hey everyone and welcome to top tank today we're going to learn about how to be as disciplined as
Elon Musk now let's begin number one explore self-discovery before Elon Musk became a tech
billionaire he was just a normal kid he was born and raised in South Africa he went to school read
books and played video games but unlike the other kids musk was incredibly self disciplined he took
an interest in computers at a young age turning himself into a self-taught programmer he was so
good that Musk began selling code for his own games at only 12 years old while Elon Musk may
have been a child prodigy his success came from his attitude he was fearless in the face of a
new challenge so when he got excited about something he jumped on that opportunity he
took it upon himself to explore his passions to learn new skills and to turn all those lessons
into something the world had never seen but you too can use that same self starting attitude to
lead a more disciplined life imagine you discover a new passion you might do some
surface level research you could read a book or two but gradually your passion may fade into the
background because with any subject the more you learn the harder it gets and that challenge can
leave you feeling intimidated or just plain lazy so you stop pushing you stop exploring
you turn your attention back to something safe and familiar because well it's easier that way
but what if Elon Musk had done the same thing what if he had gotten excited about computers
learned had a program and then decided it was too hard what if he hadn't had the confidence
to discover new things on his own if you want to be as disciplined as Elon Musk this is the
very first step believe that you have the power to learn or explore anything on your own it doesn't
matter how crowded or complicated something is if you're passionate about it then you dive deeper
don't be afraid to invest your time and effort into something but gets you excited because it
doesn't matter if you know everything know one expects you to be the best in the world all you
have to do is learn expand your knowledge a little bit more every day because that self discovery is
the key to Musk's remarkable discipline and if you follow in his footsteps it may be the key
to yours number two test your limits discipline requires sacrifice there's just no way around
it you'll have to sacrifice your time and your money you'll miss out on the things that you
want and commit way too much to the things you need but making these sacrifices isn't as easy
as it sounds it takes years of practice and a whole lot of self-control that's why Elon
Musk decided to test his limits he knew that he had a hard road ahead of him he knew he'd have
to make some hard decisions because he had big dreams he was overflowing with ambition and he
wasn't going to let anything stand in his way so we put his self-discipline to the test how
did he do that by spending a single dollar on food every day now keep in mind this was his
choice he had enough money to afford a normal diet but he wasn't interested in doing what was
comfortable hmm he wanted to prove to himself that he could make sacrifices that he could set aside
anything even his own well-being if it helped him achieve his dreams now I'm not saying you need to
do something this dramatic but testing your limits is an important part of developing self-discipline
first of all testing your limits shows you what your limits are it gives you the chance
to discover what you can and can't live without if for example you might not think you watch much TV
but let's say you try cutting TV out of your life entirely you might realize that you watched a lot
more TV than you thought of course realizing those limits is just the first step because now you know
what's holding you back so you can practice making those sacrifices on a regular basis every so often
stop watching TV for a few days practice cutting that time waster out of your life it may not
actually be that big of a distraction but each time you're proving to yourself that you're in
control that you have the power to choose and to make sacrifices when you need to so incorporate
these exercises into your life practice living without your normal luxuries that way when the
time comes you'll have the self-discipline to make hard decisions number three prioritize improvement
when you're as busy as Elon Musk there's a lot on your plate it's a never-ending stream of
jobs problems and concerns so how do you stay disciplined and concentrate on the tasks that
matter musk uses one simple question am I going to make something better if you are then do it if
not it's not worth your time now I'll admit it's not usually that simple there are a lot of jobs
that toe the line think about answering emails for example well you're not actually improving
anything it may be a critical part of your job your emails might help someone else work on a
project solve an important problem or just keep the line of production moving smoothly so even
if you're not directly improving something it's still worthwhile because you can pinpoint a reason
why you're doing it as you go through your day make sure you know why you're doing everything
you do and that way you're focusing on tasks that serve a purpose according to Elon Musk you should
always prioritize this kind of production even if that means rearranging your to-do list or opting
out of a job that takes you in the wrong direction if you can make improvement your priority you'll
find yourself being more productive and feeling more fulfilled because you control what you do
and don't do you decide all on your own what is and isn't worth your time that's why you'll find
Elon Musk watching movies or playing video games before wasting time at work he knows that work
is about efficiency and progress he explains that you should be accomplishing those two
things every day otherwise you're just spinning your wheels you're not going anywhere or doing
anything but what about self-discipline how does prioritizing improvement help you live a
more controlled lifestyle well the more prolific and efficient you are the more self-discipline
you'll develop because you'll feel like you're on the ball like you're really getting things done
that pride it gives you momentum which snowballs into weeks months and even years of productivity
number four find core habits it's important to have a morning routine an organized series of
habits that energize motivate and inspire you in the morning but sometimes life just gets in the
way you get excited about a project or invested in a conversation and that becomes a higher priority
this is what most mornings look like for Elon Musk he's so disciplined that he fills every nook
and cranny of his life with work unfortunately that means many healthy habits get left in the
dust for example he rarely eats breakfast not because breakfast isn't important but because
he gets swept up in his passions and once that happens there's no stopping him but there are
some habits that Elon Musk just can't live without these are his core habits things he does every
single day no matter how busy he is because these habits act as a foundation for his entire day for
Elon Musk showering is an absolute necessity it doesn't matter how busy he is in the mornings
he always makes time to shower because he knows how important this habit is for his productivity
now of course core habits work differently for everybody for Elon Musk showering will always
outweigh breakfast but you might feel the opposite or maybe you rely on something else entirely like
exercise meditation or goal-setting it really doesn't matter which one hits you the hardest
as long as you know what your core habits are and practice them on a daily basis but what about the
all-important question how does this improve your self-discipline some mornings you're going
to feel overwhelmed you're going to have a lot on your mind and you'll be tempted to abandon
your routine but your core habits will always get your head back on straight you can fall back on
these rituals to clear your mind to reorient your thinking and to launch you into another
productive day number five incorporate feedback loops there's a saying that you are always your
biggest critic and it's true but that critical feedback can help you build a more disciplined
lifestyle because constructive feedback gives you an avenue for change it shows you an area
of your life that you can improve upon or reinvent that's why Elan musk uses his own feedback all the
time creating something called a feedback loop a feedback loop is when the output of a system is
reincorporated as an input into the same system in other words you try something you think of a
way that you can do it better and then you use that idea to change your behavior the next time
around but what's the point of a feedback loop you ask Elon Musk uses them to question himself
and search for new ways to streamline is life style but you can also use feedback loops to
refine your habits troubleshoot your insecurities or simply live a happier life a thank you for
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