Power of Discipline

Brian Tracy in the “Power of Discipline” uses the priority of our to-do-list that is of great help.

Apply the A B C D E method to your list:

A = “Must Do” – Serious consequences for non-completion;

B = “Should Do” – Mild consequences for doing or not doing;

C = “Nice to Do” – No consequences whether you do it or not:

D = “Delegate” – Everything you possibly can to free up more time for those things that only you can do;

E = “Eliminate” – Discontinue all tasks and activities that are no longer essential to your work and to achieving your goals.


Review your list of activities for the coming day and write an “A,B,C,D, or E” before each task.

If you have several “A” tasks, separate them by writing A-1, A-2, A-3, and so on. Do this with your B and C tasks as well. The rule is that you should never do a B task when you have an A task left undone. You should never do a lower value task when you have a higher value task before you.

Once you have organized your list using this system, discipline yourself to start on your A-1 task first thing in the morning, before you do anything else.

Attitude - adjusting the sails

I read an article on attitude by John Maxwell
Many people talk about attitude. One of my favorite authors talks about it often. One of my life quotes is “Let this attitude be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5

There are some things Your attitude can do for you and some things it cannot do.

Your attitude cannot substitute for competence.
Your attitude cannot substitute for experience.
Your attitude cannot change the facts.
Your attitude cannot substitute for personal growth.
Your attitude will not stay good automatically.

Now let’s talk about what your attitude can do for you.

Your attitude makes a difference in your approach to life.
Your attitude makes a difference in your relationships with people.
Your attitude makes a difference in how you face challenges.
Successful people don’t have fewer problems than unsuccessful people – they just have a different mindset.

One of my favorite quotes on attitude comes from Chuck Swindoll.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than the facts. It is more important than the past, than education, then money, then circumstances, than failures, then successes, then what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, or a home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. Nor can we change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We also cannot change the inevitable. The only thing that we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you--we are in charge of our attitudes.”

Which of these are you?

“The pessimist complains about the wind.
The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails.”