Power of Discipline
Jim Rohn, the American entrepreneur & motivational speaker said "Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment". It refines the talent and is the single most important attribute to becoming successful. It helps you stay focused on reaching your goals, motivates you and allows you to overcome obstacles and discomfort as you push yourself to new heights.
For every parent, self-discipline is the key, especially when the child is young and at the perfect age to imbibe and inculcate good habits which pave the way to develop self-discipline. Good habits and the social interactions with friends and family are the building blocks of a disciplined life.
One of the finest examples of a disciplined & talented success in contemporary times is the Indian actor and producer, Akshay Kumar.
Akshay Kumar, born September 9, 1967 in Amritsar, studied martial arts in Hong Kong. He worked as a waiter in a restaurant named Metro Guest House in Bangkok to earn his living where his initial salary was ₹1,500.
After returning to Mumbai, he even worked as a peon for a travel organization in Kolkata. He then taught martial arts to the people. It was a student that suggested that he try modeling and after a successful stint in modelling, he was offered films.
Along with his good looks and excellent martial art skills, he was always the first choice to do adventurous movies. He does his own stunts in his films. His breakthrough performance was in Saugandh (1991). He was well known for his Khiladi series, from1992 to 2000 such as Khiladi, Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi and Khiladi 420.His critically acclaimed in performances include Airlift, Baby and Rustom, Bhagam Bhag, Padman.
The actor has won two Filmfare awards and is also the recipient of the Padma Shri awarded by Government of India. Akshay has hosted Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi and also featured in Bear Grylls' show 'Into the Wild'
Akshay Kumar struck gold in 2016 and earned about $31.5 million last year. "One of Bollywood's busiest leading men, Kumar is in the scoring list of Forbes and is one of the four richest Indian actors on Forbes list.
Akshay leads an extremely disciplined life, and his mantra is to sleep early and wake up early. He is one of the few Bollywood stars who hates partying late. His day starts at 5.30 am and he sleeps from 9 pm. The disciplined actor became vegetarian in 2017, adopting a more holistic lifestyle.
He starts his day with a heavy meal of parathas and a glass of milk followed by fresh fruits and nuts for snacks. Lunch is a balanced meal of lentils, brown rice, wholesome veggies and yogurt. The one thing that he has followed throughout his life and has really made a difference is eating before sunset. Akshay is one of the fittest actors in the country and has always advocated fitness as an important aspect of one’s daily life. He has been a staunch detractor of people taking ‘short-cuts’ and supplements to achieve a chiseled physique.
He said in an interview that ‘There is a culture among our youth these days of using protein shakes and other supplements. I am really against it and I don’t understand why they take it. They are becoming "by product" of a product. People have forgotten to have ghee, milk, dahi, lassi and stopped eating home-cooked food.’
Today Akshay has reversed the ageing process due to martial arts, functional workout, yoga, meditation and a strict diet focussing on "Ghar ka Khana". He follows Ayurveda and natural therapies. “Nothing works better than turmeric mixed with milk in treating sore throat." Start your day with warm water and honey to remain fit,”
He plays basketball and enjoys trekking. He prefers climbing a staircase and during the shooting of “Singh is King”, he climbed 74 floors in Singapore. He is so fond of climbing that the actor has planted an artificial tree in his gym. His workout regimen focused on the fitness of the body instead of a muscular one.
His day starts at 5.30 am and he sleeps from 9 pm. “I love my sleep and mornings. "I hate night shifts,” he revealed during his interview on" Koffee With Karan"
In an industry where lead actors are notorious for reporting late to the sets—often by several hours, Kumar’s most valuable attributes are professionalism & punctuality which he carries with obvious pride even today despite his huge box office success.
Says Ajay Bijli of PVR, “Whether it is with films like Special 26, Baby (2015) or Airlift, he is always doing different things. He’s there for the long run and he changes with the times.”
The need to constantly reinvent himself also means Kumar loves to work with newcomers—whether they are directors, musicians or leading ladies. “I always prefer to work with new directors till they have the greed for doing something different,”he says. He is so grounded that sometimes you forget that he is a superstar,” says Twinkle his wife. “The credit for this goes to his parents. It’s the way they have brought him up. Both Akshay and his sister Alka treat elders with respect, and are family-oriented people.”
She says her husband rarely gets ruffled or tense. “At most, his reaction is, ‘Give me 10 minutes’. And then he falls asleep. When he wakes up from his nap, he goes on as if nothing happened. He has a supremely disciplined mind.”
A real "rags to riches"story, Akshay kumar made it to the top,without any Godfather, by his sheer grit,determination,discipline d approach to life!
