Passion and Discipline
Dear Friend,
Secretly, we all know that the only way to achieve any desired goal is through the use of discipline and habit, right?
It’s just common sense.
We imagine some rich old curmudgeon in a business suit lecturing us on the topic, and that’s what he would say.
But we don’t like taking advice from old curmudgeons. For one thing, they’re boring. And we sure don’t want to be like them (except the rich part).
And anyway, most of us aren’t very disciplined. In fact, the word makes us cringe.
Why?
When I was a kid, the word “discipline” was generally associated with pain and a general loss of privileges.
In other words, for a kid, discipline meant the adults won, I lost, and I was going to suffer for a while. Discipline meant the proverbial trip to the woodshed. No wonder people are turned off by the word today!
We all know that success requires discipline, but discipline is seen as being hard. Too hard.
So we keep looking for an easier way.
And why not? A little research just might save us tons of unnecessary effort. Why begin a hard exercise program when that new pill on TV might just make us skinny overnight? Why scrimp and save and deny ourselves when that new “get rich quick” opportunity I got in my email this morning might just make all that effort seem pathetic.
Here’s the reality, folks. If the goal you seek is a minor one, and you aren’t in a hurry to achieve it, then taking your time while keeping an eye out for life’s cheat codes might be a good idea. You might get lucky.
But when it comes to the central goals of your life, the longer you wait for the “easy way” to make itself apparent to you, the more of your life that you will waste. And the less of your limited life span that you will enjoy.
The benefits of achieving your life’s key goals are worth the effort. You just have to discriminate between those goals that don’t really matter and those that do.
The beauty of The Way of the Passionate Warrior is that there is a cheat code to getting what you want – a shortcut to success that doesn’t require discipline.
It’s called passion.
When you are passionate about what you are doing, the effort is easy.
You don’t have to work hard, because doing what you are passionate about – what you love – is a pleasure. You don’t have to discipline yourself to go to work because you live for your work.
All of us were meant to follow our passion. It’s what we do naturally.
But while we were growing up the world mistakenly taught us that we should forget our passion.
People subtly taught us that we should expect life to be hard and miserable. Our job in life was to get up, go to work, and just bear it. Otherwise we’d end up as bums, and the world wasn’t going to support us.
But the world has changed. Today you can get what you want in life without being miserable while you wait for it.
And let’s face it, what’s the point of working at something that you hate for years so that you can enjoy it at retirement, just to drop dead two days after retirement (admit it, you know of someone that this has happened to).
If discipline is not for you, then you must discover your passion, and follow it. Stop looking for the easy way out. You have found it, right here.
Discover your passion, and success will come easily.
Talk to you again soon,
Hugh
Don’t forget to download your FREE copy of Hugh’s new book, Families Without Limits, while you can!
Learn more about Hugh at http://hughdeburgh.com.
