Belief is the having knowledge and confidence that you can achieve your desired goals or objectives. It’s that gut instinct inside that we really can and will accomplish what we set our sights on.

Belief gives power… it strengthens our will to win… it pours fuel on our fire and feeds our desire.

If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will.

Imagine a Champion Fighter stepping in the ring or cage thinking he is going to get his butt kicked. Remember that your thoughts always precede your actions. It’s unlikely that a Champion that is filled with doubt will celebrate a victory.

Champions must believe. They have to believe in themselves and their ability to achieve in life.

"Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right!" – Henry Ford

To be a Martial Arts Champion, or simply to become a Champion in life, you must believe in yourself and your abilities.

It’s no different in business or other areas of life. If you want to win and succeed, you must believe in yourself. Big GOALS, Small GOALS and everything in between, you gotta believe!

Whether you are in sales, management or service, you must believe in yourself and believe in your product. If you do, you succeed, if you don’t you fail….it’s that simple.

"If your mind can conceive it…and you truly believe it…you will achieve it!" – Napoleon Hill

Champions are driven toward achievement and are very ambitious in the way they live their lives.

They know what they want and they are willing to give their best effort to achieve their goals, in and out of the Martial Arts school.

Champions are always focused on a target goal and they take massive action on a daily basis to make positive and aggressive progress in the direction of their dreams.

Losers in life are exactly the opposite. They have no ambition and no idea what they want. They’re also quick to blame others for their problems in life. It’s almost as if they find pleasure in moaning, groaning and complaining.

Losers rarely do anything positive to improve themselves. They tend to be very lazy in their actions and negative in their thinking. Losers lack focus and follow through.

Champions are Ambitious…Losers are Lazy.

Black Belt Champions are winners in life. They know that any worthwhile goal is going to require effort, energy and persistent follow through. They’re always ready to give their best effort to overcome obstacles and setbacks.

Champions are achievers, in and out of the dojang.

The best Champions always strive to get better and better, on and off the mat. They want to be their best in every area of life.

Why is it so common that Black Belt Champions are high achievers outside of the dojang as well?

One of the reasons is that Martial Arts training instills the desire to become the best you can be. Champion are always striving to grow to their next level.

No matter how great you become, no matter how many titles and Degrees you achieve…the biggest room in the world is always the room for improvement.

Black Belt Champions in the dojang always strive to be Champions in life. Jr. Champions strive for academic excellence and to be the best they can be, at home, at school and in the dojang.

Adult Champions strive to be high achievers and leaders in their personal and professional lives. The best must always get better and achievers are always searching for ways to improve the results they produce.
Life is so much more fun when you are excelling at it.

Look at your Martial Arts as much more than learning self defense or training for another belt, losing weight or getting in the best shape of your life. Think of it as more of a success conditioning program that is preparing you to excel in life.

Be the best Black Belt Champion you can be…

Be an Achiever in Life!

Studies on human potential show that most people are performing at a fraction of their true potential. If this is accurate, it means that we all have a tremendous opportunity to improve ourselves and enjoy even greater levels of success and achievement.

Champions always strive to improve their skills and abilities, along with increasing their overall fitness.

For example, if you set a goal to improve your flexibility, there are many ways you can make this happen. You can perform stretching exercises before and after each class. You could do ten minutes of stretching every morning.

The key is to learn to maximize the time and effort you are currently dedicating to each areas you wish to improve. Once you’ve committed mentally that you can and will give more energy and effort, you must take immediate action to increase the return on your investment.

Learning to better maximize your training at the dojang, will have a very positive impact on everything you do outside of the dojang as well.

What are some ways you can better maximize your time?

How can you get results with one of your most valuable resources?

Let’s say you are going to do a 20-30 minute cardio workout, you might aim to reach for higher peaks in your heart rate, maybe you’ll also hold this higher rate for a longer time period. You may also decide that you are going to listen to an inspirational tape course while your doing your cardio training. This would give you greater mental motivation while you are reaching higher levels of physical performance.

Start applying the MAXIMIZE principle to everything you do and enjoy the benefit of positive growth and improvement.

Great Attitude => Great Actions => Great Results

If you want to lead a great life, you have to take great actions. The best way to prepare yourself to take great actions, is to condition your mindset and develop a great attitude.

Say "YES" everyday to prepare for Victory!

Imagine when you prepared for class, you said "YES" with an eager and enthusiastic attitude. Every time you entered the dojang, you said "YES" I love my Martial Arts. You would soon develop a habit that would lead you to becoming a highly conditioned and motivated Black Belt Champion.

Habits we Train are Habits we Gain!

Anything you do repeatedly becomes habit. Good or bad.

Black Belt Champions know that they must train their brain everyday. This is why you must condition your attitude everyday for making it a great day.

"If you improve the way you look at things…the things you look at will also improve!"

Think how much better you would be at everything you do, if you had a great attitude toward people, life and learning. If you practice being more respectful, you become more respected. If you practice looking for the good in others, you begin to attract more of what you are looking for. When you practice smiling more, you will see more people smiling back.

