Being a Mindful Warrior in these Turbulent Times

In this blog I'll be covering several different topics.  As in our daily life we must cover many areas of interest and responsibilities.  I have always had a love for Kung Fu movies and you'll often see me share pictures from old school and new school flicks.  Life is good, do more what you love!

Quote - " Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better." - Jim Rohn

Training Tip:  Take training very seriously.  It's always best to make the training as close to reality as possible.  How you train will be how you react and how well you do in real life.  Think of it this way, how serious and hard would you train if you knew that in 30 days you would be attacked by someone larger, stronger and possibly more skilled than you?  Always be ready, prepared for anything, be mindful and alert.  Mind / Body / Spirit.  

Martial Arts Business:  Respect is by far one of the most important virtues that a martial arts school must adhere to.  I feel respect is dying in many areas of the world and so many people don't even respect themselves, how could they ever respect anyone else.  Like everything, respect is taught and it is practiced.  Respect is given and hopefully it is also received.  In order to teach this virtue and to make it a strong part of the students training, it must become the focus and one of the main pillars that holds up the Academy.  Our job and responsibility is to take poor and mediocre people and polish them to a high gloss.  Some come to us with discipline challenges and others with low confidence and self-esteem.  We will not be able to help either if we don't command our ship, as they say.

A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well, and help those who are doing well to do better.  The only way we can get this done is by having control of our environment.  By having set guidelines and policies and by living by them. 

I have always said that in the Iron Mantis Association "everything is earned."  This holds true to everything!  You will eventually go up against some students or family that will attempt to fight the way a school does things.  "Rocking the Boat"  Some people will rock the boat and usually will be the ones to fall out of the boat too.  Look, our Iron Mantis Academies are very special places.  Each academy is a place of peace, harmony and personal growth.  Our standards have been set high since the beginning.  Many have learned these standards and realize that this is one big part of our success.  Once we relax on this, we are like so many others... mediocre!  I learned a long time ago to run my association in the same way some of the greatest disciplined organizations have been ran.  Look at West Point Military Academy.  They definitely polish cadets to high gloss.  If you really want to understand where much of my philosophy and ideals on how-to run our Academies came from, get the book "The West Point Way of Leadership."  This book is an inspiration as the principles a so much like a traditional dojo/ kwoon.  The people that are with us are the ones that appreciate and understand that respect and discipline are the pillars of success.  The ones no longer around didn't get it.  They wanted the Academy to be just like every other place in their lives... normal, common and mediocre!  What sets us apart is that we fight for what we believe in.  This is what makes us true warriors!

Quote - "I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." - J. Dean

Warrior Life Lesson:  As a warrior you have a clear vision of who you are and where you are going.  You are devoted to your own self-improvement.  You aren't content just to react to life.  You are result and not praise oriented.  You realize that to move forward you must be committed to change, growth and prosperity.  When you uphold your virtues people begin to see you as a serious, purposeful person.

Seeing it like a Warrior

If your ultimate goal is to succeed in your career and in your life, you've got to be tougher, more motivated, and more focused than anybody who might stand between you and your goal.  You must attack laziness, weakness, and complacency in yourself and your subordinates - because that is the only way to build a team of warriors.  You must attack your self-imposed fears and limitations because that's the first step to being a leader.  You must learn to attack each new day with energy, with positivity, and a belief in a personal cause.  You must attack some of the daily responsibilities you hate with even more zest than the jobs you love.  You must learn to attack your training... whether it is martial arts, your fitness program or competition.  Attack your business with joy and devotion.  To survive and succeed, you must accept one plain and painful truth:  Business can be war.  Life can be war.  If you want to win the war: Attack, Attack!  ATTACK!  always moving forward...

The True Warrior's Essence

When a martial arts warrior trains, he trains to maintain peace.  The martial arts warrior learns that physical conflict is the last resort, that you do everything in your power to use your energies to redirect negative energies.  Your aim is not primarily to defeat an enemy.  It is to use the energies in the situation to restore them both to yourself and your environment.  True peacemakers usually have to be the ultimate of warriors.  They understand that they have the power to fight, but they avoid it until it can't be avoided anymore.  They choose peace and harmony over fighting, but they realize that sometimes you must fight to protect that peace and harmony that is so valuable.  Stand for something or fall for anything! 

Mindfulness - When one decides to live a more Positive Life by thinking more positive it takes discipline and constant training.  It does not come natural for most of us.  Even if one does make this change they will still have to deal with the manifestations they have created from past negative thought and "postulates".  Discipline the MIND and your "viewpoint".
Postulate - A self-created truth would be simply the consideration generated by self, self created truth.  A postulate is a conclusion, decision or resolution about something.
Example: He posts something, he says something, he thinks something.
Viewpoint - Someone's viewpoint is the way they think about things in general or about one thing in particular.

I hope this blog somehow helps in a positive way.  I take this time to give back.  Service.

Train Hard, Train Smart & Finish Healthy,

Sifu Jeff Hughes