Episode 18: The Discipline Advantage: Why Small Choices Change Everything

Discipline isn’t punishment, it’s the pathway to freedom. In this episode, we explore the psychology behind discipline and how small daily choices shape our habits, mindset, and future. We discuss how our brains are wired for reward, why consistency beats motivation, and how we can design routines that make better choices easier. Because the life we want tomorrow is built by the decisions we make today.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Welcome to the Become Unshaken Podcast, where we journey through the hard together. We're so glad you're here. Welcome back to the Become Unshaken Podcast. My name is Stephanie Rodriguez.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

And I am Michael Rodriguez.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

And today we are here to talk about discipline, a very important value in the Become Unshaken book and the Unshaken mindset. And we're here to talk about discipline. We'll break it all down. And the way that we really think about discipline, it's training the brain to choose the future over the present, right? It's remaining consistent in our habits and our choices. So today we're talking about something that sits very much at the heart of living an unshaken life, right? Discipline is not about being harsh or restrictive, right? It's the kind of discipline that builds freedom. That's what's at the core of the unshaken life. So the truth is that most of us live our lives shaped not by big decisions, but by tiny daily choices, what we eat, what we say yes to, whether we show up when it's hard. Science actually shows that our brains are wired to reinforce these choices. When we repeat behaviors that lead to reward, the brain releases dopamine, especially teaching us to do that thing again. So cool. So discipline isn't just willpower, it's learning how to work with your brain instead of against it. Today, Michael and I are unpacking the value of discipline, why and how to build habits that stick, and why the smallest choices we make today shape the life that we live tomorrow. This is going to be a fun one.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Yeah. Because it's not one to run away from. It's one to truly embrace. It can give you a lot of satisfaction in life when you realize how much you have to choose. How much we we can't control everything, but how much control you do have over your daily choices?

SPEAKER_00 1:55

That's right. Yeah. No, I mean, when you think about it, I mean, we literally make 10,000 choices a day, right? The the alarm goes off. First choice. Do you wake up? Do you hit snooze? Do you say, hey, babe, why don't you go ahead and get the kiddos ready and I'll be out in a few minutes, right? What is it that that you're gonna say? And then, you know, what are we wearing today? What color, what color pants? You're wearing shorts. What's the weather? I mean, you are what are we having for breakfast? I mean, there's you're up for 30 minutes and you make 25 decisions, right? And the reality is, and and in the opening, I thought it was so great, is that I think a lot of times we give a lot of credit to these monumental or the idea of some monumental occurrence or moment in our lives. And while there are monumental things that happen that do change behavior, the reality is that the majority of our life, in my opinion, is many little decisions that compound towards progress and a future that you want or actually pull you away, right? There aren't too many decisions that you make that have no relevance.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

Yeah. And it's it's not something you have to wait for. This is what's so cool. And I can't wait to get into this conversation because as soon as you you brought it up, as soon as you wake up, as soon as your eyes open, and your choice of actually what sound you wake up to, by the way, that's a pretty important one. Sure. I have to set a new alarm. That's just my side note. But when you wake up, your eyes open, right there, you have a choice. Some of us actually choose to reach for our phones. Some of us choose to just take a moment. I personally choose a moment for myself to just decide who I'm gonna be today. I really do wake up and say, thank you for waking and starting this day as I'm gonna choose to with gratitude. That's a choice I make every single day. And when I choose not to, the day starts different.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Every single time without fail. And we'll get into all that, but I don't want to get ahead of ourselves because we we want to start, you know, really with talking about discipline as you frame it up in in the book, because you frame it as freedom, which is so interesting. Discipline as freedom, not as regulation, not as something that is, you know, strict or or confining. Why is it freedom to you? Talk to us about that.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

