Self Discipline vs Freedom

By Leo Gura - July 28, 2014 | 47 Comments

How to create true freedom in your life.

Video Transcript

Show Full Transcript Minimize Transcript

Hey, this is Leo for Actualized.org and in this video I’m going to talk about freedom versus self-discipline and how do you go about creating more freedom in your life.

Wrap Your Mind Around This

I’m really excited about this video topic because this is something that isn’t very obvious to many people. This is something that really takes wrapping your mind around to understand before you can get true freedom that you really want out of your life. This video what I want to talk about is the importance of self-discipline in order to get freedom, how those two are connected and why what you currently think you have as freedom isn’t real freedom and that real freedom is something you can develop through discipline and personal development. So let’s talk about this.

I commonly hear, or I imagine you guys sometimes saying this to me, “Leo, you’re posting all these videos with Actualized.org about how to work really hard to get the inner psychology down in order to create an amazing life. If you want financial freedom, if you want freedom in your career or if you want artistic freedom or freedom in your relationship, then how is this a vehicle towards getting that freedom?”

You might tell me, “Leo, this self-mastery stuff that you talk about, it’s so strict, it’s so rigid. All these rules and all these principles, all this stuff that I have to do… I have to go meditate for hours, I have to go work on myself, I have to go introspect on myself, I have to journal, I have to take coaching, I have to maybe go see a therapist, I have to go have these difficult conversations with either my friends, with my family, with my spouse or my girlfriend or boyfriend.

“You talk about taking massive action, you talk about really being honest with your ego, this is all difficult work and there’s a lot of rigidity here. How does this not create a strict and boring kind of life? Leo, I don’t want to turn into a monk. You’re telling me that I’m going to be a monk and I’m going to be happy? Maybe a monk is happy, but I don’t want to be a monk.

“I want to be free. I want to live that exciting, adventurous life that I imagined for myself. That’s what I really want. I don’t want to be a monk so some of this stuff you talk about being happy like a monk, meditating like a monk and bringing principles from a monk, all these things might be good for him, but they’re not good for my kind of life.

“I’m a very down-to-earth kind of person. Very down-to-earth, not too religious, not too airy fairy, I’m not some sort of hippie, I just want a simple life where I have the freedom that I want to do things that I want. How do I get that Leo?”

I’m glad you asked because right now what you’re really looking for is you’re looking for fun, you’re looking for exciting, you’re looking for freedom, you’re looking for adventure. That’s what you’re looking for but you’re not going to get that with your current mode of operating. You’re not going to get it and in this video I’m going to talk about why.

Always Going For The Shortcut

It’s interesting I have this quote that I really like. I don’t know if I came up with it or if I read it somewhere, I think I might have come up with it, but it goes like this, ‘The easy thing is the hard thing, and the hard thing is the easy thing’. So many people get this wrong. I see this manifesting everywhere. I see this manifesting in companies, I see this manifesting with leaders, I see this manifesting in everyday lives, I see this everywhere.

It’s this idea that people are looking for a shortcut, people are looking for the fun, the excitement, the money the profit, the value right away. They want it up front. They don’t want to work for it. What they assume is that if they go directly for the good stuff, they go straight for the jackpot, that if they do that, then that’s the most direct route, that’s the easiest route.

“Why would I want to go meditate for a decade to attain peace of mind Leo? That doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t want to do that, that’s too extreme, too rigid. My life would be miserable if I did that”.

Consider though that that might be easier than what you’re presently doing. What you’re presently doing is you’re looking for the easy jackpot. You keep going for the easy and you keep taking shortcuts and so what happens is that the easy actually turns hard.

What is your life right now? Are you really happy with your life right now? Are you really satisfied? Are you living a life where you’re accomplishing all your dreams, where you’re really fulfilled inside, where you have true peace of mind, where you can say that you have control over yourself and that you really have a choice about what you do in your life? Can you say that you really have a choice, or are you just a puppet controlled by your desires?

What you’re going to find is that you are a puppet. Right now you think that you are the puppet master, but you’re not the puppet master. You think you have freedom now to go eat an unhealthy meal, or skip the gym, or be lazy in a relationship, be lazy at work, watch some television, do some internet, smoke some pot… all that stuff is fun, exciting, adventurous and you think that that’s freedom for you, but what you’re going to eventually discover is that that’s not freedom.

You are actually a slave to your desires and that the one that’s controlling you is your desires. You’re not controlling your desires at all. When this is the case, then you cannot have a happy life. It will not happen for you. I wish it would.

You Have To Be Smarter And More Strategic

If it could be that easy then I would be the first one doing it. I would be doing it, but I learned long ago simply through the school of hard knocks, by hitting my face into the brick wall, I learned that it doesn’t work that way. You have to be a little bit smarter. You have to be a little more strategic about creating an amazing life. You have to be a lot more strategic if you want happiness. You have to be a lot more strategic if you want fulfillment. You have to be a lot more strategic if you want peace of mind.

I want to read an important quote here. Here’s the quote, ‘Don’t think that you can attain total awareness and whole enlightenment without proper discipline and practice. This is ego mania. Appropriate rituals channel your emotions and life energies towards the light. Without the discipline to practice them, you will tumble constantly backward into darkness’. Lao Tzu said that.

You have to really start thinking about this. This you chasing after freedom, and this you thinking that self-discipline is something evil, the word ‘discipline’ is bad, these rituals that you’re supposed to have, you thinking that they are constricting you, you thinking that they are taking away your freedom, that’s nonsense. They are your only vehicle towards developing true freedom. It’s very naive to assume otherwise because you’re not really free. Your desires have you by the balls and they are extorting you every single day. Extortion, outright extortion, is happening.

You know how this game plays. You decided to go to the gym, get a little more fit because you’re not happy about how you look in the mirror, too much fat on you. You don’t like that. You want to look a little bit sexier. You want to attract a better mate.

You start hitting the gym, but then what happens? You hit the gym but it’s hard, requires discipline, requires practice, requires consistency, requires expenditure of labor, emotional labor goes into that. Then you start to scratch your head and wonder, “Why does it have to be this hard? It’s too hard. I don’t want to be consistent. I’m just going to do it as it comes to me.”

You get lax, you get lazy. You stop going to the gym entirely after a while and then you get even fatter. You get even fatter, even lazier. You start having some health problems. You start having some back problems. You go to the doctor you have high cholesterol.

Your doctor also tells you that you have some sort of weird cyst or lump developing somewhere in your body from an x-ray. All of a sudden your get scared, you go back to the gym. Now you’re in the gym and you’re afraid. You’re afraid of your health and what the doctor will tell you when you go back on your next visit. You’re also afraid of the pain of going to the gym.

Going Back And Forth

Now you’ve got pain from both sides. You’re afraid of not going to the gym, because of the health problems and also your worsening looks, but you’re afraid to go to the gym too because of the pain of going to the gym, the required discipline that goes into that. What do you do? Your life becomes this waffling. It’s this waffling that’s going back and forth, running, always running, from the thing that pains you most.

In this situation do you really have freedom here? I want to submit to you that you don’t. What you’re doing is you really are that puppet. You’re being controlled by your desires and this is preventing you from going out there and being a creator. You can’t create the kind of life that you want when you’re always running away from pain.

Also, you can’t actually realize your dreams. Whatever your dream is: a relationship, a business, a certain amount of money, health… you can’t realize those, not if they are meaningful dreams, without a lot of work. You’re not going to do it.

To do that you need to start to cultivate an attitude of self-discipline. Not in a harsh self-critical sort of way. I’m not telling you need to be flagellating yourself all the time, although sometimes you should be harsh on yourself, but generally you need an easy sort of discipline but still discipline nonetheless.

What you’re going to find is that the more disciplined you are, the more habits you instill in your life, the more you get on that narrow, straight path to your goals, the more you’re going to start to feel free. You’re going to get fulfillment. You’re going to get this sense of relief that you have. A huge weight will lift off your shoulders when you stop worrying about all the stuff that you’re constantly worrying about.

That’s what’s beautiful about being a creator. As you’re creating the stuff that you want, you’re building capital in yourself. You’re basically investing value in yourself and you are slowly growing over the months and years. You’re growing and you’re appreciating pretty much like stock. If you do that for a good amount of time, five, ten years down the road you can feel very, very rewarding because it’s like having stock that’s tripled, quadrupled, ten times multiplied its value.

Having Options

That makes you feel awesome, but the really awesome thing is when you have these disciplines and rituals installed in your life you feel like finally you have some choice. You can really choose what you want. Can you choose right now whether you want to work at your job or not? Is that a choice that you have? If you don’t why is that?

It’s because you need the money and you’re trapped there so you say that you have freedom at your job, but do you really have freedom at your job? Did you really do the work that’s necessary, the discipline that needs to be put into your career or into your own business so you do have the freedom to choose whether you want to work or not anymore and the freedom to choose the kind of work that you want to do?

A lot of people don’t have this and they’re not free in that area. Are you free in your relationships? Are you free to leave the person that you’re with right now? Are you free to choose and attract the kind of mate that you want, whether for a short-term fling or a long-term relationship, whatever you want, or a marriage? Are you capable of doing that? Have you gone through the discipline and practice that’s required to build yourself up so that you do have those options?

Building those options requires emotional investment, emotional labor, work, discipline. People who have not put in that work, I know what their life is like. They have very, very limited options. They feel very, very stuck. Why is that? Because the options are not there by default usually.

Usually if you just go work at a nine-to-five job you’re not given a lot of options about where to work and the kind of work you want to do and the kind of money you make, but if you start your own business you have a lot of options. If you haven’t really worked on yourself then you probably don’t have a lot of options with the opposite sex. You can’t attract that partner that you want so you end up settling for the one that you don’t really want. That creates a lot of problems, a lot of frustrations for you.

Even if you say you have the kind of relationship that you want, is that really true? Are you really free in that relationship? I bet you that if you actually had some real options, you might exercise those options. True freedom is about creating options for yourself. This is not an easy thing. This requires work.

You’re Not Free Right Now

People don’t usually give you many options. You have to go out there and fight for it. You have to start to admit to yourself right now that you are a slave. You’re not free. You’re a slave.

What are you a slave to? You’re not a slave to society, you’re not a slave to your boss, or to your wife, or to your husband, or anything like that. You’re a slave to yourself, to your own desires. You’re a slave to your own emotions, you’re a slave to your own moods, you’re a slave to your own neurotic thoughts, you’re a slave to your horrible habits- I know the kind of habit you have you have horrible habits- and you’re definitely a slave to your external circumstances.

You’re thinking that you are. Because you give away your control you think that you’re a slave to your job, or to your health, or to your relationship, but really that’s ultimately you being a slave to yourself. Whenever you’re a slave to a circumstance it all comes back to you if you look deeply and honestly enough. The solution is to start to work on yourself.

That’s what all these videos are for. It’s kind of like a change in philosophy about life. A lot of people will again take that philosophy of easy over hard, but it comes out the other way for them. They think that sitting at home, playing video games and smoking pot, that’s the easy life.

“How nice. Why would I want to go out and work? What would I want to go work on my career really hard?”

That might be easy for now, but how long is it going to be the easy life? How long is it going to stay easy? How fulfilling is it even now? Probably not very fulfilling now, but let’s say that it is a little fulfilling for you, that’s not going to last. That’s going to be a little bit of easiness and comfort, relative to a huge amount of pain and cost that’s going to come later.

Discipline Creates Options

You’re doing that as a short-term gratification thing. You’re not thinking too far ahead. The point that I want to make in this video is that freedom is discipline. Discipline is what’s necessary to create options. Discipline is used to create options which then create freedom.

They are all very closely interconnected so don’t think that by shunning discipline you’re somehow creating more discipline for yourself. That is a big trap. I want to end this video with a powerful quote which goes really to the heart of this issue. It really inspired this video when I read it and wrote it down in my journal. Here it is. It’s kind of long, stay with me.

“The gift of self-discipline is that it has the power to take you beyond the reasoning of temporary emotion to freedom. Think of how empowered you felt on occasions when you haven’t gone into the “I don’t feel like it” syndrome and you honored your commitments to yourself. What is not feeling like it really have to do with anything? The combination of love for something with the willingness to do it, to do what it takes to practice it, discipline, that results in freedom.’

