The Importance of Self-Discipline

It goes without saying that self-discipline is a crucial success principle. It is essential for any important achievement and it might be that something which stops you from achieving the results that you want. So what does it mean to be self-disciplined?

To be self-disciplined means to do what you know you should do and when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. The problem is that so many times we don't really "feel like it"... And instead of doing something that would bring us closer to the manifestation of our dreams we stick to our old lazy habits and do what is fun and easy instead of what is necessary.

Why is it so hard to do what we know we should do? I guess it's part of our human nature, we always seek the easiest way to do things and we want to achieve our results with the least effort and time investment possible. We all want instant gratification. And we do want our reward before paying for it, but any great achievement requires dedications. In other words, you have to pay the price for the prize.

Even though it may seem that discipline is related to some kind of slavery and limitations it actually creates a lifetime of success, wealth and freedom. Author and ex-olympian gymnast Dan Millman says, "Discipline brings excellence and excellence brings freedom."

When you think of success principles author Brian Tracy is someone who comes first to my mind. In his books he shares a lot of insights about achievements of all kinds. I like what he has to say about self-discipline. Below you can read Brian Tracy's simple and yet effective seven steps that will help you become more self-disciplined.

Discipline yourself to do what you know you need to do to be the very best in your field. Perhaps the best definition of self-discipline is this: "Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not."

It is easy to do something when you feel like it. It's when you don't feel like it and you force yourself to do it anyway that you move your life and career onto the fast track.

What decisions do you need to make today in order to start moving toward the top of your field? Whatever it is, either to get in or get out, make a decision today and then get started. This single act alone can change the whole direction of your life.

There is a powerful seven step formula that you can use to set and achieve your goals for the rest of your life. Every single successful person uses this formula or some variation of this formula to achieve vastly more than the average person. And so can you. Here it is:

Decide What You Want
Step number one, decide exactly what it is you want in each part of your life. Become a "meaningful specific" rather than a "wandering generality."

Write it Down
Second, write it down, clearly and in detail. Always think on paper. A goal that is not in writing is not a goal at all. It is merely a wish and it has no energy behind it.

Set A Deadline
Third, set a deadline for your goal. A deadline acts as a "forcing system" in your subconscious mind. It motivates you to do the things necessary to make your goal come true. If it is a big enough goal, set sub-deadlines as well. Don't leave this to chance.

Make A List
Fourth, make a list of everything that you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. When you think of new tasks and activities, write them on your list until your list is complete.

Organize Your List
Fifth, organize your list into a plan. Decide what you will have to do first and what you will have to do second. Decide what is more important and what is less important. And then write out your plan on paper, the same way you would develop a blueprint to build your dream house.

Take Action
The sixth step is for you to take action on your plan. Do something. Do anything. But get busy. Get going.

Do Something Every Day
Do something every single day that moves you in the direction of your most important goal at the moment. Develop the discipline of doing something 365 days each year that is moving you forward. You will be absolutely astonished at how much you accomplish when you utilize this formula in your life every single day.


Here are two things you can do to put these ideas into action immediately.

• First, decide exactly what you want, write it down with a deadline, make a plan and take action -- on at least one goal -- today!
• Second, determine the price you will have to pay to achieve this goal and then get busy paying that price -- whatever it is.

Want to know how to accomplish more in a month than most people accomplish in a year?
Brian Tracy's audio program, The Miracle of Self-Discipline, will show you how! Training yourself to complete important tasks -- even when you don't want to -- is a vital skill that every Top Achiever should master. To get your copy today, click here.

“Self-disciplined begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don't control what you think, you can't control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward.” - Napoleon Hill

Technorati Tags: self-discipline, success principles, mind food, personal development

The Emotion of Fear

When writing about success principles I mentioned fear as one of the things that may stop you from achieving your goals. Let's face it, we are all afraid of something. We are afraid of all kinds of failures, we are afraid of other people's criticism or what they might think about us, we are afraid to step out of our "comfort zone", etc. But what is fear after all? Is it real? Or maybe it's just an illusion, maybe we are just making it up?

I'd like to share with you this video where author Neale Donald Walsch talks about the emotion of fear. You may have already heard about this author from the movie Conversations with God which tells the true story of Walsch, also his famous books that have changed lives of millions of people worldwide. He also appeared on the Secret. So here's the video, I hope you get something useful out of this!