You know, when you when you say discipline, there's automatically, I believe, for most people, a negative connotation, right? You're going to discipline your children. You will be disciplined. You know, you make a mistake at work and there will be disciplinary actions. There's a negative connotation to discipline. So one, I think automatically our society, our language has put a negative spin on discipline. And while, you know, being disciplined for bad behavior, that that definitely is, you know, a definition of discipline, really, what we're talking about is making choices. We said you're gonna make 10,000 decisions or choices today. One, there's freedom in that because you get to make those choices, right? There are people throughout history, there are people today that do not get to make decisions for themselves, right? Now, you know, immediately I think of if you're in the military, you are going to do what Staff Sergeant says and nothing else, right? And and so there's a lack of freedom there to anyone who may be in prison, right? You don't get to choose what you wear, you don't choose when you go outside, you don't choose what you eat. If that's not your situation, the choices that you have to make today are free for you to make, right? So, first of all, it's it's freedom literally in your capacity to choose, right? And I think what's important there to recognize and realize is that there is freedom in that, but it should also be empowering. We say it all the time, right? Your response to something is your choice. There's freedom in that. Regardless of the decisions that you've made up to this very moment, you can stop and you can change if if you know where you're at right now isn't where you want to be, right? Or you can continue on the same track that you are because you're happy with where you're going and where you kind of see it, right? But again, freedom. So there is freedom in choices that you make. Now, when it comes to discipline, you have the freedom to choose your habits, your decisions, your routines, whatever it is that you're going to do that day or in a particular moment or in a particular part of your life, whether it's family, professional, personal, internal, external, et cetera, you have the freedom to choose, right? And I think a lot of times we think of discipline then as restricting. Now, I actually believe that that some of that is true, but I call it more self-control because I think that that has a more positive connotation.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Okay, my mind is it's going in a million different places in in the best way. And so I think something just clicked for me about relating it to freedom in in in this way. You get to choose, as you said, it's no one's dictating a path for you, but you get to choose something that matters to you. There is freedom in that. That's really exciting. And I wonder now that you say that it shouldn't feel, you know, restrictive, that if you feel like you're confined by the choices that you're making, are you set on the right course, right? Are you set on the right purpose? For example, you know, someone that's maybe training for a marathon or some, or, you know, are you doing it for the right reasons? Are you doing it truly for the benefits and for the reward at the end of the day that that, yeah, it's going to be a struggle and yeah, it's going to be really, really hard, but are you doing it for you? Or are you doing it for anyone else? Right. So the thinking about that, you know, because if it's not the right driver, it's not the right purpose, if it's not the right goal, it can feel like laborious, it can feel like a drain. But I have to reflect on things that I've remained disciplined on that really do matter to me. And no, I don't know that I feel restricted. I think I feel empowered the way you describe it.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, if you're changing behaviors for what you believe is a better path, you know, to break old habits and to break, you know, the mindset that you originally had, right? And I think we're going to talk about that here in a little bit. It can be restrictive. I would argue that once we get over that idea that I should be able to have my cake and eat it too, right? I should be able to lose weight and eat whatever I want. I should be able to, you know, get stronger and never lift a weight. I should be able to be rested in the morning but go to sleep at 2 a.m. All of these decisions, right? It's it can feel restrictive. The point that I make in the book, and the point that I try to make when I talk to people about discipline is you are making decisions that might not be the easiest today. And a lot of times they're not. They they're countercultural, they go against ease, they go against what we want, but you get freedom with discipline in knowing why you're doing it, just like you said. And so, you know, when we make decisions that are difficult for what we believe is the betterment of our purpose, our family, right? So we've got the correct anchor. We're using that purpose as fuel to endure, to strengthen our mindset, our resilience. All of a sudden, the decisions that you have to make today that normally on the surface might not be so easy, they make more sense and they feel more fulfilling and they feel purposeful because you are consciously doing it because you are living for tomorrow. That's the name of that value in the book, right? Live for tomorrow. Choose tomorrow over today. And so when you're doing things with the right heart, with the right purpose, with the right anchor, it is a lot easier in the present moment to make the more difficult decision to build towards that future.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Yeah. And if I'm making, if I'm truly honest with myself, if I'm making the decision to remain disciplined in in some goal I have and the choices that I'm making that that are building towards that goal, if I'm only focused on, you know, doing it for that very moment, for example, getting up off the couch where I'm very comfortable perhaps after a long day and heading over to the gym, you know, because I I have a goal for myself, right? To be healthier and and to and to be focused on on my own strength. And if I if I only focus on on that moment, I might not get up because I'm pretty comfortable. But if I focus on, hey, this is gonna add up to the 10, 20 more times that I go that are all gonna build towards the goal eventually, I do. I get up a little faster when I'm really focused on the future.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

