#221 Discipline - the secret to a successful business.

The hardest part of military boot camp for me was the fitness. I wasn't an athlete. I had 10 weeks to get conditioned enough to pass the test. We did a 10 mile forced march with a 50 lb rucksack on our back while carrying a rifle. We were also required to do a mile and a half run in 14.5 minutes. 

 

They weren't optional. If I wanted to be a soldier, I had to get the job done. Over the 10 weeks, I developed the conditioning so that I could pass the test. That was a big moment for me. I worked my a$$ off. The motivation was high. I needed this job. 

 

 

We live in a time where we can hit a few keys on a keyboard and find a full business plan for our industry. Google it. You know what it takes - have a great product that you believe in, develop confidence and communication skills, get yourself in front of your client and close the deal. 

 

Sounds easy but hidden inside of these seemly easy steps are the micro-goals that require discipline - developing the confidence in yourself so that others trust you to solve their problems, what does that take for you? Do you need to become a better communicator? Do you need to learn to enter a room filled with people riddled with anxiety over and over again until you can do it with ease? Do you need to become confident speaking with affluent people? Do you need to do that while dealing with a disability?

 

It takes discipline to achieve big goals. Nothing falls into your lap. Look around at the successful people you know. They're tenacious at what they're trying to achieve. They don't only work on their business now and then; they're always asking the tough questions - is this taking me closer to that goal or am I sabotaging my success?  

 

Do you have the discipline that it takes to achieve the goal you have set for yourself?

 

Setting the goal is the easy part. It's the million little steps that are tough. Just like the new recruit, it was the willingness to push through the pain that made success possible. 

 

No one tells you about the days that we came home from a day of training in boot camp and took our boots off and chunks of skin came off. No one tells you that you didn't get time off for that to heal. You were back at the next day. No one talks about the idiot instructor breathing down  your neck telling you that you can't do it.

 

You need mental toughness to build a business. Work on yourself and your business will be successful. Are you willing to ask someone else to evaluate your skill and accept that feedback without getting pi$$ed off? That's what it takes to be successful. 

 

Most people want to be successful in business but not everyone is willing to do the work. 

 

Are you?