Throw It Out!

Get rid of it.

Let it go.

Empty the space.

About two months ago I started a new habit. Every day I throw something away.

Some days it’s major; I empty a closet or something, but most days it’s a little thing that I no longer need. (I threw a ballpoint pen away today).

I don’t think it matters the size of what you get rid of. I do think it matters that your life becomes less and less cluttered.

I used to own a pink golf shirt. I liked the color and the vacation I bought it on.

I hated that it no longer fit.

Almost every day for five years I’d glance at it; decide not to wear it. Every day I’d consider that shirt and choose another … FOR FIVE YEARS!

That’s over 1,800 thoughts about at item I never wear. Time to get rid of it.

Most people ignore thinking. They view money, cars, houses and possessions as valuable resources, but consider thinking as nothing.

These people are wrong.

Thinking is your MOST valuable resource. It’s more valuable than gold.

Thinking is a limited resource. You can only spend so much mental energy in a day.

Every decision you make steals a fraction of today's mental energy. If your day is filled with unimportant decisions you will have very little mind power left for things that matter.

Clutter bogs down the dojo.

Years ago I used to vary the warm up in our dojo class.

Some days we’d do jumping jacks, some days knee bends, other days all sorts of different stretches. I would change the warm up also based on the people who attended. By the time the teaching actually started I had made dozens of decisions. I discovered that by the end of class I was mentally exhausted. I had nothing left for the things that really mattered.

I would try and deliver a closing talk and forget what I was going to say. Seriously.

Today we do the exact same boring warm up every class. We’ve done it so many times that everyone knows it and it can be done by anyone. I can even step off the mats and ask a front row student to continue with it - and they do.

Clutter affects your technique.

A pure technique is a clean technique. When you throw out all the unnecessary movement in a strike you have perfected the skill. Perfection is not what you can do (anyone can learn to throw a punch). Perfection is about getting rid of all the extra movements that slow you down.

Clutter bogs down martial arts styles.

In ancient times a Master would leave some of his favorite techniques to the student in the form of a Kata or Waza. (prearranged memorized routine). When the Master would pass the students would then teach that form as part of their style.

But one day that student becomes a Master. They pass on their own form to their students and so on and so on. Given enough time a particular system of Martial Arts is so convoluted and so filled with forms that no one has time to work on excellence.

I say throw it all out. Do what makes sense, do what makes you outstanding - nothing else.

Uniforms

Every success wore some type of uniform.

Steve Jobs didn’t just like those turtlenecks. He wore them because he was saving his mind for what mattered.

Warren Buffett doesn’t wear the same tie because it matches his eyes.  He conserves his mind.

In the dojo; we wear the same uniform because all of our attention is on our art - not our clothing.

Get rid of something daily

Start small. If you can’t find a pink shirt to get rid of maybe you could start with something even smaller; like a thought. Maybe you’ve been holding onto a resentment or a grudge. Maybe when you let it go there will be room for something else?

Get rid of it. Throw it out. Let it go.

It feels good.

Habits

Stephen King is the most successful author in the history of the world. He’s written more words than most people READ in a lifetime.

Stephen King writes every day.

Some years ago he was in an accident. He was in bed and couldn’t write for two weeks. When he was finally able to return to his word processor HE HAD FORGOTTEN HOW TO WRITE!

It took him weeks of writing daily to get back up to speed.

If you want to be successful in Martial Arts (or anything else) you’ve got to practice every day. The amount of time you spend is unimportant - just five minutes is sometimes enough.

How To Create A Habit

Habit is another word for addiction.

Some habits support us; others hurt. We are all creatures of habit.

It’s hard to start a new habit from scratch. It’s easier to hook a new habit to one you’ve already got.

I drink coffee every day.

I wanted to meditate every day. I used coffee to develop my meditation habit. I simply hooked my meditation time to the end of my coffee time. Now, whenever I finish my second cup of coffee I know it’s time to meditate.

What do you want to make into a habit?

Take a look at the things you do everyday. Link your new habit to something you are already doing daily.

Want to develop a daily habit of gratitude?

Try listing things you're thankful for while you brush your teeth.

Want to exercise daily?

