Congratulations to the students who earned promotions since our last newsletter. Junior Yellow Belt – Elizabeth Galladay
Remember to sign up to participate in our American Isshinryu, Inc. seminars – August 11th from 1 to 3 PM.
Remember to register for the overnight karate sessions at the Hughes’ August 18th and August 19th – – – by August 9th.
RENSHI HUGHES AND I THANK ALL THE BLACK BELTS AND STUDENTS WHO HELPED KEEP THE DOJO OPEN WHILE WE WERE IN MAINE WITH HANSHI, THE MIKA DOJO GANG AND VACATION AT CASTLE ISLAND CAMPS.
Two Cab Drivers by Stephen Covey
When I was in Germany, I remember talking with two cab drivers. One was an older gentleman, and the other was a young man. The older cab driver was longing for the old days. As he drove us around Berlin, he described the awfulness of all this so-called “new freedom,” and how he now has much less opportunity. The younger cab driver looked at the same exact world, and yet he was excited about the opportunities. He was thinking creatively about how he might improve his condition. The other was trying to maintain the old position.
These two cab drivers are like two executives, one accommodating the new realities and the other opposing all change. One leads a young company that’s aggressive, fast and opportunistic; the other leads an older company that is time-bound, filled with archaic structures and systems, and blind to new opportunities. Cultures tend to flow from the reactive or proactive tendencies of the leadership. Organizations tend to be shadows of their founders and current leaders.
The childlike leader with a proactive nature might see adversity as an opportunity for adventure, play, fun and freedom, whereas an old leader might see it as potential risk, disaster or death. In a snowstorm, the child sees a time to play, but the father, the person in the ultimate seat of responsibility, is often weighed down by the realities of having to shovel the walks and put chains on the tires. That’s why it often takes a complementary team to lead and manage.
After President Clinton gave his speech on NAFTA in front of George Bush, it was then the former president’s turn to speak. When he got up, he just gave a very authentic expression, “I now know why you were elected and I was not.” It’s that ability to speak enthusiastically about seizing the future, the excitement and glory of change, and of celebrating change and loving it.
Genuine excitement over change can only come when you have a deep sense of who you are, what you want to accomplish, what your agenda is and how you feel about things. We need to have the attitude that the future is here, and that things are going to change. We need to recognize and run with opportunity and exercise the proactive spirit that we all have inside us as long as we don’t abandon our changeless core principles.
The same concept of excitement, and the sense of self are qualities that our Isshin-ryu Karate training stresses. We must bring enthusiasm into each session; into the training we must do individually at home and also into our daily lives. If we lack the enthusiasm in our practice, we tend to become tired and disinterested. A class of 1 ½ hours or 2 hours seems to drag on and on.
The statement from a former instructor hold true today and relates to the concepts related in the Two Cab Drivers: – How to Learn
Understand that there something to be learned—knowledge to be gained.
You must create the will to learn; intention to learn plus enthusiasm.
There is no substitute for continuous participation in class.
Allow yourself to be guided through this knowledge, and do not become concerned with how fast you learn but how well you learn. Being concerned with how fast you learn will develop anxiety, which will prevent you from learning.
Let It Be You by Jim Rohn
Each and every day, there are people all around the country and world who are living their dreams. Millionaires are made every day. Families are experiencing tremendous relationships. People are becoming more and more healthy. Lifelong learners are growing intellectually and improving their chances for success. The fact is that living the life of your dreams is possible. People prove that every day. Someone somewhere is going to get rich, get healthy and improve his life. My recommendation is this: Let it be you!
Have you ever wanted to make more money? Have you ever looked at someone who has money and wished that it could be you? People think about getting wealthy all of the time, when only a small percentage actually does. But any of the masses could. Someone is going to start a business. Someone is going to make a great investment. Someone is going to begin the journey to great wealth. So why not let it be you?
Someone is going to decide to improve his relationships. Someone is going to enjoy love with his or her family. Someone is going to schedule some meaningful time with his or her friends. So why not let it be you?
Someone is going to go back to school to improve their life. Someone is going to become a lifelong learner. Someone is going to set a goal to read a book or listen to a CD each week for the next year. Someone is going to look in the mirror and see that they need to lose a little weight and they will make the decision to become healthy. Someone will run his or her first marathon. Someone will join an aerobics class and improve their health. Why not let it be you?
I think that by now you get the point: people improve their lives daily. It is simply a matter of a decision being made. Let that person be you!
You may be asking, “Okay Jim, but how?” Well, let’s cover the very simple actions. The first and most important is to make a commitment to work on yourself. Are you going to improve or stay the same? No matter what you have achieved, you are at a certain point right now. What you have achieved in the past is fine, but it doesn’t make a difference for the future. The decision about what you will become is made each day and every day. Each day someone is making the decision to better him or herself. Let that person be you!
The second is to make a plan. Once you have decided to become better you will have to have a plan. It doesn’t have to be a long, intricate plan. It can be simple. Save a dollar a day. Walk a mile a day. Read an article a day. That is a simple plan with achievable goals. Someone is going to develop a plan that will take him or her into the future of his or her dreams. Let it be you!
The third is to begin to act. All of the great ideas, without action, become stale and useless. The key to turning dreams into reality is action. People who have great ideas are a dime a dozen. People who act on their dreams and ideas are the select few, but they are the ones who gain the wealth and wisdom that is available. Someone will act today. Let it be you.
My encouragement to you is to stop looking at others who live the good life, wishing that you were as well, and instead begin to commit to your improvement, develop a plan and act on it. Someone is going to. Let it be you!
