CHOPWOODCARRYWATER

HOWTOFALLINLOVEWITHTHEPROCESSOFBECOMINGGREAT

JOSHUAMEDCALF

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CONTENTS

Chapter1ChopWood,CarryWaterChapter2BuildingYourOwnHouseChapter3FaithfulintheSmallThingsChapter4OneEyeFortheJourneyChapter5NothingisaTestChapter6WhereDoYouFindYourIdentity?Chapter7GuzzlingSaltWaterChapter8Evil’sBestWeaponChapter9WhatWentWell?Chapter10Insta-everythingChapter11WanderingEyesChapter12RoughSideoftheMountainChapter13HarnessingPowerChapter14DietCokeChapter15ThePathtoMasteryChapter16IAimWithEverythingChapter17BambooChapter18RoadSignsonThePathToMasteryChapter19BeWhereYourFeetAreChapter20Goalvs.MissionChapter21SurrenderChapter22FamousFailuresChapter23TheIllusionofPartiallyControllableGoalsChapter24TheFightChapter25PrinciplesInsteadofFeelings

Chapter26WarriorDialChapter27“They”Chapter28ANewName-FinalThoughts-“Whatdoyoudowithallyourtime?”“DrowningWithoutaMission”Readytoapplyeverythingyoulearned?!ThankYou’s

-CHAPTER1-

ChopWood,CarryWater

Foraslongashisfamilycouldremember,JohnandhisyoungerbrotherJordanhadbeeninlovewiththesamuraicultureofJapan.WhenJohnwasonlyeightyears old, his family visited many places in Asia. He and Jordan excitedlyexplored every place they visited, and dreamt of returning one day to becometheirfavoritetypeofsamuraiwarriors:archers.

Ayearlater, tragedystruckasthefamilywasinabadcaraccidentandJordanwas severely injured.The rest of the familywas pretty bangedup, but JordanwasbarelyhangingontolifeintheICU.ForthefirstfewmonthsJohnsatathisbedside, only leaving the hospital to shower two times a week, reading himstories throughout the day about the samurai culture that they both loved somuch.EverynighttheywouldfallasleeptoJackieChanmovies.John’sparentsevenlethimmissthefirstmonthofschool.

Eventuallyafter fivemonthsofbeing in thehospital Jordanwascleared togohome. The doctors said he would never again be able to talk, walk, or feedhimself. Jordan still foundways to communicate andplaywith John and theybecameevencloserthantheywerebeforetheaccident.Johnalwaysadmiredhisbrother’s upbeat attitude and warm energy despite his circumstances. ThedoctorssaidforJordantogothroughanormaldayitrequiredasmuchenergyasitdoesforanaveragepersontorunamarathon.

As John entered his teenage years, he never forgot their shared love of thesamurai, and over time his fascination turned to deep admiration and lastingrespect.Hebegantothinkmoreandmoreaboutpursuingitinhisfuture.

Finally,when he turned eighteen, John bought a one-way ticket to an ancientcity in Japan, intent on fulfilling his boyhood dream. He enrolled as anapprentice to a small community of samuraiwho lived outside the citywalls,

practicing their timeless traditions.There,heknewhecouldbecomeasamuraiarcher.

When John arrived, hewas greeted by a friendly old sensei namedAkira.HehelpedJohnunloadhisbagsandgetsettled.Astheywalkedthegrounds,takingalookattheadvancedtrainingareasandshootingranges,Johngrewmoreandmoreexcited.Thisplacewasamazing!Hecouldn’twaittogetstarted.

But the next morning, Akira gathered the newly arrived apprentices andinformed themof their first task: for the restof themorning, theywouldchopwoodandcarrywater.

Johnwassurprisedandconfused.Headdressedhisteacherwiththepropertitleofrespectthattheyhadbeentaught:“Akira-sensei,whatdoyoumean?”

The oldman explained that their communitywas outfittedwith everymodernconvenience, except for heat and running water. Instead of using gas orelectricity,theyburnedwoodforheatwhentheweathergrewcold.Andinordertousewaterinthebathroomsandkitchen,ithadtobebroughtbyhandfromawell outside. Thus, in order for the community to use water and stay warmduringthewinter,thecommunitydependedoneveryonetochopwoodandcarrywater.

