“Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.” Lao Tzu

How many times on average does someone attempt a goal before giving up? Would you guess one, two or three? The real answer is less than one. Many people give up before they even try.

Self-discipline is the trait that makes the difference. It goes hand-in-hand with determination and resilience. If you know you can rely on yourself to be disciplined in your approach, you know that there is a possibility of success. Without it, it is easy to feel defeated before you even start or to become easily distracted from your goal.

I work daily with experts who are at the pinnacle of their chosen profession in business, sport and every area of enterprise. When I am asked what is the one thing that sets those who succeed apart from those who fall short of their true potential? Or what do successful achievers do that others don’t?, the answer is always rooted in their self-discipline.

Successful people are willing to do the things that they don’t necessarily want to do in order to get the results they want. They tend to put the needs of the goal ahead of instant gratification. It’s all about desire, not denial.

They put in extra hours and effort to achieve the outcome they want because they always have an eye on the long-term goal. Rather than stopping to question whether they want to do something, self-disciplined people are more likely to get on with it!

A self-disciplined approach delivers improved performance and successful results – and keeps people on track. They know that, without self-discipline, nothing will ever happen and nothing will ever change. They will fall behind and lose control.

You can plan, dream, create and think positively all you want and still not make your business a success if you don’t take action in a self-disciplined way. Self-discipline feeds self-esteem and puts winners in the driving seat. I believe it is the core trait that sets successful people in every field of endeavour.

Mastering the art of self-discipline is like investing successfully in time. Those who plan ahead and who complete tasks within the time allocated develop the confidence to know they can achieve their larger goals.

Mastering The art Of Self-Discipline

• Self-discipline creates self-reliance, which feeds self-confidence. If you know you can rely on yourself to deliver results, you are more likely to aim high in your ambitions.

• Self-discipline goes hand-in-hand with effective planning and time management. It ensures that you are in control – and leading the action, rather than reacting to the others demands.

If you know what you are doing, and when and why you are doing it, you will be less likely to be taken off-track.

• Self-disciplined people have a long-term plan that sets out their goals and ambitions, supported by a short-term plan in the form of a daily ‘do it!’ list. The devil is in the do its! Don’t just list them – do them!

If you create a plan and stick to it, you will achieve more, more efficiently, and create more hours in each working day.

• Being self-disciplined sends a clear message to others that you can be relied upon. You will attract like-minded people to do business with you and work with you.

• A self-disciplined approach to life enables your auto pilot on those occasions when the going gets tough.

•   Self-discipline drives action. It turns targeted thinking into focused doing, even when you’d rather be doing something else.

Self-discipline is easier to maintain when developed as a habit in every area of our lives. Build your self-discipline muscle, daily. Ask yourself what changes in my own approach will make the most difference to my success?

Watch your attitude to food, exercise, watching TV, using social media, playing computer games and so on. Be honest with yourself – what are your distractors?

Do you get up as soon as your alarm clock rings – even when you don’t want to? Or do you tend to press the snooze button and start your day with a delay?

Do you eat only when you are hungry or do you tend to treat yourself even though you ‘shouldn’t’?

Are you the kind of person who is punctual, who is always on time for appointments? Or do you leave everything to the last minute?

Do you spend first and worry about the money afterwards, or do you always save up for what you want?

By becoming aware of your current behaviour, it becomes more possible to be increasingly self-disciplined in your choices and efficient with your use of time.

From the very moment of waking up and getting out of bed each morning, through each area of your working day, become watchful and aware of the diversionary tactics you may use to avoid doing essential tasks.

By matching your desires to the actions you need to make your dream a reality, you can begin to apply the self-discipline required to make your future a certainty. It is a skill that those around you will begin to learn and benefit from too – by following your example.

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“Every coach needs to run their practice as a small business owner.”

Most coaches have an absolute passion for the work they do. Many will say that coaching isn’t hard work because they find it such a pleasure. Their core motivation is rarely a desire for riches – most are driven more by the wish to make a tangible difference to people’s lives.

Being good at what we do gives us a sense of purpose and personal satisfaction, which is great for self-esteem. But a love of the task on its own will not make a profit. Without positive cash flow a livelihood can quickly be in danger and the freedom to focus on clients’ needs will be compromised.

Coaches have often make a significant investment in time and money to gain life changing skills and qualify as an NLP professional, but have taken little or no time to learn the basic principles of how to run a business.

As MD of The Coaching Academy, and the Entrepreneurs’ Business Academy for Coaches, I know that building a business is not down to luck. It is a process that can be learned, like any other.

I had already been running a series of commercially successful companies when I first trained as an NLP coach, which meant it was easy for me to combine my new coaching skills with my existing business experience and make a healthy living.

But the coaching had to be the main priority. Focusing solely on getting a financial return from my clients felt incongruent to me.

Now I am on a mission to encourage more people in the coaching profession to think of themselves as business owners as well as caring professionals and to help them to tell as many people as possible know who they are and what they offer.

My forthcoming series of articles headed Coaching Heart – Commercial Mind is all about adding value to your coaching service, remaining true to your core ideals and selling with integrity. The first is about the importance of running your coaching practice as a business owner.

PRESS PAUSE AND TAKE TIME TO PLAN

A coaching or training business can be run with few overheads and minimal set up costs. Many coaches and trainers work from home and will continue to work full or part time until their business takes off.

