(c) 2005 by Fred Gleeck

I went over to a local casino here in Las Vegas to go to a meeting of the Las Vegas Internet Chamber of Commerce. Whenever I go through a casino I'm always tempted to play Craps of Blackjack. I RARELY do.

I only play any casino game these days when people come in from out of town.

Why? I've disciplined myself. I know that although I have occasionally won when I play craps, in the long run I'll lose. So, I discipline myself not to play.

I discipline myself not to eat a pint of ice cream every night. Although I work out like a fiend so I can eat my pint of Ben and Jerry's 2 or 3 times a week. The concept that you can eat a portion of the pint and then "save" the rest just doesn't work with me. I eat the whole thing EVERY time.

Whenever I hear people complain that they aren't making enough money or getting virtually anything that they want you can usually trace it back to a lack of discipline.

Children (in every study they have ever done) always have a hard time forgoing short term gain for long term rewards.

Discipline is the ability to forgo short term for long term gain. I may want to watch TV every hour I'm awake but I'll never get my work done.

All of us have our own areas where we lack discipline. For some its sex, for others food and for still others it's another "fill in the blank" item.

Discipline is the key to being successful as an information marketer. Combine discipline with FOCUS and you are virtually assured success.

So you're a pretty smart person? Pretty high IQ? Yeah, me too! Guess what? I think that the ability to be disciplined and focused is OFTEN hurt by being relatively intelligent.

As I write the above paragraph, however, I'm reminded that one of my friends who has both of these items in spades is NOT unintelligent, but he is the exception, not the rule.

The person that I'm thinking about here is Alex Carroll. I direct you to www.TheRadioGuru.com to take a look at his site.

Talking about this "stuff" reminds me of how poorly I exercise both discipline and focus as compared to Alex.

What makes Alex so disciplined and focused? I don't honestly know but I know that he's got it. Is it innate or is it learned? I suggest to you that it's a combination of the two. I think that Alex has some very strong innate genes that make it more easy for him to be disciplined and focused.

However, the majority of his ability to practice these two traits is LEARNED. The problem is that it's not easy.

Not for him either I would imagine. But he knows he has to do certain things to get what he wants. And he must want it bad - because he does it!

It's not easy for me to write 3-4 pages a day. BUT, if I don't want to do that then I won't get 4 books written a year. I've determined that writing this many books each year will help me get to my long term financial and personal goals.

Remember, you probably won't make a whole lot of money from your books, but they will get people to your websites where you can sell them all types of other products and services.

Quite frankly, my friend Bob Bly makes me feel like a slacker given the number of books he's cranked out over the last 20 years or so. How can Bob have written this many books? How is it that he's been such a successful copywriter? Clearly, discipline and focus have to be right up there with any other reasons that he might give.

If you want to be successful as an information marketer I suggest you learn how to practice both of these traits.

My problem is that like you, I've got adult ADD. I come up with a thousand great ideas each day. Just ask my friend Scott Hove (www.HallofFameMall.com) about this one. I've never seen anyone come up with so many ideas in a 24 hour period.

Only one problem.

The greatest number of ideas doesn't win the game. The game is won by the person who IMPLEMENTS the ideas.

There is a big difference between knowledge and implementation. Lots of people KNOW how to do things, but few people DO those things. I'm convinced that there are tons of people who are brighter and more clever than many of the millionaires out there. One problem. They just THINK about the ideas. They DO nothing.

Here's how I handle this conundrum (a word I always feel compelled to use at least once a month, either in written or verbal form). I list all of my ideas. I then ask myself which ones will produce the greatest amount of both long and short term revenue. Since cash flow is not my primary issue these days, I concentrate on those ideas that will produce the greatest long term revenue.

I also make sure and hit only forehands. Let me explain.

Years ago I did a speech somewhere. At the same event I saw a woman do a presentation on a book she had written a book called "Soaring with Your Strengths".

The whole premise of the book is that people should concentrate on doing what they do well and not trying to improve in the areas that you aren't as good.

This goes contrary to what most people tell you. Conventional wisdom would be that you concentrate on improving where you are weak (she calls this your backhand).

Instead, she says, just concentrate on doing even better in the area where you're already really good (your forehand).

So I focus and try to exercise discipline in the areas where I'm hitting forehands.

What are your forehands? If you're like me, they aren't that numerous. For me it is developing products and a couple of others.

Use your focus and discipline in these areas.

This article originally appeared in Fred Gleeck's newsletter, Fred Gleeck Insights, and is used with permission. Fred is a speaker and author who is an expert at changing a simple one-time sale into a long-lasting and profitble relationship. Several of his e-books are available for free at www.FredGleeck.com/ebooks

Social networking icons by komodomedia.com.