“Butwhenwillwegettoshoot?”Johnwonderedaloud.

Akira just smiled. “Shootingwill come soon enough.But first youmust chopwood,andcarrywater.”

Johnwas frustrated,butheobeyed.He trustedhis sensei’swisdom,andknewthatintime,theywouldmoveontomoreexcitingthings.

-CHAPTER2-

BuildingYourOwnHouse

Thenextdaywashotandmuggy.Johnsweatedashedrovehisaxethroughlogafterlog.Hisshouldersachedashehauledbucketafterbucketofwaterfromthewell into thehouse,andhishandsbegan toblister fromthe frictionof theaxehandle. Itwas frustratingwatchingmenold enough tobe in retirementhomeschopwoodandcarrywater soeffortlessly.Buthekeptworking, rememberingAkira’swordsthat,“shootingwillcomesoonenough.”

Finally,aftertheday’sworkhadfinished,AkiratookJohnaside.Hehandedhimacupofcoolwaterandtoldhimastory.

HetoldJohnthatinJapantheyhaveadeeploveofarchitecture,andthereoncewasamannamedKotawhobuiltsomeofthefinesthousesinallofTokyo.Hisworkbecameworldfamousduetohisdedicationtotheprocess,hiswillingnesstobeatonhiscraft,andhis relentlessdevotion tokeep learning,even late intohiscareer.

Eventually though,Kotagrew tiredofbuildinghomes forotherpeopleandhewas ready to retire.Hehadbeenbuildinghomes for over thirty years, andhewas ready to move on. He wanted to travel and spend lots of time with hisgrandkids.

Oneday,Kotaapproachedhisboss,andturnedinhistwo-weeknotice.

Hisbosssaid,“Kota,weare forever indebted toyou for themagnificentworkyouhavedoneforourcompany,andwearesogratefulyouhaveworkedforusforsolong.Wedohaveonefavortoaskofyouthough.Couldyoupleasebuildonemorehouse? It is avery importanthouse, foravery importantclient, andeveryoneinthecompanyagreeditneedsyourmagictouch!”

Kotawas frustrated.Hewouldhave to cancel two trips andpostponehis new

life,all foronehouse.He toldhisboss thatheneededaday to thinkabout it.After talking itoverwithhiswife,hegave inanddecidedhewouldbuildonemorehouse.Buthetoldhisboss,“Thisistheverylastone!”

ButwhileKotahadagreedwithhisheadtobuildthislasthouse,hisheartwasno longer in it.Hehadalwaysbeenveryhands-on through theentirebuildingprocess, always selecting the finest materials by hand andmaking sure everydetailwasdiligentlytendedto.

Butthishousewasdifferent.

Hevieweditmoreasanobligation thananopportunity.Hedelegatedmuchofthework, and consequently a lot of things started slipping through the cracks.Thehousewouldbeuptocode,butasitstartedtocometogether,itwasobviousthatitlackedthe“wow”factorthatKota’sotherhomeswereknownfor.

Kotaknewinhisheart thatthiswasfarfromhisbestwork,buthewasoveritand ready tomoveon to thenext phaseof his life.Thenext phasewasmuchmoreappealingandimportanttohimthanthepresentphase.

Afterfourmonthshadpassed,Kotafinallyfinishedthehouse.

Hewentbacktohisboss,tellinghim,“Ididwhatyouasked.NowIamasking,onelasttime,foryourblessingtoretire.”

Hisbosssaid,“ThankyouKota!Wejusthaveonemorething!”

NowKotawasbeginningtogetreallyupsetbecausehethoughttheyweregoingtoaskhimtobuildanotherhouse.

Hisbossreachedintohisdeskandpulledoutaverysmallblackboxwitharedribbontiedaroundit.HehandedtheboxtoKota,andsaid,“Wearesogratefulforyou,Kota.Thisgiftisatokenofourappreciation.”

Kotapulledtheribbon,openingtheboxtodiscoverasetofshinynewkeys.Hisbosssmiled,“Thehouseisyours!Youdeserveit!”