That is a quote from Michael Beckwith. Food for thought. Think about it, think about what this means for the way that you live your life. I think you’ll find something powerful here and you can have a shift in philosophy, a shift in approach which might be subtle at first, but which will eventually pay big dividends for you.

Wrap Up

All right, this is Leo, I’m signing off. Go ahead and post me your comments down below, I’d love to hear from you. Click the like button for me right me tight now so it shoots up. Also, share it with a friend. The more these videos are shared, the more free videos I can to release to you guys if the channel is popular.

Lastly, come and sign up to my newsletter and Actulized.org right here. This is my newsletter, it’s free. I release new updates, new videos similar to this one every single week. I also have a lot of cool stuff, exclusive stuff planned for my subscribers to the newsletter so sign up. The reason you want to do that besides the bonuses and the cool stuff that’s coming in the future, it’s about staying on track with this.

Developing discipline is something that you have to baby step. It’s something that takes a while to do and what I find is that you need some sort of guide to help you do it. It’s hard to do it all on your own. It’s hard to do it and be consistent about it. Sometimes I found myself, when I was doing it, falling off track a lot, losing a lot of time, spinning my wheels a lot.

I think it’s very valuable to be studying and learning this stuff every single week. New ideas, new mindsets, new strategies for how you can master yourself even more so that you can create that freedom that you really want. I’m excited to be delivering a lot more content for you guys every single week, new content, amazing stuff. My best stuff is still yet to come, so sign up and you’ll be all set.

Tip Jar
Tip Jar
Like this video?
Leave a tip
Amount
Come join the Actualized.org Forum! Meet like-minded people & transform your life.
Comments
(47)
Nicole says:

Hello Leo,

I just wanted to take the time to thank you for the work that you do! I have seen many videos and I have not found any that have the real world advice that you have been able to deliver. You are truly a wonderful influence for many people. I was wondering if you have ever thought of doing a video on Health Anxiety? I think it would be beneficial to a lot of people and it would be interesting to hear your thoughts about it. Thanks.

Leo Gura says:

Thanks Nicole! Health anxiety? I’m not sure what that means. Elaborate.

Chris says:

My current life: 80% Smoking pot and playing video games.

I don’t really understand how to get into society approved stuff, I’ve always slammed into a wall and wound up disappointed with little benefit to show for it.

I have meditated a ton over the years, clearly certain disciplined practices are very beneficial… But working at Mcdonalds? Being forced to take classes in subjects you have very little interest in?

I only recently discovered you (ironically, because a guy who creates guides for the game I play, had recently subscribed to you.)

My problem with your advice so far, your view seems dogmatically scientific from what I’ve seen. Some might say your crown chakra is a bit closed off. (Nonsense to you, I’m sure.) But real to me, and my current level of fiercely cultivated discernment.

In any case, I’m not earning any income from this lifestyle. And well it is one of my dreams is to be really good at a game I primarily play (SC2), via disciplined practice.
I don’t feel very free.

But most of my dreams are more focused on practical reality. Owning/being heavily involved in a great business, beautiful relationships, blissful life in a beautiful place with good vibes… Purpose, fulfillment, etc.

You clearly have a ton to offer, but I feel it comes from such a disconnected, closed off place. Perhaps it’s not good to constantly have your head in other dimensions… but to be so stuck in this one, you refuse to consider the legitimacy of those more difficult to perceive?

Perhaps I’m off base here. And I’m willing to consider a different perspective and shift my own.

In any case, I respect your idea-craft, and I think the idea that freedom requires discipline is very powerful and true. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Leo Gura says:

Dogmatically scientific? Not sure what you mean. I’m as undogmatic as they come. My videos are pragmatic because this is what you need to know to get hard results. Yes, you shouldn’t follow me blindly. Adopt what suits you and leave the rest.

Max Gron says:

The discipline is nice, but not bull, unnecessary routine discipline. We actually not need the content of the discipline: not doing easy tasks, but the structure, that we want to do it. It’s really simple for me, to just watch movies all day or all night, entertain myself with Tubi, write my book, instead of talking to anyone, being picked on. People having a hard time with me isn’t my problem, I just want easy things, and discipline, like the above, doing my shopping, doing itineraries, never going back to my unentertained life again.

