Robin Sharma recently said something that I believe every MFD who wants to build a world-class business should think deeply about: “When I mentor the billionaires, when I work with the sports superstars, I see so many very disciplined people. They all have one trait in common… Discipline… I understand that discipline is built by the consistent doing of difficult things. I will repeat that again because it is so important for your growth, for your continued ascent to world-class…Discipline is built by putting off short-term pleasure in pursuit of long-term fulfillment.”

There is enormous wisdom in those words.

We often think disciplined people are simply born different. They wake up motivated, do difficult things effortlessly and somehow possess willpower the rest of us do not. However, they don’t do difficult things because they are disciplined. They become disciplined because they repeatedly do difficult things.

Think about this in your own business.

Making that prospecting call when you would rather postpone it. Having the uncomfortable conversation with an underperforming colleague. Delegating something you have always controlled. Investing money on technology, people and infrastructure whose benefits may take years to appear. Creating content consistently when nobody seems to notice. Learning something new when your existing business is already doing well.

None of these choices provides much immediate pleasure and that is precisely the point.

Every time you choose the difficult but important thing over the easy and comfortable one, you are not merely completing a task. You are building the person capable of building the business you want.

That is why discipline compounds just like money does. One difficult action seems insignificant. Hundreds of them, repeated over years, can create an extraordinary gap between businesses that merely survive and businesses that become world-class.

Most people want the long-term fulfilment. Far fewer are willing to repeatedly pay its short-term price.

World-class is rarely one extraordinary decision. It is thousands of ordinary difficult decisions made when the easier choice was available.

As always, the choice is yours.