Apollo 11 and Lessons in Firing Squad Etiquette: Give Discipline a SHOT!

In my previous two blog posts I discussed the first two "D"'s of a Dream:  Desire and Determination.  Today, we explore exercising, space flight, and firing squad etiquette and their relationship with the third "D" of a Dream.

Discipline

Did you know that when it comes to exercise, whether walking, jogging or running, a person will burn just about the same amount of calories?  The same distance is accomplished.  The same calories are burned, but each person goes at his or her own pace. The runner will accomplish the task sooner, but if he does not run the next day, while the walker does, guess who goes farther and burns twice as many calories? 

So, set your pace.  Are you going to walk, jog, or run toward your Dream?  Any pace is acceptable, just as long as you have one.  A Chinese proverb reads, “Be not afraid of going slowly.  Be afraid only of standing still.”

Be consistent.  A mile a day walking for one week is 700 calories burned; one mile a week running is just 100 calories burned.  The same is true for your Dream.  Achieving your Dream is about a consistent set of practical actions and a constant pace of those actions on a regular basis.  In a word, discipline.

Doing small, simple tasks consistently over a period of time produces exponential results.  When it comes to your Dream, or any goal in your life, remember it’s a marathon and not a sprint.  A steady pace finishes the race.  Consistent training and practice over time means victory.  As Jeff Olson points out, “Successful people do daily what unsuccessful people do occasionally.”[i]

Ready.  Fire!  Aim.

How did the U.S. Apollo Program spacecrafts reach the moon? As they made the 238,900 mile journey, the spacecrafts constantly adjusted their direction using a gyroscope.  The gyroscope calibrated the direction the craft had to go.  Though the destination was known and the way was certain, the plan was constantly being adjusted as the craft flew through space and time.  The craft headed toward the moon was off course ninety-seven percent of the time and on course only three percent of the time. The craft was constantly correcting its course on the journey.  It’s called Course Correction.

You and I are crafts traveling through space and time.  We have a vision, create a plan based on our goals, and implement the plan.  When we see the plan not working because we are thrown off course, we adjust the plan and act on the new plan to accomplish our Dreams.  As John Maxwell says, we set our goals in concrete, but we set our plans in sand.[ii]  Plans change.  Goals are fixed.

Think of it as a firing squad:  The typical verbiage is "Ready.  Aim.  Fire!"  And the result is death.  But you don't want to put your Dream to death.  You want it to live more fully every day.  You've got to change the verbiage:  "Ready.  Fire!  Aim."  Plan.  Act! Course Correct. . .Adjusted Plan.  Act!  Course Correct. . .Adjusted Plan.  Act! Course Correct. . .and so on.  This is how success comes to us.

Many of us have a skewed sense of what success looks like.  You may have seen this illustration before, but it captures that success looks very different from most people’s perception:

Success is typically not neat, clean, and perfect.  Most of the time it is going to be messy.  One of the major fallacies common in our world is that successful people have fewer problems than those who are not successful.  The truth is that most successful people have more problems because they are working toward their goals and pressing up against greater adversity because of it.  That’s why creating a system of daily practices is essential to success.  That’s why creating plans and adjusting those plans to fit the circumstance is paramount.  That’s why setting goals in concrete and working to accomplish them matters.

                    

Doesn’t this just capture where we find ourselves sometimes? Plan definite ways and means to acquire the Dream and the abundant life you seek.  Even if your plan seems short sighted or incomplete, write it down and start doing it.  The gaps in your plan are the gaps in your knowledge and understanding of what you need to do to accomplish your Dream.

As you implement your plan, you will find the gaps in it.  Experience is your gyroscope! You can revise your plan, and guess what?  When all the gaps disappear, you’ll find new gaps!  This is a great!  We continually refine our plan as we discover new Obstacle-Opportunities to grow.  Every moment brings new lessons to learn and new adjustments to make for the next moment.

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[i] Olson, Jeff.  The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success.  Success Books, 2011.  Print.

[ii] Maxwell, John.  Becoming a Person of Influence.  Thomas Nelson. 2006. Print.