4 am Type Discipline- Teaching Yourself How To Win in Life and in Business

It’s 4:45 am, I just left my son at swimming practice. It’s dark, humid and not too chilly but that’s not the point.

The point is that you when you get up at 4:00 am to be at poolside by 4:45 the impact of it is more psychological than anything else.

It’s not the “getting wet” so early, you get over the physical shock after the first 10 laps, -it’s what happens before you hit the water that messes with your head.

Getting up from your soft warm bed, eating something even if you are not hungry cause you are going to need the calories, and the knowledge that you are about to put in more physical work by 6:30 am than most people do in a whole day are thoughts you’d WANT TO AVOID!

And if the mornings are cold?! Forget it …It’s just pure pain and suffering!

The prospect of knowing you are going to swim 2-3 miles before the sun comes up is unnerving and mind numbing.

But young swimmers train their minds as much as their bodies, -it’s part of the sport.

I keep telling my son it’s going to pay off in spades!

I did it when I was his age. He’s 13 now.

But he’s now a much stronger and better swimmer than I ever was at his age, he’s been swimming now for 5 years.

An unwavering discipline and laser-like focus are what separates most sports professionals and endurance athletes from the rest of us.

And I keep telling him it’s going to pay off!

But he knows this! -He knows by now he can do things in the pool most professional athletes in other sports can’t do.

I make sure he hears it because hearing it plus doing it builds a sense of confidence and accomplishment, I can already see it in his attitude.

I tell him all the time:

“Papo do you know that almost no one in the NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL can do what you do every day …and these are all grown up professionals and well-paid athletes!” -He smirks …!

You can’t see the picture when you are in the frame (I forget who said that!)

REMEMBER THIS …No personal or business endeavor feels heroic or even worthwhile you are going through the daily grind. You must find your reasons.

He’s a teenager so we all know he looks at the world as a teenager does, but learning this kind of discipline at such a young age is life altering, it will forge his character because he’s being challenged every single day he steps on the deck.

Most endurance sports don’t just test the physical, but the mental and even the spiritual sometimes!

I’ve seen the pain in his face, but his eyes are defiant and focused …I feel a sense of pride, but I also feel challenged. Isn’t that something?

One day he’ll be able to look back at those tough grueling sets from hell his coaches gave him and remember is not how you start the set, but how you finish it …finish strong, if not of body, then of mind …but finish strong.

Leave it all in the pool EVERY SINGLE PRACTICE!

The same goes with business by the way…!

You don’t have to be a swimmer, a professional athlete or get up at 4 am… but you do have to walk the gauntlet! …And you do have to find a way to challenge yourself every day if you want to be successful!

I can relate not only cause I’m also a swimmer, but because I hone my craft every day, by writing winning copy, creating business strategies and marketing campaigns for my own business projects and clients.

Like him, I’m in pain when my work doesn’t perform as expected, -BUT I also bask in the glow of success and accomplishment when they do perform and exceed my client’s expectations.

When was the last time you challenged your view of how you do your marketing and grow your business?

Here are a few similarities between entrepreneurs and professional athletes:

Both need to be brave – Which means you know what you need to do and go through even though you are scared shitless! That’s what brave means.
Both need to constantly train – Staying on top of your game is critical to your success, learning and growing never stops.
Both need to have a coach – Someone you respect, look up to and learn from is essential to being a winner, but most importantly someone that can kick your ass and challenge you.
Both need peers to laugh, cry and grow with – Your teammates and business partners are your family, watch their back and they’ll watch yours.
Both will experience horrible failures – Both will also experience incredible wins and paydays!
Neither has a shortcut to greatness – You pay your dues one way or another, sooner or later, but you pay’em! There’s no quick path to Olympic dreams anymore than there are “get rich quick schemes” that actually work.
Both need to take risks – The greater risk in life and in business is to risk nothing!