Silver Bullets Are For Werewolves

Productivity at the factory kept going down.

They tried everything. New paint. Plants. Even piped in music.

Every time they put in something new the workers produced more. But then, after 5 weeks, everything would slow back down to where it was before.

The boss had no idea why. Finally he asked one of the guys who worked on the line named Fred what was happening.

 "You've got it all wrong. Our productivity doesn't go up because of the stuff you put in”.  said Fred.

He went on: “We produce more because every time you improve things, we know someone CARES”.

That’s the problem today. Everyone wants the one solution that will fix all problems.

Everyone wants a silver bullet.

There are none. 

People say to me: “How do I become a such and such belt”?

I say: “Just focus on having a good practice TODAY”.

Everything in life is like that.

There’s no such thing as being a good parent, spouse, or martial artist. There are only good days and bad days.

When you’re good at something it means you’ve strung together lots of good days. At that point people will want to give you a title. Better NOT to accept it.

There’s an ancient text where a man comes to a Master and calls Him good.

He says: “No one is good except the Father [God]”.

I’m no expert; but I think it means you are only “good” as long as you DECIDE to be good. Being “good” isn’t a title. Being “good” is a choice you make daily.

Enough good days can change the world.

I don’t like belts. I especially don’t like the term “Black Belt”.

Black Belt is a title. It’s like calling someone “good”.

To many people the title “Black Belt” means you can rest.

Even if you start having BAD days you can still say: “Yes; but look at me - I’m a Black Belt”.

Ugh!!

At Sifu Browns dojo it’s hard to tell who are the black belts. The sash is really subtle and hard to see.

It’s easier to look for the students that are helping others the most. Those that are giving of themselves. Those that are working the hardest. Behavior is what makes a black sash easy to see.

There are no shortcuts.

I wrote today. I still struggle but my writing is getting a tiny bit better.

No substitute for daily practice.

Silver bullets are only for Werewolves.