As a Business Owner and Entrepreneur, Discipline has played a significant role in my personal success!  We often think of discipline as something that is only applied to our children.  It’s often used as a bad word, something we pull out of our arsenal only when our kids misbehave and need to be straightened out.  In reality, not only is discipline a key element to business success, but also a core principle that should be adopted by adults as much as children.  Discipline is something we must use in our personal lives, our family lives, and even in our professional lives.

Discipline is also a huge part of the martial arts.  As the master instructor of 9 Martial Arts Academies through-out the Philadelphia Area, I often witness people struggling with the notion that they can’t continue training or finish a belt test.  It is purely their personal self-discipline that gets them through challenges like these.  It’s self-discipline that gets them to class when it’s cold outside, when they’re tired from work or when there’s something good on “must-see” TV.  It’s self-discipline that gets them to practice and perfect their techniques while at home or work so that they can prepare for testing to move to the next level.  In business, a disciplined manager, employee or co-worker most often appears to be well organized, better prepared and have a better sense of what is expected of them!        

Nobody said that training in karate was easy!  A good sensei requires his students to learn and understand what discipline really is.  But wait a minute.  What about the other parts of your life?  Aren’t there other aspects in your life that are difficult and take considerable discipline to handle?  What about in business?  I’ve found that the discipline learned in the martial arts can help you in every area of your personal and professional life.  Once you learn how to become truly disciplined, it becomes a skill you can use in any area of your life; whether it’s putting away the junk food to reach a fitness goal or staying at the office later than usual to reach your goal of getting promoted.

A great example of personal and professional discipline is Craig Miller!  Craig is one of the students enrolled in my karate school.  Craig is a living example of how the discipline he developed in karate has helped him in his professional life as well.  Craig is a fellow entrepreneur and owner of an Electrical Contracting Business, Miller Lighting and Energy, Inc.  While being your own boss does have its perks, it also makes discipline especially important.  With no one else to hold you accountable, you are forced to hold yourself to your own high standards of professionalism; which is often times much easier said than done.  The discipline Craig practices in karate helps him improve not only his business, but also to improve himself as a business owner. 

 “I often reflect on the simple, repetitive steps I took to achieve my black belt in karate and apply the same strategies to develop new sales and marketing campaigns for my business,” Craig points out.

             Craig perfects his discipline in karate by coming up with a plan of action for his training and then executing it.  Craig understands how many times a week he needs to practice, how many times he must attend class, what he needs to do to prepare for a belt test and then performs his tasks with precision to pass the test.  He basically sets goals and meets them, it’s that simple!  He met his goal of becoming a black belt by following through with his plan of action to train hard to perfect his craft, something that takes extreme discipline.  He applies this same discipline to his business.  Once he defines a business goal he desires to meet, he comes up with a plan and executes that plan with the personal discipline he requires by following through and doing what needs to be done.

 “Before karate my personal and business goals were in my thoughts but not on paper.  I’ve learned through my karate training to establish my goals in writing” Craig says.  “This is a discipline that helps me to stay focused and on track to meet my objectives.”

One of the hardest parts of intense karate training is to remember all of the self-defense techniques, when they should be used and what they are called.  It takes a lot of self-discipline and practice to learn and remember so many techniques.  The discipline Craig applies in his memorization is easily adapted to his business.  Through a disciplined karate regimen, Craig can now implement better follow-up with employees about important issues and finds it much easier to stay on top of clients’ needs.

While there are many great things about being a business owner, it can also be very stressful.  Instead of going home upset or stressed about something that may have happened during work, Craig maintains a positive outlet to rid himself of any negative emotions.  Just an hour in class helps Craig to relieve excess stress, give him time to work out any frustrations or anxiety he may have and clear his mind to prepare for the challenges he faces the next day.  This also allows Craig to spend better quality time with his family and to focus on being the person he desires to be.  My advice to you, implement discipline in your life TODAY!  The results are truly amazing!

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