This reduces the risk of business failure, but the low-key approach can also lead to a complacent attitude towards business planning and personal goal setting.

Coaches often tell me that they don’t have enough clients for a sustainable business – but when I ask them how many clients they need, they don’t know.

NLP practitioners are used to encouraging their clients to set specific and achievable goals – but it is crucial that they take the same approach themselves. Coaching or training is the service the business provides – but coaches need to manage that service with the mindset of a business owner.

Growing a successful business depends first upon knowing what you want to achieve, and then finding enough clients to pay for your product or service.

It means taking time out to develop a business plan and to consider your vision of the future. For those who are motivated more by helping others than by financial success it can be a hard lesson to learn.

KNOW YOUR NICHE

Businesses fail not because therapists and counsellors are not good enough at what they do – but because they are not effective at generating enough new clients. Unfortunately it is not enough to be well-qualified and to have a website or to think ‘my reputation will do the talking’.

Being successful is not only about being professionally excellent, it is about being clear about your niche area of expertise and running your practice like a business owner: prospecting for clients, managing costs, and marketing yourself in an ongoing and cost-effective way.

START WITH THE END IN MIND

Always start with the end in mind. Commercial goal setting starts with creating a business plan. It doesn’t need to be elaborate, but it needs to be very clear.

If you know how much you want and need to earn each year, you will be better able to plan how to achieve that aim. Look at your costs; look at your prices; set them properly and view your coaching business as a business. Ask yourself:

• ‘What are my running costs?’ (Premises, bills, rent, living costs and so on.)
• ‘How much do I need to earn per year? (And how does that break down?’)

• ‘How much do I need to allow for Tax and National Insurance?’ (Consider setting up a separate bank account to put the money aside.)

• ‘What is the market rate, and what is my scale of charges?’ (Do some market research.)

• ‘How many clients do I need to make this work – per year, per month, per week?’ (People often don’t know this.)

• ‘Is this more or less than the number of clients I want?’ (Alter pricing accordingly.)

• ‘Have I taken account of seasonal variations?’ (For example, December is likely to be slow.)

• ‘How am I going to find them?’ (Target your marketing.)

Ask yourself – what is my customer profile? If you are positioning yourself as an expert (and I suggest that you do) then you are likely to become highly sought after and people will be prepared to pay more for your help.

Remember: generalists seek clients but clients seek specialists. If you are a specialist, it will be easier for other people to recommend and promote you. Very often you can charge more for your time because there are fewer people offering your service.

YOUR TIME HAS A FINANCIAL WORTH AS WELL AS A PROFESSIONAL VALUE

No matter how much you want to help your clients, you need to remember that your time really is money, which means you need to manage time carefully. Many coaches over-commit their time and under-charge for their services.

It is wise to agree a scale of times and charges up-front, otherwise you may find yourself working twice as long for half your hourly rate. Consider offering a course of treatments and encourage pre-payment, rather than charging by the hour.

Not only does it increase client commitment in some cases, it also means that if someone cancels at the last minute, or if you go over time, you can charge accordingly.

To build a sustainable business you need to tell as many people as possible that you exist and to keep communicating your business message as clearly as you can – and ask them to be proactive about recommending you too.

Selling and success go hand in hand. The more effective you are at selling, the better able you will be to provide a great service to your clients.

In the next few issues I will be writing about the importance of sales, marketing, first impressions and business branding, e-marketing and financial management.

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For those who are already familiar with the world of DO IT! OR DITCH IT, I’m delighted to announce the official launch date of my new app.

Drum roll please…

For a limited time period, the DO IT! OR DITCH IT app will be completely free to download.

Visit the App Store from Tuesday 21^st August (next Tuesday) to download the app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. (other platforms to follow later)

Effective decision making lies at the heart of progress in every area of life & DO IT! OR DITCH IT thinking enables decision making to become a clear process.

I really can’t wait to share the app with you which has been rigorously tested over the past  months! As you’d expect from an app.

My Daily Do Its!  feature to help you accelerate your success and allows you to easily share your favourites with friends and colleagues. I’ve also included workbooks, downloads and templates to maximise the effectiveness and usefulness of the app and last but not least….

I’m especially excited to include the mini DISC assessment which provides a truly interactive snapshot of your personality type and how that might influence your decisions and actions. I was so delighted that the beta testers loved this section and was humoured to hear an unnamed member of staff took to administering the mini DISC to their friends on a Friday night in the pub! I took this to mean that the app is engaging!

A huge thank you must go out to Gary Gallagher and the team at Paper Bag Ltd who have worked (very patiently) with me during the last twelve months. A special mention too for all those that came forward to test the app. You have helped make this the best app it could possibly be and ready for launch to reach the mobile masses.

I’d like to share some of their lovely comments:

“I really enjoyed every bit of this powerful app. It’s fantastic!” – Ildi Haraszi

“Loved the mini DISC assessment! So easy to use, really engaging and incredibly informative” – Jennifer Hopkins

“Very useful and enjoyable app. I like the clear, direct information. Staight to the point” – Varai Unique 

“I love the Bev video intros. They make the app really clear and accessible” – Merete Langler 

“A very innovative app which was very easy to get engrossed in. Really clear and easy to use and it looks great!” – Sally Ransom

More news to follow next week but put the date in your diaries – The DO IT! OR DITCH IT app is coming – Tuesday 21^st August.