Self-discipline is the master key to sales success. All other disciplines, attributes, and skill sets are built upon the foundation of self-discipline.
1. Written Commitments and Outcomes
Write down the commitments you make to yourself. There are no greater promises than the promises that you make to yourself. These promises are what enable you to keep your promises to others.
But don’t just write down the commitments you make to yourself, write down the outcomes of keeping those commitments and the outcomes
of breaking them.
Be clear about the positive outcomes that will inspire you and drive you forward. How will your life be improved by keeping these commitments to yourself? How will other people notice? How will this improve the lives of those that you love and care about?
Be equally clear about the outcomes if you don’t keep your commitments. Write down the negative consequences. How will your life be less than it could be due to your failure to keep your commitments? Who else will be hurt? How will they notice that you haven’t kept your commitments to yourself?
2. Public Commitments
Make your commitments to yourself public. Tell everybody you know what you have committed to. Recently, I have read that you shouldn’t make these commitments public because the failure is embarrassing. That is exactly why you need to make public commitments!
People tend to act consistently with the public statements they make. It is painful not to do so, and the public scrutiny is a strong (and painful) motivator.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger was training for the Mr. Olympia competition, he wore a cut off t-shirt that exposed his entire stomach. It was a constant reminder to act consistently with the outcome he was seeking and to make it visible to everyone if he wasn’t.
3. Go To War With the Voice of Rationalisation
Inside all of us is a voice that rationalises our behaviour. It is a voice that gives us permission to procrastinate. It gives us permission to enjoy ourselves now, and postpone the heavy lifting for another day.
It tells us that there will always be time later, and that the result can still be achieved. It looks for proof to appeal to you logically and emotionally. You have to go to war with this voice. This voice lies. There is no way to plant and reap in autumn. You have to plant in springtime. Period.
The first key to beating the voice of rationalisation is to listen for it and notice when it is speaking to you. When you hear this voice, immediately get out your written commitments and outcomes from Step 1 and write down all of the reasons why what the voice is saying is untrue. Write down the lies that this voice tries to sell you.
Recognising that the rationalisation is the ability to lie to oneself, and recognising the pain you will suffer for believing your own lies is a powerful motivating force.
4. Go To War With Distractions
There are always distractions that will tempt you away — or drive you away — from the commitments you have made to yourself.
Like the voice of rationalisation, you have to destroy these distractions. Turn off the television. Turn off the computer. Turn off the email notification on the cell phone. Remove the distractions.
5. Do the Worst First
Always do the most unpleasant task first thing in the morning or first thing upon arriving at the office. You have the most bandwidth for completing the most unpleasant (but necessary) tasks before the world has a chance to make additional demands of you or distract you with a more pleasant and tempting offer.
The sense of accomplishment from handling the most difficult task first builds momentum. And, it is easier to hold yourself to a higher standard all day if you start with a difficult task first.
6. One Discipline At a Time
No one goes from undisciplined one day to self-disciplined the next. Everyone is disciplined about some things, and less disciplined about others. It is easiest to pick one discipline and make it a habit, and use it to springboard into the next activity.
After you have created the self-discipline in one area and it becomes routine, you free up that bandwidth to tackle another area.
Choose one area where you really need to improve your self-discipline and focus all of your effort on making a change there.
Make the self-discipline in this area a habit, and then choose another area on which to focus your attention.
7. Learn To Love the Routine
Discipline is about routine. It is about creating the habits that generate long-term results. These routines mean you have to necessarily create short-term discomfort. Learning to love the routine means learning to love the discomfort that is self-denial. It means learning to find pleasure in sacrifice now for forging yourself into something greater in the future.
You can learn to love the discomfort. You can give it a whole new and empowering meaning.
