I know a simple way that you can develop into and know yourself as a disciplined person. Many people I have worked with, as well as myself, have moved from being extremely undisciplined to being able to relate ourselves as very disciplined.

I believe discipline is one of the critical mindset principles required for success in life, as well as in business. As an Owner of a company, it is critical.

What we discussed last week is critical in the development of self-discipline and for gaining mastery over one’s desires, as well as your relationship to your word. You are either being controlled by your desires, or you are controlling them. If you are going to be successful in business, you must be the master of your thoughts and desires. It takes a lot of control to do all that is required of a self-storage owner. If we are just in the business of satisfying what we feel like in the moment, very few long term goals are ever achieved.

Everyone has desires, just like everyone has thoughts. Desires are just thoughts generated by memories, activated by senses, generating an emotional response that set up cravings. Most people just follow these thoughts, fulfill the emotional response, and never think about it. If one is craving sugar, most of the time one will absentmindedly eat something sweet. Never thinking about the thought, the craving, or the emotional trigger that has one reach for something sweet. Disciplined people interrupt the thought that set up the craving and create another thought based on a created goal.

Enough theory. I realize now how I came to know myself as a disciplined person. Believe me, this was not always the case. Early on in my career, I decided that I was going to get up early and spend the first part of my day becoming a better version of me. By putting myself first and focusing these efforts on ways to take my business and the self-storage industry to new levels, I am achieving my goals. Not being a morning person, this was good in theory, but took some time to implement.

Again, last weeks conversation about honoring ones word is part of this conversation as well. But I started, and early on, in the mornings when I decided to sleep in, I never gave up. I made sure I got up the next morning. I started meditating, and realized that if I read something inspirational, did a little exercise, and meditated, my days went better. I had the experience of having control over my day, and felt very productive.

Over time I have realized that the meditation practice has had a tremendous impact on my life. Just learning to observe my thoughts as opposed to just thinking them, allows me to not react as much in life. In critical moments, I now have the skill of observing what is going on and not being identified with what I am saying and thinking about what is going on. It allows me to not react as much and use my mental bandwidth to solve whatever issues need to be addressed. I am told by others they like being around me in challenging times because I can stay “calm”. Not really, I just can watch my initial reaction and observe it like I do every day in meditation. Those thoughts do not dictate how I am in life. That is real discipline, not just being calm.

When I started this type of practice (in the mid 1980’s), I was considered weird. I don’t mind being weird, but I learned not to talk about my practice much in business settings. I am so grateful the landscape is changing. Today’s entrepreneurs are talking a lot about meditation and early morning practices. A good resource how is Hal Elrods “Miracle Morning” book. It is hard to listen to a podcast today and not hear about the business owners early morning routine. I must say, I am very impressed and inspired by this new generation of entrepreneurs.

It was that routine that took a wild undisciplined kid and instilled in him the discipline necessary to start, run, and grow a self-storage business.

What are you going to do to start instilling discipline in your life if you do not consider yourself disciplined? I recommend starting here, with a morning routine whereby you start every day by working on yourself first, then your life and business. If you are already doing it, add something else in your morning routine that further develops yourself. You will evolve into someone who is creating your day, your life and your business as opposed to someone who is spending the day going from one thing that needs to happen to the next.