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    “The people with the best self-control are typically the ones who need to use it the least.  It’s easier to practice self-restraint when you don’t have to use it very often.  So, yes, perseverance, grit, and willpower are essential to success, but the way to improve these qualities is not by wishing you were a more disciplined person, but by creating a more disciplined environment.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

      “Drive is fueled by desire, belief, and expectation that we can achieve something extraordinary through our efforts.  It feeds on discipline in that it becomes stronger as we commit ourselves at deeper levels to our pursuits.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal

        “Discipline is the spark that ignites the fire of a habit.  Those fires must be lit daily, and discipline provides the original source energy.  The word discipline literally means to be a disciple to a higher purpose.  Developing the discipline to train hard every day means you become a disciple—not to the training itself, not just to looking good or stroking your ego, but to the higher purpose of developing yourself fully as a human being and as a leader.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal

          “Self-discipline is a form of freedom.  Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from the expectations and demands of others, freedom from weakness and fear and doubt.  Self-discipline allows a pitcher to feel his individuality, his inner strength, his talent.  He is the master of, rather than a slave to, his thoughts and emotions.” ~ Harvey Dorfman

            “Self-discipline is an act of cultivation.  It requires you to connect today’s actions to tomorrow’s results.  There’s a season for sowing and a season for reaping.  Self-discipline helps you know which is which.” ~ Gary Ryan Blair

              “Willpower is like a battery, at least in the short term.  If it is depleted, future challenges will falter.  This is a fundamental insight.  Self-control is not available around the clock.  It needs time to refuel.” ~ Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly

                “You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself … the height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment … And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

                  “Freedom is born of self-discipline. No individual, no nation, can achieve or maintain liberty without self-control. The undisciplined man is a slave to his own weaknesses.” ~ Alan Valentine

                    “Rule your mind or it will rule you.” ~ Horace

                      “My will shall shape my future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.” ~ Elaine Maxwell

                        “Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

                          “It is felt that a disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” ~ Dalai Lama, via Life Hack

                            “When things get tough or uncomfortable, we tell ourselves: it’s OK to quit, it doesn’t matter, we’ll do it next time, we’re not disciplined enough, we suck at this, we can’t do it, it’s too hard, it would be nice to take a break, life is too short to struggle, we deserve a reward, just this once won’t matter, we’re going to fail, it’s better to fail quietly, we just don’t feel like it right now, let’s not think about this, hey a squirrel!  So what can we do if our story is working against us?  Change the damn story. Create a song to sing about yourself at the epic hero of your dreams. Sing this song daily, and be proud of it. Go after the dream, fight the forces of distraction and dullness and self-doubt, rise up to be your best self. You are the writer of your story, the composer of your song, and every moment is a chance to rewrite it, a new draft ready to be crafted into something better.” ~ Leo Babauta, Blog

                              “Success usually comes down to choosing the pain of discipline over the ease of distraction.” ~ James Clear, Blog

                                “Most of us are like children or young adolescents; we believe that the freedom and power of adulthood is our due, but we have little taste for adult responsibility and self-discipline.  Much as we feel oppressed by our parents – or by society or fate – we actually seem to need to have powers above us to blame for our condition.  To rise to a position of such power that we have no one to blame except ourselves is a fearful state of affairs.” ~ Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled