Tools Versus Hoops

I am getting close to a black belt grading deadline. I am spending more and more time analyzing our school’s candidates and using their successes and mistakes to help me further refine our future grading process. This year we introduced a few more tools to help our students achieve the mastery that should be indicative of a black belt. Of course you can lead a horse to water . . . .

Something that has taken me a long time to accept is that a tool is only a tool if it is recognized as such. Unfortunately a tool for one person is a hoop for another. The difference between a hoop and a tool comes down to who you are doing the work for. If you are doing the work for yourself because you recognize the value in the rate of return on your investment, then your black belt requirements are accepted as tools to help in your success. If you are doing the work for your instructor then any tool I put in front of you will be interpreted as a hoop you have to jump through to get your promotion. Either approach requires the work to be done but it is much easier to stay the course mentally when you are using tools to blaze your trail rather than depleting your energy jumping through endless hoops and over various hurdles.

A team is only as strong as its weakest member. Teammates get support from each other and the team is probably the most valuable tool I have ever given my students. Not living up to your responsibilities and commitments not only have a drastic affect on the outcome of your efforts but will also have a negative impact on the rest of your team. Everyone knows that actions have consequences but what must be kept in the forefront is that inaction’s consequences can be far more damaging.

“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” - Josiah Charles Stamp (1880 - 1941)

UBBT Success

I’ve been participating in the Ultimate Black Belt Test for almost five years now. I’ve witnessed spectacular successes and many failures. The one thing that all the failures had in common was the breaking of the no quitting rule. When you think about it, whether or not you achieve all the goals you set out to achieve, a year dedicated to mastery cannot end in failure if you stay engaged in the process. Stick to the process and progress is guaranteed. The process. That is the secret. The UBBT is not a program you participate in, it is a process you develop. My I Ho Chuan team members (student UBBT team), past and present, continue to struggle with this perspective.

Lifestyle changes are only lifestyle changes if the changes last a lifetime. Temporary change only garners temporary results. If you want to lose weight, any strategies you adopt to lose that weight must be maintained over your lifetime if you want the weight loss to be permanent. Mastery is no different. A Master does not achieve a goal and then immediately revert to a life of accepting average. Mastery is a way of life, not some arbitrary goal recognized by a certificate you hang on a wall.

Something for my 2012 student team to think about — have you transformed yourself over these past seven months? If not, you still have five more to turn this around. Finally, a question for my past student teams. Has the mastery you developed over the course of your challenge become part of you or have you already discarded some of the tools that allowed you to achieve the extraordinary?

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and your discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” - Patanjali

This is a Test

As of January 23, 2012, I will no longer promote anyone to Black Belt or beyond unless they have successfully completed a full year in our I Ho Chuan program. Our I Ho Chuan program is based upon Tom Callos’ Ultimate Black Belt Test and my expectation is that anyone wishing promotion must make an unmitigated commitment to mastery.

The I Ho Chuan program is limited to twenty participants each year. This year due to a few long distance students, I have allowed twenty-four to participate. As I identified last week, some of my student team members are struggling. I made some changes to my student UBBT program this year by designating bi-weekly I Ho Chuan classes and a monthly team meeting. These extra opportunities allow the team coaches to connect and follow up with individual team members. Motivation over the long term can be a struggle so that makes these opportunities that much more important.

Opportunities only bear fruit if they are taken advantage of. It is pretty hard to have a big affect on someone’s motivation if they are not taking the minimum steps to help themselves. At a minimum, everyone on the team should have zero unexcused absences from their I Ho Chuan classes and meetings. Lastly, everyone must journal a MINIMUM of once a week. If you’re not journalling, you probably are not fully aware of where you are. If you don’t know where you are, how the heck can you count on your coaches to be aware?

I constantly remind my students to follow their team’s journals as everyone’s journey is pertinent to everyone else. Sometimes the solution to a problem lies in the experience of another. This posting is a test for my I Ho Chuan members. I am asking each of my students who read this posting to indicate so by posting a comment on this entry on my Blogger account.

“Success begins to happen when you help yourself.” - Arthur Tugman (b. 1938)

Excuses = Reasons

Seven months into the year and many of my student team members are struggling. The problem is that I am pretty sure the majority of those struggling are not even aware that they are. It’s easy to let mediocrity creep into your life when you are not engaged.

When it comes to mastery, either you do or you don’t. Excuses for commitments not met are not free passes. In reality they are reasons why goals aren’t achieved. Actions, not intentions produce progress.

If you are student of mine and do not pass your grading this year, consider the choices you have made and the priorities you have set. The importance you place on mastery is directly related to your level of commitment toward fulfilling the promises you made to yourself at the beginning of the year.

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” - Ken Blanchard (b. 1939)

Grandpa Was A Glowworm

It is hard not to acknowledge my own mortality when someone close to me passes away. I do the math and am acutely aware of how fast time is going by. So much to do and such little time. I guess I am at the point of my life where it is all about quality because the quantity will never be enough to accomplish everything I want to accomplish.

One of my favourite anecdotes about Winston Churchill comes from Helen Violet Bonham Carter —

"At the dinner-table, for a long time he [Churchill] remained sunk in abstraction. Then he appeared to become suddenly aware of my existence. He turned on me a lowering gaze and asked me how old I was. I replied that I was nineteen.
"'And I,' he said almost despairingly, 'am thirty-two already.'
"On reflection he added thoughtfully, 'Younger than anyone else who counts, though.' Then, savagely, 'Curse ruthless time! Curse our mortality. How cruelly short is the allotted span for all we must cram into it!'
"He burst into a diatribe about the brevity of life and ended: 'We are all worms... But I do believe that I am a glowworm!'"