Champions Believe They Can Achieve!
November 1, 2008
Belief is the knowledge and confidence that you can achieve. It’s the inner feeling, that gut instinct that we really can and will accomplish what we set our sights on achieving.
Belief gives us power… it strengthens our will to win… it pours fuel on our fire and feeds our desire. All arer key ingredients to high levels of success and achievement.
If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will either. Imagine a world class golfer like Tiger Woods stepping on to the green, thinking he is going to miss a crucial putt. Knowing that his thoughts precede and dictate he actions, it is unlikely that he will be celebrating a victory with thoughts like that. Champions must believe in themselves and their ability to achieve all their goals in life.
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right!”
— Henry Ford
To be a true champion in whatever you do, whether it be dance, soccer, school, sing, work or guiding your children through life, you must believe in yourself and your ability to succeed. It’s no different in business or in life. If you want to win and succeed in business, you must believe in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals. Big or small, you’ve got to believe!
Whether you are in sales, management or service, you must believe in yourself and believe in your product. If you do, you’ll succeed; if you don’t, you’ll fail. It’s that simple.
Call or contact us via email, or stop by at USBA in person if you’d like some more info on how to help yourself and your children succeed in life.
Massive Action Leads to Massive Results
September 1, 2008
Many people talk about all of the plans, dreams, successes and rewards that they are after in life, but often forget that to make those thoughts a reality they will need ACTION. This month’s message is going to discuss how to turn these dreams and goals into a reality. Remember, a goal without an action plan is just a thought.
When planning for success in any aspect of life, we need to do three very important things:
- write it down somewhere so you can be reminded of it,
- share it with someone (a buddy, spouse or even co-worker) for accountability,
- MAKE AN ACTION PLAN ON WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR IT TO HAPPEN
In our martial arts class we often use the saying, “you can’t manage it if you don’t measure it”. Get your starting point! For example, it’s hard to start a weight loss routine if you don’t know what you weigh. After you’ve determined your starting point, create small short term goals that are easily attainable. This will help you feel successful and in turn build your confidence and desire to keep going. If the goal is too big, it may be discouraging, but INCH BY INCH IS A CINCH. Create a logbook to measure and document the steps you have taken and the results from those actions. Last, but not least, remember to always have a positive attitude. It is easy to see the negatives, but always look for the positive. In the example of weight loss, one pound lost means that you have already completed 1/10th of your ultimate goal. Celebrate that success and continue on that path of action.
Massive action leads to massive results when we are putting in 100 percent effort and when we stick to our plans. GOALS WE SET ARE GOALS WE GET.
Proper Planning Leads to Peak Performance
August 6, 2008
It does not matter whether you are 5 or 55, it is important to always arm yourself with the tools and habits to be the best you can be. People often ask when is the best time to start to create habits for young children or ask, “…am I too old to change my current situation?” The answer is simple, and it is, “You are never too young and certainly never too old.”
To begin planning, often people need a motivator which can be a change of season, a fun challenge or worse, a real life situation of urgency. Back to school is coming and this can be one time for all of us to refocus, re-energize and make change. To begin you need to first Plan Your Work, and then – Work Your Plan. Martial arts have proven for hundreds of years that it can help improve attitude, behaviour, habits and even character. Habits we train are habits we gain, and every day when attending martial arts classes you learn how to create winning habits and attitudes.
Through constant goal setting in small increments you will quickly see new improved results. “Inch by inch is a cinch!” This is the thinking you need to adapt if you are going to grow to the next level. For the younger kids it can be as simple as learning that the element of hard work will lead to strong results. For an adult, realizing that when you put your mind to work you can achieve any goal you desire.
If you are looking for something to jumpstart you or a family member to a new long term success plan, have a look at martial arts, we guarantee it will make a difference.
The Importance of Self-Control
July 28, 2008
Respect, discipline and self-control are three characteristics that are taught in every class at U.S. Blackbelt Academy. Of the three, I believe self-control is the key characteristic as it fosters discipline and respect.
Self-control is a habit, and as you’ve heard many times at USBA, “the habits we train are habits we gain”. As a person focuses on developing self-control in one part of his life, he will see great changes in not only that part, but in many others. Soon, his life will begin to drastically change in all aspects, whether it be diet, work, school or socially.
Self-control can be broken into a variety of different categories, but the two main ones are mental and physical. A person’s ability to have physical self-control helps them manage her diet, to exercise, to get enough sleep and to eat the right things. Mentally, self-control helps a person guide her emotions to the right responses. It helps her relax and think when panicked, to keep her temper when she gets angry and to better handle a wide variety of situations.
It is never too early to teach our children the importance of self-control. A simple habit such as sticking to a consistent time for homework is an excellent method of teaching self-control. As adults, we have opportunities daily, both at home and at work, to exercise self control. The most basic way to build self-control when a job is ahead of you is to attempt to stay on task and avoid procrastination.
Self-control, both mentally and physically from a martial arts perspective is important to ensure that the skills we teach our students are never abused or misused. Martial arts champions learn that they must control their emotions, or their emotions may control them.
Master Ivan Kravitz
Habits of Excellence
June 9, 2008
Why not make excellence your habit? Wouldn’t it be great to lead a life filled with excellence?
It’s been said that mediocrity is the enemy of excellence…simply meaning either one can become a habit for life. If you accept mediocrity in yourself and others that you influence, that’s when you begin to develop the habit of mediocrity. You will soon be destined to accept okay results.
However, if you demand excellence in attitude, performance and results, from yourself and those you influence, that is what you will get (and valuable experience as well). Whichever you choose, it will be the start of a habit.
Why? Because anything that you do repeatedly, over and over again, is bound to be become habit…that’s just the way it is.
Visualize a life of excellent health, wealth and happiness.
