笔记15 Success Secret 15 Practice

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.

—ELBERT HUBBARD

If youcan discipline yourself to do what you should do, when you should do it,whether you feel like it or not, your success is virtually guaranteed.

The key to becoming a self-made millionaire is having a long-time perspective combined with an ability to delay gratification in the short term. It is your ability to set a long-term goal of becoming financially independent and then to discipline yourself, every single day and with every single expenditure, to do only those things that will guarantee that you ultimately achieve your long-term goal.

Self-disciplinerequires self-mastery, self-control, self-responsibility, and self-direction.

The difference between successful people and failures is that successful people make a habit of doing the things that failures do not like to do. And what are those things?

The things that failures don’t like to do are the same things that successful people don’t like to do either.

Butsuccessful people do them anyway because they realize that this is the pricethey must pay for the success they desire.

Successful people are more concerned with pleasing results. Failures are more concerned with pleasing methods. Successful people take actions that are goal achieving.Unsuccessful people take actions that are tension relieving. Successful people do the things that are hard and necessary and important. Unsuccessful people,on the other hand, prefer to do the things that are fun and easy and that give them immediate enjoyment.

everyact of self-discipline strengthens your other disciplines as well. Every time youpractice self-discipline, your self-esteem goes up.

Youlike and respect yourself even more. And the more you practice discipline insmall things, the more capable you become of the great disciplines required forthe great opportunities, experiences, and challenges of life.

Rememberthat everything in life is a test. Every day, every hour, and sometimes everyminute, you are taking a test—of self-mastery, self-control, and self-discipline.The test is to see whether you can make yourself do the things that are mostimportant and stay with them until they are complete. The test is whether youcan keep your mind on what you want and where you are going rather thanthinking and talking about things you don’t want or problems you have had inthe past. When you pass the test, you move onward and upward to the next“grade.” And as long as you keep passing the tests, you keep moving onward andupward in your life. Success requires tons of discipline. As Jim Rohn says,“Discipline weighs ounces; failure weighs tons.”

ACTION EXERCISE

Change one thing at a time. Identify one area of your life where lack of

discipline is interfering with your success. Decide today to develop discipline

in that area. Launch strongly. Tell others about your decision. Never allow exceptions

until the new habit is firmly entrenched. This decision alone could change your

life.