Energy Over Discipline: My Very Unpopular Philosophy About Success

People love to talk about discipline.

The 4:30 a.m. wake-ups. The ice baths. The perfectly portioned meals in glass containers. The 27-minute workouts followed by journaling and gratitude and three hours of deep work in a chair that costs more than your car.

And listen—I get it. I really do.

Discipline is beautiful in theory. It’s reliable, consistent, and tidy. It makes for great LinkedIn posts and even better podcasts. But I’m going to tell you something that sounds like blasphemy in the Church of Hustle:

I built a 9-figure company not on discipline… but on energy.

Let me say that again for the people in the back:

Energy—not discipline—is the engine of everything I’ve built.

I’m Not Anti-Discipline. I’m Anti-Boring.

I have a morning routine, and I protect it like my life depends on it. If it gets knocked off track, my whole day feels off. It’s my anchor.

But here’s the nuance: that routine exists to support my energy, not to impress some imaginary productivity coach.

I don’t wake up early because some Navy SEAL said I should. I wake up early because I can’t wait to start building, dreaming, writing, creating, and my puppies wake me up, honestly. I do cold plunges, sort of, not for macho points, but because it is important to do at least one thing I didn’t wanna do per day. I don’t meditate because it’s trendy—I meditate because it helps me feel more, see more, move faster.

That’s the thing people miss:

Discipline without energy becomes performative.

Energy channeled through some structure? That’s power.

When I’m On Fire, Nothing Can Stop Me

I didn’t build Portland Leather Goods with a Gantt chart and a perfectly balanced calendar. I built it with obsession.

It started in a garage, with a $35 piece of leather and a dumb dream to make a journal that felt like Bilbo Baggins would carry. I couldn’t sleep thinking about how to make it better. I spent nights covered in leather scraps and super glue and ideas that didn’t work. Then I’d wake up, brush the dust off my jeans, and try again.

No schedule told me to do that.

I was on fire. And when you’re on fire, it spreads.

People feel it. They buy into it. They show up at art festivals. They join your team. They root for you. Not because you’re “so disciplined,” but because you have momentum. You have magic. You’re lit up from the inside.

Discipline is a Faucet. Energy is the Water.

Here’s my real philosophy:

Discipline is useful, but energy is essential.

Discipline is what gets you to the gym.

Energy is what keeps you dancing once you’re there.

Discipline might get you to launch.

But energy gets you to keep iterating, to ask better questions, to love the process so much you can’t stop thinking about it at night.

Discipline looks good on paper.

Energy makes people feel alive.

I’ll Bet on the Energized Kid Every Time

I’ve mentored people who were “disciplined” and had every productivity hack down to a science—but couldn’t get traction because they were flat. No real hunger.

Then I’ve met people who were chaotic, messy, a little reckless—but electric. They didn’t need perfect systems. They needed someone to help shape their fire into a direction.

That’s the person I bet on. Every. Time.

Because energy is contagious. It breaks down walls. It invents new doors. It’s how you convince someone to believe in you when there’s no evidence they should. It’s how you get people to join your mission, your team, your wild journey.

What Fuels Your Fire?

When you know that, you can build everything else around it.

The routines. The goals. The systems. They’re just there to help you keep your fire lit. Not to replace it.

You don’t need a stricter planner.

You need to find your spark.

Discipline is a cage if it’s not powered by obsession, joy, and wild, unapologetic energy.

So, yeah. My take?

Energy > Discipline. Every damn time.

Now go do something that sets your brain on fire.

Then keep doing it until people think you’re nuts.

That’s where all the magic lives.

—Curtis Matsko - CEO & Founder of Portland Leather Goods