Immediately,hisheartsank.UnbeknownsttoKota,thewholetimehehadbeenbuildinghisownhouse.Ifhehadonlyknownhewasbuildinghisownhouse,he

wouldhavecaredsomuchmore.Hewouldhaveonlyusedthefinestmaterials,andhewouldhaveoverseeneverydetailandgivenithisalllikehehadalwaysdone.Butnow,itwastoolate.

Akira looked at John and said, “The only thing that is truly significant abouttoday, or any other day, is who you become in the process. Each of us arebuildingourownhouse.Sometimesyoumight thinkyouarebuildingforyourschool,your family,yourcompany,oryour team,butyouarealwaysbuildingyourownhouse…Ihopeyoubuildwisely.”

ThestoryhithomeforJohnandhereallystartedtothinkdeeplyabouthisownlife.Hesatinsilentcontemplationwhilewonderingifhehadbeenbuildinghishousewisely.

-CHAPTER3-

FaithfulintheSmallThings

Astheweekspassed,Johngrewmorecomfortablewithlife inthecommunity.Oneday,hewokeuptofindalltheotherapprenticescrowdingexcitedlyaroundanannouncementthathadbeenpostedinthedininghall.Itannouncedthateachyear,theincomingclassofapprenticeswouldbeabletocompeteinanarcherytournament.

John could barely contain his excitement. He loved competition, and he wasintentonwinningthetournament.

Hecouldn’t stop talkingabout it thatmorningashe finishedhisdaily routine.Finally,Akira grabbed his shoulders, and sat him down.He looked deep intoJohn’seyes.

“John,MotherTheresaalwaystoldpeople,‘Befaithfulinthesmallthings,foritisinthemthatyourstrengthlies.’Thetemptationwhileyouareherewithuswillbetofocusonallthebigsexygoals,likewinningthetournament,andbecominga great samurai archer. You must fight that temptation, and stay focused onchopping wood and carrying water. Do you recognize the name IngvarKamprad?”

Johnshookhishead,no.

“Good!”Akira smiledwide. “Ingvarwas a young boywho spent four or fiveyearsselling individualmatchsticksdoor todoor inhissmall town inSweden.Hewas often laughed atwhen hewould tell the other boys he couldn’t play,because he needed to ride his bike three hours into Stockholm to purchaseanotherboxofmatches.”

Johncouldn’tbelievehisears.“Holdon!Youmeantotellmethatthislittlekidwasreallysellingindividualmatchsticksdoortodoor,foryears?!”

“Yes, John. This is a true story. When Ingvar was seventeen years old hedecided tonamehiscompany.Youmighthaveheardof it: Ikea isworthoveronehundredfiftybilliondollarstoday.”

JohnlistenedinaweasAkiracontinued.

“John,everyonewants to start thenext Ikea,but fewarewilling tobe faithfulselling individualmatchsticks door to door. Everyonewants to build the nextAppleorFacebook,nobodywantstosellmatchesdoortodoor.Everyonewantstobecomeasamuraiwarrior,butfewarewillingtofaithfullychopwood,carrywater.

Everynowandthenapersoncomesalongandaccidentallygetsitthefirsttime,butmostofushavetolearnthehardwaythroughmultiplefailedexperiments,which allows us to learn lessons and skills those who had it easier did notdevelop.

Steve Jobs didn’t set out to transform entertainment, computers, music, tele-communications, and education. It happened as a byproduct of passion,persistence,andfaithfulnesstoasmallidea.

Theproblemwithsmallisthatitisn’tsexy,andit’softenrepetitivelyboring.

A guy who played professional golf, was once hit by a bus and the peopleservingashisdoctorstoldhimhewouldneverwalkagain.Buthetrainedhard,day in and day out, and went on to win amajor. He said, ‘Everyone thinks

greatnessissexy,it’snot.It’sdirty,hardwork.’1

Ingvardidn’thaveasexyidea,hehadanideamostpeoplewouldlaughattoday.Ican’tevenimaginehowmuchgriefhetookfromfriendsandfamily.‘Youaredoingwhat?!Thatisthestupidestideaever!’

Everyonewantstowinchampionships,butnobodywantstosweepthebarntheypracticeinlikeJohnWoodendidforhisfirstfewyearsinWestwood.

Everyonewantstobegreat,untilit’stimetodowhatgreatnessrequires.