Try going for a walk every day after you eat lunch.

If you do something every single day it becomes a habit. Your life becomes the sum total of the habits you form.

How To Break A Bad Habit

STOP doing it everyday.

It’s impossible to quit a bad habit (addiction). You’ve got to turn your addiction into something less. You’ve got to turn your addiction into a behavior.

When you skip days you end up with a behavior; not a habit.

If you drink too much you don’t have to quit. Just get out of the habit of drinking every day.

If you smoke; you don’t have to quit that either. Just skip a day every now and then.

Anything you do not do every day will begin to lose it’s power. Eventually it will be easier and easier to skip days. Sometimes you’ll even forget to do your bad habit. When you stop doing things every day they are easy to let go of.

Remember; anything you do every day becomes an addiction. Skipping a day or two takes its power away. 

When you skip days you convert your addiction to a behavior.

Behaviors are easy to change; sometimes they stop all by themselves.

Whatever you want to be in life you should practice every day. If there is something you don't like all you have to do is skip a day. Just skipping a day starts the process of breaking your addiction.

What are you going to skip today?

Bruce Lee On A Motorcycle

Everyone Martial Artist should have to ride a motorcycle.

At least for a year.

When you ride a motorcycle you are aware of a lot more things.

You don’t look at signs; you look at traffic. Just because someone is supposed to yield doesn’t mean they will. You give everyone else the right of way. You are a nicer driver.

Because you look different a lot of other drivers don’t notice you. You have to be careful.

When you drive past other bikes you always wave; sometimes you bow. You have great etiquette.

In a few towns in Europe they completely did away with traffic signs. No stop lights, no signs, not even lines on the road.

Accidents went DOWN by more than 80%.

People behave better when they aren’t following rules; but instead are looking around and using their best judgement.

I know a man who raised excellent kids. He told me he had never given then a curfew. He told them they had one simple rule to follow.

Don’t disappoint your mom.

A lot of Martial Arts styles love to use rules. They have hundreds of moves that the student has to memorize and repeat.

Often students learn all the moves; but aren’t very good at the art itself. They are looking at signs; but not paying attention to the driving.

Bruce Lee in “Enter the Dragon” said: “It’s like a finger pointing at the moon; don’t look at the moon or you will miss all that heavenly glory.”

It’s like that.

Long ago I used to have lots of students who had memorized all the moves in a style I was teaching. Trouble was they knew all the moves, had earned all the belts; but they weren’t in very good shape and couldn’t defend themselves.

I gave up.

I went through everything I and decided to only teach what would do three things.

1. Get them in better shape

2. Teach them self defense

3. Teach them to better focus the mind

I took out a lot of stuff.

I added a lot of new stuff.

Now I teach something I’m proud of.

Lots of people were mad at me. They missed the old signs.

Everyone who studies Martial Arts should ride a motorcycle.

… Except for Mark Sears

Tornado Sirens

Tornado sirens suck.

Your eating lunch; trying to focus, and it's noon on a Friday and SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Why are they so loud?

It's like the're saying: "Look at me, look at me, look at ME!" It's like being surrounded by a dozen ADHD kids.

I'm trying to remember a time in my life where a siren saved me from something.

I can't think of any.

A few years ago we had a tornado rip through our area. Huge trees hit the ground. An entire telephone snapped and landed in my yard. I watched it snap and fall and the power lines come down while hiding in the stairwell of our basement.

After it passed I heard the SCREEEEEEE of the siren finally start.

Nice.

The app on my phone had warned me to get in the basement five minutes earlier.

I wonder why they keep sounding the alarm these days. Maybe it's for people who don't have phones - who knows?

Sifu Brown says: "Never argue for time."

He means you should never keep doing something that doesn't work just because you've done it that way for a long time.

I think we all are a little bit like the siren. We keep doing things that  don't work; we figure we've been doing it this long - maybe we should stick with it.

Belts are like that in the Martial Arts. A guy calls me and says; “I’ve got a Brown belt in such and such a style; can I keep it"?

I say: “Of course you can keep it in that style; but in our style (it’s different) you’ll start at white and earn other ranks".

Usually they don’t want to earn ranks in our style. They just want to be promoted in their old one.

