Here are some words  to inspire us offered by a wise and friendly stranger named Sunita Singh. They are from an issue of Bits & Pieces: *

“As Lao-tze said, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ So what if that first step is a little painful?

“You see, if you want to accomplish something, there are two kinds of pain you might encounter: the pain of discipline and the pain of regret.

“Whenever you take that first step toward a new goal, you often experience the pain of disciple: the pain of hard work, the pain of sacrifice, as you single-mindedly pursue your dream.

“On the other hand, if you don’t go after your dreams, you might experience an even greater type of pain: the pain of staying stuck, which eventually turns into the pain of regret.

“Remember, as Sydney J. Harris wrote, ‘Regret for things we did can be tempered by time: It is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.’

“When you’re ready to make a change to your life, you’ll find, as writer Anais Nin did, that the ‘risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.’

“The great thing about discipline is if you discipline yourself on a daily basis, eventually something ‘magical’ will happen, almost without your realizing it — one day, the discipline will turn into desire.

“A runner who ‘makes’ herself run on a daily basis, one day gets up ‘wanting’ to run. The same holds true for writing, public speaking, or anything else.

“So today, start that project, make that call, do what you need to do to begin. Here’s the guarantee: If you work through a little pain, you’ll see a little progress.”

Bravo, Sunita! What a simple strategy: Dream + Discipline = Desire. Let’s apply it and write on!

* Deepest thanks to my friend and mentor Dr. Rob Gilbert (check out his fabulous Success Hotline: 973.743.4690). This gem is from “Bits & Pieces,” a magazine he once edited.