Same Stuff, Different Applications

Life has been a whirlwind lately. Lots going on in every area — personal, home, dojo, work — and it's left me precious little time to eat and sleep, let alone journal. Please forgive my lack of recent UBBT updates.

Our environmental clean-up project on the Emerald Necklace was a great time. Everyone seemed to have a good time working in the muck together. A great bonding and "environmental self-defense" experience. We weren't in the dojo, but we still managed to squeeze in some training after ward.

An interesting opportunity for demonstrating "how the Black Belt attitude has relevance in everyday life" has come my way: I've been invited by a local, nonprofit "family nurturing" organization to speak on the subjects of goal setting, positive thinking, visualization, and persistence. Here's the twist: My audience will be a group of recent immigrants (most of them non-English speakers) who are facing the challenges of language, culture shock, working and paying the bills, and keeping their kids safe and in school. Apparently, someone in their organization thought that a local karate instructor and marital arts activist like me would make the perfect person for the task of encouraging and motivating such a group. I guess they're right in a way: no one earns a Black Belt without goal setting, positive thinking, visualization, and persistence. Same stuff, different application. I'm looking forward to making the connection. Okay, now, things are getting interesting!

Working with the wonderful folks at the Defeat Diabetes organization, I've decided to sign up for the MADDCAP program to educate the people in my community about the Diabetes. With their help, I'll be adding a health based curriculum component to what I teach at the dojo and in my community: this aligns perfectly with my concept of fitness, wellness, and healthy living as "self-defense."

Learning to Fly

A personal, huge MOMENT OF TRUTH is approaching for me and my dojo, folks. An opportunity to expand our dojo from its current footprint (a "whopping" 840 square feet on the second story in the back corner of an old industrial building - yep, that's a grand 520 feet of training space) to a stand-alone 2,500 square foot building with parking and visibility from the street (Not to mention changing rooms, bathrooms, an office, a lobby area, and all the other amenities that you'd expect to find an a professional martial arts institution)!

(Team, you can ask Hal Gustin about my dojo. he's been there!)

This is something I've wanted to happen for years now. Something that would enable us to take our dojo to an entirely new level. Something that I believe would be nothing short of AMAZING.

So, what's the problem? Well, tripling our size would mean tripling our rent, and even though the landlord is willing to be flexible with a graduated ramp-up rent schedule, I'm absolutely terrified. I can't see how I'll make it all WORK, and I'm hesitating.

I have rationalized all the reasons why I should turn and run from this challenge, all the reasons why I should continue to hide my light — and the light of my students — in the back corner. But it's go or no-go time. THIS is MY Ultimate Black Belt test, my biggest goal. It's the main reason why I signed up for this $%*&! adventure in the first place. I know that all I really need to do is increase the size of my VISION, and then take the leap of faith (and learn how to fly before I hit the ground).

It's time for me to put up or shut up. It's time for me to either step up, or shut down the dojo and walk away — and forget about teaching the martial arts at all.

Teammates, I need your support, your encouragement, your experience — and, perhaps, a gentle, compassionate nudge off the edge of this cliff that I find myself standing on!

Help!

Even On The Busiest of Days...

Missed journaling last week. Caught up in all of my to-do lists, I guess. I've got too much on my plate, but then again, so does everyone these days, right?

I've come to realize that what I really lack is the organization and sense of clear priorities that will help me navigate the chaos more successfully. (Somehow I've gotten away from my daily planner, and I have de-evolved to a "system" of post-it notes. Gotta fix that!)

I also need to admit – and be comfortable with – the fact that I'm never actually going to get it all done. As I heard Wayne Dyer say in an audio presentation, "I'm going to die with a half a tube of toothpaste in the bathroom." If I'm always waiting until everything is 100% done to relax, I'll never actually get to take a breath. So, no more killing myself so I can "afford" to take a break.

This week, I've committed to doing LESS multitasking and more focusing on the NOW. After all, as I heard on one of my audiobooks during this morning's commute to work (okay, that was the "good" kind of multitasking!): "Even on the busiest days, the cramped hours come to us in single moments." Is essence, we can only do one thing at a time, so it's foolish to try to do more.

The Tao Te Ching says, "the sage accomplishes more by doing less." I'm willing to give it a try, and enjoy more of my single moments NOW.