Why do some people accomplish so much more in their personal and professional lives than others? If your life and career were ideal, what would they look like? If you could wave a magic wand and be completely disciplined in one area, which discipline would have the greatest positive impact on your life? What kind of world would it be if everyone was just like me? What situations give you your greatest feeling of self-esteem and personal worth?  If you could spend an afternoon with anyone, who would you choose? Why would you choose that person? What questions would you ask , or what would you want to learn? Consider this as well: Why would the person want to spend an afternoon with you? What are the virtues and values that you have developed that make you a valuable and interesting person?

Your ability to answer these questions correctly for yourself and follow where your answers lead will largely determine whether you create your own happiness, and how soon. Begin with your own personal definition, how do you define success? A popular definition of success is “being able to live your life in your own way, doing only the things that you want to do, with the people that you choose in the situations you desire”

 The regular process of disciplining yourself to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like or not becomes stronger as you refuse to make excuses. By practicing self-discipline, you become a better, stronger and more defined person. You develop higher levels of self-esteem, self-respect and personal pride.

These, and a lot more are the lessons I learnt from reading NO EXCUSES- The power of self discipline by Brian Tracy .This book not only taught me self discipline and personal success,  it also taught me how to stop making excuses, and keep being ‘hungry’ to do more, have more and be more than I have ever been before.

The following are my other takeaways from the book:

• The more knowledge you acquire and the greater the skills you apply, the more competent and valuable you become. 
• The more you practice self-mastery and self control, the more you value and like yourself.
• The more you discipline yourself, the greater your sense of self-esteem and personal pride.
• Your role models have a tremendous effect on shaping your character- the more you admire a person and his/her qualities, the more you strive(consciously and unconsciously) to be like that person.
• The person you are today, your innermost character is a sum of all your choices and decisions in life up to this date.
• Resolve to behave as though every act were to become a universal law for all people.
• Study the values you admire and practice the values you respect.
• Learn what you need to learn in order to achieve the success you desire.
• Refrain from blaming others from your problems and accept complete responsibility for everything you are, everything you become and everything that happens to you.
• The seven-step method to achieving your goals: Decide exactly what you want, Write it down, Set a deadline for your goal, Make a list of everything you could possibly do to achieve your goal, Organize your list by sequence and priority, Take action on your plan immediately and finally, do something everyday that moves in the direction of your major goal.

Wuraola Akinlade