What makes successful people successful?
What makes successful people successful is what you do when you don’t want to do it. — Andy Frisella
How often do we hear people say: “I’m just not motivated.”
Often
How often do we hear people say: “I don’t feel like doing it.”
Even more often
Do you think that every successful person on the planet who has reached their goals FELT like staying up night after night working on their business? Do you think that every successful person who makes hundreds and thousands of dollars was MOTIVATED to work non-stop, cancel plans, never do anything that was for ‘fun’ or for the heck of it?
Success and discipline go hand in hand. You can’t be successful in life if you don’t learn to be disciplined. You can’t crush your goals if you don’t make the extra effort that it takes to work on your business, to work on your hobbies or passions or whatever it is that you are trying to build. There isn’t a single thing that you can occasionally do that will lead to optimal results. The only thing that will ever determine success in your life is what you do, every. single. day.
And twice on Sundays
Elon Musk works 85–100 hours a week.
Mark Cuban would stay up routinely past 2 am every night reading about new software. He didn’t take a vacation for 7 years.
Jeff Bezos worked 12 hour days, 7 days a week.
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” — Jim Rohn
Sacrificing your personal life for your business is part of the process. There are no shortcuts to success, the only way there is with hard work and discipline. Mark Cuban says, “know your business better than anyone else, otherwise, someone else who knows more and works harder will kick your ass.”
You need to ask yourself, what do you really want and how can you get there? What are the things you can do to put yourself in a position that will help you achieve your goals faster? What is hindering you from the life that you want for yourself?
Step 1. Have a clear vision
I’m going to use fitness as an example. I am a very disciplined person, if I say I will wake up every single day at 5:30 AM, (which I do) to go to the gym and workout, I will do it. It doesn’t matter how tired I am, it doesn’t matter if I’m not feeling motivated, I have created the discipline within myself to do this. However, the problem is a lack of vision. What are my goals? Am I trying to lose weight? Am I trying to put on muscle?
Use this exercise to create a clear vision of your future and what you want for yourself when you consider aspects of your life. What are your goals in your business? In your relationships? Within yourself?
It’s crucial to identify these things and have clear cut goals. Write them down in your journal, keep a document of them on your laptop. The important thing is to have them.
Step 2. Create a plan
Great. Our vision is set, now let’s get to planning and organizing. If my goal is to lose 20 pounds, it isn’t going to happen overnight. First off, it’s unrealistic and second, it’s unsustainable.
We want to be healthy, we want to lose weight in a way that will allow us to KEEP the weight off. Therefore, create a plan, figure out what you need to do every single day, every single week, in order to obtain your goal. Once that goal is reached, start working towards your second goal.
The thing about life? You will never be satisfied. Yes, you may reach your goal of losing 20 pounds. I guarantee you when you do it, you’ll see just what you’re capable of and you’ll realize how much more you can do. Create a plan and set expectations for yourself.
Step 3. Create deadlines
When I first started thinking about my goals and what it is that I will be doing, I was extremely grey about the timing of everything. For instance…
I knew I wanted to lose weight… but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be at my goal weight in the spring or right as summer started.
I knew I wanted to grow my YouTube channel… but I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to grow quickly or slowly.
I knew I wanted to create another blog… but I wasn’t sure when I wanted it to launch.
The reason why deadlines are important is that your actions within your discipline are what will help you crush your goals. Give your work a destination. You don’t want your work to be stagnant, If I didn’t set a date for how many subscribers I wanted to reach on my YouTube channel, I wouldn’t put in the WORK to reach that number. I would stay in the same spot that I have been in.
If I didn’t set a date for my new blog, I wouldn’t put in the work for my articles. Deadlines create pressure that will accelerate your growth. If you work on something with no deadline, procrastination may get the best of you.
Step 4. Just Do it
I know this may sound silly, but let’s go back to the quote at the beginning of this article by Andy Frisella.
“What makes successful people successful is what you do when you don’t want to do it.”
Yes, we have created the discipline within ourselves to work hard. Yes, we have the motivation and drive because we have a clear cut vision and deadlines. However, we are all human and there will be days where you won’t want to stay up reading about ways to better your business, there will be weekends where you’ll want to go out and get drunk and leave your work unfinished. In moments like this, you have to think of the bigger picture. You have to change that mindset in your head that allows you to half-ass your business, just because you aren’t where you envision yourself to be, does NOT mean you won’t get there.
You need to continue doing what you’re doing, constantly, consistently, every single day. You need to sleep, eat, and breathe your business if you want to be successful. There is not a single multimillionaire or billionaire out there who only worked on their business when they felt like it.
If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results. — Tony Robbins