sales calls it's just what happens between 9:00 and 10: a. m.
