Reflections of a Jiujiteiro: mindset

The beauty of life is that you can make what you want out of it, no matter what your circumstance may be. With that said, I believe the best way to view experiences to come is to realize that sometimes we’re the hammer and sometimes we’re the nail. Do not deal in absolutes, and embrace the reality that there is no glory without sacrifice. This month has been a roller coaster of success and failure, but looking back it’s been a great developmental opportunity as a father, husband, and future entrepreneur.

Growth

My son, Dominic, has been learning the ups and downs of competitive sports in the past few weeks. He’s been playing soccer and has had several games designed to teach the kids about sportsmanship, winning humbly and losing gracefully. He finished up the season scoring one more goal for his team, even though they suffered a 1-3 loss against a tough team. I never seen my son care so much about winning or losing until he started soccer, the growth you witness as a parent is priceless.

Dominic has gone from chasing butterflies across the field during the game to becoming emotionally invested in his team’s performance. I’ve seen him walk-off the field with his head down because of a tough match ending in a shutout by the other team, to him running off the field cheering as loud as he could because he scored the game-winning goal and his team took the win. My favorite quote this year was when Dominic told me he used the “power of friendship” to win the game. There will be more of these opportunities for him to build his character, but the value in these experiences is priceless to say the least.

Sport has given me so many defining moments that have shaped my life, in both positive and negative ways. Whether I felt pride, connection, elevation, or insight, I can still picture every moment vividly, decades later. Those moments defined me and still guide me to this day.” ~John O’ Sullivan, Changing the Game Project

https://changingthegameproject.com/power-moments-youth-sports/

In addition to the intramural activities Dominic and Brianna have participated in this month, Brianna is quite the Ballerina if I do say so myself. Both of my hoodlums earned a stripe promotion in Jiu-jitsu. Claudia and I train our kids on the mats twice a week to ensure they understand the importance of hard work and discipline. We do see the value of training our kids as martial artists, but collaterally as they more easily fall into the instruction at their other hobbies. The lessons they learn earlier in life will prepare them for the obstacles to come later on. Whether they struggle academically, professionally, or emotionally if they can reach back to a time they successfully problem solved, or survived, a difficult situation they will be able to recreate success. They will become an unstoppable force.

Unstoppable Force

I’ve turned a lot of my intellectual nutrition to the power of mental resilience, also known as mindset. T. Powell, motivational musical artist, suggests three elements will make you an unstoppable force if leveraged correctly: Desire, Opportunity, and Perseverance in his Game Day Motivation Power Series. I couldn’t agree with him more. As we navigate through life in our own personal and professional journeys there will no doubt be many challenges requiring strong will to overcome. I do agree that desire, opportunity, and perseverance is a great framework for success. This, however, need to be built around a strong why?

You need to have a strong desire, you need to have an opportunity, then you need to have a persevering spirit; and once you put all three of those together you will become an unstoppable force.” ~T. Powell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1byG1bNupRU

A personal example of using the unstoppable force framework into practice has been watching my wife navigate through the red tape surrounding the circumstances of her real estate business. Claudia has been building herself as a real estate entrepreneur over the past year. This month, however, I truly saw how her grit pay off. She was able to learn the process of closing on a house in the U.S. from here in Germany. Not only did she close on the property, but she is establishing herself as a property manager as well.

Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” ~Robert T. Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Robert T. Kiyosaki. (1998) Rich Dad, Poor Dad. RichDad.com

Win or Learn

No, she did not go to school for real estate or business. No, real estate has not been a lifelong dream for her. And no, there was not an easy road paved with multiple contacts waiting to help her succeed. Her success is a result of pure will. She’s built a strong network, has attended multiple mid-night meetings, and has refused to take no for an answer. This was not an easy process, she has also been a big consumer of information to change her mindset to a positive one. Learning that failures will eventually result in her achieving her goals in the future. She has adopted the win or learn mentality and it’s paying off.

The power routine Claudia has established is not an easy one. It’s easy for me to write about and highlight for others, but definitely requires a large commitment for incremental growth in the future. But, it supports the old adage the jiujiteiro getting beat down on the mat each day will always progress more than the critic on the couch. Until next time my friends.

One team, one family! ~Doc