097 – Discipline Equals Freedom: Why It’s the Foundation of Success

In this episode of The Getting After It Podcast, we’re diving deep into one of the most transformative principles you can adopt: Discipline Equals Freedom. This powerful mantra, introduced by Jocko Willink, reshaped my approach to fitness, career, and personal goals—and it can do the same for you.

If you’ve ever struggled with procrastination, self-doubt, or simply staying consistent, this episode will teach you how discipline isn’t restrictive; it’s liberating. Together, we’ll unpack what discipline truly means, how to set up systems for success, and how small acts of discipline compound over time to create lasting freedom in your life.

Key Takeaways:

1. Discipline Creates Freedom:
   Discipline isn’t about punishment—it’s about creating a life aligned with your values. The paradox of discipline is that by embracing structure, you gain control over your time, health, and goals.
2. Systems Over Willpower:
   Success doesn’t rely on grinding harder—it relies on setting up systems that make success the default. As James Clear says, “You do not rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.”
3. Consistency Beats Intensity:
   Motivation comes and goes, but discipline ensures you show up every day. It’s the small, consistent actions—not grand gestures—that create exponential growth.
4. Write It Down:
   Whether it’s your goals, progress, or roadblocks, documenting your journey creates clarity and accountability. Writing down your “why” makes the “how” more manageable.
5. Turn Obstacles Into Stepping Stones:
   Challenges like lack of time, self-doubt, and burnout are inevitable. The key is to adjust without losing momentum, reframe setbacks as opportunities, and stay focused on incremental progress.
6. Accountability Amplifies Discipline:
   Share your goals with a trusted friend or mentor. Adding accountability increases your chances of staying consistent and achieving your vision.

Discipline isn’t about achieving perfection—it’s about showing up every day, even when you don’t feel like it. The beauty of discipline is that its effects compound over time, shaping you into someone you once only dreamed of becoming.

As always, keep getting after it.

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I hope today’s episode sparked something within you to pursue your dreams and unlock your true potential. If you found value in it, consider sharing it with someone who might need that same push.

This podcast is built for you—the dreamers and the doers. My goal is to provide a space where you can find inspiration, learn from others, and feel empowered to chase what matters most to you.

Your dreams are within your grasp. All you need is the commitment to Get After It.

Chapters

• 0:00 Discipline Equals Freedom
• 10:47 The Power of Systems for Success
• 16:52 The Power of Discipline and Consistency
• 30:39 Journey to Self-Improvement Through Discipline
• 35:32 Accountability and Self-Improvement

Transcript

Brett: 0:00

Welcome back to the podcast, my friend. I'm happy to have you here, and today we're diving into one of the most powerful principles I've come across, and that's discipline equals freedom. It's a mantra that's reshaped the way I approach life and the way I think about discipline, and I think it has a lot of power to do the same for you. So if you've ever felt stuck, whether it's in your fitness, career or personal goals, then this is the episode for you. And, without further ado, my friends, let's jump in. How is it going everyone? Thanks for tuning in. It's another beautiful day to do a podcast. When is it not? That's the real question. Here I am in lovely Utah and, as you can see from the backdrop behind me here, it's quite gloomy. It's a little cold. I think it's 30 degrees. Today it's been snowing on and off, but you can't tell because the roofs look clean. Anyways, happy to have you here. I mentioned it in the intro, but discipline equals freedom is what we're talking about today, and it's a concept from Jocko Willink. But before I talk about the whole discipline equals freedom mantra and everything in between there, I want to talk about my early days as Fat Brett, high school, college and how I've come to look at life through viewing discipline differently. As a kid I always thought of discipline as punishment right, like you feel you do something wrong, you're big, oh man, my parents are gonna be pissed off. I'm going to get disciplined for this. That's typically the discipline you think of first. Or it might be something like you know you got to be disciplined and that might just be doing hard stuff, which usually typically it is doing hard things. But I never understood what it meant to be disciplined. I would get all my homework done right when I got home from school. Didn't know that was discipline at the time I just thought, you know, if I got it done fast, I could go play video games, which was fat bread's a dream. I love that stuff and at the time had no discipline with my nutrition or anything. So when I was in um I would say all the way up until I graduated high school I was a fiend when it came to food. Like every day, I'd go practice volleyball at my high school and when we were done we'd go to Cane's. Cane's is a phenomenal chicken restaurant. You know you get the Caniac combo. That was my go-to. It comes with a piece of toast, six chicken fingers, a bunch of fries, some coleslaw but I would always say no slaw. Give me extra sauce, because the cane sauce phenomenal but I would just let things come. I'd eat whatever I wanted. Didn't really look into it and it led to some health problems not problems, but like I gained weight and, looking back, I had no idea. And I would step on the scale and be like man I'm 210 pounds, like that's pretty sick, but didn't know at the time it was just fat up on the scale and be like man I'm 210 pounds, like that's pretty sick, but didn't know at the time, it was just fat and like I didn't know any of this stuff. Right.

