The Resilient Mind - The Benefits of Discipline - Jim Rohn

Episode Date: May 17, 2023

Jim Rohn was a renowned motivational speaker who has been widely regarded as one of the best in his field during his time. He had an incredible ability to inspire and motivate people from all walks of life with his speeches and teachings. One of his most notable achievements was serving as a mentor to Tony Robbins, one of the most successful and well-known motivational speakers in the world today.Take action and strengthen your mind with The Resilient Mind Journal. Get your free digital copy today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Download Now⁠⁠  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Resilient Mind podcast. In this episode, you will be listening to The Benefits of Discipline with Jim Rohn. Get access to the Mental Mastery Program and other exclusive episodes by becoming a subscriber. Enjoy. Today, I want to talk to you about the immense importance of daily self-discipline. You see, I firmly believe that discipline is the cornerstone of success. It is the driving force behind every great achievement. and it is the key that unlocks the door to a life of abundance and fulfillment.

Without discipline, our dreams remain elusive fantasies and our potential lies dormant waiting to be unleashed. Daily self-discipline is not a one-time event or sporadic burst of motivation. It is a way of life, a commitment to consistently making the right choices, even when they are difficult or uncomfortable. It is about embracing delayed gratification and, trading short-term indulgence for long-term satisfaction. When we look at the lives of those who have achieved extraordinary success, we find a common thread.

Discipline. They understand that success is not an overnight phenomenon, but the result of small, consistent actions taken day in and day out. They have mastered the art of self-discipline and use it as a vehicle to progress steadily towards their goal. Now, I know it's easy to get caught up in the allure of instant gratification. We live in a world where shortcuts and quick fixes are constantly being marketed to us. But I'm here to tell you that true success is not found in the shortcuts. It is found in the discipline to do the necessary work, to go the extra mile, and to persist in the face of challenges. Daily self-discipline is about creating positive habits that serve as the foundation for success. It is about taking control of our thoughts because our thoughts shape our actions

and our actions shape our destiny. It is about setting clear, compelling goals and then developing the discipline to pursue them relentlessly. I often say that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. That's why it is crucial to surround ourselves with individuals who uplift and inspire us, who share our commitment to growth and discipline. The right associations can fuel our motivation and provide the support and accountability we need to stay on track. But let me be clear. Discipline is not about depriving ourselves or becoming rigid and joyless. It is about making choices that align with our long-term vision and values. It is about finding a balance between short-term pleasures and long-term rewards.

Discipline allows us to experience true freedom, the freedom to live life on our terms, to pursue our passions and to make a positive impact on the world. So how do we cultivate daily self-discipline? It starts with a decision, a decision to take responsibility for our lives and to commit to personal growth. It requires us to identify our weaknesses and areas where we need to improve and then develop strategies and systems to overcome them. It demands consistency, resiliency, resilience, and a willingness to learn from our failure.

In closing, I want to leave you with a powerful quote. We must all suffer one of two things. The pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment. The pain of discipline is temporary, but the pain of regret lasts a lifetime. Choose discipline. Embrace it as a guiding principle in your life. and remember it is the daily acts of self-discipline that will lead you to the extraordinary life you desire and deserve. Many people yearn for instant transformation, a miraculous change that will revolutionize their lives overnight.

But the truth is, lasting change rarely happens that way. It is the result of consistent, deliberate action taken day after day, week after week, and year after year. Imagine a sculptor who carves a masterpiece out of a block of stone. Each strike of the chisel may seem insignificant on its own, but it is through the accumulation of these small, repetitive actions that a magnificent sculpture is born. In the same way, it is the accumulation of our daily actions that shapes our lives. The power of small repetitive actions lies in their ability to compound over time, Just like compound interest multiplies our financial investments, consistent actions compound to create remarkable results.

It is through the accumulation of small steps that we climb mountains, achieve great feats, and transform our lives. Consider the habit of exercise. Committing to 30 minutes of physical activity each day may not feel like a significant change in the beginning. The key to harnessing the power of small, repetitive actions is consistency. It is not the occasional bursts of effort that create lasting change. It is the daily commitment to doing what needs to be done. It is finding the discipline to show up every day, regardless of how we feel, and taking those small steps towards our goals. Furthermore, we must be intentional about the actions we repeat.

Just as a farmer carefully selects the seeds he plants, we must choose our habits and behaviors wisely. We must identify the small actions that align with our goals, goals and values and then repeat them consistently. By doing so, we sow the seeds of success and reap a bountiful harvest. Remember, every action counts. Each time you make a conscious decision to eat a healthy meal, to invest in your personal growth, to nurture your relationships, or to show kindness to others, you are taking a small step towards creating the life you desire. And when you repeat those actions day after day, the results become extraordinary.