Technorati Tags: emotion of fear, mind food, personal development

The Real Secret of Success

You must have already heard about the Law of Attraction. This universal law basically states that like vibrations attract like vibrations. In other words, we attract into our life that which we think about - whatever we think about, we bring about. Many successful people have known this law and have consciously worked with it for years, many success coaches have been teaching this law to their students. Nevertheless, the Law of Attraction reached its peak of popularity after the release of The Secret.

Below is what author Brian Tracy has to say about the Law of Attraction and the movie.


More than 5,000 years ago, in the ancient mystery schools of Egypt, the mental and spiritual laws and principles of success were taught to students who dedicated their entire lives to learning in what was called the "Esoteric Arts."

One of these "secrets" was the Law of Attraction, which said that your mind is a magnet and that you invariably attract into your life people and circumstances in harmony with your dominant thoughts, especially your dominant thoughts emotionalized.

Today we say, "Like attracts like" and "Birds of a feather flock together." From ancient times, it was known that your mind sends out vibrations, like radio waves, that are picked up by the minds of other people who are tuned into the same rate of vibration.

The force that determines the sending power of your mental vibrations is the amount of emotion, positive or negative, that you put behind a thought. If there is something that you intensely desire, something that excites you and enthuses you, you will send out powerful, high-frequency vibrations that can travel large distances in split seconds and cause your phone to ring from someone you have not heard from for months or even years.

Because your mind is so powerful, especially when backed by emotionalized thoughts, you must handle it carefully, like a child handling a gun. The Law of Attraction is neutral. It works on both positive and negative thoughts. It brings into your life whatever you are thinking about on a regular basis with either fear or desire.

When the book, "The Secret" came out, along with the movie, I was happily surprised to see that the first half of the movie comes from my audio program and seminar, "The Psychology of Achievement" which was produced initially in 1981. We videotaped the live seminar which explains the Law of Attraction along with thirty-one other laws, plus how this law is applied in every area of life, and then distributed the video seminar world wide, including New Zealand, where the Author of The Secret comes from.

The weakness in The Secret is that it is "necessary but not sufficient." Of course, it is important that you think positive thoughts and that, by so doing, you will attract positive people and circumstances into your life. But it is not enough.

In response to The Secret, I decided to write a book which is called "Flight Plan -- The Real Secret of Success." In this book, I explain that life is very much like a long distance flight. When the plane takes off, it will be off course 99% of the time. But nonetheless, the plane will eventually arrive at its destination, even thought it was off course most of the time.

In my experience, the real secret of success consists of three major factors: First, you must be absolutely clear about your destination. By this I mean that must have clear, written, specific, measurable goals, committed to paper and organized into specific, step-by-step plans of action.

Before you can set your goals, you must know exactly who you are and what you want. You must do a thorough analysis of yourself, your life, your hopes, your dreams, your ambitions, and where you want to be sometime in the future. Then, you create a "Flight Plan" to get you from wherever you are today to wherever you want to be in the months and years ahead.

The second part of Flight Plan is that you must "take off!" You must have the courage to step out in faith with no guarantee of success. You must be prepared to launch in the face of your fears, doubts and natural reluctance to break out of your comfort zone. "To achieve something that you have never achieved before, you must be prepared to do something that you have never done before." (Les Brown).

Once you have launched toward your goal, like an airplane, you will meet with unexpected turbulence, headwinds, updrafts and downdrafts, lightning, storms and every sort of mechanical problem. You must be prepared to make continual "course corrections" as you move toward your goal.

Perhaps the most important quality for success is, and always has been, the quality of persistence. You must resolve in advance to persist in the face of any difficulty or problem that you experience. You must resolve in advance that you will never give up. You must resolve in advance that you will view every temporary setback or difficulty as merely a signal that you need to make a "course correction" as you move inevitably toward your goal.

This is a great time to be alive. The very best days of your life lie ahead of you. The highest income of your life is still to come. The greatest experiences of your life are still to be experienced.

There is very little that you can not accomplish if you will file your flight plan. Determine exactly what it is that you want to achieve, take off toward your goal with no guarantees of success, and then make continual course corrections until you finally succeed. If you resolve to do these things, nothing can stop you from creating an extraordinary life.

Want to know the REAL secret of success?
You need a flight plan to succeed. And having a plan isn’t enough. Just like an airplane pilot you must make course corrections to arrive at your destination -- your goals. With Brian Tracy's Flight Plan, you can discover a how to achieve more, faster than you ever dreamed possible. You also receive 2 BONUS CDS!

Technorati Tags: the law of attraction, the secret, success secret