Success has various meanings to different people. It may not have an exact, one-size-fits-all recipe. However, I can tell you at least some of the ingredients. I'll focus on two of my favorite and most necessary ingredients which are: discipline and consistency. They go hand in hand like two sides of the same coin. They are prerequisites of success. They are required if you want to achieve your ideal of success.
Discipline is most necessary on the days when you don't feel like doing it.
You don't feel like making new connections...
You don't feel like taking those extra steps to make your work more professional...
You don't feel like investing in your business or craft...
You don't feel like putting in study time...
You don't feel like losing sleep or going over the numbers again...
You don't feel like budgeting or sacrificing what you want...
Even when you don't feel like it, discipline says, "I'll do it anyway." Discipline reminds you that even though you may not feel like it now, your decisions must be governed by a greater motive. You must choose to do what you don't feel like doing in order to get what you ultimately desire.
It is in those moments that character is truly developed. Discipline, like any other skill, must be practiced in order to be mastered. Once you have found a cause, a "why," great enough to make you practice discipline, the next step is consistency. You have to choose to keep doing those things.
To keep waking up early...
To keep being productive...
To stay on the mark...
To commit to daily decisions that lead you further to your anticipated end...
I believe that there is a law tied to consistency....
Whatever you do consistently MUST eventually produce results. The key, however, is to not give up before you see those results. If you don't give up, I promise you will see a return. Likewise, if you continue to be inconsistent, you will continue to produce nothing of value.
So today, if you feel like giving up, if you don't feel like doing what it takes, remember: do it anyway. You're planting seeds for a harvest that will produce if you just... stay... committed.
