The Power of Discipline

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.

Rule your mind or it will rule you.

What lies in our power to do, lies in our power not to do.

Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell.

Practice yourself, for heaven’s sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.

No evil propensity of the human heart is so powerful that it may not be subdued by discipline.

I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself.

Serving one’s own passions is the greatest slavery.

There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.

Self discipline is that which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another.

If you once turn on your side after the hour at which you ought to rise, it is all over. Bolt up at once.

Circumstances are beyond human control, but our conduct is in our own power.

Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.

To read a newspaper is to refrain from reading something worth while. The first discipline of education must therefore be to refuse resolutely to feed the mind with canned chatter.

With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve.

If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.

The secret of discipline is motivation. When a man is sufficiently motivated, discipline will take care of itself.

If we don’t discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us.

One half of life is luck; the other half is discipline – and that’s the important half, for without discipline you wouldn’t know what to do with your luck.

It is one of the strange ironies of this strange life that those who work the hardest, who subject themselves to the strictest discipline, who give up certain pleasurable things in order to achieve a goal, are the happiest men.

Punishment may make us obey the orders we are given, but at best it will only teach an obedience to authority, not a self-control which enhances our self-respect.

Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.

Without discipline, there’s no life at all.

It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decideyour problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.

Most of us don’t mind doing what we ought to do when it doesn’t interfere with what we want to do, but it takes discipline and maturity to do what we ought to do whether we want to or not.

Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.

The only discipline that lasts is self discipline.

It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action and discipline that enabled us to follow through.

Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you’ve got.

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now.

A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.

Lack of discipline leads to frustration and self-loathing.

Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.

If you dedicate your attention to discipline in your life you become smarter.

If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.

People create their own success by learning what they need to learn and then by practicing it until they become proficient at it.

Do not let circumstances control you. You change your circumstances.

Without hard work and discipline it is difficult to be a top professional.

First we form habits then they form us. Conquer your bad habits or they will conquer you.

I’ve had to learn and discipline myself that I’m much happier and much less depressed if I give myself a project. It’s just that simple.

The more disciplined you become, the easier life gets.

Once you have commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there.

Life without discipline is like a ship without a rudder.

The most powerful control we can ever attain is to be in control of ourselves.

It’s not the work that’s hard, it’s the discipline.

Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.

Between saying and doing, many a pair of shoes is worn out.

There is no luck except where there is discipline.

A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.

God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them.

The man who waits for roast duck to fly into mouth must wait very, very long time.

A person always breaking off from work never finishes anything.

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean.

What lies in our power to do, lies in our power not to do.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Serving one's own passions is the greatest slavery.

First we form habits then they form us. Conquer your bad habits or they will conquer you.

Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.

Rule your mind or it will rule you.