I ask; why not just continue with your old style?

They always have a good reason. Sometimes the old school only teaches kids, sometimes they are getting hurt, sometimes their teacher quit. 

I say: “Why not try something new; that way you can have rank in two styles"?

They say: “Let me check my schedule; I’m really busy right now, I’ll get back to you".

Lots of people are still like tornado alarms.

Wipe Down The Sink

Last night I got bit by a mosquito. It’s under my watch band on my left side of my wrist.

It feels good when I scratch it. It feels like I’m doing something; but every time I scratch it itches more.

I know that if I stop scratching and just let it alone it will get better.

But it feels so good to scratch.

Thinking of your problems is like scratching a mosquito bite.

For some reason it feels good to think about your problems. Discuss them. Poke at them. Tear at them.

But if you do they will get worse.

It’s better to focus your mind somewhere else and leave your own problems alone. A great way to do that is to think of others. It’s impossible to worry about your own problems when you're busy making something or someone else better.

Over ten years ago I decided to try and make every where I went a little better. If there was someone who need a compliment I’d just give it. If there was a paperclip on the floor I’d just pick it up. I had been doing this practice for over a year.

One night I took my kids to the movies. I stopped in to use the bathroom and then sat down with them in the theatre seats.

While the previews were playing I started to feel bad. I felt uncomfortable; I didn’t know what it was but something was wrong.

It hit me; I had noticed water splashed all over the sink in the bathroom and had walked out without making it better. I told my kids I’d be right back and headed back to the washroom, grabbed a few paper towels and wiped down the sink.

Ahhh… that was better.

A few month later I found myself visiting my brother in the Bethesda area. It just so happened that the largest Martial Arts Business consulting organization in the country had its headquarters there too.

I decided to pay them a visit.

The day I visited just happened to be the day they were scheduled to record a CD destined to be sent out to over 1,000 schools in over 12 countries. One of the people who was scheduled to be interviewed that day didn’t show for the phone conference.

They asked me to take his place.

They put a microphone in my face and asked me what I thought made me unique as a teacher. I got that deer in the headlights look. I froze.

But then I thought of something to say: I told them about my daily habit of always trying to make everywhere I go a little better. I told them about the theatre and wiping down the sink in the bathroom.

The published the CD. They kept my interview in. My story went out to over 1,000 schools.

At the annual convention people came up to me and shook my hand. They pointed at me and said: “Hey, you’re the wipe down the sink guy!”

The Chairman of the Association liked my interview. He was so impressed he made me an Advisory Board member to the largest Martial Arts Association in the world.

He opened countless doors for me. My relationship with this organization changed my business and my life.

When you do little things to help the world around you and take your mind off your own problems you are blessed in unimaginable ways.

Want to be more successful?

Don't scratch mosquito bites.

Keep some extra paper towels with you instead.

I Was Scared So I Stopped.

I was scared so I stopped.

When I was five they put a new slide in the park next door.

It was one of those curly ones; that go down in a spiral.

I had never seen anything like it. All of the kids wanted to try it out. There was a big line.

When it was my turn I started down but I panicked. I grabbed the sides.

Kids kept slamming into me. Every time a new kid would hit me I’d move a little further. Finally this fat kid slid into me and I broke free.

I never went down that slide again.

I was learning to drive.

I was merging onto the freeway. It was at one of those yield signs. They told me that yield meant you could go as long as nothing else was coming.

I saw lots of cars and trucks coming. I got scared; I stopped.

Everyone honked and yelled at me.

Today I use Uber whenever I can. (Everyone who knows me knows how I hate to drive to this day).

When I was 15 my Karate teacher seemed mean. He told me I was going to compete in an upcoming tournament. He he didn’t care that I was scared; he made me do it anyway.

I won.

I spent the next decade traveling all over competing in tournaments. I even competed and won as a representative of the U.S. Karate team in Tokyo. I’m glad my Sensei didn’t let me stop.

I wonder how life would be different if I hadn’t stopped every time I got scared. I wonder how many more dates I would have gone on. How much more money I would have made. How many more places I might have seen and lived.

I’ve stopped a lot.

Maybe I shouldn’t have.