Well, and the other thing that you have to do, you know, you've got to build momentum. I don't care who you are, everyone listening to this, everyone we've ever met, everyone we've ever known has had some goal, some time to do something. And we know, huh? How do you achieve it? You achieve it by remaining disciplined and repeating over and over and over again. It's just like perseverance. We say fall, rise, repeat. The only way that that gets easier is if you get up again and again and again and again. Conversely, the same thing is true. If we remain undisciplined in what we're doing, we actually pull ourselves away from that purpose or that goal we have. And then what happens? Now we're going backwards and we're becoming farther and farther from the future that we see, from the future that we desire. And now what happens? Hopelessness, despair, discouragement, saying, Oh my gosh, you know, I wanted to, I wanted to pay off my credit card this year. And instead I went and bought 50 of Michael's books. That, you know, that didn't, that didn't help, right? I see what you did there. Little plug, everybody. Um we can talk about it, but go for it. But but the reality is, all of a sudden now we go backwards, and then what happens? To motivate ourselves to get going is so much more difficult. Now, you know, you you put the same work and time and energy and discipline into the same practice, time in and time out, day after day or week after week, whatever it is, it's easier to then do. I mean, gosh, you say the gym, you know, skip the gym for four or five days. Whoa, it's really hard on day six to get up and get going, right? It's really hard to, you know, name it.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Well, I'll I mean, I'll put a simple one out there. I I got a new book that I'm actually really excited to start. And I haven't opened up the first page yet. I haven't, I haven't actually created that discipline and that habit. Um, so I don't have momentum to to lean on. Yep. And then I'm watching all the days go by where I haven't started it. And and then I feel I feel badly for that, right? I spent the money to buy it intentionally, and I've yet to start it. So I've yet to realize the goodness that's about to come from those pages. And and so that this is now my cue for myself to create that habit and that momentum. Sure. Yeah. So you talked about momentum and the importance of it. So let's let's dive into why we struggle so much with that consistency, even when we know we want the outcome so badly, right? Why do we struggle? Why, why do we resist when we know the outcome is going to be good?

SPEAKER_00 13:10

Well, we, you know, life is hard. Life is busy, life is chaotic. I mean, it's the amount of distractions, right? We talk about silence, the amount of distractions that are available and open to us, the amount of avenues with which distraction and time consumption, you know, financial consumption, anything and everything can get in the way. And so we just were talking about consistency and building consistency and routines and all of these things. So within the chaos of life, right, we are again kind of presented with a choice. When plans don't go the way that we want or we expect, do we remain disciplined or do we cut corners? Now, I'm not saying you've got to be so disciplined that there's no maneuverability in your day. We seek to eat dinner as a family every night. So that means sometimes we try, you know, if someone's got a 5:30 practice or game, we try to eat dinner at 445 as a family and then get out of the house as quick as possible. Or we're all going to be home after seven o'clock. We do a 7.15 dinner. We do what we can as often as we can. But there are nights and there are moments and there are times when we're in three different places and that doesn't happen. That's okay, but we're still making the more difficult decision to try and prioritize family meals. That is not the easiest way to do it. It would be a lot easier if we just swung by one of the subways, grabbed a sandwich, and kept on going, right? Individually and separately. That would be easier. But we try to structure particular things in no matter what, right? When we talk about it all the time, we've had a long day, a long week, a long weekend, a ton of games, whatever it is. And then sure enough, seven minutes before bed, a kiddo says something they shouldn't have said or is upset about something. And you know what we need to do? We need to kind of buck up and parent in that very moment, whether it's correcting a behavior, whether it's teaching something, whether it's simply communicating, whatever it is, we are left and presented, all of us, with decisions anywhere and everywhere. You've got someone at work that you need to have a conversation with, and you know what, man, you're off at five and you want to be off at five, but you know what? They're available at 450. And that conversation might take 20 minutes, but you want to make sure that you do everything you need to do for this particular project or for this particular issue. And you know what you do? You do the more difficult thing for the betterment of your goal, your career, your family, your relationship, whatever it is, right? And so I I think consistency is difficult because life is chaotic and busy and hard. And if we do not teach ourselves, remain disciplined in making the decision for tomorrow, often it'll be very easy for us to remain inconsistent, kind of go with the flow, see what happens. You know, again, I I talk to a lot of people and a lot of employees, right? Financial freedom just isn't a reality for many people. And every single day you have a decision as to whether or not you're gonna spend a hundred bucks in groceries for the week or three hundred bucks eating out most days of the week. That's a choice that you're gonna have to make. You know, gosh, we got people that spend 20% of their check on lottery tickets, right? And that is not getting anyone closer to what they say they want, which is financial freedom, you know, a savings account, to not be living check to check. I mean, there's so many things that go into it. And and little decisions throughout your day and throughout your week, they add up, right? And so you know, the those little things, those little investments in your future for the future you want and the future goals that you have, they begin today. Now, again, we talk about freedom. The freedom is you get to choose differently today.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Yeah. And you can choose freely the easy way. You can choose the thing that's more convenient for you in that moment. The question is, will that pay off in the long run? And and that's just it, right? Choosing tomorrow over today, which you also talk to, um, which I think is just an easy way to frame it, right? Choosing tomorrow over today, not always easy or convenient, more often harder than it would be nice if it if it were. But but still the reward is worth it.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

