Weekly Quote: Ryan Holiday on Consistency and Willpower

This week's quote comes from Discipline is Destiny, the new book by Ryan Holiday. I wrote about this book and Ryan's impact on my creative journey earlier in the week.

Another complementary theme to this quote I've encountered in Ryan's work is waking up early to get stuff done, to build the habit of consistency. It isn't always easy to wake up at 5 am to write, but it's what I've been doing regularly for the last few weeks. I'm finding real gains, personally and around the content I can create by building this time into my daily schedule. I'm also happier because I want to do this, I enjoy it, and it's meaningful to me.

I get roughly an hour before the rest of the house begins to wake up, aside from the cats who usually join me. Sometimes, one of my children wakes up early, and I only have twenty minutes, but it's still time spent moving the needle, writing a few sentences, organizing some thoughts, and maybe planning for what's coming next.

It is incremental. It is day-to-day. This is becoming a theme for me because it works. Small gains every day result in something more significant, and that is precisely what I'm trying to accomplish.