Lessons From the Top, from my Mesmerizing Podcast conversations
Most founders I work with don’t have an effort problem. They have plenty of drive. What they often don’t have is a clear, chosen set of disciplines that protects all that drive from burning itself out.
That’s why my conversation with Gino Wickman stuck with me.
Gino created EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, and wrote Traction, which has sold over a million copies. He has personally delivered more than 1,900 full-day sessions for more than 135 companies. So when he talks about what it takes to succeed as a business owner, it’s worth listening.
Here’s the full episode:
The habit: choose your disciplines on purpose, then practice them
Gino makes a distinction I love. Traits, he believes, are something you’re born with. Discipline is different.
“I believe discipline is something you can learn.”
Gino Wickman
And then he adds the part most of us skip:
“You’ve got to choose the disciplines that work well and best for you to accomplish what you want to accomplish, and practicing a discipline is hard.”
Gino Wickman
Notice what he’s not saying. He’s not saying “copy my morning routine.” He’s not handing you a checklist from someone else’s life. He’s saying the disciplines have to fit you and what you want to accomplish.
That’s a very different starting point than “work harder.”
What this looks like in a founder’s week
Gino shared that he lives by ten disciplines for managing and maximizing his energy. He was clear that his energy is not a coincidence. In his words, “these are disciplines.” A few of the ones he named in our conversation:
- Ten-year thinking. Making decisions from a long horizon instead of this week’s fire.
- Knowing yourself. He put it simply: “you must know yourself to be yourself.”
- Being still. Finding your own form of silence, whether that’s meditation or prayer.
- Knowing and protecting your work container. Being clear on the value and the craft you bring, and guarding it.
Here’s a simple way to put this to work on your own team or calendar:
- Name what you actually want. Not what you think a founder is supposed to want. What do you want the business and your life to look like?
- Pick one discipline that serves that. One. If you want clearer decisions, maybe it’s ten-year thinking before every big call. If you’re running on fumes, maybe it’s a daily few minutes of stillness.
- Practice it until it’s yours. Gino is honest that this part is hard. That’s the point. A discipline you’ve chosen is much easier to keep than one someone else assigned you.
What’s beneath the surface
Here’s what I see in my work with high-performing founders and executives.
There’s nothing wrong with you if you’ve tried to build a discipline and it didn’t stick. You are not lazy. You are not “bad at habits.”
Most of the time, something running beneath the surface is quietly fighting the new behavior. A limiting belief like “if I slow down, I’ll fall behind.” Or “my worth is my output.” Or “if I’m not the one doing it, it won’t get done right.”
Gino and I talked about this too. A lot of driven people are chasing validation. They’re trying to fill a hole that nothing external will ever fill.
When that belief is running the show, every new discipline feels like one more thing on the pile. Being still feels like wasting time. Protecting your work container feels selfish.
Upgrade the belief, and the discipline stops feeling like a fight. That’s the work I do with founders. Don’t add more. Remove what’s getting in the way.
If you’re a founder or owner feeling this, you can see how I approach it on my founder performance page. If you lead a team inside a larger company, my executive coaching page explains how one-on-one work fits.
Try this today
Ask yourself one question: Which discipline would make the biggest difference for me right now, and what would I have to believe to actually keep it?
Write down the answer. Then notice what your mind says back. That little voice is usually where the real breakthrough is hiding.
Let’s talk
If you want help finding what’s getting in the way of your next level, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.
Want more conversations like this one? Browse the Mesmerizing Podcast episodes.
🙂 Tim
Optional
Not ready for a call? Start with the High Performance Switch.
It’s a free 4-minute guided experience. I’ll email you the audio version and the companion guide, so you can flip the switch before your next big conversation, decision, or presentation.
Totally optional. You’ll get the resources, then a few short emails from me over the next week. Unsubscribe anytime with one click. Prefer to just watch? Watch it now, no email needed.
On its way.
Check your inbox for an email from tim@timshurr.com. If it isn’t there in a few minutes, peek in your promotions or spam folder.
Enjoy the shift. 🙂 Tim
