Many of the most impressive entrepreneurs and creatives in our community exhibit a high degree of self-discipline and so we asked some of them to share their backstories of how they developed their self-discipline.

Stephanie Bell Kelsey

I believe effective self-discipline comes from experiencing loss and failure. Allow me to explain… My parents put me in dance at the age of 8. I enjoyed it, so I started taking more styles of dance and also began competing by age 9. As with any sport, dance provided me structure, friends with common interests and a physical outlet. For this reason, I would say dance initiated my ‘self-discipline’. But there was a key moment in my life when I noticed a more dramatic transformation to my self-discipline. My parents divorced when I was 11 and (as most children would be) I was very sad about it. However, in reflection, my performance both at school and at dance markedly improved (likely because these were areas of my life where I could control the outcomes). Read More>>

Chelsi Jo Moore

I am fascinated by high performing athletes and business owners. My mind is so intrigued by the passing of time and how no matter what, we will all wake up and a week will pass. Not all of us will use that time the same, and for those high performing individuals, I study what they do with their time. That study over the years has allowed me to apply their decisions to the life of a mother, wife, and business owner. I believe that the greatest work we could ever do is to use our talents to bless our family and the community at large. I built an online community and have the privilege of taking my passions global through an online brand. Read More>>

Qizhen Tang

One might argue that luck plays a role in one’s life and career journey, but I firmly believe that without consistent effort and self-improvement, one may never even encounter luck. While self-discipline is closely tied to a person’s character and personality, I believe there are universal factors that help me maintain it in my daily life. Read More>>

Austin Haddox

My self-discipline is rooted in my failures. Each setback has shaped me, teaching me resilience and the value of perseverance. I’ve experienced the frustration of uncertainty and the disappointment of things not going as planned, but instead of letting those moments define me, I use them as fuel to push forward. Those challenges have instilled a relentless drive in me—a determination to strive for greatness in everything I do, no matter the obstacles. Read More>>

Carissa Bui

As the middle child of five in a homeschooling family, with a little brother on the autism spectrum, I’ve always been responsible for myself & then some. Most of the time when I tell people I was home schooled my whole life, they are surprised (which I am grateful for haha). In middle school my parents gave me the option to stay home schooled or go to our public school, & I opted to remain home schooled because of the agency it gave me. Read More>>

Aaron Soltis

While my parents have instilled a sense of discipline and responsibility into me since I was a child, I believe a lot of my self-discipline is born out of necessity. As a composer, there often is a sense of urgency to make a name for one’s self to make enough money to survive. It’s a simple but powerful motivation. I learned quickly just how much work goes into this kind of career and how, at times, I seem to receive very little, which can be a heartbreaking concept to manage. But I love what I do and I want to share my music with the world no matter what, so I continue to create. Read More>>

 Biz Barclay.

I spent a lot of time alone taking care of myself as a kid, so that definitely helped foster independence to a degree. I wasn’t unfamiliar with having to figure things out and work with whatever I had. But I will always credit my work ethic to my high school theatre teacher. I went to a vocational school with a focus on performing arts and up until that point I had always sort of coasted by. I did fine enough in school but never really studied, my big sister was an athlete so I was shoe-horned into a lot of sports that I did okay-enough in but I was always disappointed that I never wasn’t exceptional.  Read More>>