How to develop more self-discipline. EP #145 - Shorty

G', day, guys. Dan here. Hope you had a nice Christmas. I know I said I wasn't going to do a shorty in between Christmas New Year, but I realized if I didn't do one, it would be the only one I really missed this year and I didn't want to build a bad habit. So Milk and my assistant was like, hey, you've still got a shorty to do. So managed to push another one out just before we crack off the end of this year.

So I was reflecting on what I wanted to share in this kind of mid period between Christmas and New Year, a time when we've usually eaten too much and maybe enjoyed too many wines.

But actually what I think is really good about taking time off at Christmas New Year is an opportunity to reflect on, on your, your year and, and your life and your business and where you're at and are you where you want to be. And you know, I would say that the biggest impact that I've seen on any one technique in my business has been discipline. And I think as creatives lacking discipline can be our downfall. And in if you've known me for a period of time or you've listened to this for a while, you know I'm a big fan of Jocko Willink. Extreme Ownership is a book that really changed my approach in 2016 to how I do everything. For those of you that don't know Jocko, he's a retired United States Navy SEAL who received the Silver Star and Bronze Star for his actions in the Iraq war. He was commander of a SEAL Team 3's task unit bruiser during the 2006 Battle of Ramadi. Now Willink retired for the Navy in 2010 and formed the company Echol Echelon Front, which offers practical, experience based solutions to complex problems based on our own lessons learned through a myriad of dynamic leadership challenges. And I had an opportunity to meet Jocko and listen to him speak in 2016 in Queenstown, New Zealand and was really inspired how terrifying he is as a human being, but actually how so many of his lessons are based on life and death situations. And the truth is, you know, in video businesses we don't really face life and death situations. We just make videos, you know, and if you haven't done, I recommend you listen to his podcast and if not, certainly read his book. But if you ever, if you're reflecting on this year and you're asking yourself, you know, I just didn't get as much done this year because of COVID because of this, that the next thing or if you ever find yourself saying I don't have enough time, then you know that shouldn't be the case this year. But if you ever find yourself in a position where you don't feel you've got enough time, then one of the easiest things to do is to get up earlier. It sounds so simple. Here's what Jocko has to say about getting up early. He says the moment the alarm goes off is the first test. It sets the tone for the rest of the day. Now, the test is not a complex one. When the alarm goes off, do you get up and out of bed or do you lie there in comfort and fall back to sleep? If you have the discipline to get out of bed, you win. You pass the test. If you're mentally weak for that moment and you let that weakness keep in your bed or keep you in your bed, you fail. And though it seems small we that weakness translates into more significant decisions. But if you exercise discipline, that too translates to more substantial elements of your life. Waking up early was the first example I noted in the SEAL teams in which discipline was really the difference between being good and being exceptional. He says that discipline is paramount to ultimate success and victory for any leader and any team. He observed that the way top tier of seals were always awake before everyone else and that they never broke this habit, even when they decided to knock back a few drinks the night before.

They used to use the extra time to work on their gear to study tactics, which paid off in combat. Now the level of discipline that Jocko teaches is still relevant to him today and it's what he passes on to the corporations he works with through Echelon Front. He says the temptation to take the easy road is always there.

It's easy to stay in bed in the morning and sleep in. Willick comments. But discipline is paramount to ultimate success and victory for any leader in any team. So as you reflect on 2020.

You know, I think it was everything you'd hoped for.

Were you able to turn the negatives into a positive? Or do you find yourself feeling sorry for yourself that it was somehow an external force that was preventing you from achieving everything you wanted? You know, we can all employ more discipline. Me, me especially, I still bleed. I'm still human, I'm still vulnerable, just like you. But I am focused on building more discipline in my life and especially at work. And that's enabled me to scale and maintain a healthy work and non work balance.

And you know, this is a choice because I love what I do. I love helping filmmakers succeed. I love working with my, the clients in the vba. They're phenomenal people. They're people I would have over for a barbecue. You know, I love sharing their journey, I love helping them and supporting them to do better.

But I also understand the importance of investing in other areas of my life, you know. So I took up yoga this year and I, you know, been to 22 yoga sessions. I didn't miss a beat for however many weeks that was. I went three times a week and after just 20 sessions I was doing headstands which blew my mind. I'm getting out my mountain bike at least once a week and I'm trying to work four hours a day now as we're still growing the business that's not quite working out how as I hoped, but, but I'm probably doing six hours a day and we're building a house by the beach and we move into that next year I want to enjoy my life. I'm 50 next year I want to really, you know, appreciate what I've got. And so I guess what I want to share with you is that.

The opportunities are there for taking. You can design the life you want. It's entirely within your hands. It's nobody else's fault, it's nobody else's problem. Like either you are someone who is really focused on what it is you want and how you're going to get it, or you're someone who just kind of fudges around and hopes for the best and oh, you know, a few of those jobs will come in, I mean, that's okay. But if you want to grow and scale your business and not beat the mastery of someone else, you have to take control of your discipline. There's a great book written in 1927 by a guy called Napoleon Hill. It was called Think and Grow Rich and he was a great depression era author and former advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. And he interviewed more than 500 of the most successful men in his country he'd ever known to figure out the keys to good fortune. He wrote a 200 page book called Think and Grow Rich which is one of the all time best.

Business books ever written.

But despite him interviewing some of the most iconic businessmen of this day, none of his findings involved any particularly hard to attain skills. His entire premise is helping people overcome the psychological barriers that keep them from wealth. He says all the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination. Imagination is in is a workshop of your mind capable of turning energy into accomplishment and wealth. He also goes on to say Wishing will not bring riches. You can't think yourself into success, but desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession. Then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure. They will bring riches.

So I want to have you leave that in your mind. And there's one passage where he sums up six steps to turning a desire for wealth into its financial equivalent. I want to leave you with this. So first, fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. It is not sufficient merely to say I want plenty of money, but be definite as to the amount. There is a psychological reason for the definiteness, which will be described in subsequent chapters of the book Think and Grow Rich. Second, determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire. Therefore, there's no such thing in reality as something for nothing, so what value are you going to give in return? Third, establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire. So put a deadline on when you want that to happen. Fourth, create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once whether you are ready or not to put this plan into action. Fifth, write out clear, concise statements of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it. And six Read your written statement aloud twice daily, once just before retiring at night and once after arising in the morning as you read, see and feel and believe yourself already in possession of the money. So what he's saying here is the mind is what's holding you back from achieving everything you want. And oftentimes people are scared to write down what they want to achieve financially, when they want to achieve it by, and how they're going to achieve it. So as you spend time with your families and off away from the office over Christmas New Year, think about that. Think about how are you going to achieve everything you've ever wanted next year? I'll talk to you soon. Guys, you've been listening to the how to Scale a Video Business Podcast with me, your host, Dan Lenny. If you're a video business owner that's hit a ceiling and we benefit from mentorship, support and coaching, then check out how you can work with me over@denleny.com don't forget to subscribe and rate the show over on itunes and we'd really appreciate you taking a few minutes to leave a review. And don't forget to share. If you feel you've gotten value from this episode and you think it would be useful for other filmmakers, you know, then please do me a massive favor and share it on social media and in groups that you might be at him. So thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.