No Punches Pulled: Bust Through Mental Boundaries, Develop a Resilient Mindset, and Forge Bulletproof Self Discipline

Building Laser-Focused Clarity

All around you, there are likely to be stated different concepts and laws for success and happiness. Some will say you can’t have it all. Others will make grand promises that you can have it all. But the truth is, most people will never figure out exactly what it is that they want in the first place. Or they will, but only once it is too late.

A television host once asked H. L. Hunt, a man with a classic rags-to-riches story of going from farming in cotton plantations to becoming an oil magnate, what his biggest piece of advice was for those chasing success. Hunt reportedly said, “One needed just two things—to know exactly what one wants, and the price he’s willing to pay to get it.”

That’s where most people fail. They get this very first step on the ladder to success wrong. You must be clear about what you want, and only then, can you figure out a path to get there.

We live in a day and age where we’re constantly inundated with information, both relevant and irrelevant. We’re on top of exactly what our peers are doing, including details such as where they last vacationed and when they got a big promotion. It’s a world of constant comparisons, confusion, and a fear of being left out, fueled by perfectly curated Instagram feeds and snarky Tweets.

It’s very easy to get lost. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. It’s easy to get frustrated. It’s easy to forget what you stand for and lose sight of the values that make you the most you. In this land of confusion, it is—quite simply—very easy to fail, and not understand why.

When you don’t have this steady inner compass to guide you, you’re viewing the world in terms of reactions to triggers rather than in terms of perspectives and decisions aligned with your core set of values. In such a case, by default, you will always find yourself where you don’t belong pursuing things you don’t need and ending up with something you don’t want.

When life is not going your way, it’s because you aren’t making decisions aligned with your values and your life vision. Perhaps you want what others have because it looks so irresistible. Perhaps you think it will make you happy, too. But as you may have figured out by now, it won’t make a difference unless it is something that was always a part of your own vision for your life to begin with.

You’ve got to be clear on what you want. Without clarity—there can be no success unless you stumble upon it by chance. Knowing what you desire and committing to pursuing it will get you what you want, in any facet of life.

Many people around you will go through life knowing what they do not want, but never figuring out exactly what they do want, and the price they’re willing to pay to get there. In fact, when you listen to most people complaining, are they not griping about the things they don’t want and the stuff they don’t like and how they wish they didn’t have to deal with this or that. Yet, these same people rarely know what they do want.

With a “No Punches Pulled” approach to life, you will learn exactly how to use your creative prowess and your analytical aptitude to get to the root of what you want and why. You’ll pursue your biggest dreams with laser-focused attention. And you will win—not because you have what it takes, but rather because you’re willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.

Building the Foundations of Clarity  

Clarity is that process where you get to determine what exactly it is that you truly desire. And later, the process of building it as you gear up for doing whatever it takes to make it.

But how long are you willing to go down a path that you’ve already realized is not meant for you? How long are you willing to wait before you consciously switch gears? How long will you let the clinging difficulties of your past and present eat away at your desired future? Only you can steer yourself back on track, and to do so, you need to build change into your life.

Change—like clarity—must be an intentional choice. Clarity without intention becomes confusion. Confusion leads to indecision and frustration. When you know what it is you’re going for, the decisions you must make to get there are clearly defined. You’re making intentional choices as opposed to being pulled around by vague ideas and someone else’s plan.