The Wheel of Self: Discipline, Application, and the Making of a Successful Life – Highlights from ThriVe With Babs – Episode 35
Introduction: Why the Real Work Is Always Internal
Success is often spoken about as though it were something external—an opportunity to be found, a door to be opened, or a system to be hacked. But in the 35th edition of ThriVe With Babs, Babatunde Oladele redirected attention to a quieter, more demanding truth: the real work of success happens within.
Introducing the theme The Wheel of Self Application, Discipline, and Management, Babs framed the session as an exploration of how lives are built—not by motivation, luck, or inspiration alone—but by intentional self-governance. The conversation moved beyond clichés into fundamentals: identity, discipline, decision-making, measurement, and personal responsibility.
This session was not about hype. It was about structure.
Understanding the Wheel of Self
At the centre of the session was what Babs described as the wheel of self—a framework that explains how personal effectiveness is sustained.
This wheel is anchored on three core elements:
Self-identity: knowing who you are
Purpose: understanding why you exist and what role you are meant to play
The three-step leap: self-application, self-discipline, and self-management
According to Babs, many people fail not because they lack talent or opportunity, but because their “wheel” is broken—misaligned identity, unclear purpose, or poor discipline.
Success, he argued, is movement. And movement requires a wheel that can turn.
Self-Application: Turning Knowledge Into Action
One of the strongest ideas emphasized in the session was that knowledge unused is wasted potential.
Babs stressed that self-application is the ability to bring what you know into daily practice. Reading books, attending seminars, or consuming motivational content without application only creates the illusion of growth.
“What you consistently apply,” he implied, “is who you become.”
This is why Babs prefers drawing insight from fundamental sources—scripture, classical literature, lived experience, and enduring principles—rather than shallow motivational speaking. His approach is grounded: life teaches, but only to those who engage it seriously.
Discipline: The Bridge Between Dreams and Reality
If motivation gets you started, discipline keeps you moving.
Babs described discipline as the bridge between aspiration and accomplishment—the force that determines how time, energy, attention, and resources are spent. Dreams collapse not because they are unrealistic, but because discipline is inconsistent.
Discipline, he explained, is not punishment. It is self-respect in action.
Whether in career, business, relationships, or spiritual life, discipline shows up in small daily choices: what you read, who you listen to, what you tolerate, and what you repeatedly do even when you do not feel like it.
Self-Management: Measuring, Evaluating, Improving
Management, Babs emphasized, begins with measurement.
You cannot manage what you do not track. You cannot improve what you do not evaluate. And you cannot grow beyond what you are willing to confront honestly.
Self-management involves:
Regular self-evaluation
Identifying strengths and weaknesses
Reinforcing good habits
Correcting inefficiencies
Planning intelligently and acting deliberately
This is where many people fail—not because they lack potential, but because they refuse accountability, even to themselves.
Personal Philosophy and the Power of Questions
Another key highlight of the session was the role of personal philosophy in decision-making and performance.
Babs emphasized that life often responds to the quality of questions we ask ourselves. Better questions lead to better answers, and better answers lead to better outcomes.
Instead of asking:
“Why is this happening to me?”
He urged participants to ask:
“What is this teaching me?”
“What must I become to handle what I desire?”
“What is my responsibility in this outcome?”
Success, he explained, is rarely accidental. It is shaped by thinking patterns repeated over time.
Leaders, Supporters, and Followers: Knowing Your Role
In a thought-provoking segment, Babs categorized human roles into three broad groups:
Leaders
Supporters
Followers
He suggested that only a small fraction of people—perhaps 2%—function effectively as leaders, while the success of institutions, movements, and visions largely depends on strong, competent supporters.
The issue, he noted, is not which role one occupies—but whether one is effective in that role.
Understanding where you add the most value requires humility, data, learning, and honest self-assessment. Efficiency—not ego—determines long-term relevance.
Networks, Books, and the Company You Keep
Babs reiterated a timeless principle: your future is shaped by your inputs.
The people you associate with and the ideas you consume play a major role in who you become. Growth requires intentional exposure to environments that demand more of you—not spaces that excuse mediocrity.
Books, mentors, and disciplined networks are not luxuries; they are infrastructure for growth.
Growth, Resilience, and Sustainable Success
A recurring theme throughout the session was sustainability.
Babs cautioned against success that lacks foundation, warning that anything built without discipline eventually collapses. In his words, life offers only two unavoidable pains:
the pain of discipline
or the pain of regret
There is no third option.
True success, he emphasized, is not defined by the destination alone, but by the person you become along the way.
Designing Your Life and Embracing Adaptability
Rather than drifting through circumstances, Babs urged participants to design their lives intentionally.
This involves asking:
What can I do about this situation?
Who can I learn from?
How do I adjust my sails to the changing winds?
Adaptability, like discipline, is not accidental. It is practiced.
Building Discipline Gradually: Consistency Over Intensity
Responding to a question on developing discipline, Babs offered a practical approach: start small and build gradually.
Whether it is reading, fitness, or skill development, consistency matters more than intensity. Five push-ups done daily eventually become fifty. Ten minutes of reading becomes thirty. Progress compounds.
Discipline grows the same way muscles do—through repeated, intentional strain.
Final Reflection: Becoming Before Achieving
The 35th edition of ThriVe With Babs ultimately returned to one central idea: success is personal before it is professional.
Goals are important. Achievements matter. But what truly determines the future is who you become in pursuit of them.
The wheel must turn—and it must turn from within.
Also Read: The Achiever’s Wheel 2: The Wheel of Choices and Decisions
Discover more from ThriVe!
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
