DeathJester

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You can be the LAZIEST player on the planet and play better than the Pros do!
by Bryan Camareno a.k.a. DeathJester
September 27, 2006 

 Self discipline is something uncommon in youth these days. I’m not trying to undermine the wonder of my generation. I’m merely stating that self-discipline is something you don’t see or hear about everyday. Self-discipline requires quite a bit of effort to achieve and the rewards come to the practitioner ten-fold. But, here’s the question you might have: What does self-discipline have to do with YGO?

EVERYTHING.

It’s an under-explored topic in the YGO community. Who talks about this stuff? Do you REALLY think that just playing the cards all day will make you better? There’s an amount of knowledge of the psychological aspects of success that are required to perform like the pros do. Whether you know it instinctively or you learn it from someone else. You MUST master the psychology of the game.

For example, you want to test-play for a particular tournament. You say that you will test or practice but do you ever do it? Actually doing what you say you are going to do is a major step in the right direction. This is the way you “walk the walk” so to speak.

Believe it or not, it requires so much effort just to do what you say you will do. It takes quite a bit of discipline to actually sit down and test on YVD or in real life. Practicing for Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments is no easy process. I’ll be honest with you here…it takes a hell of a long time to do it. You MUST allocate a good chunk of time to it. There’s no way around it. YVD or not. It’s a process.

I’m actually EXTREMELY lazy…Go figure

Listen, I won’t lie to you. I am extremely lazy. I’m not the shining example of pep in the morning, afternoon, or evening. I’ll be the first to admit it. If given the opportunity to lie down and sleep for another 10 hours in the morning…I WOULD. Believe me. I’ll RELISH the chance. So what kind of example am I setting for you guys? Well, there’s more. I AM lazy, yes. No bull. However, I get things done.

Everyday I get up and write. Every single day the first hour of my day is comprised of writing. I use this time to complete articles that I have due for the week, write my Team Fallen Newsletter, and any other projects I have in the works. This is how I get my writing done. I have something out every week. It doesn’t matter if I’m in my house in Orlando or in Japan. I wake-up, write for one hour then continue with my day. If I feel like doing writing afterwards, I’ll do that too.

I’m not saying you have take an hour of your morning everyday and wake-up an hour earlier just to do so like me. I went to that extreme to really instill that sense of rock-solid discipline in my veins. For you, it could be 15 minutes. Perhaps you take the first 15 minutes of your day to a small morning workout, run through the morning stretches, or whatever. As long as you set aside an exact amount of time to complete a particular task in the morning that moves you a little closer to goals, you’re good to go. Try it for 21 days.

This time you allot for yourself in the morning is something that must be done completely alone. Yes, alone. This way you are uninterrupted and you can concentrate on your thoughts during your moment to yourself. This is important because you NEED that time to yourself. If you are super-busy like me, you need some time to yourself. Well, THIS is your way to get it.

Besides, getting up in the morning and knowing that you will be completely undistracted and uninterrupted will feel great. Even for people who like to socialize. Having time to your own thoughts in an uninterrupted manner is very good for your health. Plus, it helps you stay relaxed throughout the day. Building this type of discipline will help you with everything in your day that requires your attention. If you have the discipline to wake up EVERY morning and do something constructive that is important to you and your goals then…you can type a school paper, you can finish that accounting report at the office, you can test-play when you really don’t feel like it. This WORKS.

Focus your discipline

It’s best if you set some goals for yourself. It helps you focus your energy during your “focus-time” in the morning. For example, I want to get my name out there to you guys. I want everyone to read my articles and learn something from me and recognize me for my practical knowledge and expertise. I want to teach you guys how to not only think like pros, but “walk the walk” like the pros do too.

To do this, I have disciplined myself to get up and write every morning. This is how I have:

• 5 Card of the Day articles a week
• A weekly Pojo.com article
• A weekly Yugioh.TcgPlayer.com article (a recent development)
• A weekly Newsletter for Team Fallen

All this is done while working a 40-hour a week full-time job. I wouldn’t be able to do this if I didn’t have the goal to get you guys to read more of my writing. There’s just no way. You won’t find any other YGO writers out there doing this much. It’s all done by simple self-discipline.

Let me tell you something. Just getting up in the morning to write is a step toward my goals. Sometimes, as much as I love writing, I really don’t feel like doing it. I wake up in the morning and I just don’t want to get out of that bed (that’s the way I feel right now), but I do it anyway. Anyone can do what I do. Anyone can win as much as Emon Ghaneian, Anthony Alvarado, Kris Perovic, Dario Longo, Adrian Madaj. It’s really not that hard. Discipline is a MAJOR requirement for this. These guys all have the discipline and guts necessary to do what they have to do. How much do you WANT what you are aiming for?

Final Thoughts

Find a particular activity that will move you measurably closer to your goals each day. It can be writing, jogging, test-playing, reading articles, doing metagame research, etc. It doesn’t even have to be in the morning (I prefer the morning). Pick an amount of time, and make sure that you complete your daily “regimen”.

Until next time guys, remember to play smart, think about your moves, and most importantly have fun!