Part of my job as an educator, motivator, coach (etc.) is to sell stuff. Kind of.
Not physical stuff (toasters, convertibles, cross-bows... although that'd be fun) but more the emotional and psychological stuff like... ideas, concepts, philosophies, strategies.
In order to get people to take action I am constantly 'selling' the notion that creating our best life (body, health, relationships, career, finances, happiness) is largely about decisions, attitude and personal responsibility. Most people 'buy' this as it's kind of a no-brainer; not difficult to understand or accept. Although some still struggle with it.
But without doubt, the toughest 'sale' I ever have to make (and I make it daily) is the value (idea, notion, concept, whatever you want to call it) of discipline. When I tell people that they don't need a pill, powder, potion, product, gadget or gizmo... they simply need some discipline in their world, they are typically disappointed.
They really want someone or something to do it (whatever it is) for them. People don't wanna hear that achieving their goals and creating forever results is largely about discipline; they want quick, easy, painless and convenient.
Imagine having to actually work for something... that might take some self control, mental and emotional strength and discipline. And personal growth.
"Err... what's option B?"
"C'mon Craig... discipline is such an outdated notion... what is this, 1963??... ya killin' me... haven't you got something a little more contemporary... perhaps some new self-help program like the 'accelerated-learning-and-incredible-results-with-no-effort' program... or something similar?"
Imagine turning up for day one of your new job as a sales representative, only to discover that the 'product' you're selling is discipline. Bummer.
"Are you kidding me.... can't I sell cake... or chocolate... or plasma screens.... something people actually wanna buy?"
And then to make matters worse, your boss informs you that your remuneration is commission-based. Doh! Better get a second job.
Some things are easy to sell. Donuts for example. Find some teenagers, put up a sign... bingo, you're in business. It's a donut-fest.
Or sports cars... find yourself a Porsche dealership, a few forty five year-old guys with
big egos, small.. self-esteems and a bunch of cash (or more likely, credit) and bingo again... ya got Boxsters driving themselves out of the showroom.
Not that I spend a lot of time trawling the web for personal development stuff, but with the little research I have done, I haven't seen too much written on the value of discipline or it's place in the personal development (life renovation) process.
Article comments