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CHAPTER 4Discipline and Training

“Until you're crystal clear on what you're willing to give up for your goals, you'll never achieve them.”

—Craig Ballantyne, Author/Speaker

The Perfect Day Formula

While it must be admitted that training, even if it is intense and focused, will not always bring home a gold medal or create an Oscar-worthy performance, it is a necessary component to excel in any field. It can come in many different forms, depending on your goals and style, but training instills discipline, and discipline breeds consistency.

The Game Is Won or Lost Before You Even Take the Field

The mental game I've leaned upon as an actor was honed over years and years as an athlete. Putting up with, and playing through, hardships and physical pain is necessary if you want to be a contender by the time playoffs roll around. Showing up twice a day to football practice in the middle of August when the blistering sun was beating down, knowing classmates were at the beach, my teammates and I developed grit. Our job as athletes, which is the same for me as an actor or for anyone attempting to attain any goal, was to tap into our passion on a regular basis by remaining focused on our long-term goal. This is how we got ourselves through the temporary pain. Late into a football season, or early in a lacrosse season, when the East Coast weather was cold and wet, we found ways to continue trudging through because that was what was necessary to perform well on game days and remain standing ...