Discipline is definitely something I’ve had to find for myself, because I really didn’t have a proper manager for long. Adding it up now, I actually only ever had one year of my working career where I had someone that was identified as my actual manager – someone that would delegate work to me, be there to guide me, and was responsible for my output. All of the other years (a few before with the agency and the one after when that manager changed roles) I had very little structure.
I enjoyed that freedom. It meant that I never really ever hated work – other than the fact it was just somewhere that I had to go to each day if I wanted to get paid. But now I value what it would have brought to me if I had more of it, especially when I first started working for a proper company.
I try my hardest to have as much discipline as possible to keep on track, because I know just how fragile things are. At a time like this – after seeing these lockdowns – it’s so clear that if you haven’t got your own backed-up income sources, you can find yourself in some real trouble.
My motivation to have discipline is to get to the point where I can reach a new level of success whereby I can do less for myself and I can pay people to do a lot of tasks for me. I want that freedom, as it’s clear that I spend a lot more time than I need to search for the next opportunities, and potentially forgetting that it’s OK to kick back and just relax for a while. It’s not going to hurt me.
I’ll only get comfortable with the idea of having a break if I’m in a much more comfortable position. While I definitely make enough money to consider myself stable, I wouldn’t last long if one of my main income sources took a dip. In fact, I really don’t know what I’d do if that happened.
Discipline and focus is my freedom pass. I’ve got a plan and I need to stick to it. I’ve got a list of tasks that I need to stick to every day. So long as I actually do them, there’s no reason why I can’t get to where I want to be – with my beautiful family – enjoying the fantasy life that we know is actually in our sights now.
