“You need self-discipline to achieve success in life”

Modern self-help can be summarized in this one sentence, no matter the millions different ways this core principle of success has been explained. Self-Discipline has been a constant overlap for every significant accomplish I ever achieved in my lifetime. No matter where you look the evidence of self-discipline being essential for success remains a fact displayed everywhere.

But there’s a massive problem… you most likely are experiencing it for yourself right now.

Maybe you don’t even notice it but ultimately you feel like something doesn’t feel right.

How many times have things not turned out in your favor? Remember those countless moments where you felt like banging your head against the wall out of frustration to make you feel better than this? I know I have been there before.

Those dark moments where you feel like all hope has been lost…

In today’s entry I’ll show you how to capitalize on this rare opportunity to make a radical life changing transformation where “enough is enough”.

If you haven’t experience it YET then today is that day:

You will liberate yourself from these mental chains causing you to feel trapped [what you perceive to be a predetermined fate].

Let me explain.

Not only have I successfully achieved a very liberating type of freedom over a decade ago, but I have consulted individuals that came to me privately for my thoughts on how to better deal with their life situation.

A technique I call “mental jiu-jitsu” which I will elaborate on later in another article.

Before I jump into the juicy bit I need to share with you the source of the problem.

Otherwise this would just be yet another temporarily ‘put a bandage over a wound that never heals’ situation which ultimate leads to unresolved issues.

Let’s target the source of the problem to eliminate the negative effect it is having on your life.

This unpleasant feeling you are experiencing now is best summarized as:

QUIETLY LIVING A LIFE OF DESPERATION

“The eyes are the windows to the soul”

Have you ever encountered someone that just radiates a certain type of “vibe” and “energy” that leaves you puzzled - wondering why they’re so different from everybody else you’ve met before?

Something about this individual, does not try hard, just makes them stand out from the masses you’ve encountered throughout your life.

This is commonly referred to as the “it” factor that cannot be faked.

You see.

It’s not actually hard to stand out from a crowd that voluntarily blends in like the rest.

It’s a common occurrence that has shaped the people living amongst civilizations throughout history as it is a evolutionary trait that contributed to survival.

Not fitting in nor being accepted by the tribe [during the harshest living conditions known to man] meant exile as a form of punishment.

This very social isolation would result in an extremely high probability of death and being weeded out from evolution assuming you had no offspring - hence why solitary confinement is the highest form of punishment in prisons around the world .

Social isolation feels like death to social primates such as our species [both the biological mind and body interoperates the sensation as if it is going to die].

Although it is important to state not all social conditioning is determined as bad.

There are many shades of grey required to grasp the elements that make up our subjective experience of an objective reality [instead of the ever so common simple black or white interpretation… out of laziness - discover nuance]

If not bad, how is it good you might be wondering.

You learned from an early age basic lessons that contributed to your survival like how to eat, be potty trained and the importance of quenching your thirst.

Instead of trying to figure it yourself through trial and error [which error is ultimately death considering the survival basics].

We can simply model after individuals to replicate their results while saving time and energy to focus on more productive things that contribute to the overall life experience.

This is why we human beings have hit the evolutionary lottery with mirror neurons to pick up settle nuances in social situations [monkey see, monkey do] which enables you and me to speed up the learning curve and live in a Way that is more efficient.

Never underestimate this evolutionary gift in a world that is being driven towards a digital landscape.

It will give you a significant advantage in life while the blind continue following the blind.

Beware: ignoring this is leaving a staggering amount of lost opportunity cost and unrealized potential on the table.

With everything discussed in mind we examine the public education system with fresh eyes and see it for what it actual represents:

Training human beings to accept and follow orders from authority figures without question.

Nearly the first two decades of every human being goes through this system.

Unfortunately for billions around the world they will remain stuck in this for their entire lifetime…

Ever wondered why many people go through mid life crisis?

It’s because they are finally accepting the reality of their life existence and the trajectory.

Only if they continue blindly following orders that are not aligned to their true self-interest.

