Dreams and Discipline

Consider this: how many people would set out on an expedition to hike Mount Everest without having ever trained or done a hike? That would be foolish, right? Probably even deadly.

The fact of the matter is, difficult things in life normally have what we call in business a high “barrier to entry.” Basically, in simple terms, it is a barrier that keeps all but the serious away in accomplishing a goal. It’s that facet that can stop a dream from becoming a reality if you aren’t willing to take the steps necessary.

We experience them all the time.

In our culture, we are constantly exposed to people’s stories and accomplishments—largely in the form of social media. We see the end product—success, fancy cars, houses, crazy achievements—but we really have no idea what it took to get there. And so we are tempted to say either “I could never do that”—or worse, “I could do that if I wanted to.”

Both of these thoughts keep us from achieving the things we want.

Think about what this statement means: “I could accomplish that if I were really willing to do what it takes.” That’s kind of silly if you stop and think about it, right? What’s the point of even saying or thinking something like that? It’s useless thinking, at best; it’s judgmental and pretentious, at worst.

You see, you never really know what something takes to accomplish until you set out to do it yourself. You can read and study about something until you’re blue in the face; but, until your feet hit the ground and set off down a path, you really won’t know what it’s like.

The real reason we say things like this is that we are deeply afraid to set out after our dreams. We let the barrier to entry win. Life and negative experiences have taught us to avoid risk. So we pacify the inner urge to follow our dreams by convincing ourselves that we must not “really want to” follow them, otherwise we would.

But this is where discipline comes in—it’s the unlikely (mostly unwanted) companion that will see you through to the finish line. We often look at discipline negatively—we don’t want to skip that dessert, write that book, record that podcast, start that application. We want gratification now. And yet, we miss out on our dreams because we fail to start the process necessary to pursue them. We don’t take that first step, and so we remain discouraged, feeling that it’s useless and there’s nothing we can do.

Here’s the truth: with discipline, what seems impossible now can become possible and even probable. If you go to the gym and eat right, you WILL lose weight and become more fit. If you spend time working on pursuing your new business, it WILL yield results. Whatever you need to do, no matter how big or small, take the first steps today. Create a schedule. Find thirty minutes or an hour a day to pursue it. And go!

The world needs you to pursue your dreams. Let discipline help you! It will open doors you can’t even imagine currently. And we will all benefit from it! Remember, there’s only ONE of YOU!

—Casey