A step by step tool for top achievers

Parenting is Not a Popularity Contest
A judge, when sentencing a man for robbery, asked if he had anything to say. The man
replied, "Yes, your honor. Please sentence my parents to jail also." The judge asked,
"Why?" The prisoner answered, "When I was a little boy, I stole a pencil from school. My
parents knew about it but never said a word. Then I stole a pen. They knowingly ignored
it. I continued to steal many other things from the school and the neighborhood till it
became an obsession. They knew about it, yet they never said a word. If anyone belongs
in jail with me, they do."

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He is right. In not discharging their responsibilities, his parents are also to blame although
it does not absolve him of his responsibility.
Giving choices to children is important, but choices without direction result in disaster.
Complete mental and physical preparation is the result of sacrifice and self discipline.
Parents spend an average of 15 minutes a week in "meaningful dialog" with their
children--children who are left to glean whatever values they can from peers and TV.
--Journal of the American Family Association
Ask yourself: Without discipline,
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can a captain run a ship effectively?
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can an athlete win a game?
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can a violinist play well at a concert?
The answer is, "Of course not." Why then do we question today, in matters of personal
conduct, or to achieve any standard, if discipline is necessary? It is absolutely necessary.
Today the philosophy is: "If it feels good, do it."
I have heard parents innocently saying, "I don't care what my kids do so long as it makes
them happy. That is all that matters." I ask them, "Wouldn't you want to know what makes
them happy?" If beating people up on the streets and taking their things away are what
make them happy, there is a word in the English language for them, it is called
"perversion."
How and where we derive our happiness from is just as important as the happiness itself.
It is a result of our values, discipline and responsibility.
We keep hearing "do what you like." The reverse is just as true. Like what you do. Many
times we need to do what ought to be done whether we like it or not.
A mother comes home after a long day's work, takes care of the household chores, looks
after the baby and goes to sleep exhausted. In the middle of the night the baby cries.
Does mama feel like getting up? No, but she gets up anyway. Why? For three reasons:
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Love
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Duty
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Responsibility
We cannot live our lives by emotions alone. We need to add discipline, no matter what
age we are. Winning in life comes when we do not succumb to what we want to do but do
what ought to be done. That requires discipline.