Skip to main content

10 Disciplines To Help You Stay Sharp And Energetic

The book, Shine, is a transformative guide that illustrates how looking inward is the key to unlocking true entrepreneurial freedom. Certainly, Shine is a book for entrepreneurs, however, it is bound to benefit any business leader. 

“Entrepreneurs often have a burning need to succeed. But that same relentless brilliance that propels you in your career can take a toll on your teams, personal relationships, and even your health,” explain author Gino Wickman and coauthor Rob Dube. “Our book will help you strike a crucial balance between those inner and outer worlds while taking your success to new heights.”

In Shine, Gino shares 10 disciplines to help you stay sharp and energetic without burning out. 
The 10 Disciplines teach you how they can lay a foundation that creates space in your busy life for you to consistently and optimally perform and achieve your inner peace.

 

“I have helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs achieve significant business success by using a disciplined and practical approach to operating their businesses. Yet I have come to learn that there are disciplines and a practical approach to accomplish significant life success, as well,” says Gino.

 

As you read the book, you will learn how to:

  • Set boundaries in your work life (without compromising productivity) that allow you to become a better leader and better person.
  • Practice practicable sustainable ways to reset your energy and recognize burnout and stress before they happen.
  • Tap into a flow state to harness unbridled creativity, think clearly, and move through your career and life with ease.

The book includes a valuable self-assessment survey (also available online) and prompts for reflection at the end of every chapter. In addition, within each chapter you will receive how-to's for mastering each Discipline.

 

Before delving into the 10 Disciplines, Gino teaches you 3 Discoveries that will help you free your True Self. 

  1. Embracing that you are driven. It is in your DNA. Embrace it. Manage it well.
  2. Realizing decisions are made out of love or fear. And that making 10 percent more love-based decisions will have a huge impact.
  3. Seeing that it is possible to be driven and have peace. You will not lose your drive when you have peace. You will actually have more drive. 

These 3 Discoveries set the stage for the 10 Disciplines. “The 3 Discoveries are the “what” and the 10 Disciplines are the “how,” shares Gino.

 

Below are the 10 Disciplines for maximizing your impact and inner peace presented at a glance, along with the main point of each. “They will help you succeed in your outer world and your inner world. These 10 Disciplines have evolved greatly over the past few years. I created them when delivering a keynote speech and simply wanted to share with the audience ten things that have greatly impacted my success,” says Gino. 

  1. 10-Year Thinking  Shift your mind from short-term thinking to thinking in ten-year time frames. 
  2. Take Time Off – Take 130 days off per year and don’t think about on any of those days.
  3. Know Thyself – Be your True Self 100% of the time, 24/7/365.
  4. Be Still – Sit in silence for thirty minutes every day.
  5. Know Your 100% – Decide on and commit to the perfect number of hours per week and weeks per year that you will deliver your impact to the world.
  6. Say No…Often – Say no to everything that doesn’t fit into the first five Disciplines.
  7. Don’t Do $25-an-Hour Work – Never do anything you could pay someone $25 an hour to do.
  8. Prepare Every Night – Before your head hits the pillow every night, document the next day’s plan.
  9. Put Everything in One Place – Pick the one place you will capture every idea, commitment, thought, action item, and promise.
  10. Be Humble – View yourself as an equal to every person on the planet. 

Coauthor Rob shares that, “Each discipline is simple. Doing them is harder. Please don’t underestimate them, as they will have a profound impact on your life.” Readers should devote ample time with the book to learn all the details behind mastering each Discipline.

 

By the end of the book, “You will see how to live with a harmonious combination of being highly impactful, while experiencing an incredible sense of inner peace. We call this state being in Flowt™, which is a combination of two words, “flow” and “float.” You are in the flow when you are working and you feel like you are in the zone; time slows down, and you are performing at your best,” explains Gino.

 

“At the same time, you will float through all aspects of your life with a feeling of serenity, calm, fulfillment, and ease, comfortably letting your freak flag fly. We will show you how to experience total freedom from your mind, ego, and pain, while maximizing your energy, being incredibly creative, having a lot more fun, and making an even greater impact on the world.”

 

Gino Wickman


Rob Dube

 

Gino and Rob answer these questions for us:

 

Question: Of the 10 Disciplines, which one or two do most people struggle to master and why?

 

Gino: Take Time Off (and not think about work the entire time)…it's the not thinking about work the entire time that gets people.

 

Say No Often…people don't have their boundaries clear, they have FOMO, they don't want to disappoint people, so they say yes to most things (in professional and personal lives).