You've got to have family goals. You've got to have personal goals. Worthy projects you would like to support. Not just income goals. It's not to have a home and a nice car and clothes to wear. It's the full variety of things. If you can develop an appetite for all of that, I call them reasons. Reasons make the difference. If you have enough reasons, you can do spectacular. things. And there's an ancient script that says, without a vision, we die. And if I can get people

caught up in thinking about where they would like to go, who they would like to meet, the kind of income they would like to have, the kind of money they would like to share, the kind of skills they would like to develop, the influence they would like to have, the reputation they would like to build. Would you like to be an entrepreneur? Would you like to have a masterful management career. Would you like to be a better parent? What kind of influence would you like to have on the people around you? Would you like to influence the industry you're in? There's a whole wide range of things that we need not lack for appetite of things to accomplish. And that's called the promise of the future. And without that promise, life becomes a little less worth living.

If the promise is clear, we will pay the disciplines. We'll We'll pay the price, we'll read the books, we'll take the classes, we'll learn the skills. So that's one of the first things is to articulate the promise. Big job parents have these days is getting kids to see the promise of the future, the possibilities, the opportunities, the opportunities. When I used to cross my fingers and say, I sure hope things will change for me, and he said, Mr. Own, for things to change for you, you've got to change. I used to hope the economy would change or my boss would change and become more benevolent. I used to hope that circumstances would change, the difficulties would go away.

But he said things aren't going to change. It's going to be like it's always been. But if you will change, everything will change for you. If you'll get better, everything will get better for you. That sort of is the centerpiece of the philosophy I've been trying to teach all these years. And I think that's one of the best quotes. It's a promise he gave me. If you will change,

everything will change for you. But if you won't change, the next five years will probably be just about like the last five. But anytime you want to, you can learn from the last five, make the next five years of your life totally different from the last five if you'll make some little, simple beginning changes for your health, for your income, being more valuable in the marketplace, things you want for yourself and for your family and all the rest. pieces at a time. Best is to substitute a poor habit with a good habit. If you've got some bad habits as far as your health is concerned, if you start some good ones, my

mama taught an apple a day and my father will be 92's never been ill, I've never been ill, my children, my grandchildren, mama taught us so well those simple basic good habits of good health that we've followed all these years and the payoff is extraordinary. So maybe you've got something like smoking maybe that you shouldn't do but rather than just trying to quit that what if you started something positive and you got so inspired about doing that that inspired you then to start changing something that was negative. Success is looking at your own desires, looking at your own possibilities and then stretching yourself and seeing if

you can become all that you can become earn, earn, share all that you can share, make steady progress in that direction, to me that's success. A lot of the immigrants now that come to America from other countries have taught us some great lessons. They're some of the best students in school. The Russians that came to Israel, I'm telling you, they're now the leaders in industry. They are so grateful for liberty and freedom and for a chance. They need no guarantees. They don't need to be taken care of. All they need is an open door, a lad, to climb, a place to start, somebody to give them a chance and the way they go.

And I think we've had it so easy in America for so long that we have lost that sharp edge. And who knows, all the shake-up these last few years, the walls have become tumbling down, but in America, we need a whole new sense of personal drive, personal ambition, that will take whatever we got and see what we can make out of it. If it's pennies, we start with pennies. If it's painful, you start painful. You know, if you're ill, you start ill. If you don't have much of a chance, you just start with not much of a chance,

but see what you can make of it. And I think some of the people in other countries now, where freedom is finally intact, the walls have come down that are starting that journey, could teach us a lot about taking what we've got, making something valuable out of it, rather than expecting someone to give us something. If there's books provided that you don't read, classes provided that you don't take,

music provided that you don't listen to, ideas provided that you ignore, places to go of learning that you could find contact with ideas that could change your life and never take advantage of it. That's the big tragedy, to have so much brought to your fingertips and not to be excited about it. But that's what these seminars are for, that's what books are for, That's what messages like this are for is to remind people of what all is available. Let us not be cynical, but let us be thankful and reach out and appropriate what's available

and let it affect our lives now and in the future. And my study and the possibilities just overwhelm me as to where people can begin and then finally where they can go, what they can start with and what they can finally become. And to first of all, I think recognize that is an incredible. incredible, exciting adventure. And then if you start working with it, what could I really do? If I learned the lessons, adopted the disciplines, read the books, fed on the ideas like bread for my mind, what could I really accomplish? And the stories are always fascinating to us all about where people started, but where they finally ended up, what they finally accomplished, with dangers along

way of course. But that's what philosophy is all about. Human philosophy is to give us guidance to avoid the dangers and take advantage of the opportunities. Number one, to earlier recognize the dangers and to also earlier pick up the opportunities and make something of them. But I'm constantly amazed at the human spirit, human possibilities, people with the most enormous struggling problems, still manage to rise above them and do something noble, something powerful, something wondrous. I'm always intrigued by that. And I'm intrigued with myself, how I act like I act, how I respond like I respond.

