 LOOK FOR THE GOLD During the 1920’s, one of the wealthiest people in America was a man named Andrew Carnegie. What was even more amazing was, not only was Mr. Carnegie wealthy, but at one time, Mr. Carnegie had several millionaires working for him. One day he was asked why these people were so valuable to him that he paid them a million dollars to work for him. He said, “When these men came to work for me, they didn’t start off worth a million dollars. I built them up to that point.” He went on to explain that you build men like a minor mines for gold. A miner will sift through tons of dirt to find a single gold nugget, but he doesn’t go in looking for the dirt. He looks for the gold! What’s the point?- You build people by being a good finder. The lesson of Andrew Carnegie teaches us that we build people up by being a good finder. In order to build up our young people, or our children, we need to be a good finder. We need to constantly remind them of the good that is in them, and then get them to focus on it. We certainly don’t build up others by criticizing them, and focusing on the dirt or the negative. By getting others to focus on the good that’s within them, we increase their confidence which in turn gives them the expectation to become all they can be.  What’s growing in your garden?
Let’s pretend you are going to grow a garden. If you want an apple tree, what kind of seeds do you need to plant? How about a peach tree? What if you want a tomato plant, what kind of seeds do you need to plant? What if you plant nightshade, want kind of plant will you get? Your mind is like a garden. If you put in the positive, you grow into a positive person. If you put in the negative, you grow into a negative person. You can’t put negative in and expect to get positive out. Impossible! Because our minds work like a garden, we have to be careful about what we allow into our minds. If you are unfamiliar with the plant nightshade-both the foliage and the berries of this plant are extremely toxic! We don’t want that in our garden and we certainly don’t want any toxic thoughts taking root in our minds. Be careful to guard yourself against allowing negativity from the outside influences to find a place to call home in your mind. What you allow into your mind ultimately determines what you will become. Our martial arts school is the perfect place to develop your mind, body and spirit. We have a unique culture here where each student is encouraged through his or her training to develop the attitude and mindset of a champion. Check us out at www.byrdsmartialarts.com  Bring it on!
Living the black belt lifestyle is about learning to say “Bring it on!” when presented with a challenge. We know that when we approach life this way we are exercising the tenet of indomitable spirit; one of the most important virtues developed through training in the martial arts. A Black Belt with an indomitable spirit doesn't need a pep talk or a protein shake; his or her strength comes from within! So the next time you are faced with a challenge, instead of letting it get to you, remember that obstacles and challenges push us to grow and reach our full potential. The next time you are faced with a challenge look at it right in the eye and shout- “Bring it on-I’ve got this!" You can learn more about us by visiting our website at www.byrdsmartialarts.com  Developing a Major League PMA
In major league baseball, a player could have a long and productive career by maintaining a .300 average, that is, by getting a base hit 30% of the time. This would lead to a lucrative career and fame. Yet the other 70% of the time, this player would have failed. The vast majority of attempts to hit the ball would result in ‘‘making an out’’ and thus pose a potential threat to the player’s sense of personal worth and public perception. We see this in the martial arts as well. A student will come to us with his or her head hanging low. Instead of focusing on the gains they have made they have instead chosen to focus on their perceived failure to master a technique or techniques in the very short time frame that they imposed upon themselves. When this happens we have to sit the student down and explain that mastery is not a destination but rather a lifelong process. Here’s a tip you can use if you ever need to encourage someone you care about. Use FEEL, FELT, FOUND. The conversation might go something like this, “Sam, I understand how you FEEL, when I was a blue belt my confidence was pretty low because I couldn’t remember the techniques I had learned under pressure. So you see, I FELT discouraged just like you. My instructor had a very similar conversation to the one I am having with you. He told me not to try and rush my training. The real secret was just to keep showing up and never give up. I took his advice and what I FOUND was that he was absolutely right. After another 6 months of training the techniques I found so difficult to remember all of a sudden became effortless.” If you want to improve at any endeavor, if you truly want to reach a new “Altitude”, then know this; it all comes down to staying the course and approaching life with a Positive Mental Attitude! |
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