This Winter Season – Be safe! ! ! Remember to listen to WRNJ 1510 M or 92.7 FM radio station for class cancellations due to weather. . . or check the dojo website – www.isshin-ryu.com
There are no classes on December 24, 25, 26 & 31 and January 1. Plan ahead and make classes up.
Knowledge . . . Each person has an amazing mind with a capacity for learning which is beyond comprehension. During a discussion during one of my college classes prior to Thanksgiving, it became evident through grades and participation that some of the students were thinking more about the end of the semester than continuing to try to improve and advance necessary skills. Whether we think about School, Work or Karate, we must strive to improve and continue to exercise our minds with challenging information. The effort needed to improve requires less time involved if one desires to improve. Putting forth haphazard effort causes the individual to spend much more time to improve and advance than if the person tries consistently to do each task to the best of his or her ability.
The only responsibility that a man cannot evade in life is the one he thinks of least, his personal influence. Man’s conscious influence, when he is on dress parade, when he is attempting to impress those around him, is unfortunately small. But his unconscious influence, the silent, subtle radiation of his personality, the effect of his words, are tremendous. Every moment of life he is changing, to a degree . . . the life of the whole world. Every man has an atmosphere which is affecting every other. So silent and unconscious is this influence working, that man may forget that it exists.
As John Donne said: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. . . . any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or for evil, the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what a man truly is, not what he pretends to be. Every man, by his living, is radiating sympathy, or sorrow, or cynicism, or happiness, or hope, or any of a hundred other qualities. Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiations from The Majesty of Calmness – by William George Jordan
3 Keys to Finding Your Genius Article by Jim Rohn
- Get the right knowledge. Words—if they are not true—are meaningless. I hear children say, “I read it in a book.” But is it true? Just because someone says it or writes it, doesn’t mean it is true. As learners, we want to get the right knowledge, not just information or opinions. It is our job to seek out information and knowledge and then test it and run it through our minds to see if it is true and if it can be rightfully applied to our lives in order to make them better. We need to weigh and measure what we learn in order to gain the right knowledge.
- Become passionate about learning. This will take some work, but the only way to do it is to begin learning about things that have an immediate impact in your life. When you learn about a new financial concept that helps you earn money or get out of debt, you get fired up. When you learn about a way to communicate that helps you sell more products, you’ll feel energized. When you learn about how to interact with your family in a healthy way and your relationships get better, you’ll feel inspired.
- Discipline yourself through the hard work of study. Learning will take work. Until someone comes up with modules that can plug into your mind and give you instant access to knowledge, you are on your own, and that takes work. The process of learning is a long one. Yes, we can speed it up, but it is still a process of reading, listening, reviewing, repetition, applying the knowledge, experiencing the outcomes, readjusting, etc. Simply put, it takes time. Slowly but surely, when you discipline yourself, you will gain knowledge and begin learning. Learning is possible, no matter what your age. You are never too young or too old. Your mind was created to learn and has a huge capacity to do so. This week, make a commitment to unlock the potential of your mind
BEGIN DOING TODAY – TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF –
REESTABLISH MEANINGFUL GOALS
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi
THE BEST WAY TO SUCCEED !
MAKE A LIST OF YOUR VALUES – What’s really important to you? Your family? Your religion? Your leisure time? Your hobbies? Decide on what your most important values in life are and then make sure that the goals you set are designed to include and enhance them.
BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND – Tom Watson, the founder of IBM was once asked what he attributed the phenomenal success of IBM to and he said it was three things: The first thing was that he created a very clear image in his mind of what he wanted his company to look like when it was done. He then asked himself how would a company like that have to act on a day-to-day basis. In the very beginning of building his company, he began to act that way.
PROJECT YOURSELF INTO THE FUTURE – The late, great Earl Nightingale created a whole new industry (self-improvement) after a 20-year study on what made people successful. The bottom-line result of his research was simply, “We Become What We Think About.” Whatever thoughts dominate our minds most of the time are what we become. That’s why goal setting is so critical in achieving success because it keeps us focused on what’s really important to us. He then said that the easiest way to reach our goals is to pretend that we had ALREADY achieved our goals. That is, begin to walk, talk and act as though we are already experiencing the success we seek. Then, those things will come to us naturally through the power of the subconscious mind.
WRITE DOWN TEN THINGS THAT YOU WANT THIS YEAR – By making a list of the things that are important to you, you begin to create images in your mind. It’s been said that your mind will actually create chaos if necessary to make images become a reality. Because of this, the list of ten things will probably result in you achieving at least eight of them within the year.
ASK YOURSELF GOOD QUESTIONS As you think about your goals, instead of WISHING for them to come true, ask yourself HOW and WHAT CAN YOU DO to make them come true. The subconscious mind will respond to your questions far greater than just
making statements or making wishes.
FOCUS ON ONE PROJECT AT A TIME One of the greatest mistakes people make in setting goals is trying to work on too many things at one time. There is tremendous power in giving laser beam focused attention to just one idea, one project or one objective at a time.
WRITE OUT AN “IDEAL SCENARIO” Pretend that you are a newspaper reporter that has just finished an interview about the outstanding success that you’ve achieved and the article is now in the newspaper. How would it read? What would be the headline?
REMEMBER: If you cannot attend a class and you wish to make the class up – – call ahead – – If you do not call you forfeit the chance to do so.
Do you have someone that is hard to find something for?
Give the Gift of Health and Security an
Isshin-ryu Gift Certificate
or needed karate equipment . . . Remember order through us & SAVE $
Do Something Good for someone in your life . . . For a change Start with Yourself! There is no time like the present!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE STUDENTS WHO EARNED PROMOTIONS SINCE THE LAST NEWSLETTER. JR. YELLOW BELT – JR. ORANGE BELT
Two students competed in the NOVEMBER 16TH – – TOYS FOR TOTS KARATE TOURNAMENT – – Jake Brader and Sammy Heinrich. Both did well and demonstrated outstanding Isshin-ryu form and spirit. CONGRATULATIONS!
MRS. HUGHES AND I WISH YOU A MAGNIFICENT HOLIDAY SEASON AND LET’S SET OUR SIGHTS HIGH FOR 2015
Lastly, as you read this newsletter, there are approximately 250 days until the start of meeting, seminars, the tournament and festivities for the 2015 IWKA Championship Event in Princeton that we are hosting. If you have contacts with any business that may benefit from being seen by the many hundreds of people that study Isshin-ryu Karate in this area (where there are at least 40 dojos within a 40 minute drive) or the thousands from across the country and world that will at least visit our web page, see me and I can create a custom letter of information to them and include sponsorship materials. The first cutoff date for registration is December 5 – – – just a few days away. I meet friends I have met since one of the first events held in 1971. Children and adults will benefit from being a part of the event, as will parents and friends.