What is this human adventure on the spinning planet? I'm intrigued by all that. But America, nationally, industries, commerce, business, companies, corporations. institutions, education, politics, all the rest. Involving human beings is an intriguing adventure. I think we need to be curious about it, how it works, how we can best play our part in family, in community, citizen, company, salesperson,

curiosity, develop an appetite for that. And just start by saying, I'm going to systematically make some inquiry. I'm going to be a better reader. I'm going to listen better. I'm going to search and start that whole process. And the more you do it, I'm telling you, you'll find something fascinating. That'll lead to something else fascinating. And the first thing you know, you've got this on an upward trend. To become valuable as a leader, to become valuable in articulating the challenge of the future competing among the nations of the world. We've got our work cut out for us. But it starts at home. being valuable as a teacher. The key is not to just be a teacher, but be a student teacher. Don't just be a salesperson. Be a student salesperson. Don't just be a father, be a student father. Don't just be the leader of a company, but be a student leader. And whether it's company, corporation, government, school, community, home, family, office, basketball team, baseball team.

wherever people gather for whatever reason, if each one brings a better value to that enterprise, to that game, to that family, to that business, to that office, we've got a good chance of competing well among the nations of the world. And who knows what all we can accomplish in the 21st century. Starting with something simple, Mama said an apple a day, keeps the doctor away. Good question for my audience today. What if that's true? Someone says, well, if that's true, that would be easy to do.

But here's the challenge. What's easy to do is easy not to do. What if you should be walking around the block every day for your good health and you don't? You're not on a good track. If you should and you could and you don't, it's called formula for disaster. But self-improvement is called starting with the most immediate thing that comes to your mind that you could do to improve your health, your life, your income, your future. And if it's an apple a day, start there. If it's a walk around the block, start there. If you need to build your personal development library, go get a book and say, this is the next book of my new library.

If you need to attend a seminar, go. If you need to keep a journal, Mr. Schof taught me to keep a journal starting at age 25. It represents a major part of my library, my own journals, notes that I've copied over the years, little poems I've written down, things that I've gathered that are invaluable to me, my business, as well as my lecturing career. Go get a journal, start with an apple a day, a walk around the block. You know, it's not going to come in some great package out of the sky. But each little thing you start with call self-improvement, whether it's health or sign up for a class that you've been intending to take and you've put it off. Neglect does us all in. Neglect has us by the throat, shutting off air supply, money supply, and every other supply.

But if you reverse that process, and it doesn't matter what you start with, just say I should, I could, I don't. I will now say I should, I could, I will. And if it's an apple a day, start there. getting a journal, make an entry. Go get that next book of your thriving library. Sign up for a class and you have now begun the process. And that's all you need to do is begin the process. And the early return from those early steps will inspire you to start taking all the rest. Everything needs refinement. I've got a good phrase. Everything by longevity tends to get off course. There isn't anything that doesn't need to be looked at

fairly often. I've seen more than one person say, hey, I've got plenty of money in the bank. I'm doing well, but some systems are not working. And failure to take a look at some systems that aren't working, you can get faked out by money in the bank. You've got to look at all areas.

An ancient script says, the little foxes spoil the vines. And you look at this vineyard and it looks great, but it's got little foxes. And it doesn't matter if it's the president or the government or the senator or the Senate or the company or the corporation or a millionaire. All systems need to be regularly checked. So don't let too much time go by before you take a look and make sure all systems are working. And if you do it with your health, if you do it wherever you are, If the corporation does it, if the government does it, we'll all be better off of the future.

The ideas that I share with people these days so dramatically affected my own life back in those early days. I never get tired of sharing the story and the principles. The things that change my income, my bank account, my outlook on life, got me setting goals, building a library, working on disciplines that I know. never thought I could master that I did in sharing all those ideas with people. Then getting the letters and the phone calls. When I travel around the world, people still come up and say, you know, five years ago, I attended your seminar and here's what's happened. A lady showed me the other day in Australia notes she had taken 14 years ago. She said, I still use these notes in working in my business. Here's what happened to my relationship with my family. Those letters,

those phone calls, those personal testimonials for me, that's what I live for. I don't need the money. I take the money, but I don't need the money. But I do need that joy that comes from people saying what you said was valuable for me and thank you very much for sharing. That's heavyweight stuff. You can't buy it with money. But my last word would be, hey, start with something simple. Keep adding value to your life. And you can do the most extraordinary things. And why not? you if you know a boy from the farms of Idaho and if we had a parade of American success stories here they would all say the same thing why not you we started with nothing why not you you know we started behind why not you if we can do it you can do it that's my message thank you for

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