And let's remember, you know, what we are seeking is for people to have joy regardless. You know, discipline is one of four values: hard work, patience, perseverance, and discipline. The combination of those four builds the resilience that allows you to choose joy regardless. It's a lot harder to choose joy if you're self-sabotaging and making decisions that actually go against your purpose, that go against your future, that go against where you're trying to go and what you're trying to do. And so all of a sudden now, instead of choosing joy, you're actually stealing your own joy. And so, you know, individually on its own, discipline feels tough. It's not always people's favorite. I tend to fight against patience more than anything. I think the more people I talk to, discipline is just about the most difficult thing for many people to adhere to and to respect and kind of recognize as valuable. But I'm telling you, when you are building towards the future, right? I started this business and listen, I didn't know where I was gonna go, I didn't know what was gonna happen, but I knew that what I what I saw successful business owners able to do was invest in time with their family, right? My uncle had three subways. He got to coach his kiddos, he got to be home for dinner most nights, he got to do a lot of things, and that's what I wanted. And so in those early days when I didn't have kids and I didn't have a family and I wasn't doing all that, you know, I've said it on this podcast, I've said it everywhere. Those first few years were absolute just they were they were a nightmare, they were terrible. I was able to endure, stay disciplined, save, you know, skimp anywhere and everywhere I could for myself. I sacrificed so much and honestly continue to with the business, but it just became a routine. And why? Because I knew where I wanted to go and I knew that this was part of my path and journey and getting there. Yeah. And so eating Subway three meals a day for three years, every single day, you do it. Why? Because I'm saving, I'm investing, I am preparing and protecting the future that I want. Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

And what's interesting is the more that became routine for you, right? The more every every choice you made, um, like eating Subway that often, right? Like making healthy habits, you know, just routine for yourself, that just became almost, it almost took a backseat to decision making in your brain. It just happened automatically. And so this healthy routine that you established for the future self you were trying to create just became automatic. And that's the place we want to get to, right? This place where it doesn't feel like this heavy burden. It might not be convenient, but it also doesn't feel like a burden because you've created habits that turn into this routine and your body can almost rely on it.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

