How to Develop Self-Discipline
Being disciplined is a decision we make every waking moment of every day. We can either take life as it comes, or we can learn and take the steps necessary to build the lives of our dreams.
In the early days of my sales career, I attended a training where the speaker said, “Find out who the most successful people are in your local area and invite them to lunch.” I looked around my community and invited one of the most successful businessmen to lunch at one of the nicest local restaurants. I was quite surprised when he agreed.
Being young, and nervous, about meeting with this man, I didn’t know what to say. He finally asked why I had invited him. I told him about the speaker’s suggestion and that I was curious to know how he became so successful. He then offered to give me the words he lived by...the words that made all the difference in the level of success he had achieved. I was so excited until I realized I didn’t even have a piece of paper to take notes of this conversation. I grabbed my napkin and pen to write down whatever he was about to tell me.
He began by telling me that there would be days I’d hate him for sharing this advice. And there would be days he would bless me for it. Then, he gave me what I refer to as The Golden Dozen—twelve words that changed my life forever: “I must do the most productive thing possible at every given moment.” That’s the essence of discipline.
There will be times when the last thing we want to do is to make one more call, or handle paperwork. But they’re pieces of the puzzle of success.
When we concentrate on productivity, it’s amazing at how much more successful we become. And, please note that laying on the beach in Hawaii can be productive, too, as long as it’s a recreational or restorative time that will allow greater productivity when returning to our main work.
“I must do the most productive thing possible at every given moment.”
Copyright Tom Hopkins International, Inc.
Retired Director Communications and Strategy
6 年Great advice and motivational. Thank you
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7 年Tom, A GREAT POST! Thank you for sharing. Warmest Wishes, Sharon Sasser
Insurance Broker
7 年This is a great article, Tom. Reading this reminded me of one of the books I've ever read called "Essentialism" By Greg McKeown.
WFM and Dialer Analyst at Tanfeeth (EmiratesNBD Bank Group) | PGDM - Marketing | Ex- ICICI Bank
7 年With this article I think a person has to spend his life at his fullest which means it can be working in a corporate or helping our family. Its just about how much more you can put for a particular task or a moment in life.. Thank you Sir.
Associate Broker at CENTURY 21 Campbell Realty, Inc.
7 年I remember when I first heard you tell that story, in 1978 or was it 1979 -- when I attended your Detroit, MI seminar. I wound up buying your Champions Unlimited package. I did commit all the material to memory, and to this day believe that it is some of the best material out there....... Sad to say, that I didn't remain in real estate, there were many different factors involved, but "it's not the problem that's the problem", right? I did however use many of the your philosophies in my personal life and even in my business ventures and found these to be invaluable. Now that I"m older and have reentered real estate, I reflect back on the material and am in the process of putting it into action............I'm glad to see that you are still out there, sharing your nuggets wisdom to help others sort things out.