 

Question: Which of the 10 Disciplines did you find the most difficult to master?

 

Gino: Know Your 100% takes intention and awareness. You have to pay close attention to how many hours you're working and what you're doing during those hours to gauge what is raising your vibration or energy and what is draining your energy/having you working at a low vibration.

 

There is a tipping point when the driven entrepreneur is not effective but because of their driven nature, just keeps pushing through. This push is the lower vibration/lower energy and is not making the kind of impact in the world that we hope for them.

 

Question: Why did you feel comfortable sharing so much of your personal life journeys with readers?

 

Gino & Rob: We are them and we hope our vulnerability will inspire others to share their inner stories. This is part of letting go or shedding, as we like to say. When you let go, you are free. When you are free, you SHINE.

___

 

An entrepreneur since the age of 21, Gino has always had an obsession for learning what makes businesses and entrepreneurs thrive.

 

At 25, he took over the family business, which was deeply in debt and in need of help. After turning the company around and running it for seven years, he and his partners successfully sold the company.

 

Gino then set out to help entrepreneurs and leaders get what they want from their businesses and lives.

 

Based on his years of real-word experience, Gino created the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®), a practical method for helping companies achieve greatness.

 

For over 30 years, Rob has been thriving as a purpose-driven entrepreneur. He is the co-Founder of Imagine One, which has won dozens of awards for its people-first and purpose-driven culture.

 

Rob is also the author of Donothing: the Most Rewarding Leadership Journey You Will Ever Take, the host of the Leading with Genuine Care podcast, and host of the Do Nothing Leadership Retreat in Colorado.

 

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Best New Leadership Book Of 2025

Each year, after reviewing dozens of books about leadership, management, business and life skills, I select my pick for the best new leadership book of the year. During 2025, I reviewed on this blog 48 books, and I choose  Radical Listening: The Art Of True Connection  as the best new leadership book of 2025. To be an excellent leader you need to be an exceptional listener. Sadly, too many business leaders don't listen well or don't listen to a broad enough range of their employees. This great book will help leaders become better listeners  –  radical listeners. “For leaders, radical listening must start at the top of an organization,” state the authors  Prof. Christian Van Nieuwerburgh (PhD)  and  Dr.   Robert Biswas-Diener .    “Unless there is a clear and sustained commitment to radical listening from leaders, others are less likely to be fully engaged with the idea. This is, of course, easier said than done.”  “Most leaders woul...

The Many Times You Should Thank Customers

In your leadership role, it's vital that your team members know how to deliver excellent customer service. " Knock Your Socks Off " type service as book editor  Ann Thomas  and  Jill Applegate  would say. Part of delivering excellent customer service is saying "Thank You" to your customers and knowing when to say "Thank You". Thomas and Applegate recommend  telling your customers "Thank You" during at least these nine situations : When they do business with you...every time. When they compliment you (or your company) When they offer you comments or suggestions When they try one of your new products or services When they recommend you to a friend When they are patient...and even when they are not so patient When they help you to serve them better When they complain to you When they make you smile You and your team members can say "Thank You" : Verbally In writing  (and don't underestimate the power of  perso...

Paul Smith Teaches You How To Sell With A Story

This is a great week. Because, Thursday, September 8 brings the official release of Paul Smith 's new book, Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale . I'm a big fan of Paul's earlier best-sellers, including Lead with a Story and Parenting with a Story . And, the newest installment in the series is equally good, informative, practical and actionable. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with procurement managers, Paul teaches you how to : Select the right story Craft a compelling and memorable narrative Incorporate challenge, conflict, and resolution Use stories to introduce yourself, build rapport, address objections, add value, bring data to life,  and create a sense of urgency Storytelling definitely works in sales, explains Paul, "because a great story changes everything. It causes buyers to put down their defenses. It helps them relax. It engages their minds and their hearts by appealing to both their intellect and ...

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership .  In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself.  It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust.  The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes.  In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter.  In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

How To Maximize Your Chances Of Landing The CEO Role

In the new book, CEO Ready , authors Mark Thompson and Byron Loflin reveal what you need to do to maximize your chances of being the one who secures the top spot. Specifically, they detail the seven key stakeholders  who weigh in on whether to choose you as CEO.   “Collectively, we have coached more than 200 executives who have been selected by their board members to become CEOs,” share the authors. “We can help you prepare to be a great CEO either in your current organization or elsewhere. We will share tools you can use to get objective feedback from all stakeholders, so you have complete visibility into what you’re up against.”   As you seek the CEO role, the authors explain that leadership selection isn't the methodical, objective process that one often imagines. They add that decisions aren't made by robotic executives ticking boxes for attributes such as strategic fit, core competencies, or cultural alignment. Instead, the process is deeply personal, emotional, a...