Here are some Black Belt Attitude Tips for daily development of your positive attitude in and out of the dojo:

Wake up everyday and say "YES" today is a great day!

Think of what you DO want in life, not what you DON’T !

Always be happy and grateful for what you DO have.

Never unhappy and ungrateful with what you DON’T have.

Everyday we all deal with positive things and positive people, as well as negative things and negative people. What we focus on, is a choice we all have to make.

Some people magnify the negatives and get stressed out by their problems and challenges. If you allow this to happen, you will soon begin to attract more negatives.

It will seem as if you have a black cloud over your head.

Whenever you magnify the negatives in your life, you’ll also be shrinking the positives. You will become blind to the good stuff, simply because you are focusing on all the bad stuff!

Or, you can choose to magnify the positives and feed your spirit with optimism and an energy force that attract more of the good stuff. It’s a choice we all get to make everyday.

Have you ever noticed how lucky some people are?

"The harder you work, the luckier you will become!"

There are many examples that prove there is a lot of truth to that statement. People that work hard know what they want and are  focused on achieving predetermined goals and objectives. They are focused on what they want in their lives.

They soon begin to attract the people and opportunities that also attracts the luck they need to become successful achievers.

A good exercise to improve on this area, is simply to try for one week to focus only on the positives in your life.

Positive people, positive events, activities and actions. Practice makes perfect!

Magnify the Positives – Shrink the Negatives!

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight.

I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important.

My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.

Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because god has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.

What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have!

Have a GREAT DAY! Unless you have other plans…

Black Belt Champions and High Level Achievers would never become great without the benefit of resistance. No one who has ever achieved anything of great value has done so without the benefit of resistance.

Motivational Speaker and Best Selling Author, Zig Ziglar, teaches we should always be grateful for our problems.

The reality is, the challenges we face everyday, really do make us stronger. If everything in life came easy, everyone would be an instant Black Belt.

In the real world, the people that solve the most complex problems, are worth the most value in society. In the Martial Arts, in school, at work, in business, we usually learn the most from the setbacks and challenges that we overcome.

The athlete that takes the easy route, partying all night and skipping practices, is not likely to be stepping onto the winner’s podium. It’s the Champion that puts in hours of disciplined practice that wins Gold Medals.

Pressure Creates Diamonds….

Do you know what happens to an astronauts musculoskeletal system in outer space? Without the pressure of gravity, their muscles and bones become weaker!

I know that when we have a long weekend like this past one, I look forward to some needed rest. But after that first day of relaxation, I start LOOKING for work to do. I simply can’t sit still. Without work to do I get bored.

Some people think that a life of leisure would be great. To me, a life with no pressure sounds like torture.

The truth is that while we sometimes wish things could be easier, we wouldn’t be happy if they were. Because it’s by facing the difficulties in our lives that we can become the best we can be.

We all need resistance to become stronger.

As you know, this past Saturday was our Spring 2010 Black Belt Extravaganza.  All of the performers did an AMZING job of showcasing their skills in front of a big crowd of family and friends.

All of us at Master Khechen’s know just how much work everyone put into the show and the test a few weeks ago, and we would like to congratulate you all on a job well done!

We would also like to thank all of the families of the candidates, their instructors and classmates for all the support they have shown throughout their training!

Wear your Black Belts proudly, but remember to continue training like a White Belt!

Over the last few weeks we have spent a lot of time discussing leadership in our school.  We talked about how true leadership is about more than just being in a position of power, it’s about taking care of others and setting a positive example for the to follow. 

We have also talked about the two basic types of leaders: "Leaders In Power" and "Empowering Leaders".

So today I would like to ask you just a few quick questions to help you determine if you are a "Leader In Power" or an "Empowering Leader".  Ask yourself honestly:

Do you believe you have to be "in charge" to be a leader, or can you lead from any position?

Do you lead by example, or expect more from your people than you do from yourself?

Do you have a compelling vision that you consistently share with your people to motivate them?

Are you a GOOD FINDER, or do you focus more on what is wrong?

Do your make others FEEL GOOD about themselves and what they do?

Are you a good LISTENER and seek to understand how others feel?

Do you make others feel VALUABLE, or do you make them question their worth?

Do you GIVE credit and TAKE blame, or the other way around?

Do you give without expecting anything in return?

Do you offer SINCERE praise, or is praise just a tool you use to soften the blow of criticism?

Do you resolve conflicts or create them?

Do you INFLUENCE others to your way of thinking, or do you often use your title or position as a reason, for example "Do it because I’m the boss and I said so."?

And finally… the biggest question of them all:

Do people follow you because they WANT to or because they HAVE to?

That’s it!  If you answered those questions honestly you should have a good idea about what kind of leader you are. 

Both styles will produce results, to a certain extent.  But only by being an "Empowering Leader" will you truly be of service to others and make any real progress towards your vision.

You may also have noticed that the differences between the two types of leadership all come down to the way you interact with others in small things.  So it doesn’t take a LOT to make some big changes!!