Discipline Is Everything—Start Your Morning With This Power Message Motivational Speech
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You know that feeling when someone shows up for you just when you need it most? That's what Uber is all about. Not just a ride or dinner at your door. It's how Uber helps you show up for the moments that matter. Because showing up can turn a tough day around or make a good one even better. Whatever it is, big or small, Uber is on the way. So you can be on yours. Uber, on our way. I've never met a person who was not successful before.

that didn't have a great amount of self-discipline within their life. Self-discipline and being able to perform and being able to keep your life on schedule and being able to keep commitments and promises and meet deadlines is essential to success. None of us, none of us can afford to have a life that is controlled by someone else or a life that is basically controlled by our emotions.

I learned many years ago that there are two kinds of people. There's the type of person who says, "I'm going to wait till I feel like it before I do it." And then there's a person who says, "I've got to do it so that I feel like it." One will never get anything done because they're still waiting to feel the moment to move. And the other person says, "No, I need to move." And then I will begin to feel the moment. Sonya, self-discipline is essential in your life and in my life if we're going to get things done.

So I have a challenge for every one of you this weekend. The challenge is simple. As you go through your weekend, and sometimes it's kind of a, hopefully an easier time of your week, ask yourself, am I practicing self-discipline in my life? Am I doing the things that I should do because I need to do them? Or am I kind of waiting to feel the moment? Do like our friends Nike say, just... Because what you're doing is you're trying to optimize right now to stop the discomfort.

But what you're going to pay for that in is shame and guilt and regret long term. So what you need to be able to do is bundle all of that up that is as yet unfelt, but will last for way, way, way longer. You know, the future is much longer than now. The future is going to extend out up until the day that you die. And the now is just for now. And even 130 hours is just 130 hours. And you get to look back. And do you look back with pride and glory? Or do you look back with shame and guilt?

I suggest to you that if you are facing a challenge, don't stop. Stay busy. Work your plan. Continue to do those things that you know that work for you after you have evaluated yourself in the situation. Continue to move. Stay busy. Stay busy. Stay busy. Expect things to get better for you because they are. See, life is cyclic. Whatever experience you're having right now, it has not come to stay. It has come to pass.

not to stay, just to pass. It's just going through. The biggest challenge is to know what's happening. This is a part of this thing we call life. This too shall pass. And maintaining perspective, putting it in perspective.

And what I didn't understand by being determined to chase something, by being committed to it and what commitment is, commitment is staying true to what you said you were going to do long after the mood that you have set it in has left. You see, people think commitment is saying, yes, I'll do it on the days when they feel good. But I have been committed to everything that I ever started in my life and I never stopped and I never quit it. And so by being committed to everything that I started, I figured...

finished it, it built a certain type of spirit. It built a certain type of mentality. It built a certain type of individual. And so now I couldn't quit even if I wanted to. I couldn't lay in a bed even if I wanted to. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. I had too much sweat equity in my life and everything that I was doing because I understood my existence wasn't about me. I went from me to we a long time ago. I understood the process is more important than the product. It wasn't about the outcome.

outcome for me, whether I made it to the NFL or not, that was inconsequential in God's plan for my life. But I was going to fall in love with that process because I understood by falling in love with that process, it was going to turn me into a machine. If you don't have a lofty ambition, then you suffer miserably. And the reason for that is life is really complex, short, finite, full of suffering and beyond you. The suffering is meaningful. It's just not the kind of meaning you want. So how do you get out of that?

You note the baseline of suffering and then you say to yourself, okay, I need to do something that justifies that.

What permission do you need?

and i'm here to give you that permission i'm here to tell you to give yourself that permission i'm here to tell you to take the pen back and start rewriting that story so what if you were beaten so what if you were mentally and emotionally abused those are all superpowers now because you are the type of person that went through that and came out the other side a stronger person you have more resiliency you are more resourceful than people that have not gone

and suffered through adversity and abuse. That's the reality. We are more resilient. We are more emotionally strong, mentally tough, and we can deal with so much, but we have to first let go of the mental crippling crutch that we carry, which is this victim-mindhood. Stop being driven by rewards. Stop being driven by outcomes. Stop being driven by, "If I get this, I'm gonna do this." Just work. And if you don't get what you thought you were gonna get, show up and still go to work.

Self-confidence is really someone who keeps promises of themselves because self-confidence is really like your reputation with yourself. If you've got a great reputation with yourself and you know you can trust you, you're not so concerned about your reputation or what other people think about you. You got to be able to find all these different things in your mind. Oh, I can put discipline right there. I can put consistency right there. I can put all these things right there in that spot. If your life is not organized and your life being everything around you. When you get better.

Everything will get better for you. And that's where I picked up that phrase, for things to change, you've got to change. You don't have to change the marketplace. You don't have to change the marketing plan. You don't have to change the economy. You don't have to change countries. You don't have to change circumstances out there. All you've got to do is look within and see if you can change yourself for the better. And as you change, things will start to change for you.

