Self-Discipline for the Entrepreneur
Bottom line -- keep your word.
“Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do, what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.” -- Kop Kopmeyer

The number one reason we procrastinate, or put things off, or skip them altogether can be summed up in five little words -- “I don’t feel like it.” Well, guess what? I don’t either. I didn’t feel like getting up when I woke at 3:53 a.m. I didn’t feel like doing some client work I’d put off from last night. I didn’t feel like figuring out a way around an design issue. I didn’t feel like getting dressed for the cold and heading to the gym for a workout.
But I did all those things. Not because I wanted too. Not because they had to get done. Not because I would disappoint someone. Nope. I did those things because I promised myself last night before falling asleep that I would do those things. Then I woke, wrestled and made myself do them.
Related: 10 Ways to Develop an Unshakable Belief in Yourself
If waiting until we “feel like it” becomes the prerequisite to action, we’re doomed. We are entrepreneurs. We are the risk takers. We are the momentum makers.
Here’s Kopmeyer’s statement in a formula:
- Write down what you should be doing or what you are going to do.
- Write down when you are going to do it.
- Keep your word.
That last one is the most important. Almost nothing hurts us more than being lied to. We desire, even demand, honesty. And it begins with you.
Stop lying to yourself by saying you will do it later. Stop lying to yourself by believing that, at some point, you will feel like it. Stop lying to yourself by thinking that delay won’t make a difference. Stop lying to yourself by giving yourself an excuse to wait.
You become disciplined by keeping your word.Entrepreneur Editors' Picks
-
James Dyson Created 5,127 Versions of a Product That Failed Before Finally Succeeding. His Tenacity Reveals a Secret of Entrepreneurship.
-
7 Meaningful Ways Your Business Can Honor Memorial Day
-
Breast Implants Left This Founder With Debilitating Symptoms, So She Launched an Intimate-Apparel Line That Goes Beyond Buzzwords
-
Kids in the Hall's Bruce McCulloch Says TikTok Is the New Punk Rock
-
'I Am Not a Diversity Quota,' Says the Founder Disrupting the Dessert Category
-
Memorial Day Is a Time for Remembrance, So What's With All the Mattress Sales?
-
Pharrell Williams, Contemporary Artist Nina Chanel Abney and Brand-Builder Shaun Neff Announce Launch of Game-Changing NFT Platform