Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
It's Time To Grow Or Go: Community Impact Goals for 2010
As we head into the season of New Year's Resolutions, I've decided to set a big, audacious goal for myself and the dojo: In 2010, I'm aiming to make Emerald Necklace Martial Arts the most well known, well respected, most influential community-service-based martial arts organization in the city of Boston.
In short, when people need exciting fitness training, a boost in self-confidence, and a sense of belonging, I want them to come to us and enroll. When city leaders need help on an important community project, I want them to seek our member's assistance and participation. When a local school teacher or principal needs someone to speak to their students about safety, bullying, leadership, wellness, WHATEVER, I want him or her to think about contacting our school.
To be sure, to meet these goals, we need to increase our dojo enrollment. We need to grow in size to stay in business, and to do more as a community. But, I don't simply want to have the "biggest" martial arts school school in the city. It's not all that important for us to be the "most profitable" school around (although that would be nice). I simply want to be the best — on the dojo floor in terms of our physical ability and level of performance, and out there on the streets in terms of our character and the positive impact of our service.
I shot a short video on the subject this week:
Find more videos like this on The Emerald Necklace Martial Arts "Digital Dojo"
To my students: It's time to take some action.
If you aren't willing to help us grow, and thrive, and make a difference in the community/world, should you really be training here?
To the community we serve: We are here for you.
Check out our online portfolio of community service projects. I want you to challenge us. Engage us. Ask us for help. And I promise, we will rise to the occasion. (And maybe, just maybe, you'll be inspired to JOIN US.)
In short, when people need exciting fitness training, a boost in self-confidence, and a sense of belonging, I want them to come to us and enroll. When city leaders need help on an important community project, I want them to seek our member's assistance and participation. When a local school teacher or principal needs someone to speak to their students about safety, bullying, leadership, wellness, WHATEVER, I want him or her to think about contacting our school.
To be sure, to meet these goals, we need to increase our dojo enrollment. We need to grow in size to stay in business, and to do more as a community. But, I don't simply want to have the "biggest" martial arts school school in the city. It's not all that important for us to be the "most profitable" school around (although that would be nice). I simply want to be the best — on the dojo floor in terms of our physical ability and level of performance, and out there on the streets in terms of our character and the positive impact of our service.
I shot a short video on the subject this week:
Find more videos like this on The Emerald Necklace Martial Arts "Digital Dojo"
To my students: It's time to take some action.
If you aren't willing to help us grow, and thrive, and make a difference in the community/world, should you really be training here?
To the community we serve: We are here for you.
Check out our online portfolio of community service projects. I want you to challenge us. Engage us. Ask us for help. And I promise, we will rise to the occasion. (And maybe, just maybe, you'll be inspired to JOIN US.)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Conscious Consuming, Healthy Eating, and the Holiday Season
I've been thinking a lot lately about raising my awareness of what I "consume" in my life, from the food that I eat to the purchases that I make, to the media that I watch and read. And of course, I've been thinking about how all of these things relate to the martial arts and "self-defense."
I recently watched the movie, "Food, Inc." A real eye opener in terms of becoming more aware of the source of our meals and the methods that are being used to produce and deliver our food to the market. And I'm becoming more and more aware of just how interconnected and interdependent we all are.
No, I don't eat local, organic, fairly-traded, healthy food all of the time. In fact, I love to eat absolute crap, but I am making small changes where I can — and when I remember to. Awareness is the key. For example, I still drink coffee, but with a growing awareness of how bad the cream and sugar are for my overall health, I'm drinking it black more frequently. (And hey, it tastes pretty good!)
With raised awareness, I'm finding myself being more mindful and grateful, too. Shot this video this morning:
I recently watched the movie, "Food, Inc." A real eye opener in terms of becoming more aware of the source of our meals and the methods that are being used to produce and deliver our food to the market. And I'm becoming more and more aware of just how interconnected and interdependent we all are.
No, I don't eat local, organic, fairly-traded, healthy food all of the time. In fact, I love to eat absolute crap, but I am making small changes where I can — and when I remember to. Awareness is the key. For example, I still drink coffee, but with a growing awareness of how bad the cream and sugar are for my overall health, I'm drinking it black more frequently. (And hey, it tastes pretty good!)
With raised awareness, I'm finding myself being more mindful and grateful, too. Shot this video this morning:
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