The next letter in JADE is D.

Discipline Over Motivation.

Motivation is easy.

Motivation shows up when you're excited.

Motivation shows up when things are going well.

Motivation shows up when you feel like doing the work.

Discipline is different.

Discipline shows up when you don't feel like it.

One of the most inspirational things I've ever witnessed happened when I was about six or seven years old.

I loved going to watch my dad play basketball.

He was competitive.

Really competitive.

The younger guys looked up to him because he could still outwork them, outcompete them, and usually beat them. He wasn't the loudest person in the gym. He didn't need to be. People respected him because of how he carried himself and how hard he worked.

One day, he rolled his ankle badly during a game.

I remember seeing it afterward.

It was swollen.

Black and blue.

I was worried.

Really worried.

I thought he must be seriously hurt.

What I don't remember is him complaining.

Not once.

The next morning, he got up for work.

The ankle was so swollen he couldn't tie his work boot.

So he duct taped the boot to his leg, stood up, and went to work anyway.

You have to understand something.

My dad worked for my grandfather in a feed mill cleaning corn, oats, and other grains for livestock.

This wasn't a desk job.

This wasn't a job with paid sick days.

If he didn't work, he didn't get paid.

My mom stayed home raising three kids.

My dad understood that people were depending on him.

So he went.

Looking back, I don't know if he wanted to quit.

Maybe he did.

I don't know if he was exhausted.

I don't know how much that ankle hurt.

What I do know is that he never showed me excuses.

He showed me discipline.

That's a lesson I've carried with me ever since.

Today we live in a world full of excuses.

"I'm tired."

"I don't feel like it."

"I'll do it tomorrow."

But successful athletes understand something different.

Your feelings will change.

Your commitment shouldn't.

The athletes who separate themselves aren't always the most talented.

They're the ones who show up when they don't feel like it.

They're the ones who keep going when motivation disappears.

They're the ones who do the work anyway.

At The JADE Standard, we believe discipline creates confidence because confidence comes from knowing you've done the work.

Not when it was convenient.

Not when it was exciting.

Every day.

Anyway.

The Standard

"Your feelings will come and go. Your standards shouldn't. The people who accomplish extraordinary things learn to do the work anyway."

— Jade