MARIA PILAR says:

Hi Leo!
Right! True Freedom requires a lot of discipline, it really holds true but since our reptilian brain (as I’ve learned from you) or our lower self takes more control of us hence we easily get slaved by our desires and emotions..and I’ve been experiencing that..but ever since I’ve glued myself into your videos I seem to be getting realizations and awareness of myself, and that having a great amount of self-discipline will pave the way for a greater freedom in life,… and that I wish for myself.

Thanks to you I have been consistent in doing daily meditations (20min) for almost 2 weeks and I’ve seen positive results: less negative thinking, able to renounce past thoughts that haunt me then, being more conscious of filtering thoughts and more importantly seeing the present moment as the most significant and its reality…and that past and future are mere concepts.

I had a dinner with my friend last night and shared some insights that I’ve learned from you, she ‘s a psychology major that she was struck by my shared ideas like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the Stoic’s negative visualization and other topics that really got into my mind through your videos, of which hopefully I can actualize them all.

Thanks for sending me this video and am so grateful that you help us in our journey for a better life of true freedom and true happiness. God bless!

Leo Gura says:

Good job Maria! I love seeing you guys taking action and getting results!

Dario says:

Great video, as usual.

Not related to the video itself, just 1 short q: when are you going to announce a winner for your 2 hour coaching for subscribers?

Anyways, keep up with great work, looking forward to your new stuff.

Greets from Croatia

Leo Gura says:

I tried announcing the winners like 5 times, but everyone I contacted refused coaching! This surprised me. So after lots of frustration I finally gave up on whole idea a few months ago. What I learned is that coaching is something that people need to come to me for, not the other way around.

Dario says:

Don’t get it… Did you find out why is that or did you just let it be?
Oh, well…maybe try with t-shirts as a reward, i don’t think people will turn that down

Ninos says:

This is my biggest problem, self discipline. I feel as if I have two voices if you will in my head. The lazy, live for the moment ninos and the conscious ninos. The conscious ninos knows what has to be done in order to get results and have a life where I live to my full potential. There is another voice that is against the real ninos that wants things easy, the bare minimum needed for survival, the part that wants short term satisfaction. That lazy ninos has been the main descion maker even though the real ninos says no, ultimately the lazy ninos wins.
Lazy ninos knows he is not the master and the conscious ninos can wake up anytime and kill him, he is sneaky and convincing the real ninos to relax. He says things like remeber how you lost everything in the real estate crash, all your hard work gone. Things like why work out and have a great body when that will lead to vanity and go against your christian beliefs. He says things like tak it easy you deserve it, don’t kill your self for nothing, relax. All these things the lazy ninos says are exactly opposite of the real ninos vision for myself. Real ninos wants to have the best body possible, be the best athlete he can be and compete in sports like a man to be feared. Real ninos knows he is way to talented to work for someone and let them make money of his hard work. Real ninos knows he needs to work hard on starting his own business and never give up until he is dead. Real ninos knows he should be confident, happy, satisfied and living life to full potential.
The fear is that in order to get rid of the lazy ninos, I have to kill him. A violent death where he doesn’t come back. I have argued and wrestled the lazy ninos but never killed him, always let him live to come back and take over when I am weakest. I am afraid to kill the lazy ninos cuz he is a nice guy and the real ninos might be a jerk, a hard nosed tuff son of a bitch that won’t ever let me relax. The real ninos will get results where the lazy ninos has nothing to show for his hours of watching porn, watching tv, hanging out being a vegetable.
Real ninos has to take over and implament self discipline to have true happiness.

Kiesha Michelle says:

WHAT??? Well if you really want to you can coach me!!! LOL….I would have said yes in a heart beat had you chosen me for a winner!!! Hehehe….that is if I had caught the contest and participated….darn! I have been looking for something like this and I missed it….NO JOKE!!!

Once again you give a great video….Thanks I got to watch your videos over and over, apply them over and over…..it’s allot of work….but I am finally ready!!

Nicole says:

Hi Leo. Health Anxiety is an anxiety disorder similar to OCD. People who have it suffer from obsessive thoughts that they have or will develop an illness despite the fact that they are completely healthy and have little or now risk factors for the illness the obsess over. The most common fears are HIV/AIDS and Cancer. lt has been stated that a lot of the underlying causes of Health Anxiety stem from catastrophic thinking patterns, loss of control issues, guilt issues and issues with mortality. It would be wonderful to hear your thoughts and/or strategies of how to cope with the disorder day to day. Hope that helps. . Thanks again.

Leo Gura says:

Start meditating and start writing your negative thoughts down in a journal.

Chris says:

Great reply.

I meant dogmatically scientific in the sense that science/empiricism is seen as the only acceptable method for acquiring legitimate knowledge, and anything which doesn’t easily fit into that paradigm is immediately dismissed as bullshit/woowoo… etc.

Hypothesis, Experiment, Observation, Conclusion. Extremely useful and successful method… but it only gets you as far as your instruments(especially the minds of the researchers) allow.

That said… it is the knowledge which most easily applies to us all, is in theory all-encompassing, and is most easily accepted/believed by the majority of people… It’s easy to understand why, if you are trying to reach the most people, you’d come at it from that perspective.

Subtler layers are only accepted by people who’ve experienced them, perhaps via meditation, psychoactive herbs, sudden epiphanies, dreams, intuitions, etc.

They are much more difficult to objectify and so not easily digestible for everyone, but no less powerful/transformative/transcendent/useful. That said, I highly respect that you advise meditation (even just for benefits acknowledged by the purely empirical paradigm), which can lead to a bit of this.

“Adopt what suits you and leave the rest.” Great philosophy I first heard from Bruce Lee. I’ll do that man, thanks for the response, and thanks again for all the valuable content.

Rehman says:

Nice video Leo,

Could you shoot videos on memory techniques and I personally gained lots of insights listening to your videos. Self discipline is first step for self awareness.
Hope these videos will benefit people who are struggling in their lives. Honestly speaking I am not sure how we can take the message to the people who are very close to us. So that they also get enlightened and live a peaceful and happy life.

Thank you

Leo Gura says:

Yes, I will. I’m actually pretty good at memorizing stuff when required.

Sandra D says:

Hi Leo,
This video really calls to me. I have been struggling with gaining self discipline for years. The times that I have exercised self discipline I have felt fulfilled and really good about myself. I have felt that I honored and respected myself and I like that feeling. I find that it takes a great effort to psyche myself up to do it. If I think too much about what I need to do, I don’t do it. It’s like you said I have to use baby steps to accomplish it. Anyway, thank you for making this video. I think I will use it as a guide and as the first step in accomplishing my current goals. I believe that self discipline is the tool I need in achieving my true potential.

Leo Gura says:

Great! My pleasure

Hi there Leo.

Great video on a great subject!
Its so true. We are living in a world where we expect that the less obligations we have the more free we are.
We just dont realize that in many cases we are just robots doing the same as everyone else.
Group think and doing what everyone do is the new black. See the number of users on social media for instance posting the same boring photos and nagging anout everyone else.

Nader says:

Thank you Leo for your videos.

Hi Leo,

The challenge I have had is a limited thinking that the ”big names’ in personal development must have ‘the best answers and teachings’ as they are well known.

However watching your videos I know that is just not true.

I have never heard it put the way you have put it: ‘You are a slave to your desires’ way. You are an amazing teacher. Fantastic way of explaining that true freedom is in self discipline (and at the root of the word discipline is the word disciple which means that self-discipline is not self punishment, rather that it is being disciple yourself).

Look forward to watching all your videos.

Leo Gura says:

Thanks Chris

MICHELLE says:

Im glad you too are still on a learning path. Im surprised the winners didnt accept your offer. Maybe they wanted to stay anonymous. Its good you know the teacher is here when you are ready to receive. That old saying you know? You have a good ‘fresh’ approach and seem confident and clear in your lectures..yes they are lectures. I hope your life is as joyful as you show us ours can be.
Keep up the good work!

mike overbeck says:

excellent video- keep them coming, please Thanks leo

Nisme says:

Thank you so much for this video…
I stumbled upon your videos on YouTube 3 wks ago and been slowly integrating meditation and positive affirmations. Its definitely work but I no longer want to be a slave to my own desires. I want to be free to live the best life I can live.
Thank you Leo !

antony says:

Dear Leo

Your videos are excellent, I will continue to learn more from what you have say. I am feeling a bit trapped right now, I tell myself I’m not addicted to cannabis yet I have smoked nearly every day since I was 15, I’m now 32. I had a break down by the age of 19 and really had to make some of the tough choices you talked of in your dealing with difficult and toxic people video. The friends I had back then we all involved in the sale and consumption of cocaine, I knew I was not living the life I could have been and took alot of alcohol pot and various other drugs to numb myself to things I was exposed to everday. For some reason when I was 21 I made the choice to cut off all the so called friends I had at that time, and that set off a chain of events that transformed my life. I got my drivers license, went back to college, completed a law degree, a masters degree and the Uk legal practice course in the past 7 years. Although I am proud that I worked hard to change a lot of things cannabis is holding me back and I am struggling to get a job in the legal field due to my lack of motivation, fear of failing at interview and so I remain in my low paid job work with some very toxic people feeling very frustrated. I’m not sure where to start with myself. Any suggestions?

Leo Gura says:

It’s very simple. Cut out weed forever. Right now!

Ankita Amajuri says:

Hi Leo.

I just watched your video on building willpower, and I certainly have found a few areas in my life that need a lot of work. I really wish to incorporate your videos into my everyday routine. Perhaps, watch a video, or read something positive first thing in the morning. However, I have noticed that every time I use a browser to do something productive, I get distracted and end up reading a blog, checking my email, or just being unproductive in general.

I think it would be a great idea for you to have an app for all the great stuff that you make. I think that the model that TED uses would work great for your content too. Also, I think that once my willpower is strong enough, I might then be able to use browsers strictly for productivity.

In case the app sounds like a good idea to you, and you need someone to work on it, I’d be glad to help. I’m currently a sophomore in an undergraduate computer science course in New Delhi, so working on this sure would be a good application of what I learn in class.

Whew! That was a long post! Well, I would love to know what you think of it.

Leo Gura says:

If you had an app, you would just find another excuse for not doing any work. That’s how your brain works. The fact is that you have information here for FREE that I have spent YEARS for my life collecting, paid THOUSANDS of dollars for, and spent HUNDREDS of hours streamlining for you. If it was any more convenient, I would be the one living your life and doing your work for you.

So stop being lazy!

Also, Youtube has an App? Why not use it?

Monique says:

Hey Leo, very motivating information as usual. Thankfully this is a principle I learned very early in life and it has served me well. I was reading through the comments and read that you had stopped giving away free coaching because people didn’t want it. What’s the status of that? Is there any way you could have a separate place for those who want it to sign up for a chance to get it? Some of us would love a one-on-one with you.

Leo Gura says:

At this point that’s just not feasible. I have emails from 50+ paying people. I don’t even have time to respond to them all. I need an assistant!

ccv says:

I wish i am good enough to be your assistant lol.
nice video thank you, but you didn’t tell us how to be discipline, can you please tell me one example how to start?
And what is the best book to start reading?

Ashray says:

I see. Your website gives insight of what to to and think and provides emotional support along with giving important summary of knowledge. We are to take those actions and after a year or two. You will eventually know what you want to be, that’s where your coaching comes. You can help tell people what they can become and this give them powerful motivation which shuns the requirement of 1 to 2 years of personal development though its still necessary. People can get mass motivation and can make progress of 1 to 2 year within months. So if you don’t take coaching, you will need 1 to 2 years of personal development without much motivation but will power until finally, after 1 to 2 years, they don’t require it. Right?

Ashray says:

Whoops. Big comment. I finally know I had been in fear of results, I have anxiety whenever I think about success, even though I know results can only be good. What should I do to not feels so?

Shirley says:

Thanks for the videos Leo. I’ve been watching your videos now for the past month and can already see and feel the positive changes in my life. Didn’t ‘feel’ like going to the gym this evening, but made myself go, and of course delighted now I went, feeling energized. Have committed to going to the gym 4 times a week, which is a big commitment for me, in the last month have already lost 7 lbs, which gives me the freedom of wearing clothes which hadn’t fit me previously…..will keep it up. just wanted to let you know that I’m one of many people I’m sure, that your videos are helping

Qasem says:

Hello, Leo

I was not totally aware why I can’t proceed in my career
I was taking the easy way – that is sure.
I was blaming circumstances but after what you explained Leo I started working in last five hours studying Self Discipline VS Freedom.
What an awareness you have done Leo
I will proceed on discipline towards freedom and I am sure I will continue on self development as long as it takes.