Brett: 3:09

And then I got to college and I struggled with my time management skills. So when I was there I would try everything from time blocking. I would make sure that there were parts of my day where I would focus on studying certain topics. I would always time block in my shifts at work, always time block my workouts in the morning with my brother Drew Shout out to him. We'd work out every day. Rexburg, idaho, beautiful, actually, no, it was beautiful, it was just hella cold, but anyway.

Brett: 3:40

So I tried all these things. I tried the Pomodoro technique, which is just you pretty much set a timer and say I'm going to work on this task for an hour and you don't stop until that timer goes off. I tried the Eisenhower matrix, but pretty much all these different things were ways that I could better manage my time and I didn't understand until Jocko came out with this thing, this book that we're going to talk about. I didn't understand that it took discipline. The key component to all those things that would make it successful was being disciplined. Like the Pomodoro technique is great, if you want to time yourself and say I'm going to give myself an hour to do this, guess what? You still have to be disciplined enough to limit distractions, to stay focused on the goal and not let other things get in the way. If you say you're going to do something for 60 minutes, then do it for 60 minutes, don't do anything else. Simple as that, discipline is the key for everything, and so that's why, in the intro, I mentioned like if you feel stuck in your career and your fitness or your personal goals, then we're going to talk about discipline and how it's the ultimate tool for freedom and how to implement it and actual steps that you can get started today.

Brett: 4:52

So, going back to college, I want to talk about that because I was following Jocko for about a year up to this point, like I just learned about this guy and so all these ideas in my head of like, okay, I want to be more efficient with my time, I want to be more effective, I want to do hard things, because Jocko says that I'm going to be better if that's the case and oddly enough, he's right that's why I started this podcast. He's influenced my life quite a bit. But in college he came out with this book called the Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual and I had no idea what it was. Anything Jocko published I would buy right away. So I pre-ordered this thing, got the first edition.

Brett: 5:37

When it showed up I was kind of surprised because it's like almost a coffee table book. So it's like this big square book and when you flip a page it doesn't read like a novel or it doesn't read like a narrative, it's more of a. It's more of a like flip it open, you can read a passage and get something from it kind of thing. Right, it's um, I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna compare it to the Bible, but in the same degree. You can open the Bible and go and find a passage and be like that was nice. That's a really good message about Christ. The same thing with the discipline equals freedom field manual is you can open it up and learn about how to have more effective workouts, what to do if you don't have a gym um, how to eat clean, what to do, uh, to optimize your day, how to wake up early, like all these things. Right. So discipline equals freedom.

Brett: 6:25

I want to start there with just that concept. What does it mean? Like, let's unpack this whole idea. At first, it sounds like it could be a contradiction, right? Discipline equals freedom. Well, going back to what I was talking about in my early days, discipline feels restrictive, right, like it's waking up early. Early days, discipline feels restrictive, right, like it's waking up early, it's skipping dessert, it's sticking to your budget, it's all those things that are hard, but you're like man, why is this sticking to your budget If you can't just go buy anything you want? That's kind of restrictive, right Wrong. Here's the paradox. When you have discipline, you gain control over your life and you're no longer a slave to your bad habits or your distractions or the whims of the moment. Instead, you're free to focus on what truly matters and what deserves your attention, what deserves your time. So that's what I mean.

Brett: 7:21

Like during college, I read this thing and it was just like so simple. I was like, okay, I'm just going to try these things. And I found this quote. I shared it in my newsletter, but it's from Abraham Lincoln and he says discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most. So, putting that instant gratification aside, letting it sit on the shelf for a second, because you know, know deep down, that you want the healthy, strong, fast body that working out is going to get you, instead of I'm going to go sit on the couch, pull up my favorite Netflix show and bring out the Cheetos. Know what I'm saying? No, that's not going to get you your fitness body. It's not going to make you Thor. If you want to be Thor, you got to go put in Thor's work. It's that simple and it's not a punishment, but it's about creating a life that aligns with your goals and your values.

Brett: 8:17

That's a very important piece that I need you to understand is you have to know about yourself. You have to know what gets you excited. You have to know what's important to you. Is it your family? Is it your job? Is it your health? Ask yourself these questions and boil it down to the most basic principles. Figure out what is important to you and then your actions can reflect that and your discipline can also reflect that. If having a healthy body is not important to you, but making a ton of money is I'm not saying to do this because I think it's a bad idea then who cares? Let the fitness go. Just focus on whatever is important to you and what aligns with your values and your goals. So identify one area in your life where you might see a lack of discipline and how it's holding you back. Write it down and reflect on how more of a structure can lead you to that freedom that Jocko talks about.

Brett: 9:19

I've seen this happen in my life. I will give an example for this. I've always wanted to be a hybrid athlete. For those of you who do not know what a hybrid athlete is, it is someone who can lift very heavy and run fast or far. That's pretty much the basic concept behind it. But it's someone who's well-rounded, who's got the muscles right, who's got the cardio levels that people dream of and all these things and when I was solely focused on running, because I wanted to run my first sub-three marathon for Team Tim, I let the weightlifting piece go because I wanted to focus more on running. And now it's like okay, well, I achieved the sub-three. I knew what it took. It was a lot of hard work, so I got back into working out, but I just the point of that story is to realize that you can. You can change what's important to you at times, you can shift your focus, and it's still going to require discipline. Now we're going to talk a little bit about systems here, because I think you need to set up systems in your life to make you successful and allow for discipline to be a little bit easier. What is a system? Basically, a system is your environment, your goals and everything in between, how you set it all up so you can achieve it best.

Brett: 10:47

Going back to fitness, because I think it's a metaphor everyone can relate to. Everyone's had a fitness goal at some point in their life. If you want to wake up early, if you want to wake up, go to the gym, get a good exercise in before you go to work. Then your system could look like you're going to put your clothes out every night before you go to bed. So when you wake up there's no decision, it's just you throw it on. Right, you're going to set your alarm every night, you're not going to put it on auto alarm. So your brain is primed that you know you're going to wake up at 5 am, 6 am, whatever time works for you, and then you set your lunch out so you don't have an excuse to come home and be late for work because you didn't get your lunch prepared. You do all these things. You create this system to help you achieve that goal.

Brett: 11:34

Discipline doesn't mean white knuckling your way through life. It's about creating those type of systems that help support that goal. And when I first started exploring productivity and getting after it, in a sense, I tried everything, and that's where I was talking about time blocking, the Pomodoro technique and you name it anything. If you go and you search on Google time management techniques, I guarantee you I tried all of them. I was in college, I was hungry, I wanted to make my life set up for future success and I figured, if I was an A student in college, that's one of the ways that I would get there. So what I learned is that systems remove the need for constraint or for not constraint. It removes the constraint of willpower and it gives you that, that consistency. They create a structure where success becomes the default. So if you already know that you're going to set your clothes out, wake up and go, hit the gym. Boom, you achieved your goal of going to the gym. Now you're going to have to experiment as you try creating these systems.

Brett: 12:39

But James Clear, who's the author of Atomic Habits he has this great book where he explores all the top performers' systems pretty much. He talks about the British biking team and what their system was for their success. He says this you do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. I want to say that again you do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. So everything that you've done to prepare you for going after and achieving said goal that's in front of you falls on your systems. They play a huge role in your everyday success Because if you have a goal to, let's say, be better at work and you just go and you try and work hard, you grind and you grind all day long. That might get you far. It really will. But what you need to be doing is observing what you're doing and seeing what's working, and when you note it down, you write it and go back and look at like what's making you successful, what's not. Then you can adjust your systems accordingly.

Brett: 13:51

I'll give you another example, because we're on the work tangent here. Every day, part of my work process is I need to make cold calls and I use time blocking every single day. It doesn't have to be at the same time, but I make sure I have an hour of cold calls every day. It doesn't have to be at the same time, but I make sure I have an hour of cold calls every day. And when I do that, I see the success and I see that I'm able to be more consistent because I know it's already on the calendar. I know I have to get it done in order to be successful and efficient in my role, and the same goes for you. So if your job is to be a teacher, then understand like, plan out all your lessons, get them all done and then figure out how you can best reach your students from the curriculum that you're teaching. Whatever your job is, you can benefit from systems. You just have to figure out and track what actions you're doing on a daily basis and where you can improve on them. So just take a moment to think about that after this and, if something comes up, write it down and say, okay, I'm going to focus on getting better at cold calling all next week. That's going to be my priority, and then just start doing that. So systems will get you set up for long term success, sustainability, and it'll be beneficial for you.

Brett: 15:12

Now, what is the connection between discipline and freedom? Because, again, I think you can hear that and be like oh, that kind of sounds restrictive. Let's connect the dots then. So how does discipline lead to freedom? Freedom is about choice. It's about choice.

Brett: 15:29

When you're disciplined with your health, you're free from chronic illness, unless you know, something happens in your genetics, whatever, obviously, things can happen. I am also a proponent of that. I got sick. I have a tumor in my pituitary gland, yeah, whatever, who cares? Things happen to you. But if you are disciplined with your health, you're not going to have heart disease. You're not going to have diabetes. You're not going to have other cancers like lung cancer if you're smoking, like that kind of thing right. When you're disciplined with money, you're free from debt, and when you're disciplined with time, you're free to pursue what truly matters to you. The podcast is mine and I have to be disciplined with my time. I have to get the things done at work. I have to wake up on time and get my exercise in If I want to spend time at night working on this content, creating episodes for you all, so you can get better with me.

Brett: 16:27

Now, when I decided to become an elite runner, I had to start very small. I have told the story many times, but I'll just give the Cliff Notes version, because I mentioned I was sick. So, yes, I have a tumor in my pituitary gland. Because of that, my testosterone levels are crazy. I have have to. I have to supplement. That's fine, I've understood that and it works for me.

Brett: 16:52

But I was 135 pounds and I wanted to run my first half marathon. That was a big goal for me. I uh, up until that point, ran no more than six miles, and so I had to like work back or work up to that half marathon distance, and it was daunting. There were times when I was like my gosh. I have no energy for this, because when you're 6'3 and 135 pounds, you have no energy, your body is just surviving. And it is painful both physically and mentally because, one, you want to do things that your body will not allow you to, so very frustrating, bad on your mental health. And then, two, when you go and you actually get yourself to the gym and you start running on the treadmill, you lose energy quick. So that it was hard is what I'm trying to get out here.

Brett: 17:48

And I had to eat a ton. I had to get my weight back up to a healthy level and again supplement with shots and tons of vitamins, like I had to be so disciplined with my health in not the way that I think a lot of people want to be disciplined with their nutrition. They don't want to go out and eat the Caniacs or they don't want to eat the donuts. They want to, but they have to restrict themselves. For me it was like I have to be disciplined and consistent and really focus on my supplementation. I have to take my vitamins, I have to eat. So what did that look like? It meant I put all my supplements out in the morning, so when I wake up, get home from the gym, I pop them. All right, I'd be popping pills and then I would meal prep, so, like throughout the day, there was no question on what I would eat. I would just go to the fridge, pull out one of my meals, microwave it or whatever, and then pound it down.

Brett: 18:54

But I had to be focused on that if I wanted to become this runner. That was able to push through, and it's taken me four years from that moment. But now I have qualified for Boston. I ran an ultra marathon, I've ran countless half marathons, I've coached others to do the same, and it's because I had to set up these systems. I had to make myself successful and be disciplined with every single decision.

Brett: 19:19

It sounds like a lot, but it's not, because you'll realize quickly that you're. You're more prime than you think you are, and it's the Alex Hormozy quote that I I say almost every podcast. But you don't gain confidence from shouting affirmations in the mirror. You become confident from building an undeniable stack of proof that you are who you say you are. And I had to build that day in and day out. And I had the days when I felt like I was beat and I had nothing else to give, and I hit my head on the pillow that night Guess what I had? To wake up and do the same damn thing the next day. It's not sexy. Discipline sometimes is not sexy. Consistency is not sexy. Discipline sometimes is not sexy. Consistency is not sexy. But Jocko talks about this quote from Miyamoto Musashi, who's a legendary samurai warrior. But he has this quote where he says if you know the way broadly, you will see it in everything, and I think that applies to discipline.

Brett: 20:23

If you can be disciplined in one area of your life it's why I talk about fitness it will set up you to be successful in every other area. Like if you know how to be disciplined with fitness, which I might argue could be the hardest one, because your body's telling you to stop and you have to push through. You want the donut, but you have to go to the salad because the donut's not going to help you with your goals. You want to sleep in on a Saturday instead of go on a 15-mile run, but you also know that if you go on that run, it's going to make you a better runner. That goes on and you can apply that into your, your career goals, your personal goals, anything for the podcast.

Brett: 21:13

I have to be disciplined and sit down and record these. That's number one. I have to sit down and create content. I have to write blogs, I have to post on social, I have to reach out to guests. There's so much that I have to do and it's not going to get done unless I'm disciplined. It is so powerful. I would ask you what does freedom look like for you then? Is it financial stability? Is it physical health? Whatever it is?

Brett: 21:41

Write down one discipline action that you can take today to move you closer to that vision and you'll notice that I'm saying something similar almost at the end of every single one of these sections is write it down, because once you write it down, you have a baseline on where you're going to start and you know that there's always room to improve. So you write down one goal today. It's going to change, hopefully change because you want to keep better. Six months down the road, a year down the road, whatever but write down your goals so you can track them, so you can go back and say was I disciplined enough? Was I consistent? Did I put the time in that I actually needed to to get shit done? I'm passionate about this stuff, so words are going to come out. I'm sorry, but it is so important to track everything, like you need to know yourself before you even start your discipline journey, and another reason why I talk about journaling and even podcasts.

Brett: 22:43

But spending time with yourself, self solitude, doesn't have to be a negative thing. It can be a very beneficial thing because in those moments when you're by yourself, put your damn phone down and just think about what you want out of life, think about what motivates you, think about the people you care about and how you want to make them proud, and then again write it down, because you will have no guidelines if you don't write them down. The 10 commandments are great. I follow them, but I can almost guarantee you they would have gotten you know, they would have gotten a little skewed, like they might've said you know thou shalt not murder. Andwed, like they might've said you know thou shalt not murder. And if they didn't write it down, people over the years, it's like the game telephone could have been like thou shalt murder, right. And so you're out there just chopping people up thinking you're doing God's will, but in in the end, you're actually doing the opposite. Right? That was a really bad example, but I'm just trying to say like don't go, chop people up, guys, bad idea. Follow the 10 commandments, but write down what you're going to. If Moses didn't take time to write down those tablets, everyone would have skewed the message that he was trying to portray. So it just gives you a guideline, it gives you a base. Write down your goals.

Brett: 24:04

Now what happens when you start facing some challenges? How do you stay consistent? Because discipline it's not always going to be easy. Like I said, there's days when I just want to cuddle up to my wife in bed and not have to go to the gym. There will be days when you're tired, when you're unmotivated, when you're discouraged. I cannot tell you how many times I've talked to my wife about how I'm sometimes discouraged with the podcast, because there are days when it's just stagnant. You know, I get one or two listens. That's fine. It's usually my mom and Allie two biggest fans. But I can't be discouraged because I know that this is what I love to do. I can't be discouraged because I know that this is what I love to do. I love to create content like this that I know would have helped me when I was 18 years old slamming canyax, and if it can help someone else who might be looking for some kind of guidance in their life, a little push in the right direction, then I would consider it a success and I would consider this to be exactly what I imagined it when I started An opportunity to help others reach their goals. So what do you do when you do feel discouraged, when you're tired, when you're unmotivated? The key is to show up anyway, and I've said this quote many times. I came up with this one so from Brett.

Brett: 25:32

But discipline gets you started and consistency carries you across the finish line. That's what I tell my athletes say hey, it's going to be hard. When you first start this training. You're going to hate your life, you're going to be sore, you're going to be tired, you're going to be hangry because you're going to have to start eating more. So you're going to be hungry more, but you have to show up. Consistency beats intensity every single time. And remember, it's okay to adjust your goals when life changes, when things come up. I think that shows strength If we're able to take a step back and be like, hey, this is too much. Right now I'm just going to focus on X, y and Z, and it's okay, that's healthy.

Brett: 26:16

The key is not losing that momentum, because if you get discouraged, if you get tired and unmotivated and then you just say, hey, I'm going to put this on the shelf for a while, then I got some news for you. It's going to be so much harder to get that started again. You need to keep that momentum going and if that means adjusting your goals, do it. There's no shame in that. The only person that you're competing with is yourself yesterday, not anyone else. Comparison is the thief of joy. That's another thing. That's huge.

Brett: 26:49

So you know one other thing that I would say, like because there's common challenges, like the lack of time. Well, discipline means making time, even if it's just 15 minutes, and I've said this before and I'll say it again but if you're using the excuse of I don't have time, then you don't care enough about your goal. You are putting other things above your goal. There's going to be times throughout your day when you have some downtime. Are you using that time to be on TikTok, be on other social media, buying random things on Amazon, or are you using that time to work one step closer to your goal? So lack of time I don't think should ever be a common challenge. It'll be a challenge, but it's one that you can overcome.

Brett: 27:41

Self-doubt this one's a bitch Self-doubt is the worst. And again, like that discouragement that I feel with the podcast is probably probably has some form of self-doubt in there. Like I feel that self-doubt for myself. It's imposter syndrome, right. Like it's all those things that you hear people talk about and you need to remember that everyone, every single expert that is out, there was once a beginner expert. That is out. There was once a beginner, that 135 pound kid that wanted to be an elite runner. He just had to start running two miles first. And the same goes for you. So when you are starting something new, tell yourself it's okay to fail, because if you prime your brain and you're expecting failure to come, you're going to be able to handle it better.

Brett: 28:39

It's the stoic concept of the premeditation of evils, which sounds like a bad-ass thing, but really what it is. The premeditation of evils is thinking of the worst case scenario. So when it comes up, if it does arise and it shows up in your path, you're not as surprised as you would have been without thinking through. And it's important to do that. And again, like that's why I talk about writing things down. Write down what the worst case scenario could be. Or if you're writing down a goal, this is another good exercise. Write down by that goal scenario could be. Or if you're writing down a goal this is another good exercise. Write down by that goal what you're willing to sacrifice to obtain it. Is it your time? Is it finances, whatever? What are you willing to sacrifice for it?

Brett: 29:27

So, when self-doubt comes up, just remind yourself that hey, I'm doing something new. I'm not going to get it right the first time. Go listen to my first podcast. Go like all the evidence is there. My first podcasts were so bad, like I was embarrassed to put them up, but I also knew that it was my very beginning and I wanted to keep them up there. I wanted to put them up, but I also knew that it was my very beginning and I wanted to keep them up there. I wanted to post them and leave them up there so I could go back now and listen to them and be like, wow, yeah, I mean I might not be great now, but I'm definitely better than I was when I started. So, hey, you know, every expert is a beginner at some point.

Brett: 30:09

Now let's talk about burnout for a second. Because when you're accomplishing more, when you're trying to strive towards bigger and bolder goals, you might feel burnt out at times. And here's the deal. When those come up, I think it's important to just take breaks when you need them, but don't lose sight of the end goal. So make the break short, like one way that I get my head cleared the fastest is if I'm ever feeling overwhelmed.

Brett: 30:39

A great remedy for me is just to go out on a walk. I love it when my wife joins me so I can just talk to her the whole time. But I heard this psychologist talk about the benefit of walking. And when you go out and you don't have any phones, you don't have your earphones in. Whatever, you're just out there walking, it kind of tricks your mind because you're moving forward and it gets you out of that rut that, oh, I'm stuck, or feeling stressed Like you're moving forward, as silly as it might sound, and stressed like you're moving forward, as silly as it might sound. Try it out for yourself before you deem it not efficient for you. So you're going to have days when you don't feel like doing it. But that's where the systems come in, that's where they save you and you have to keep pursuing the goal.

Brett: 31:28

Now here's the long-term payoff of discipline, probably the last thing we'll talk about today, but the beauty of discipline is that its effects compound over time. The beauty of discipline is that its effects compound over time. One discipline choice leads to another and, before you know it, you've transformed your life. The freedom you gain from discipline isn't about what you achieve. It's about who you become in the process. All these topics, all these podcasts I make about goals and everything I discuss about achieving said goals lies in that principle that the freedom you gain isn't just about what you achieve. It's about who you become. I've learned so much about myself on the journey of my podcast my fitness goals, my career goals, my relationship goals. I've learned so much about myself and a lot of discipline was present through all those areas I just covered, and I've become someone who I never imagined I would have been as a kid. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but it is a journey that I'm very proud of and I'm excited to see where it keeps on taking me.

Brett: 32:50

Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines that you practice every single day, and you will realize that when you say no to the instant gratification. Over and over and over again, you'll see the benefit of that. Discipline creates a sense of pride and confidence that spills into every other area in your life. If you're looking to start being more disciplined, then my biggest suggestion would be one write down where you want to be disciplined in and then, two, make this a non-negotiable.

Brett: 33:29

Go to the gym, go, do something that you don't want to do. And there are times when I am pumped to go to the gym because I feel good, I want to go, blow off some steam, I want to get my body moving, get the blood flowing, get a pump, as Arnold says. But at the end of the day, most I would say probably 60% of the days that I go exercise, I'm not, I don't want to be there, like I'm tired, my body hurts. Running 50 mile weeks makes your body hurt quite a bit, and then add lifting on top of that and no sleep because I have insomnia. I'm trying to work on that, but it's hard. It really is hard. But there's so much benefit in choosing something difficult, putting off the natural tendencies to, you know, be slothful, be gluttonous, whatever it is like.

Brett: 34:28

The seven deadly sins they talk about mainly come from pride, and if you're too proud to go and be a beginner in something, then you need to exercise discipline and being humble. Discipline equals freedom Such a good mantra, and it's not just a catchy phrase, it's literally a way of life and it's whether, if you're pursuing a physical goal, a financial stability goal, personal growth goal, discipline is going to be the key that unlocks it all. And you need to start small. It's the formula, I would say, for everything. Think of an exponential growth chart. It always starts small, but then it just shoots right up like a rocket right. Build systems, stay consistent and remember every single act of discipline is a small step forward to the life that you always wanted to create.

Brett: 35:27

This week, choose one area of your life where you'll embrace discipline more.

Brett: 35:32

Share it with me, like I'd love to hold you accountable, or share it with someone who you trust, but adding accountability is another step or another trick that might help you achieve your goal faster.

Brett: 35:45

If this episode has helped you at all, if it's inspired you, please pass it on to someone who might need to hear it, because, again, that's my whole goal with this podcast is to teach lessons that I wish I would have known at a younger age. I'm proud of you guys. I know how hard it is to do these things and yet there you are, showing up, being motivated and giving it your best. That's all you should ask for yourself. That's all I ask from you. It's just to do your best. That's all I ask for myself. How can I be 1% better every single day? If you decide today to be a little bit better, to exercise discipline more than instant gratification when you can, your life will change and you will become someone who you don't even recognize in six months. So until next time, everyone, I'll see you in the next episode, but keep getting after it, peace out.