Nowadays, different successful startups and companies appear every month, while the bigger and older ones become even more powerful. It made me wonder what the key to a company’s success is, and how these small ideas grow into real companies that make life better. At the beginning of the research, I thought that I would come across a critical factor that is hard to get and cannot be applied to any company, but I was wrong. Surprisingly, this key is discipline: the set of strict actions continuously done throughout time. The concept of a company becoming successful due to its discipline inspires me because it is a simple rule.
Success is often described as something that suddenly appears and changes everything; however, it does not happen overnight: many companies existed for years before becoming well known. For example, Walt Disney kept creating cartoons for eleven years before it became famous with Mickey Mouse. Moreover, I read Jim Collins’s Good to Great – the book describes a path of successful companies who were able not just to become successful, but also to keep the position for fifteen years. Discipline indeed was one of the critical factors that affected the success. The book’s inspiring example is Walgreens, which built its pharmacies slowly and strictly without falling for rapid growth opportunities. The company is more than a hundred years old, and it still exists. These examples confirm that a company needs the discipline to gain success, and it takes time to build.
If the idea of discipline and success is so simple, why does not everyone follow it in building their business? The answer is that the disciplined man should stand behind the company to lead it to growth. Nowadays, the world is full of entertainment and distractions, so it is hard to choose discipline instead of fun. However, if a person wants to be successful, it is vital to build discipline in life. Brian Tracey’s No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline describes how fulfilled life might be if a person strictly follows health, work, and relationship habits. I found many practices I have to work on after reading this book. For me, the example of self-discipline is Steve Jobs, who has always been very strict regarding his lifestyle, diet, and choices to make. Such a way of living helped him build Apple – one of the most successful companies of all time. Books and inspiring examples of famous people motivate me to seek discipline in life to make something valuable.
The disciplined actions to build success are an old concept, yet for me, it was an inspiring disclosure. It captivates me because I can apply it in my life and self-improvement regardless of the external conditions. I want to change the world by creating something successful, and the path for me would begin with discipline.