“When someone becomes a millionaire, the least important thing is what they have. The most important thing is what they have become.”

“Income Rarely Exceeds Personal Development”

-Jim Rohn

The Value of Discipline

I have read many things over the years that talk about Discipline, but none as eloquent as Jim Rohn’s take on the subject. He states “Discipline is the bridge between thought and accomplishment…the glue that binds inspiration to achievement…the magic that turns financial necessity into the creation of an inspired work of art.” Can’t you just hear the melody that would accompany these words if they were a song?
I know for years that discipline had a negative connotations for me. It made me feel powerless, like my freedom to do as I pleased was being held hostage. I can’t help but feel really silly now when I read Jim’s definition…how foolish I’ve been. All those years wasted, rebelling against the very thing I’d been fighting for…power and freedom over my own life.
Discipline is not a dirty word, it is the skill that catapults us into success. If I had a dime for every project that I NEVER finished maybe then I would have had the financial success I was looking for. But unfortunately no one pays for services not rendered.

Goal Setting

Without goals life is left to chance. My daughter has an app on her iphone that gives two choices, you select one of the two and then it gives you two more to choose from such as: would you rather eat hair that taste like chocolate, or moldy food in the refrigerator?
When it comes to goal setting it is much the same, would you rather have a life with the out come of your choosing, or would you rather leave it to chance?

The Tricky Part

Now the tricky part is to figure out what goals support your “rather” choices and combine it with the glue of discipline to create your inspired work of art…are you still with me?
Lets pick a goal, it can be anything. For argument sake lets pick something simple like losing ten pounds. Although I’ve tried for years to find a magic wand that would melt those unwanted pounds away we all know that in the end that losing weight is as simple as calories in – minus calories burned – equals pounds lost. There are infinite ways to get the calories in and a few less ways to burn them. But lets say you want to lose weight and get healthy, your choices would diminish considerably. Next you have to decide if you are willing to do what is required to eat healthy and exercise in order to lose the ten pounds. If you aren’t you need to find a different goal because you will never accomplish it if you are unwilling to do what it takes to achieve it.
It is the same for every desire we have. Achievement = goal +willingness to do what ever it takes to get there. Personal development is the key to all success, it is the action of discipline to learn new skills, gain new knowledge and put it into action that turns us into the person, the people we want to be.

Goals for 2010

As we begin a new decade and a new year I encourage you to make your first goal to play the “rather” game. Set a minimum of 4, 1-3-5-and 10 year goals that will move you forward and closer to a life you are worthy of…Claim Your Wealth in 2010!

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