I taught Sunday School this last weekend, and the bible verse was Luke 16:10, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…” I was thinking about how this applies to so many things. It applies to handling money, building trust, growing a business, completing homework, and personal discipline, which is what I want to focus on this for this post.

I believe that to be disciplined in the big things that matter, we must also be disciplined in the small things that seemingly don’t. For example, if you want to be healthy, which is a big thing, taking a lot of discipline, you must start with a smaller discipline, like throwing out all the candy or getting out of bed on time. To get out of bed on time requires the discipline to go to bed on time. And, going to bed on time requires the discipline to stop watching TV, reading, etc.

Personal discipline is built one small piece at a time and grows into something exponentially greater. It’s like a muscle that must be worked over and over again so that it can be used at will.

As the end of 2017 is closing in, I find myself preparing for an intense and rewarding 2018. I know that to accomplish my goals for 2018 I’m going to have to get a lot done, and doing that will require extreme and intense personal discipline. In 2018 I want to be the healthiest I have ever been physically. I want to do see Sideways8 and 48in48 grow exponentially. I want to eat dinner with my family at the kitchen table 85% of the time (minimum), and I want to be the most amazing husband and father that I can be.

To do all of that I had better get my butt in gear. I need to be up early every day, seven days a week. I need to be in bed early. I need to read a ton, write a ton, and meet with a lot of people. I need to finish my work at 5pm sharp and work in date lunches and dinners with my wife.

I am preparing now for an intense and amazing year. That preparation starts with discipline, which starts with the small things. I will execute on the small things today so that I can execute on the big things tomorrow.