100%. We we talked about, you know, we talked about not only, you know, training your mind for perseverance and you know, just get up, but also you can do it for discipline, but but you're also training your body. So same thing, I'm gonna get up. But we I I've said it before kind of in jest, but also in reality that, you know, I have now gotten so used to just getting up and fall rise repeat that when something difficult comes, I'm almost frustrated because I know inevitably I'm just gonna oppose it. I'm just gonna get up and go, right. And so now it's also like, you know, I have a decision to make for the business or a decision to make for a personal expense or a decision to make for the family. And yeah, I mean, I I think about it and I consider it, but the reality is that self sacrifice or self control really now is just a part of the way in which I think and I live and I do, and and it has become way easier after decades, right? Of of having to do these things and make these decisions. And again, to the point where you just go, all right, well, I'm gonna sacrifice this. This and this and that and this, you know, to protect the future of my business. Right now I can't buy blank, you know, for the business because perfect example. This week I got something like$31,000 worth of unexpected bills. No, I can't cover that today, but I sure am a lot closer than I would have been had I done pretty much anything else other than remain disciplined with what I have and stewarding it the right way to protect disasters in the future, to protect the future I want, to protect my business, my family, et cetera. And so the more we do anything, the easier it becomes. And that's why we also want to just encourage the discipline to make the right decisions, to start making decisions that are necessary to protect and pursue that purpose and that future.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

And to train yourself and to really, if if you haven't been doing that, to begin to untrain the easy decisions and to get back into more disciplined, more future forward, more freeing, future-freeing decisions.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

Oh, I love that. Future-freeing decisions. That's off the cuff. Okay, that's good. You're gonna write that down after.

unknown 23:13

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

Well, I do want to talk about habit forming because while this is your way of living, right? It's something you talk about often with the kids. There is science behind this too. I mean, there's a lot that research has shown that does prove that that feel-good chemical, right, dopamine, it motivates you to keep going. So how can you tap into that? So let's talk about habit forming here for a second, because forming a new habit, it doesn't take just one day to form a new habit. It does take time. I think there's an average of about 70 days. I heard 21 days once, but there's a lot of research out there that says it can take anywhere from three weeks to several months to create a new habit. So I think a lot of that has to do with probably consistency and how and how quickly you can form that habit and create a routine from it. But, you know, we do things like brush our teeth every day. We do things habitually that just are kind of on repeat and they don't give us this great burst of joy or or energy. But knowing that something good awaits you on the other side of a new habit, it does release dopamine into the brain. It feels good to keep going. So, so there's some energy behind this. There's research and science that shows you when you do things that are good for you and that future self, right? And that reward is something that you anticipate, your brain is responding to that in a positive way. And that's it's encouragement, I think, for us to start today with these new habits that are gonna future fit ourselves for for what's coming.

SPEAKER_00 24:37

Absolutely, right? And and anytime that you're able to find science behind what I think, I'm so happy. And it makes me feel so much better. You know, it's not just theory, right? I mean, I mean, it's it's proven, it's in the book. We did we did a good amount of research to to kind of confirm a lot of these assertions that we're making. And and so, you know, whether the proof is in the pudding or the proof is in the data, right? Uh the reality is, is that building towards something gives us fulfillment. Yeah. And discipline, along with patience, hard work, and perseverance is all necessary to get to that purpose. And again, to get to that place where we can have joy regardless.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Yeah. So this is this is already probably a great place to just have a call to action where where we would say, audit your day, right? What are the habits that are helping you? And what are the habits that are maybe holding you back? Right. And what would you replace them with? So if there is something that you would say, oh, this is not serving me, it's not serving me today, and it's not serving my future self, what would you replace it with? Write it down. Make note for yourself of what you would do differently. It's a it's a great place to already say, okay, here's something I can take not only for myself, but maybe even share with somebody else that that I know and love is and and is is has has shared with me before that they struggle with the same thing. So something to take away already in in our conversation, but I do want to shift to a discipline or practice that has made a difference for you in your life, because I know that this is something that you not only believe in, but you do practice every single day. And you've already made mention of some of the things, but which one has made the biggest difference in your life, would you say?

