Hey everyone! It has certainly been a while since we’ve written a blog post. However, I’m griped so much on social media about how long it’s been, I figured I’d actually write a post instead of continuing to put it off! I didn’t know what direction to go at first, but I’m excited to actually sit down and write something for the first time in what feels like forever.
Here’s what I want to talk about: Disciple equals Freedom.
It’s not a quote I made up but rather heard from one of my inspirations: Jocko Willink (former Navy SEAL, current motivational speaker, and entrepreneur). I often see clips of motivational talks by Jocko, and I usually like what he has to say, but that quote is one that has resonated with me the most for this coming year. I’ve heard him say it before, but I’ve never internalized it more than I have in the last couple of weeks. So why now? Why has it caught my eye so much more than before? It’s because I’ve made a decision…
Most motivational speakers I’ve heard always have this to say in some form or another: “It starts with a decision.” What decision? To be financially free, to be consistent on social media, to be a better father, to have the discipline I’ve never had before, etc. In the past, we’ve dabbled in tons of different things but never seen them through fruition. So I had to ask myself: Do we really want to have this travel blog? Do we really want to be on social media for hours of the day? Do we really want to document the things we do? It took me finally just asking myself that question to hear my internal voice give a resounding YES! So then the question became, “Then why haven’t you?” Why haven’t I written posts, kept up with our social media, etc.
It all comes back to Jocko’s statement, discipline equals freedom. We haven’t been disciplined about it! “The life” sounds great. Travel to different places, get a few videos of the experience, write a post about it here, and share it on social media. So why haven’t we? It’s simple. Because we haven’t been disciplined. When we started this blog, the assumption was that it would be easy. Just make a few videos, and write a few posts, people will love us, and the money will come rolling in for us to quit our jobs! It sounds ridiculous, but the way we’ve treated our blog and social media over the last year would suggest that that’s what we actually thought! However, 2023 will be different. Why?
Because a decision has been made. Not to post every single day, write a thousand tweets every day, or make 30 Tik Toks every day. But to get better, to have the discipline to carve out the time necessary to create the life we want. It sounds incredible to be able to make money through this blog so we could travel and create content full-time, but will we have the discipline to do so? For me, the answer is an unequivocal yes. So how are we going to do it?
For starters, I’ve made it a goal of mine to wake up at 5:00 a.m. every single day. Some people already do that, and props to you! I’ve struggled for the last couple of years to get out of bed. Usually, it goes like this: The alarm goes off at 6, gets snoozed until 7 when it can’t be snoozed anymore, then our kids wake up and come in to wake me up, so I’m finally forced out of bed with no time to do anything but to get them and myself dressed, eat, then get them to daycare and get to work. However, by getting up at 5:00 (and actually getting to work), I’m giving myself two hours of uninterrupted time to work on the blog, interact on social media, and move projects one step closer to achieving our goal of creating content full-time. I know it won’t be easy, but it’s going to be worth it. I won’t be motivated every single day, but I’ll have the discipline to push through, even on the days when I don’t want to.
So now, my attention shifts to you. Do you have clarity on what it is that you want to do? If not, why? If you do have clarity, are you going to do it? Or will you have another year of going through the motions like we did? We refuse to have two years in a row of “just getting through it.” Will you have the discipline to push forward on days when you don’t want to? Because I promise you, about three days into your 2023 of the “New You,” there’s going to be something that happens that sucks the motivation out. Will you push through then? Will you make that post? Will you get your social media work done? Will you do the mundane so you can achieve your dream? Or will you give in to the emotions; the lack of motivation, just as we have all of 2022?
I really hope this post helps someone. I’m so fired up for 2023, I’m ready to sit in front of the computer all day long to get it done. However, knowing that that isn’t realistic, I’m starting with waking up earlier and dedicating this time to just moving things forward. That’s it. That’s the goal. From 5:00 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. when my boys wake up, just move things forward to a better spot than they were yesterday. If you want to follow along, make sure to subscribe to our page, and if you have some similar goals, make sure to follow along on social media so we can all hold each other accountable! We’re most active on Twitter, but you can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok. Have a great 2023, and remember; discipline equals freedom!
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