Discipline. Just do it.
"We're all capable of greatness," this 10 year old Nike campaign taught. "If greatness doesn't come knocking on your door, maybe you should go knock on its door." But what does that mean in daily practice? How can I be great at 9:30 in the morning when I have a long list of deliverables to finish, yesterday's sports news to catch up on, and a myriad of other things I could be doing in the moment? This week, I listened to a podcast about "the hallmark of the effective executive." Five traits of effective executives were discussed:
Business capability
Intellectual ability
Emotional ability
Interpersonal skills
Good character
But, according to the speaker, the most important trait, one that is available to each of us, was discipline. "Strong executives know what has to be done and have the discipline to do it." So, what is the most important thing to get done now? Just do it. Of course there are ways to develop and support the discipline required for greatness. Decide which of these you want to incorporate into your routine:
Find your most important tasks.
Conduct a weekly review of all your commitments.
Use the agentic funnel (video) to "name your stuff," ask the right questions about all that stuff, and prioritize your work.