SPEAKER_00 26:20

You know, the way in which we spend our time and we spend our money. I mean, you know, we we talk about it. I challenge listeners and and people that we speak to and through the book and anywhere and everywhere. Look at your time, look at your money, and that is your purpose. Whatever is taking up your time, whatever is taking up your money, that is what you're building towards. So the question is this when you do that audit, as you just suggested again, when you do that audit, what are you really investing in? Is it the future that you say you want? Is it the purpose that you say you have? Time for me is a big one because it it probably has the most value to me, and I think is probably just about the most valuable thing all of us have as human beings. But when we talk about habits, what is, you know, what is the one, you know, area with which discipline has really changed? You know, I think the trajectory of of my life is got to be the way in which I steward money. I got into business thinking I was gonna be a rich, rich man. And the realities of small business ownership that just even in 15 years, and and again, everyone hearing this is like you guys guys got 25 subways, what are we talking about? I'm not much better off at 25 than I was at 15 than I was at five, quite honestly. Again, time is what I gained. If I was expecting to be well off and lived as such, I would have lost the business 10 times in the last 15, 17 years. If I would not have been disciplined with the way in which I saved, the way in which I spent, the way in which I valued a dollar. And literally in those first five, six years, the value of a dollar was more than a dollar to me as it needed to be. I would not be where I am today. I would not have had the capacity to grow as big as I wanted to, to get the time with which I wanted to spend with you and the kids. None of that would have been a reality if I would have been frivolous with my money, if I would have thought that, hey, I deserve this because I work so hard and do so much. And as a result, I'm, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm just gonna go on this vacation, or I'm just gonna make this investment, or I'm just gonna buy this, even though it doesn't make a lot of sense because I deserve it. Had I made any of those undisciplined decisions in the heat of the moment or after 10 years of lamenting, right, where I am and where I was and and where I've come, I don't have this life. And while, you know, again, while money is still tight because of my discipline in how I think about it, my lack of it does not steal my joy. I said it. I I literally got more than$30,000 worth of unforeseen bills. And small business owners, you're you're gonna see a post about it routinely because it's complete insanity. I still have joy. Now I still lament, and boy, is uh tough to endure, and man, not sure how I'm going to completely navigate this scenario. Not happy. Every every bill, every phone call, every email, every just awful message costing more and more. Not happy, but I have joy. And for me, that's the that's the message, that's the testimony that I I want to leave for people everywhere. It is the future that I want each and every one of you listening to have is that man, I'm gonna make disciplined decisions. I'm gonna get up today, anyways, I'm gonna work hard, I'm gonna stay patient through the mess because I know why I'm doing it. And even though it's hard and I'm not necessarily happy because my circumstances suck right now, I'm gonna have joy.

SPEAKER_01 30:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:13

And choosing joy. Period. It's a choice. And the stronger our mindset is, the stronger that unshaken mindset becomes, the more invested and more disciplined you are in adhering to those things, the easier it is when fueled by purpose. Remember, folks, you need to know your purpose. Use that purpose to fuel these values, to fuel your discipline. And you can choose joy.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

So, this is what's interesting is if if you had said your purpose was to become the richest man, sure, right, that you've ever known, that might hit different, right? When you get these bills and you feel this stress and pressure coming in as a business owner, but you never said that, right? Your purpose is quite different. So when these struggles come in related to financial strain, right, or business decisions that have to be made in the moment under a lot of pressure with a lot of responsibility, it hits different and you can compartmentalize how you're receiving and adapting to those in the moment.

SPEAKER_00 31:13

That's right. And but and also though, in that same breath, if that would have been my goal for whatever reason, sure, I would have made totally different decisions my entire life, right? And and throughout my business career, I would have made different decisions. And so I think that's the other thing, right? Is I made the decisions that were aligned with the future that I wanted. And so I did not want to be the richest man or the richest subway owner or the any of that. That wasn't my goal. My goal was to get large enough that I could have what I wanted, which was time with my family. And so the the fact is that I sacrificed much and sacrifice much to make sure that that is what happens. And and so the hardship that comes everywhere else, eh.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

Yeah, it stinks. Yeah, but that discipline makes sense now, right? With that context in mind. 100%. None of this can be can be understood or or even contemplated in a vacuum. You you have to connect those dots back to your purpose, your intent. What is the future self you are designing? Like who is that person and why? Knowing that is what will drive every decision, every habit that you make. It's how you decide whether the habits are good or bad, right? And whether or not they need to change. So, what is one habit as a as a closing question before I wrap us up here? What's one habit that people should prioritize if they want to change their life trajectory? No, not knowing who's listening and and what it needs to be. What is that habit that you think people should prioritize if you had to just pick one thing?

