Simple Principles to Become Your Ideal Self - Part One

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. A student rushed to his locker nervously spinning the dials, repeating the numbers over and over in his head, “7, 24, 36... 7, 24, 36. Crap! I missed it again.” His mind was busy with fifty different thoughts, the prevailing of which was running into a group of sixth graders who seemed to treasure tormenting him. If he was just able to get out of the building early enough, maybe he could avoid them. He regularly thought to himself, “I don’t understand why they chose me or how do I get them to stop.” Every day of torment drove him deeper into his proverbial shell. His confidence was destroyed the year prior by his teachers who wanted to hold him back due to low-test scores and a lack of ability to focus. He had little experience in sports and spent most of his time playing video games.

Would you believe that with the application of several simple principles this young child was able to have his entire life turned around. Not only turned around, but he was able to accomplish things that most people only dream of accomplishing?

Some of his achievements thus far, meeting and exceeding grade level in only two years of additional work, earning a bachelor’s degree, becoming a third degree black belt and Tae Kwon Do instructor, receiving a commission as a officer in the United States Army (later being promoted to Captain), completing US Army Ranger School, working as a teacher in inner city Chicago, later working as an Assistant Professor at Loyola and DePaul Universities, as well as the Illinois Institute of Technology, and completing several personal physical challenges to include an Olympic Triathlon…and much more.

The truth is that kid was me! I was a chubby, self-conscious child and lacked social, physical and organizational skills.  I was one of the shyest kids around. The catalyst for my change was being enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do academy in Naperville, IL. I owe those guys a lot from the Grandmaster to the instructing staff and all those who were students with me at the time. One of the biggest secrets to making a lasting life change stems from one of my favorite quotes.

1. You are the average of the five people you

associate with the most. ~ Jim Rohn

I have news for you, the people you spend time with affect you more than you realize. When we are children, we don’t necessarily have much control over our lives, but as we become adolescents we have the ability to choose our friends. For me, thankfully my mother made the decision for me. I was enrolled at P.S. Academy, a Tae Kwon Do studio. The following may sound redundant but it is true, the more you surround yourself with great coaches and fellow enthusiasts the better you will do at whatever activity you would like to be successful in. When you spend time with people who have achieved what you want to achieve, a magical thing starts to happen. You begin to see your goal as a tangible outcome; It becomes more attainable than could have realized on your own.

The same is true for weight loss. If you want to lose weight, the best thing you could do is to spend time around people who successfully made the journey you are looking to make. You will inevitably hear their stories of success: how they managed their lifestyle, what they chose to eat, and how they worked out. As you make these changes you will find yourself surrounded with a supportive group of friends. These friends will know what it takes to achieve the outcomes you desire.  People in this world want the people around them to be successful.

“I knew nothing about martial arts. The coach told me I was talented with learning martial art, and put me in a school. Three years later I got my first championship in China.”

~ Jet Li

2. Get a coach or mentor, and learn quicker and easier than you would on your own.

With a physical skill, just hanging out with a bunch of amazing tennis players will not make you an amazing tennis player yourself. Geoff Colvin author of Wall Street Journal and BuisnessWeek bestseller, Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers from Everybody Else, breaks down what makes the top performers great. “It’s apparent why becoming significantly good at almost anything is extremely difficult without the help of a teacher or coach…Without a clear, unbiased view of the subject’s performance, choosing the best practice activity will be impossible; for reasons that may be simply physical (as in sports) or deeply psychological, very few of us can make a clear, honest assessment of our own performance.” He goes on to explain the importance of deliberate practice, as identifying and working to improve “sharply defined elements of performance.” Finding a coach for any task you wish to learn or develop is crucial for your achieving greatness. Only an experienced individual can make sure you are practicing the action correctly.

These concepts stretch across all disciplines: artists, businessmen, musicians, and any other type of task you wish to learn. Find a coach or a mentor and you will be able succeed much faster and with far fewer failures. For centuries many martial arts instructors as well as coaches of all disciplines have realized that the right types of practice are crucial for developing greatness. This is where only part of the magic of my transformation began.

“We become what we repeatedly do.” ~ Sean Covey
3. What ever you want to be great at, do it often. If you fail, thats ok, keep failing better. Act as if persistance is a guarantee to success. If you do it will be!

For more information about P.S. Academy in Naperville, Illinois click here.