How to succeed by using the power of "mind control"
So it’s well past 3 o’clock in the morning as I write this…
And I’ve been working on a client project all day for a deadline, hence the reason I didn’t get my post done earlier.
But I don’t allow myself to sleep.
Because it’s a weekday and my daily email isn’t done.
So therefore, no sleep until it gets completed.
Anyway, it made me think…
Sometimes it’s important to set “draconian” rules for yourself.
And rule over your own mind with an iron fist.
Because there are so many situations in life where important things need to get done, but you don’t feel like doing them.
And in those situations, you have a choice.
You can either give in to your own weakness and surrender…
Or you can suck it up and do it anyway. Regardless of whether you feel like it or not.
This is something I learned from Jocko Willink, the elite Navy Seal commander-turned-entrepreneur.
He says it’s about mind control.
But not the kind of mind control you’d think.
To Jocko, mind control isn’t about controlling the minds of other people. It’s about controlling your OWN mind.
Willing it to do what YOU will it to do.
As Jocko puts it…
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People ask me, “How do I get tougher?”
Be tougher.
They ask me, “How can I wake up earlier in the morning?”
The answer is: wake up earlier in the morning.
“How can I work out consistently every single day?”
Work out consistently every single day.
“How can I stop eating sugar?”
Stop eating sugar.
“What about emotions? How can I stop missing the person who broke up with me?”
Stop missing them.
That is mind control. You have that ability. You just have to assert it. . .
Don’t let your mind control you. Control your mind.
-Jocko Willink
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Anyway, you might be tempted to dismiss this as being overly simplistic, as I did when I first heard it several years ago. And you might be skeptical about it, as I first was.
But over time, with experience, I’ve learned that this holds true.
The human will is infinitely stronger and more powerful than most people think it is.
And particularly when it comes to writing, it seems that success ultimately comes down to discipline and will above all. As plain and boring as that sounds.
(The same could be said for every other discipline in life. But I find this especially holds true with writing.)
Because as a writer, you’re faced with a difficult decision every working day of your life:
Will you discipline yourself to sit down and write?
Will you subject yourself to the hard work, mental strain, and discomfort that is a natural part of the writing process?
Or will you allow yourself to procrastinate?
And go do something else — anything else — that is easier and less painful?
The choice is yours.
But it’s a tough one.
That’s why writer’s block is such a universal struggle.
And there’s no “trick” or “hack” that can make it easier for you.
You just need to make the decision to fight through the pain, the discomfort, and the boredom.
The decision to sit there, butt-in-chair and fingers-to-keyboard, and begin hammering away like the professional craftsman you are. And not let yourself get distracted for anything.
If you sit there long enough and stay focused, your mind will loosen up, and it won’t feel so painful or difficult anymore. And the ideas will start to flow without too much struggle.
And afterward, you’ll sit back and admire what you’ve created by using the power of mind control.
It’s like jumping in a cold shower: miserable and terribly difficult at first, but if you stay in it, you’ll adjust and it won’t feel so painful after a while.
But you’ve got to make the decision.
The difficult decision to engage in mind control.
THAT, my friend, is one of the biggest keys to success as a writer.
It sure as hell ain’t sexy.
But it happens to be the truth.
-Beau D. Schultz
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