If you stop and think about it, you realize that we exist in the world of competition. Now, this is something that a lot of people don’t feel comfortable thinking about. They don’t like to think about having to compete. They don’t like to view life as a win at all costs game. They would rather view the world as cooperative and collaborative. Instead of survival, we’d like to see that the rules in the game are shaded toward sharing. However, there is a problem with this way of thinking. It is absolutely unrealistic.

Perhaps the most important piece of information that any human being can possess is a clear view of who they are and how they fit into the world around them. We characterize this idea in several different ways — self-worth, self important, self reliance, and etc. However, no matter the moniker that we place on the idea, the critical nature of seeing one’s self as we truly are remains the same and undiminished.

Why is integrity so important? Without integrity, you don’t have self-respect. Without self-respect, you don’t have self-esteem.

Seeing problems as opportunities is the best possible way to be successful in anything you do in life. It’s a matter of perspective, so shouldn’t you adopt a perspective that will most lead you to success and not failure? Problems, change, stress – they’re all part of everyone’s life, no one is exempt or immune. Adaptability means seeing these things as the normal course of life.

Have you ever thought about your present level of faith? Your faith can either unlock the door to success for you or keep you from ever experiencing it. It can be a positive power by which you materialized the things you dream of, or you can be a negative power which causes you to live in despair. The faith I’m talking about is not religious or even spiritual; it is a belief or outlook on life, some might even call it optimism.

At the end of our lives, each one of us is the sum total of all our actions. When you look back on your life, what you did every day brought you to where you are now; what you will do every day from now on will determine your future. The better you are at taking responsibility for that fact, the more successful you will be. Taking responsibility for everything in your life is the difference between being a victor and managing your life or sitting back while your life manages you, making you a victim.

Self-esteem is at the root of more success stories and more failures in any other personality trait. Why is self-esteem so important? Because it controls the results of everything you do. It’s always with you, and it can be your strongest supporter or greatest enemy. You operate at the level of your self-esteem.

What is success? Well, the answer to that question largely depends on who you ask. There can be as many definitions as there are people on this Earth to this question. The multitude of differing opinions can make the entire issue of success very confusing. In addition, having so many options can make it difficult for anyone to decide for themselves what success means to them. Should a person let society tell them what success is or should each person make that decision on their own. The problem with letting someone else decide on the definition of success for you is that you greatly increase the chances that you would end up with a definition that doesn’t suit you. It’s a little bit like letting someone else order for you in a restaurant. You will certainly end up eating what they like, but you very likely won’t end up with the exact meal that suits your own tastes.

In a previous episode, I explored the power of self-discipline. I defined what self-discipline is and I showed why self-discipline is important. In addition, I discussed the foundational aspects of self-discipline and spoke about the synergistic power that these additional factors can have on self-discipline. At this point you’re probably more than ready to leave theory behind and begin learning the specifics involved in developing your own self discipline. This is where the information in this episode comes into play. I’m going to show you the step-by-step process that will result in you being able to clearly set specific goals and maintain focus on those goals until they are met.

I’m sure you know by now that developing self discipline is essential for anyone desiring to get more out of life. However, self-discipline isn’t an innate talent. No one is born with the self-discipline gene. That means that, in general, everyone is playing on the same level playing field when it comes to self-discipline. So, why is it that some people are obviously more self-discipline than others? The answer is practice.