How to Be a Leader – 9 Principles from Dale Carnegie

Today, I welcome thought-leader Nathan Magnuson as guest blogger... Nathan writes : This is it, your first day in a formal leadership role.   You’ve worked hard as an individual contributor at one or possibly several organizations.   Now management has finally seen fit to promote you into a position as one of their own: a supervisor.   You don’t care if your new team is only one person or ten, you’re just excited that now – finally – you will be in charge! Unfortunately the euphoria is short-lived.   Almost immediately, you are not only overwhelmed with the responsibilities of a team, but you quickly find that your team members are not as experienced or adroit as you.   Some aren’t even as committed.   You find yourself having to repeat yourself, send their work back for corrections, and staying late to fill the gap.   If something doesn’t change soon, you might just run yourself into the ground.   How did something that looked so easy ...

How To Negotiate Disagreement Without Giving Up Or Giving In

  In today’s age of rising division and polarization, disagreement often feels like a zero-sum game.  Unable or unwilling to negotiate conflict with skill, we ignore it or avoid it for as long as possible; when we are forced to face it, we escalate everyday disagreements and temporary flare-ups as if they’re life-and-death. Neither approach addresses underlying issues, promotes stronger relationships, nor yields satisfying results.  It’s no wonder we try to avoid conflict and have a challenging time finding consensus. Conflict is getting the better of us.  But what if conflict could be reframed—not as an obstacle to be overcome but as an opportunity to forge stronger relationships?  In the new book, Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In , two former Harvard faculty—internationally-recognized negotiator, mediator and conflict management expert Robert Bordone , a Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School, and leading behavi...

How To Tap Into The Wisdom Of People Around You

“Too often, we don’t find out what’s truly on others’ hearts and minds because we don’t know how to  ask  the right questions in the right ways,” explains  Jeff Wetzler , author of the book,  ASK .   In his timely, must-read book, Wetzler shows you a powerful method called  The Ask Approach™ , based on a simple premise: that tapping into what other people truly think, know, and feel is a game-changing superpower for leaders.  Wetzler explains that the only thing that allows you to understand what’s on another person’s mind better is just asking them.   Following the powerful  The Ask Approach™  method will lead you to  smarter decisions, more creative solutions, and deeper relationships. Also, by asking more questions you’ll help break down barriers, resolve challenges, encourage collaboration, and imagine new ways of doing things.   The five practical steps of the research-based, pressure-tested  The Ask Approach™  m...

Leadership Lessons From A Serial Entrepreneur

Brad Jacobs’ new book provides you a treasure trove of leadership lessons from a man with more than four decades of CEO and serial entrepreneur experience. So, even if you don’t envision yourself wanting to earn a billion dollars, don’t pass up reading Jacob’s, How To Make A Few Billion Dollars .   In the book, Jacobs defines the mindset that drives his remarkable success in corporate America  –  and distills a lifetime of business brilliance into a tactical road map. And he shares his techniques for:   Turning a healthy fear of failure to your advantage. Building an outrageously talented team. Catalyzing electric meetings. Transforming a company into a superorganism that beats the competition.   “This book is about what I’ve learned from my blunders, and how you can replicate our successes,” says Jacobs. He shares his candid account of the highs and lows of entrepreneurship.  Jacobs has founded seven billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar businesse...

How To Be More Impactful Through Entrepreneurial Giving

    This Thanksgiving as you think about what you are grateful for, think, too, about how you can be more giving.   To help you discover a more giving you, read the new book, A Talent For Giving , by John Studzinski .   It introduces the meaning of entrepreneurial giving - a hands-on approach to philanthropy that harnesses skills, expertise, and resources. Through thought-provoking insights, A Talent for Giving offers a powerful new roadmap for impact as Studzinski shows how anyone, regardless of financial means, can become a force for change.   You do that by maximizing your Talent , Time , and Treasure and by embracing these values alongside others like Trust , Technology , and Trial , according to Studzinski.   “Giving is any act of kindness or generosity that recognizes and respects the dignity of another human being,” shares Studzinski. “It can be something very simple – a smile, or a hug or a few words. And on a larger scale, it’s giving your time,...