Destined to DO great things

When I was younger, I knew I was destined FOR great things. Yes, I was that arrogant and cocky back then. I still remember as a teenager my mother rolling her eyes as a told her if I am great, dad and her must be at least half-great. Man, I was a jerk.

I laugh about it now because this attitude did help me in many ways - it set a huge standard to live up too. For example, I knew that obtaining good grades was part of this destiny so I graduated college with the highest honors.

The negative part of this attitude was that many of my peers would have loved to see me fall on my face. When I stumbled, I had plenty of friends that reveled in the chance to rub it in.

Well now, I got older and my attitude changed. Instead of being destined FOR great things, I now believe that I am destined to DO great things. This change in philosophy reminds me of the great swordsman, Musashi, when he wrote in his journal “Regret nothing you do” then later, he crossed it out and replaced it with “Do nothing you will regret”.

The idea of being destined to do great things inspired me to start my school, Maximum Impact Karate. Doing great things means that my mission became something outside myself – helping students and our community. Our name Maximum Impact Karate reflects this mission because it means that we are looking to have the maximum impact on our students and community. Every time I talk about our mission, I get excited about it.

The last year, I devoted my time to maximize my program and building the character development elements. I know that I am heading in the right direction because of the overwhelming positive response from our student’s parents. I constantly hear positive testimonials about their personal transformations.

Hearing these testimonials fills me with so much joy.

Instead of teaching just kicks and punches, I teach about achieving goals, setting high standards, and getting more focused. This year, I wrote modules to teach Anger Management, Bully Defense, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The 10 Qualities of a Total Winner, etc. I am looking forward to presenting this new material over the next year to our students and know that it will have a profound effect on them.

2008 is looking like an amazing year!

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