PeaceWalker Blog

  Really!? Ever heard the tale of the tortoise and the hare? Spoiler alert: the tortoise wins. This isn't just a children's story; it's a life lesson in the glory of taking things slow and steady. Setting the bar low might sound like an underachiever's motto, but let's be real—Rome wasn't built in a day, and anything worth achieving in your life won’t be either…  (Like your PeaceWalker / Krav training… for instance!) Imagine this: you’re ready to take on the world, inspired by Jocko Willink's 4:30 AM wake-up calls and David Goggins’ relentless pursuit of pain. You try it, and by day three, you’re resembling a zombie who needs a GPS to find the motivation you lost somewhere between your bed and the coffee maker. Instead, why not set a goal of waking up just 15 minutes earlier each day? Progress! Jocko might scoff, “You call that discipline?” while doing a one-handed push-up with a tank strapped to his back. Meanwhile, Goggins would probably run a marathon in ...

  Ahhh, Mondays… One Step… An old Chinese saying is that… “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step..” True. Then what?! Well… An old Japanese term that I use a lot is… Gambatte  (がんばって) It is a verb that can mean  "do your best," "stand firm," "stay strong," or "hold out" . It can also mean  "persevere"  or how I was taught to say it… Keep Going. Some Days… Some Things… It doesn’t matter if you are starting out your week, or you are at the beginning of some completely new journey or adventure… Taking that first step is important... Following that step, with another, and another, and yet another, also has profound importance. Many don’t begin this journey at all. Instead they continue to research it, talk about it, read about it, watch it, maybe even worry about it, but some never truly begin. What separates those who begin from those who don’t? Simple. The action of doing. Doing doesn’t usually mean doing it right. It ...

  Yesterday I had a great day working with CU Answers. We spent the afternoon working on the ins & outs of how to manage conflict more effectively, how to be a better leader and how to work as a team more effectively. They were a good crew, we had a productive couple hours and had some fun too!  (hey, that rhymes! =)  I appreciate them brining me out to work with their team. Navigating Work & Life I know you already know that sometimes it can be overwhelming juggling work Life & home Life. They’re not unrelated. Like we talked about yesterday… “We have more similarities than differences. One of the things we all have in common is that we have to deal with people… Starting with ourselves…” There simply is no real personal defense  (of any kind… Including conflict communications.)  without Personal Development. Period. You have to cultivate yourself in the right way in order to better deal with the conflicts that you run up against… A Lot of Times… Oft...

  Humbled… I am always in awe of the people who train at the academy. They come from all walks of life. Each brings their own unique baggage. Some crushingly heavy. Others much lighter. All are important to us, the porters of that luggage. I am continually humbled by the every day people who come through the doors to expose their throats to their own demons in effort to overcome them. Yes, it’s more transparent in some than others, but make no mistake, we all have them. It can be an outright battle confronting them and letting go. I know, it’s not easy. I, like you have my own that I have fought. It’s an on going, never ending process. However, if you learn to keep feeding the right wolf inside of you, the one of courage, resilience, love, persistence, and faith, the battle lessens. If you keep going you begin to realize that the demon guarding the gate to where you want to go, is of your own creation. You created it to deal with some pain, it seemed to help, but later, it no longe...

  The importance of leadership is largely overlooked today. It probably always was, but that’s neither here, nor there. We live now, in this day-and-age, so it’s a good place to begin. We are all leading someone, if only ourselves. So, do it well. MENTORS: Look for those who are a little (or a lot) in front of you. People you respect and resonate with. The folks who have been there before you. They are blazing the trail that you haven’t reached yet. MENTEE: You are one of these mentors as well. No matter where you are at, you’re ahead of some folks in something. Be sure to set a good (if not great) example. At our Krav Academy the new folks go through intro and sometimes if someone has missed a day someone who is just one day ahead of that person will help them out with the lesson they missed. You don’t have to be some wizened master to be a mentor. You already ARE one to someone in some way. COMPADRES: Find someone who will walk beside you. Someone on the (relative) same level as ...

  [Almost] Daily email I was just thinking about when I go training out in New Jersey with a friend and mentor of mine.  There’s a pic (above) of the beach…  A little yoga and swim before a seminar... Ah, good for the body and soul! Stoking the Fires… It’s been a minute since I was out there training. The stars have not been in my favor… A lot of conflicts have gotten in the way this year… Excuses?! Hardly. I make training a priority and part of that priority is going out to see Jack and the crew… However, sometime Life does get in the way. Sometimes even the best laid plans don’t work out. I’ve been going out to train with Jack for just shy of 20 years. Religiously I would make the trek from Michigan to Spring Lake, New Jersey to train. Easy?! Nope. Expensive? Yep. Worth it? Absolutely! Bragging Rights?! No, I’m not bragging about it. Believe it or not, I’m trying to encourage you… How?! By sharing the insight that you are worth it. It’s important to dedicate the time to...