Almost nothing in life is constant. Conditions and circumstances are perpetually in flux like the winds and the tide, which is why my mind is never fixed. I tack and adjust, forever searching for my new 100%. Age, health, and the responsibilities we carry can be limiting. That doesn't mean we should give in to those limitations or use them as excuses to let ourselves or our dreams go. But

but we can acknowledge them as long as we are committed to finding out what we can still do given those limits, whether they be temporary or indefinite, and maximizing that. Every day, thousands of people wake up to a life defined by newfound limitations that are difficult to accept. Maybe they've been diagnosed with a terminal disease or suffered a spinal injury. Could be they lost a limb or are suffering from PTS.

More often, the shifting circumstances are not nearly so dire. Sometimes it's good news that changes the equation. Maybe you are a new parent or landed a lucrative gig that demands 10 to 12 hour work days. Could be you recently got married, which means you have to consider more than just your own goals. No matter the variables, your new 100% is out there waiting for you to find it. The thing is, most people don't want to.

Because whenever you're trying to find your new anything, it means you're not who you used to be. And that can be depressing enough to give up the search. Some people use their new circumstances to dial down their effort level instead of adjusting their approach and still giving it their all to achieve their goals. You've got to work with what you have. I couldn't run a ruck, but that didn't mean I was out of the fight.

No matter what you are dealing with, your goal should be to maximize the resources and capabilities you do have. If you've suffered a freak injury or received a diagnosis that changes everything, what does your new maximum effort level look like? A lot of people buy their time and wait to see what happens next, but a year or two later, they find they are still waiting.

With every unfortunate turn in life, no matter how heavy the weight, you have to be committed to pushing back against that pressure with effort. No matter your age, abilities, disabilities, or responsibilities, we must all stay committed to finding our new benchmarks. Because not only does that keep your mind engaged and your demons at bay, you actually might achieve things the old you never could have conceived.

There are two phrases I'd like you to ponder for a moment. The first is that life and business are like the changing seasons. That's one of the best ways to illustrate life. It's like the seasons that change. Here's the second phrase. You cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself. Now with those two key phrases in mind, let's turn to what I consider to be the four major lessons in life to learn. The first lesson is this. Learn how to handle the winters.

They come regularly, right after autumn. Some are long, some are short, some are difficult, some are easy, but they always come right after autumn. That is never going to change. There are all kinds of winters. The winter when you can't figure it out. The winter when everything seems to go haywire. One writer called it the winter of discontent.

There are economic winters, social winters, personal winters when your heart is smashed into a thousand pieces. Wintertime brings disappointment and disappointment is common to all of us. So learn how to handle the winters. You must learn how to handle the nights. They come right after days. You must learn how to handle difficulty. It always comes after opportunity. You must learn to handle recessions.

They come right after expansions. That isn't going to change. The big question is, what do you do about winters? You can't get rid of January simply by tearing it off the calendar. But here's what you can do. You can get stronger. You can get wiser. And you can get better. Make a note of that trio of words: Stronger, wiser, better. The winters won't change, but you can.

Before I understood this, I used to wish it were summer when it was winter. When things were difficult, I used to wish they were easy. I didn't know any better. Then Mr. Shouf gave me the answer from a part of his very unique philosophy when he said, "Don't wish it were easier. Wish you were better. Don't wish for fewer problems. Wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge. Wish for more wisdom."

Here is the second major lesson in life. Learn how to take advantage of the spring. Spring is opportunity and spring always follows winter. What a great place for spring, right after winter. If you were going to put it somewhere, that would be the place to put it. God is a genius. Days follow nights. Opportunity follows difficulty. Expansion follows recession. And this all happens with regularity. You can count on it.

However, the mere arrival of spring is no sign that things are going to look good in the fall. You must do something with the spring. In fact, everyone has to get good at one of two things.

planting in the spring or begging in the fall. So take advantage of the day, take advantage of the opportunity and read every book you can get your hands on to learn how to take advantage of the spring. Get busy quickly on your springs, your opportunities. There are just a handful of springs that have been handed to each of us. Life is brief, even at its longest. Whatever you are going to do with your life, get at it.

Don't just let the seasons pass by. The third major lesson in life is this: Learn how to nourish and protect your crops all summer. Sure enough, as soon as you've planted, the busy bugs and noxious weeds are out to take things over. And here's the next bit of truth: They will take it unless you prevent it. There are two key phrases to consider with the third major lesson. The first is all good will be attacked.

The second phrase is: "All values must be defended."

Social values, political values, friendship values, business values, all must be defended. Every garden must be tended all summer. If you don't develop this skill, you'll never wind up with anything of value. The fourth major lesson in life is this: Learn how to reap in the fall without complaint. Take full responsibility for what happens to you.

One of the highest forms of human maturity is accepting full responsibility. Learn how to reap in the fall without apology if you have done well and without complaint if you have not. That's being mature. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying it's the best way to be. The seasons don't work for you or against you. They just are what they are. They are guaranteed to come every year, bringing both the positive and the negative.

So it's up to you to remember the four major lessons in life, prepare for them and make the most of everything they offer.

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