My self-discipline comes in the form of a daily schedule. I’m at my desk by seven. My mornings are spent on creative activities and planning. My afternoons are reserved for phone calls, meetings, and reaching out to others. Evenings and weekends are for play.

My approach is that I always work before I play. However, there are times when a friend calls to invite me to join them for an early morning “recreational” activity. (I’m thinking of Harry and his boat.) On rare occasions, I will break my routine and join in. However, because of my self-discipline, I replace time lost by working Saturday morning.

Some people look at my approach and say, “How boring. You’re a slave to your business.” I don’t see it that way. I believe that without self-discipline, we accomplish far less.

The way I look at it, when we — knowingly or unknowingly — allow others to have power over us. And that stands in the way of success when it comes to starting a business.

I wasn’t always this way. My natural tendency was to be “loose” — to work when I felt like it and play whenever the opportunity presented itself. Those were lean earning years.

In time, I not only learned the value of self-discipline, I mastered self-discipline.

Some people have a really hard time with this. So they opt to have someone else hold them accountable – that is, to keep their feet to the fire. Working with a business coach or subscribing to an online accountability program help people who are starting a business set goals and objectives that are tied to a calendar.

By stating to a coach or entering a specific objective such as, “By next week, I’ll finish up on A, B, and C and make that call to Mr. Z,” helps assure that the tasks get done.

For someone starting a business, it’s good to know that self-discipline can be learned, as can working with an online accountability program. If you have a clock and calendar, and can make goals for yourself, it doesn’t take long for you to see the rewards of this serious approach to making it happen.

7 Key Indicators That You Have What It Takes To Kiss The Job Market Goodbye And Start Your Own Business!”

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My fortune cookie last night read:

Better to do something imperfectly

than to do nothing perfectly.

It doesn’t matter what your endeavor. Nothing is ever or will be perfect. Nothing can be planned to the nth degree. It is impossible to predict every opportunity… every turn in the road… every competitive response.

Action and implementation are the critical components required to propel success. And nothing takes the place of these essential tools.

NASA celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20th.

While many people typically look at the moon landing itself as the “big story,” I am first and foremost impressed with the immense amount of planning that was required to make this incredible event happen.

Planning is about setting a goal or defining a mission and then creating the definitive list of “things” that have to happen… in the precise order they need to happen so that you reach the goal.

This planning also includes contingencies. Because as much as we would like to see things happen 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on, they don’t always do that. Something happens along the way that requires us to transpose two steps, eliminate one of those steps, or create a new step. The end result could be 1, 3, 2, 4a, 4b, 7, 6a, and so on. You get the picture.

Starting a new business is no different that putting a man on the moon. It requires a clear and definite destination. And then it requires an understanding of the steps necessary to make it happen. That means breaking down the mission into a series of manageable steps or activities.

Starting a new business requires considerably fewer steps than putting a man on the moon. My approach in helping people start a new business is to create a “short list” of only the most essential steps of the startup, and then go back later to fill in all of the other steps.

The other thing that impresses me about this mission is that before that first moonwalk, no one had walked on the moon. All of the planning occurred without previously having the specific experience of putting a man on the moon.

So it is with a business startup. You don’t need specific experience in how to start a business. Your lifetime of experiences in other endeavors is usually more than ample to carry you through this planning as well as the implementation.

Talking to people uncovers new ideas and opportunities. It’s a way to keep a pulse on business in your city or industry. It’s a way to be on the inside track about changes in technology that could affect you. It’s a way to stay on top of trends.

More than talking, it has to do with listening. Many years ago, I was preparing for a conference call with a highly successful writer and authority in his field. I fretted over what points to cover, what questions to ask, and how to determine how I could tempt this author into working with us.

Fifteen minutes before the call, I spoke with a colleague who was working on this project with me and would be a part of the call. After listening to me express my concerns about the call, he said, “If you want it to be a great call and get him to buy into the deal, spend 80% of the time listening and 20% talking.”

I followed that advice. It was tough. During the first 20 minutes I felt like someone had duct taped my mouth closed. I briefly described our mission and what we had in mind. I listened. I asked only a few key questions.

The call took 44 minutes. At the end, we had total buy-in from the author – considerably more than we had hoped for or expected. In fact, at the end of the call, he said, “Great call. I’m looking forward to working with you guys.”

I have a friend here in Manhattan who never eats lunch alone. That’s his policy. And he’ll do exactly that at least 4 days a week. This is his connection to the world.

He doesn’t sell. He talks a little. But mostly he listens. This technique has put him at the top of his profession (earnings wise)… and keeps him there.

By the way, a willingness to talk to lots of people has nothing to do with selling. But the approach sells.