the tree

What is discipline?

The simple act of doing something every day.  Every day.  Not just some days.  Not just Monday.  Every.  Single.  Day.

It’s like picking up an axe, and going out every day to take 5 swings at a tree.

Day one, you make a little progress.  Day 2, a little more.  And if you stick at it, every day, I don’t know which day, but eventually that tree will fall.

Eventually you will get there.  If it’s a small tree, might only take a few months.  If it’s a large tree, it might take a few years, but even the mos mighty sequoia tree will eventually be felled if you stick to it long enough.

That’s the amazing thing about discipline and consistency.  One shot vs many-shot.  You will get better the more you do.  But you must do, and continue to do, to make progress.

So the question is, what do you do every day?  Are you moving forward?  Are you learning?  Are you growing?  The 5 keys to leadership, according to John Maxwell:

And it’s interesting, when I think about the 4 things Warren told his grandson he has to do to live a meaningful and full life, the parallels are amazing: