From Thought to Action (Stop Hesitating, Start Living)
The longest time in the world is the hesitation between thought and action. It can actually be forever.
You can hesitate for 1 second to get started on something—a workout, a project, a task, something that you know you should do. You can hesitate for one second. That one second of hesitation, all of a sudden, turns into 5 seconds. Then 10 seconds. Then 10 minutes.
And just like that, you drifted into the eternal zone. One second became an eternity because something that was going to happen is now never going to happen. Ever.
Why is that? Because you hesitated.
So don't take that chance. Instead, take action.
The Law of Motion Applies to Your Life
A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to stay at rest.
You've had enough rest.
You've got to get to the point in your life where you decide: I have had it. I'm tired of being a loser. I got tired of losing. I got tired of coming up short.
What Do You Really Want?
- I want to move to the nicest neighborhood
- I want to fly first class
- I want to go to Hawaii
- I made a decision. Enough is enough
- It's showtime
In order for you to go from one level to the next level, in order for any person to transition, the thing that they want must be greater than the thing they currently have.
Humans do not transition to another level when they're comfortable with the level that they're on. You only go to another level when you say enough is enough.
Example:
James was making $50K a year and it was enough until he became a dad. Wanting more for his daughter pushed him to start a side business and work nights. Two years later, he was making $150K. When staying the same hurt more than changing, everything shifted.{alertsuccess}
You Deserve to See What's Possible
I want you to live the life you were meant to live. Not the life that was given to you.
You deserve to see what your life would look like if you gave 120%.
What I need you to do is look at yourself in the mirror and say: "Come on, stop playing. I deserve to see what my life would look like if I gave 120%."
That's Lion Mode
You've got to get to a place where you start executing. Making a plan is the easy part.
And you have to understand: If you don't execute on the plan, if you don't get up in the morning when you're feeling tired or scared, if you don't execute. you're not just cheating yourself. You're cheating your family. You're cheating your employees. You're cheating your team.
Whatever you're a part of, it's bigger than you.
Guess what? I had to get up even though it was hard, and I had to take ownership:
- Take ownership of my life
- Take ownership of my time
- Take ownership of my day
The Power of Routine
If you messed up, why? Because you don't understand: think, act, eat, rest. We're talking about a schedule.
I realized that my strength is in my routine. Why? Because I'm not as strong as I thought I was. I'm not as intelligent as I thought I was.
It's in my routine. It's what I do every day, repeatedly.
The DNA of Your Success Is in Your Routine
You're not as exceptional as you think you are. You've got to find a routine:
- "I'm getting up at 3 AM and sticking with it"
- "I'm getting up at 5 AM and sticking with it"
Yeah, out of 365 days, you're going to have a bad day or two. But I'm trying to tell you: the strength is in the routine.
Find a routine and stick with it.
No More Dreaming. Get Specific
Dreaming is over. I need specifics:
- What are you doing on Monday?
- What are you doing on Tuesday?
- What are you doing on Wednesday?
You need to be very specific. It's time to put the pieces of your puzzle together.
Example: Mike said, "I want to get in shape." That's a dream. His friend Alex said, "I'm going to the gym Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 6 AM. I'm doing 30 minutes of cardio Tuesday and Thursday. I'm meal-prepping every Sunday." Six months later, Mike is still "trying to get in shape." Alex lost 40 pounds and built muscle. Specific plans get specific results.{alertsuccess}
Nobody Gave Me This. I Earned It
Life wasn't a crystal stair for me. Nobody gave me a network. I earned a network. I worked my way to the NBA. I worked my way to the NFL.
Everybody says, "How did you crack the code?" I grinded my way through the cold. That's how I cracked it.
I got up every day at 3 AM. I don't care what the economy is doing. I don't care who the president is.
Nobody helped me to get here:
- I had to get up
- I had to go to class
- I had to read
- I had to study
- I had to write
I understood that the dream is real, but the lifestyle is realer.
How Long Will You Keep Quitting on Yourself?
Are you going to say you want to do something, do it for two weeks, and then quit like you did last year? Like you did the year before last?
You say you want to:
- Lose weight
- Get in shape
- Get your business off the ground
And then turn around and party, drink alcohol, eat poorly, and continue to live below who you were created to be.
How long is it going to take to make the decision, to make the shift, and show some courage?
It is time to go from mediocre to meteoric. It is time to go from being counted out to being counted on.
Success Requires Suffering, Sacrifice, and Discipline
I've never met anybody who became incredibly successful in any area of their life until they had suffered and sweated and sacrificed and kept their focus and fought through tears and trials and tests.
And if you have a dream and you fully commit to it, sooner or later, if you do not surrender, if you do not quit, it will happen.
Discipline Isn't About Motivation
When I wake up in the morning, I don't think, "Am I motivated to go do what I'm supposed to do?"
No. I don't think about it for one millisecond. When the alarm clock goes off, I have no thought about:
- Whether this is easy
- Whether this is hard
- Whether I want to do it
- Whether I don't want to do it
None of that matters.
It's an emotionless, thoughtless discipline. When the alarm clock goes off, you get up, you get out of bed, and you go do what you're supposed to do.
I don't care how it feels. I don't care if it's easy or hard. It doesn't even matter to me. It's just a reaction. It's a discipline. And it's life. And that's the way I choose to live my life.
Example: Sarah waited to "feel motivated" to work out. She went to the gym maybe once a month. Her friend Tom went every morning at 5 AM whether he felt like it or not. After a year, Sarah looked the same. Tom was in the best shape of his life. Discipline beats motivation every single time.{alertsuccess}
Every Day Is Monday. Attack Without Mercy
Too tired? Too hungry? Too sore? Too hot? Too cold? Too whatever?
People ask me what I do when I get those little feelings running around. Well, let me tell you what I don't do: I don't let those feelings run around inside my own brain.
I keep it secure. Lock it down.
To me, this is an everyday gig. Every day is a Monday. An opportunity to come out of the gate like a person possessed and attack the day without mercy.
Today:
- I'm taking action
- I'm putting the pressure on
- I'm the aggressor
- I'm on the attack
It's a lifestyle.
Do Something That Sucks Every Day
Instead of hitting that snooze button in the morning and not making your bed:
- You don't hit the snooze button.. you get up
- You don't want to go run? You go run
- You don't want to go swim? You go swim
- You don't want to make your bed? You make your bed
- You don't want to clean your house? You clean your house
- You don't want to study? You go and study
It's going to be difficult. It's not going to be fun.
Do something that's challenging every single day of your life. That's how you grow.
There Are No Shortcuts to Success
The only currency for success is sweat, blood, and tears.
You think you're going to get success at 50%? You think you're going to get it at 70%? You think you're going to give 80%?
There is no discount. You can't get 50% off. There are no shortcuts to success.
Stop thinking there are, and stop wanting people to put you somewhere that you didn't earn.
The Real Beast Finds a Way
The real beast is when their legs give out. The real beast, when they're tired the real beast finds a way to pull something out when nobody else has anything left.
When you really want it:
- You no longer hit the snooze button
- You no longer lose focus when you're studying
- You no longer take shortcuts
- You are willing to do whatever it takes
That means getting up early, going to bed late. That means you don't go to sleep when you're tired you go to sleep when you're done.
You Might Have Put in Some Time, But Not THE Time
You might have put in some time, but you didn't put in the time.
- Yeah, you did some workouts
-
Yeah, you studied a little bit
- Yeah, you put in some time
But you haven't put in the time. The time that's required to make your dream become a reality.
You can't shortcut success. You've got to grind, and you've got to put in the time.
If you had the qualities of:
- Fortitude
- Grit
- Discipline
- Mental toughness
You wouldn't need another program for your finances. You wouldn't need another fitness program. You would understand how to execute.
The missing link is, and always has been, you.
Your Biggest Enemy Is You
I get frustrated with people. When somebody's late and they're upset. When somebody borrows money and doesn't pay it back, and they're upset. When you go out to eat and they don't bring your food out the way you want it, and you're so upset and you let them have it.
But then you disappoint yourself, and you don't let yourself have it. You give yourself a pass.
That thing that's holding you back, that thing that's dragging you down that thing is you.
You Against You
Your biggest enemy is you. People don't understand: it's you against you. The only person that gets in your way is you. Nobody else. It's you.
I need you to confront you because you're the one holding you up. I need you to confront you. I need you to look in the mirror and tell yourself:
- "You are not going to do me like this anymore"
- "You're not going to continue to sabotage me"
- "You're not going to keep procrastinating"
Example: David blamed his boss, his schedule, his responsibilities for not working out. Then he realized: his coworker had the same boss, same schedule, same responsibilities and was in great shape. The difference? His coworker didn't make excuses. David was his own worst enemy.{alertsuccess}
You're not a loser. You've just made decisions that have created an environment that feels like it.
Take Responsibility and Start Right Now
Go look in the mirror. Take responsibility for where you are and admit to yourself that you are where you are because of:
- Decisions that you made
- Weakness that you had
- Your lack of ability to do the hard things when things got hard
That's why you are where you are.
And start right now fixing that. Start making better decisions right now. And before you know it, you'll be living a different life.
Focus on What You Can Control
The only person you can control is you. So focus on making yourself who you want to be. Discipline your body. Get up early and go get after it.
And you'll become the person you want to be and you become that person through one small decision at a time.
Become the person who cannot quit. Become the person who can say no to the things they know they're supposed to say no to. Become the person who makes the right decision:
- Regardless of the circumstances
- Regardless of the hardships
- Regardless of the pain
- Regardless of the frustration
If you become that person, you have no limits in your life. There is no stopping that person.
No More Excuses. Start Applying
When you finish reading this, I want you to go look yourself in the mirror, and I want you to vow: No more excuses.
From this day forward:
- I'm not going to just get pumped up
- I'm not going to just get fired up
- I'm about to start applying
Listen to me very closely: The difference between people who talk about it and people who do it is one simple word: application.
They hear it, and they don't just hear it. They digest it. And when they digest it, boom, they do something with it.
One Principle at a Time
I don't need you to learn a lot of stuff this year. I don't need you to learn 40 things this year.
If you can learn one thing I'm talking about learn it, put it deep within now you hear it, now you read it, now you see it.
If you can give me one principle a month that you own, that becomes a part of who you are, that changes how you think, that changes how you behave. If you can become an executor, if you can execute, you can do the unthinkable.
You can make all your milestones become a reality if it stops being a hobby.
You're doing it when you feel like it. You're doing it when you get time. You're doing it on your lunch break. You're not serious. You're not living it. You're not breathing it. You're not dreaming it. It's not haunting your dreams at night.
I'm telling you right now: Those of you who are going to do the unthinkable. You can do it if you can shut it down.
You've got to shut the TV down. You've got to shut certain people down. You are minimizing right now, and you need to optimize.
Make Today the Day Everything Changes
This is going to be a full commitment to creating the kind of person that can make the right decision even when it's the last thing they want to do:
- When they're tired
- When they're sore
- When they're hungry
- When they're stressed
- When they're frustrated
- When they're angry
- When the world is crashing down on their shoulders
They will still make the right decision.
Your only solution is to become that kind of person.
Start today. And in 365 days, you will look back and you will say:
- That was the day
- That was the day that everything changed
- That was the day that my life changed
- That was the day my family changed
- That was the day my community changed
- That was the day my state changed
- That was the day my country changed. Because I changed
Make that day today.
It's Going to Feel Better When It's Over
It's going to feel better when it's over. You know that. When you get done doing the hard thing, you know you will feel better when it is done.
You also know that if you don't do the hard thing. The thing that you don't want to do, that you don't feel like doing. You know if you don't do it, you're going to feel inferior. You know you're going to feel weak.
Two Outcomes
Outcome 1 (The Easy Choice):
- You'll get to sleep a little bit more
- You won't have to push during a workout
- You don't have to do this tedious task
- You'll get some short-term gratification
- But the long-term regret will be strong, and it will inflict pain on you
Outcome 2 (The Hard Choice):
- You do what you're supposed to do
- You do what you know you need to do to move forward
- And when you do that thing, you know you're going to feel strong
- You're going to feel satisfied
- You're going to feel worthy of this life
Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life.
The Shortcut Is a Lie
The shortcut is a lie. The hack doesn't get you there. And if you want to take the easy road, it won't take you to where you want to be.
There is no easy way. There is only:
- Hard work
- Late nights
- Early mornings
- Practice
- Rehearsal
- Repetition
- Study
- Sweat, blood, toil, frustration
- And discipline
There is only one way: Get up and go.
Master Your Emotions
You need to be the master of your emotions, not let them affect you. Get control of your feelings.
By getting control of your feelings, you gain control of your life. When you do this over and over and over again, you change your brain. You become tougher. You become the one who decides what gets done and the level of success you achieve.
Discipline Over Motivation
Discipline is something you dictate:
- Motivation won't make you exercise every day—discipline will
- Motivation won't stay up late and finish a project for you—discipline will
- Motivation isn't going to get you out of bed in the morning—discipline will
Remember that the pain right now will absolutely pay off in the future.
Execution Is Everything
Some of you are not successful because you think effort is success. You think because you put in 40 hours that you're supposed to get something.
It doesn't work like that. In the school of hard knocks, they don't care how many hours you put in. They just want to see the execution.
You're feeling in your spirit like, "But I did just as much as they did. I studied just as much as they studied."
It doesn't matter. You just got to execute.
Take Control of Your Life
You've got to get a little bit more intense about your life. You've got to stop being so casual.
There are decisions we make that chase that best version of us every second, every day, because every day alters the direction, the course of our lives.
You've held up your "someday." And here's the crazy part: All you've got to do is look in the mirror. All you've got to do is deal with yourself.
At some point, you've got to tell the flesh who's in control. I'm in control. You're not in control.
- I know you don't want to wake up you don't have an option. Get up.
- You need to discipline yourself
- You need to learn to tell yourself no
- You need to learn to tell yourself stop
- You need to learn to tell yourself quit
Every Single Day
Every single day, if you do what you said you're going to do, you're going to get what you dream to get.
Some days you wake up in the mood. Some days you're not in the mood.
A calendar does not care:
- If it's your birthday
- If it's a holiday
- If you're not feeling good
A calendar does not care. A schedule does not care.
So what happens is when you're consistent and you do something every day, you do it over and over and over again. It becomes a habit.
FAQ: Your Questions Answered
Q: How do I stop hesitating and just start?
Count backwards from 5 to 1, then move. 5-4-3-2-1-GO. Don't give your brain time to talk you out of it. Action first, feelings second. The more you practice this, the easier it becomes.
Q: What if I don't have a routine yet? Where do I start?
Pick ONE thing—wake-up time, workout time, or work time. Do that one thing at the same time every day for 30 days. Don't add anything else. Once it's automatic, add the next thing. Build slowly.
Q: How do I stay disciplined when I don't feel motivated?
You don't need motivation. You need identity. Stop thinking "I should work out" and start thinking "I'm a person who works out." When it's who you are, you just do it No motivation required.
Q: What if I keep making excuses? How do I stop?
Recognize that you're the one holding you back. Look in the mirror and confront yourself. Ask: "Am I going to let myself down again, or am I going to keep my word to myself?" Then act accordingly.
Q: How long until discipline becomes automatic?
Studies show 66 days on average for a habit to become automatic. But here's the truth: it doesn't matter. Stop counting days and start making days count. Do it today. Do it tomorrow. Do it the day after. Forever.
Q: What's the difference between lion mode and gazelle mode?
Gazelle mode is reactive—running from fear, surviving, average. Lion mode is proactive.. hunting your goals, attacking opportunities, dominating. Gazelles get eaten. Lions eat. Which one are you?
The longest distance in the world is between thought and action. Close that gap today.
Stop hesitating. Start executing. Your life is waiting.
Get up. Get out. Get after it. Right now. 🦁