SPEAKER_00 32:45

Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna go again with with my experience as a mentor and as a leader and as a coach and as a friend. Financial discipline leads to freedom. It leads to peace outside of time. Our our means, our resources are what get us to wherever it is that we're trying to go. And and again, if you're working, if you're a stay-at-home parent, you know, it's still the family expenses, the family accounts, the family, all those things. Discipline in our spending and really a lack thereof is where I find the majority of people's stress points and frustrations. And, you know, sometimes it's just a consumption issue. Sometimes it's, you know, the idea of, well, I've been in this job for 10 years. I deserve blank, right? That's when we, when we start saying things and and living like that, when we start believing that we're owed something or deserve more than what we have, that's when we begin to make easy decisions or impulsive decisions that then get us in trouble. And it just pulls you so far away. I I would say, I would say that the majority of of the issues I find with regards to circumstances are, you know, boiled down to a lack of financial restraint and discipline. And so, so I would say that, you know, we we talk about auditing your time. I would audit your finances and I would say, you know, based on what I want to do, based on where I want to be. Not today. Don't get the Mercedes today when you're 26 years old. Don't do that, right? You know, you want to focus on a down payment for a home. I mean, so many of my people, their life goal is to simply own property. Boy, they don't make a lot of decisions that that facilitate that and that get them closer to there, right? And so, you know, what can you do? I have sat down with upwards of 30 or 40 people in my, let's say in the last 10 years, and just doing a budget blows people's minds. And so what I would say is, you know, financial discipline. Again, money does not solve all problems. And, you know, I'm definitely not the person to talk to about how to make a lot of money and how to do what you need to do, as far as, you know, stockpiling it. But what I have seen is discipline with your finances allows a whole lot of mental and emotional peace. And I'm talking whether you're living check to check or you've got a 401k and you're 60, right? Financial discipline leads to a lot of peace. And so I would encourage that greatly.

SPEAKER_01 35:19

I love that you you went there because it does relate to everyone. And you just said it. It doesn't matter if you are someone that is truly just waiting for that next check to come, or if you are sitting on a retirement that feels very comfortable, your decisions do tell a lot about your priorities and and and what matters. And those are the decisions you make with your time, but but more importantly, even with your money. And and if you have kiddos out there, your kiddos are watching and your kiddos are making their own choices too. We'll we'll have to bring this into our next discussion about raising resilient kids because I think this conversation plays nicely there. I just had a conversation with one of our kiddos about spending. And it's really clear they're focused on gratification today, not on what matters to them potentially in the future. And it's it's much harder for kiddos to see that future, that future self in play. And so we'll we'll talk about that. But but not to get off course today, because we're gonna wrap up our conversation about discipline. Such a great conversation, such a timely one. I think if if there's anything that we want to leave you with, it's that you are in control of your choices, your daily habits that create routines. Discipline isn't about being perfect, it's about choosing again and again to become the person you're meant to be. And every time you make a better choice, you're literally rewiring your brain to make the next one even easier. That's the power of becoming unshaken. Small choices repeated daily, creating a life of strength, purpose, and freedom. That's where we started this conversation. I'd love for this to be where we end it. It creates a life of freedom. So we are so glad you joined us today. And we mentioned the book several times. I want to uh stress again that it is absolutely available to purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. And definitely, if if this conversation resonated, don't just leave it in your downloads, although we're so glad you you downloaded it. Share it with a friend, share it with a family member, share it with somebody that could benefit from this conversation as well. Follow us on social. We're happy to have a conversation with you at become unshaken.com or become unshaken on Instagram. Find us there. We can't wait to talk with you. Thanks so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

Everybody have a great week.

SPEAKER_01 37:35

We're so glad you joined us today. If you found inspiration through today's episode, share it with a friend and make sure to follow so you don't miss what's ahead. Until next time, choose joy, regardless, and whatever comes your way. See you next week.