Excellent health would give you greater energy to train and do the things you want to do each day, and allow you to accomplish more each year. Looking and feeling fit, toned and flexible, will give you energy to burn.
Excellence in wealth would free you from financial worry and concern. Allowing you more choices and opportunities to learn, grow, achieve and and have more fun in life.
Excellence in happiness would mean that you are happy with who you are, what you are, where you are going, and the relationships and people you are surrounded by everyday. You’d have excellent friends, co-workers and a happy family life as well. You’d be smiling, singing, whistling, humming and/or laughing…more than 95% of the people on the planet.
This is what happens when you develop habits of excellence.
Start today by committing yourself to step up your game. Decide right now that you are going to do everything you do better. You can start by displaying an attitude of excellence, give excellent polite greetings and do excellent push ups. Practice having an excellent smile and share it with as many people as you can. Strive for excellent results in everything you do, go the extra mile to create a better outcome in every area of your life.
Sincerely,
Master Ivan Kravitz
Kids Finding Success Through the Martial Arts
June 2, 2008
There are many, many choices of sports and activities available to our youth that can help them prepare for life’s challenges and whatever the future brings, but few can match the benefits that martial arts has to offer. By focusing on mind, body and spirit, the martial arts provide the necessary skills to improve every child and to take them to their full potential in every aspect of life.
While teaching a number of key character traits including courtesy and integrity, martial arts stresses respect. In fact, martial arts begins and ends with respect and encourages students to apply this philosophy to all aspects of life. It teaches respect for one’s self, as well as towards others. In addition, martial arts teaches kids how to manage their emotions, how to set and achieve goals, how to overcome obstacles and most of all, how to hold themselves to high standards.
Martial arts students see improvements in strength, flexibility, speed and timing at every class and then with the help of their instructors, learn how to bring these results into the home, school and a variety of other social settings. Most importantly, they learn that through hard work any goal that they set is achievable.
Martial arts teaches students to deal with conflict, to help others in need, recognize negative situations, and to challenge themselves to be better tomorrow than they were today.
Remember, success is a journey, not a destination, and we all need to stay on a quest to be our best.
Watch out for next month’s article on the importance of integrity.
April is a BUSY Month!
April 2, 2008
Wow! There’s a lot of exciting things happening at the school this month! I hope I don’t leave any out, but check your student folders, and check the website throughout the month. The School News department on usbapride.com is a wonderful, quick-read for upcoming events at the school.
During the first week, I will actually be up at Fairtex in San Francisco for a couple of days training with Ganyao Fairtex. Later in April, Ganyao is coming to USBA to train with YOU! Get ready for a real Muay Thai class!
On Monday the 14th, I am very excited to announce that Royler Gracie will be at USBA teaching a Jiu-Jitsu seminar. Class size is very limited, so RGJJ students should sign up early.
Our black belt candidates are training hard this month. Their two-day test is scheduled for April 4-5, Friday night and Saturday. It’s a rigorous two days — let’s all wish them well. Lastly,
A Special Trip to Washington, DC
March 11, 2008
I recently had the good fortune to travel to Washington, DC, to attend the 3rd Annual Royce Gracie Network Gathering. Over 100 people were in attendance from all over the world…Royce, Royler, Rodrigo, and Ralek Gracie conducted a variety of excellent seminars. The atmosphere was positive and informative as usual. I would like to thank Jeremy LaFreniere from Capital Jiu-Jitsu for being an excellent host, and congratulate him on his beautiful new Academy…I also would like to congratulate my friend Evaldo Lima on receiving his Black Belt from Royce…
I was fortunate enough to also have been promoted to Brown Belt, and I would like to extend a big “thank you” to all who have helped me on this journey…and what an awesome journey it has been…I look forward to continue on this journey of growth, as I always like to say…”It’s not about the belt, it’s about who you become on the journey.”
My Recent Trip to Florida
February 8, 2008
I have had the opportunity to share with many of my students a brief story or two about my recent trip with Royce Gracie. We conducted a seminar in Florida for the benefit of law enforcement trainers, who were interested in learning the techniques of Brazilian Jui-Jitsu.
It was a great experience. The students were passionate about learning the skills – as you could imagine, their need for training is a daily need, and not a casual interest. These guys put their lives on the line every day in pursuit of our safety. Given their perspective on self-defense, it was very rewarding to hear how much they valued learning and employing the techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
Master Kravitz
Goals We Set…Are Goals We Get!
January 11, 2008
Almost everyone has hopes and dreams for 2008 be their best year ever. Our advice is that you take the time to put those wishes and dreams down on paper. It’s called a WISHLIST because that’s exactly what it is, a list of wishes, hopes and dreams.
If you had a magic wand in your hand and could create the perfect life for yourself in the next 3-5 years, what would it look like? Where would you be living? What would you be doing? What kind of shape would you be in? What Martial Art skills would you possess?
Writing down your wishes and dreams is a great exercise. It’s a lot of fun and it helps you to start thinking about the goals that will move you in the direction of your dreams. The next step is to create your GOALS LIST for 2008. These are goals that you want to achieve in the next 6-12 months.
Experts agree the moment you take action on your dreams, you have begun the process of goal achievement. The first action should always be to write them your goals down on paper. Better known as, “Think it, Ink it!” Never leave the sight of a goal without taking action. Goal setting is such an essential and powerful tool for success in the Martial Arts and in life.
Our Black Belt Success System is a great example of goal setting in action. Becoming a Black Belt Champion takes an average of 3-5 years for those that set their sights on it early. This would be considered a long range goal. The best way to achieve a long range goal is to break it down into bite sized portions. You do this by creating short and mid-range goals that lead you toward your ultimate long range objective, just like the step by step process in the journey to Black Belt.
Let’s make it a great week!!!
Master Kravitz
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