Take a look at your finger print.

Seriously.

Understand there has never been an exact fingerprint like yours in the historic timeline nor will there be another one like it long when you are gone.

Your fingerprint represents your individuality.

Your Self is a unique combination of genetic make up, upbringing, adolescence influences, your perception of objective reality, engaged behavior and more.

Every single one of these factors create an ecosystem of your self-concept which influences how you behave on both unconscious and conscious levels.

repeated actions = behavior = life outcomes = life experience

To blind accept being yet another member of society while ignoring your inner voice and intuition is absolutely soul destroying.

Yes, I do agree social media is unhealthy due to the lack of responsible use that comes with such powers that exceeds past tyrants and kings imagination.

But…

Have you ever consider how social media simply reflects back people’s deepest desires and aspirations in life?

You are reminded you are not living the life you want every single time you use the app.

To me this is nothing other than a wake up call referred to as a “call to adventure” termed by Joseph Campbell.

Instead of continuing down your current Way of life [not aligned to your desired life experiences] - why don’t you do something about it?

[Insert every single excuse why you are not living your desired life experiences here…]

If the vast majority of society are not living a life according to unique values and dreams perfectly aligned to their own uniqueness… is it really that hard stand out?

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WOULD & COULD

There’s a HUGE difference between would and could.

Could is the available possibilities [dictated by those pushing boundaries].
Would comes down to the mere decision to act [based on possibilities].

Social media simply reveals all the proof and possibilities life has to offer one can experience.

Now consider the fact there is an infinite amount of information freely available which is constantly evolving and growing at an exponential rate.

So if all the ‘how to’ answers are there… what is really stopping you?

Anybody that has a brutally honest conversation with themselves knows the answer to this question.

You see.

Back in 2011 I realized the journey of my lifetime was quietly waiting for me to jump in.

This was a time where social media was just starting to pick up so there was not much evidence the life of my dreams was even possible to accomplish compared to where it is now.

I simply knew it was possible to make money online so that I could travel the world indefinitely.

But would I jump in given the opportunity?

Damn straight I did.

Jumping in, for me meant booking a one way ticket overseas on my credit card [without any income only knew it was possible to make money online] - all while experiencing a ridiculous amount of internal resistance to this crazy idea.

Don’t go for a second thinking I was not experiencing fear because I was.

Reflecting back that fear was so great it made me feel more alive than I have ever experienced in my life… maybe still to this day even.

These unique circumstances meant I had far less ‘could’ possibilities which only made the ‘would’ decision that much harder to do compared to today’s landscape.

If you are reading this now you have a SIGNIFICANT advantage over my 19 year old college dropout self given the opportunities presented to you today.

THE ONE DIFFERENCE MAKER

Majority of kids growing up went outside to play sports, made friends and developed social awareness in the process.

I had a different predetermined fate.

As a child playing video games all day and night was normal to me.

I played in a way that was very different from every other kid that had a video game obsession.

No, I did not have any extraordinary skill.

In fact, the very opposite…

I could not deal with adversity to the point - I had to enter in cheat codes as it was the only way for me to enjoy it.

The only way I could experience success and winning was without overcoming resistance and challenge.

Do you realize how detriment a mindset like this is growing up?

Imagine the trajectory this would have lead me if I continued down this path.

The realities of life does not work like this.

You see.

Flash forwarding to present day - my reputation amongst my international social circles - I am known as the guy that has a ridiculous level of self-discipline [nobody else they know comes remotely close to me].

I humbly state this given my credibility:

Self-Discipline is not inherited.
Self-Discipline is a choice only you can make.

Self-Discipline works exactly like a muscle.

The more you use it, the stronger it gets.
The less you use it, the weaker it gets.

Building your self-discipline comes down to facing the Resistance head on by leveraging mental jiu-jitsu to make sure you always win.

What is mental jiu-jitsu?

Leveraging every single thing that life throws at you so you can benefit from the situation even if it is perceived as “bad” in the moment.

See ya on the mats,

POJ