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I’m the last person in the world who would tell you not to work hard. I’m also the first one to remind you that working hard must also be tempered by working smart, or you might just be wasting a load of effort. There is a reason why we were born with both muscles and brains.

Consider the story of two lumberjacks in a tree-cutting contest. Both were strong and determined, hoping to win the prize. But one was hardworking and ambitious, chopping down every tree in his path at the fastest pace possible, while the other appeared to be a little more laid back, methodically felling trees and pacing himself. The go-getter worked all day, skipping his lunch break, expecting that his superior effort would be rewarded. His opponent, however, took an hour-long lunch, then resumed his steady pace. In the end, the eager beaver was dismayed to lose to his “lazier” competition. Thinking he deserved to win after his hard work, he finally approached his opponent and said, “I just don’t understand. I worked longer and harder than you, and went hungry to get ahead. You took a break, and yet you still won. It just doesn’t seem fair. Where did I go wrong?” The winner responded, “While I was taking my lunch break, I was sharpening my ax.”

Hard work will always pay off; smart work will pay better. Remember back in college, there were the kids who studied all day and all night, but still struggled to pass exams? Then there were the kids who studied hard but also found time for a game of cards or basketball, and still aced every test. Both groups studied the same material, attended the same lectures taught by the same professors, and took the same test. Was the second group just that much more brilliant? Maybe, but my money’s on the way they approached their material and learned how to study. If they were smart, they applied those same principles after graduation: work hard, but work smart.

Call it creativity, call it ingenuity, call it whatever: I call it using your head. Knowing how to analyze a situation and how to execute an action plan will put you ahead of the game in the long run. There’s nothing wrong with having a leg up on your competition – it’s how you win.

The combination of hard work and smart work is the formula for success. Think about what needs to be done, and then think again about the best way to accomplish it – not necessarily the way you’ve always done it, or the fastest way, and certainly not the hardest way. Never make work harder than it has to be. That’s just a colossal waste of time.

Mackay’s Moral: “It’s good to work hard. It’s great to work smart. But it’s best to work hard and smart”.    — Harvey Mackay

Whether we are talking about martial arts classes, study habits or work…you will always succeed at a higher level if you develop the habit of giving your best effort. Nobody achieves greatness by being lazy or giving a half-hearted effort. If you study the training of champions in any sport, you will see them putting in hours of dedicated practice and giving their best effort to get better. We see this in the Olympics. Whether it is Shawn White, Chloe Kim, or Redmond Gerard, the best use state management to help them succeed at an extra-ordinary level.

When you give your best effort and consistently push to exceed your previous best, you will get better and you will improve. Never allow Minimums to become your Maximums & Always Maintain High Character!

When you push yourself to your current maximum, and then strive for 10% improvement or better, you will constantly raise the bar on your personal best. The difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary is one word…”extra”!  You will take yourself to new levels of excellence if you will decide in advance to give extra effort and especially extra service.  This is especially true if you maintain a high level of character in the process.

“A man of character will make himself worthy of any position given.” Mahatma Gandhi

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you get in the habit of giving a minimal effort and accept less than your best, this can also become habit.  If you’re not careful, before you know it, your minimum will become your maximum. Ultimately, your life will become ordinary or even less. To some this is normal, to peak performers and champions this a place they avoid like the plague. Look at everything you do, on and off the mat, think about how you can give your best effort and do it better. What could you do different today to take it to a whole new level?

In the training hall (Dojo or Dojang)…what can you do to pick up the pace to improve your skills and conditioning? At work or school, what could you do to exceed expected and provide extra-ordinary service? What could you do in your relationships to make a profound and positive impact on those around you? What could you do at your school to ensure to ensure students are fully plugged in! At work…can you arrive a little earlier, stay later, improve your effort and increase your overall contribution?                                                           

Habits we Train…are Habits we Gain!

Check out these five personal growth tips to get on top (and stay on top) quickly:

1. GET NEGATIVE PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR ENERGY FIELD

• Your energy is the very essence of your potential.
• It’s literally the fuel in your gas-tank.
• No Crap Allowed in the gas tank.
• No Turd Allowed in the punch bowl.
• Got it?

2. ALWAYS CHOOSE THE THING THAT WILL INCREASE YOUR POWER

• That means never choosing any person, place, or thing that weakens you.
• It also includes what you put in your body, and anything you put or allow to be put into your mind.
• Would you say that reading material like this right now weakens you, or increases your power?

3. ONLY SPEAK, THINK, AND BEHAVE IN WAYS THAT WILL INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESS

• By default, most people think, speak, and behave in ways that weaken them.
• By design, think, speak, and behave as a Warrior speaks, thinks, and
  Focus on things that increase your happiness and that of others.

4. GET OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE AND INTO THE ACTION ZONE

• The prize doesn’t go to the person who has the best ideas, plans, goals, and visions.
• It goes to the person who takes definite action on those ideas!
• The only way to win is to actually DO IT.

5. REMAIN IN THE TACTICAL MIND OF MUSHIN

• Most of the population lives in the emotional realm.
• They navigate life based solely on their feelings and emotions, and possess no tactical awareness beyond their own visceral desires.
• By practicing tactical detachment and objectivity (Mushin) you can intuit what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. Most importantly you can flip the switch and live the adventure fully in the moment!

Belief is the knowledge that we can do something. It’s an inner feeling that we can accomplish the things we desire and decide to achieve. When you believe in yourself, you gain power and your eyes are open to opportunities that lead to greatness. To achieve high levels of success and achievement, you must believe you can and will succeed.

“Nothing is impossible to a willing mind.” – Books of Han Dynasty

Warriors do not make excuses. They take responsibility for our own destiny. This includes whether or not they are happy, sad, successful or unsuccessful.

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right!” – Henry Ford                                                                                        

Your thoughts can be positive and filled with belief, or they can be negative and filled with disbelief. Either way, your mind will convince you to succeed and achieve, or to fail. The choice is yours. Have confidence in yourself and your ability to become more and achieve more than you already have. Confidence and self-belief are like muscles that have to be exercised and used to become stronger.

“Believe you can and you are halfway there.” — Theodore Roosevelt

Fill your mind with thoughts of success and victory and there will be no room for thoughts of failure and defeat. Surround yourself with people that support and encourage you to go for it versus the naysayers that fill your mind with fear and doubt. Live your life “full out” and practice the habit of self-belief.  

See it…Believe it…and you will Achieve it!