Thanks Leo

Qasem

Kathy Germany says:

Oh oh oh. This is it. This self-discipline is my crux.

I also found my similarities to Chris, Ninos, Sandra D. and Antony.

My victim-mind says that the subjects gear so much into each other that e.g. patience and Babysteps are indispensable to stay capable of acting. It seems that I’m afraid of hard work, wishing that I can ‘think myself into action’ and meanwhile I selfmonitor how my mind and victim-ego feels overstrained and hides again in success- and failure-fearing procrastination and it’s comfort zone… holding myself in circles… and the price in the end will be depression; I already had a distinct glimpse of how this is like.

ThX for cleaning up all the mess with me.

Hello Leo,
New to your videos but have enjoyed them. I’m learning a lot.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Niels says:

Thanks Leo,
Definately one of your better videos!
Regards,
Niels

Zane says:

Leo I have been working on my self-discipline by building the daily habit of writing five pages of creative writing every day to get out of a creativity block and my daily ritual of five pages daily has been paying off excellently. I motivate myself intrinsically by telling myself “every day I write more and more. I am a creator and I am creating art every day.” I want to thank you for your excellent videos!

Frank says:

Hi Leo,
I am very grateful for all the hard work you put into your videos. Although I have come across this topic before, you have made a very nice connection between things which I wasn’t aware of myself.
Many thanks

Max Gron says:

Happiness isn’t different to what you think, I get happy because I think I’m happy, it’s subjective, money and humour and differentness in this community is happiness. When I get money I’m enlightened, knowing the truth costs a million dollars, fool. There’s a pain of humiliation, poor people are full of shit, I’m happy, Mussolini. I need the finest things, Fasta Pasta, and a more successful life, boob squeeze, bozo! And one more thing if I’m funny I’m happy, right? Isn’t it happiness meditating and believing in you and having fun? Because I’m funny, ba da da da da daaaa, I should make everything fun, honky tonk!

Max Gron says:

The hard thing is still the hard thing, and not surprisingly easiness is hard, it’s difficult to be easy, it resonates with me, simply because it’s easy to have pain, that’s easy, anyone can get hurt by you, you can be hurt by me, being an arsehole is the easiest thing in the world. I shouldn’t even make a sandwich, no one is easy about doing things, it’s not my problem, it’s easy to solve: meditation, contemplation, reflection, prudence, not simple but easy, I know it’s a structure problem, my problem is simple: I want a life based on structure, making a sandwich, shopping, going on buses, lifting weights, not content, like what I do, but based on what I am, structure, normal, peaceful, blissful, happy, people think it’s a different structure, I’ll never be neurotypical! Paying the bills, scrubbing the loors, taking out the bins, brushing my teeth, but this one structure people ignore, I want a life based on structure, based on changing my attitude and working hard at making my life easy (it is a structure problem, and people don’t like my easiness structure, they know this structure of mine they can’t put their finger on it but they don’t like it). I’m not getting any structure from being in places of being hated for that one thing I did, or hating my good for the sake of my good. As for the discipline, if I remove this structureless blob and change the people I’m with, with a different structure, they’ll be easy like me. My discipline is to stop with my vow to live in an easy way and get a normal, not tensed up reaction from people the way it used to be.

Max Gron says:

loors, I meant to say floors.

Max Raoy Gron says:

This is what I think, I have my own self-discipline and that’s the self-discipline to never listen to popular music, and the self-discipline to never watch drama, theatre, or entertainment, and to always wear long-sleeved clothes. It doesn’t contribute to fun, these sacrifices don’t come easily, for I have no attachment to stimulation, titillation, pleasure, or excitement, I’m happy, calm, in a state of blissfulness. I did what Leo said, and I’ll meditate with a doing nothing technique for 10 minutes, I have the discipline to begin once it’s done.

Leave a Comment
Name*
E-mail*
Website
What color are lemons?*