“To Discipline” – A 2-Minute Story

I put some stock in synchronicity which is, simply put, the idea that two events seemingly unrelated indeed have some connection.

One day over the Memorial Day weekend, I woke out of a sound sleep. It was a little after 4am and I was wide awake. Didn’t even need to use the bathroom so I turned on the TV figuring I’d watch for a while until I got drowsy.

Turner Classic Movies is one of the few channels I watch and at 4:15 a 1933 war drama, Hell Below, starring Walter Huston and Robert Montgomery was to begin.

Perfect.

Well, Huston plays Lt. Commander Toler, the captain of a US Navy submarine in WW I (a rarity since most of these dramas are set during the Second World War) and Montgomery plays Lieutenant Knowlton, the second-in-command.

The tension of the plot was between the very much by-the-book captain and the rakish lieutenant who falls in love with the captain’s daughter, though he didn’t know about that relationship at the time of the attraction and his subsequent maneuvers.

There’s an incident that leads to another officer’s death, a friend of the lieutenant’s, and of course he blames the captain. And when the captain finds out his daughter’s marriage is being threatened by this ‘cad’ lieutenant, he has little use for his executive officer.

About mid-way through the movie there is a scene that lays all these bad feelings out between the two leading characters. They do not like each other, to put it mildly. Yet, with the young woman in question present, there is an occasion for a drink to be shared and a toast to be made.

At this point I am still wide awake and the film’s got my attention. As they say, I care about these characters.

Montgomery’s character is bad mouthing the Navy and the cold-heartedness of the captain, falsely blaming him for his friend’s death. Huston’s character is pretty much disgusted with this excuse for an officer.

After a snide remark by a drunken Lt. Knowlton, Lt. Comdr. T. J. Toler raises his glass and toasts,

“To Discipline. There’s nothing like it and nothing without it.”

And like a synchronistic flash at about 5:00 in the morning I sat straight up in bed and I knew exactly why I woke up and why I turned on TCM and why I was watching this 1933 war drama.

It was to hear that one line:

“To Discipline. There’s nothing like it and nothing without it.”

Because right there I knew why I was not getting entirely what I desired from by business. I was lacking the necessary discipline.

Right now, as I write this, just to my left, on the wall, is that line staring back to me.

And it was from that day that I started using a system of self-accountability so simple and so visible that it would be very hide indeed to avoid doing what I must.

*Here’s a link to download that simple system. The Daily Method of Operation Chart is a great visual tool to help keep you on track and disciplined. The chart will open in pdf format. If you need any help you can contact me directly. tony@ajlauria.com

Daily Method of Operation Chart 

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