DreamBIG.Startsmall.Beridiculouslyfaithful.

Focusonwhatyoucancontrol.

Your greatest challenge during your time herewill be faithfully keeping yourfocusontheprocess,whilesurrenderingtheoutcome.”

Johnnoddedhisheadinacknowledgement,butthetruthwasmorethanhecouldhandle.He thoughtheunderstood,butsomethingscanonlybeexperienced tobefullylearned.0

-CHAPTER4-

OneEyeFortheJourney

Aftertheexcitementofthefirstfewmonthshadstartedtowearoff,Johnbeganto get frustrated. The monotony of chopping wood and carrying water everymorningandeveryeveninghadbeguntowearonhim.

Hewasonlyallowed topracticearchery for fourhours,during theheatof theday.What frustratedhimthemost,was thathewasonlyallowed toshootatastrawrollthatwasonlysevenfeetawayfromhim.Heandtheotherapprenticeswerealsorequiredtoattendweeklyworkshopswheretheylearnedlifeskillsandlessonsthroughstories.

OnedayheapproachedAkiraandasked,“Akira-sensei,howlongwillittakemetobecomeasamuraiarcher?Ihavedreamedmywholelifeofbeingone,butitfeelslikeitwilltakeforever.”

Akirastoppedwhathewasdoingandsaid,“In theWest,youwanteverythinginstantly,buthereyoumust learn to fall in lovewith theprocessofbecominggreat.Nowgochopwood,andcarrywater.”

Johnwasconfused,buthewentbacktohisnormaldailyactivities.

Themonthspassed,andbeforeheknewit,anentireyearhadgoneby.Duringthefirstyear‘acclimationperiod’apprenticesarenotallowedtospeakwiththeirfamilyandfriends.WhenJohnwasfinallyabletohaveaSkypevideocallwithhis family, hewasdisappointed to sharewith them that he hadn’tmovedpastshootingatatargetonlysevenfeetawayfromhim,andthattherestofhistimeeachdaywasspentchoppingwoodandcarryingwater.

AsJohntalkedabouthisdailyroutine,hisfathergotabigsmileonhisface.HeaskedJohnwhohis favoritebasketballplayersweregrowingup. John replied,“That’seasy:KobeBryantandMichaelJordan.”

HisdadthentoldhimhowPhilJacksonhadjustreleasedabook,ElevenRings,andhowhewasconstantlytellingtheguysonhisteamsaboutthenecessityof“chopwood, carry water.” Nomatter whether you are winning or losing, thepointwastofocusontheprocessandneithergettoohighortoolow,butinsteadtocontrolthecontrollables.

Afterthecall,John’sspiritsweremuchbetter.ItwasespeciallyhardbeingawayfromJordan,andjustseeinghimwasencouragingtoJohn.

A fewmonthswent by, and as Johnpracticed, hismuscles began to learn thefamiliarmotionsofdrawingandreleasing,andhisshotsgrewmoreaccurate.Hebegantofeelveryconfidentwithhisbowandhittingtheseven-foottarget.

One day while he was practicing, Akira walked over and John asked again,“Akira-sensei,Iamgettingbetterandbettereachweek.Howlongwillittakeformetobecomeasamuraiarchernow?”

Akirasmiled,andtoldhimitwouldtaketenyears.

Johnwas furious. “Ten years?Maybe if I didn’t have to spend somuch timechoppingwoodandcarryingwaterthenIwouldbeabletoreachmygoalmuchfaster!”

Akira replied, “If you don’t chopwood and carrywater, then itwill take youtwentyyearstobecomeasamuraiarcher.”Thenheturnedandwalkedaway.

Johnwasevenmoreconfused,andhequestionedwhetherornotheshouldquit.Woulditreallytakehimtenyears?Hewasn’tsurethisinvestmentwasworthit,butdecidedhewouldtryevenharder.

Moretimepassed,andJohn’sshotsbecamemoreaccurateandmorepowerful.Hecametolovethesoundof thearrowslammingintothetarget.THWACK!!THWACK!!

Soon, he was certain that he could become a samurai archer in less than tenyears.

So one day, as theywere carryingwater back from thewell, he pulledAkira

asideandasked,“Akira-sensei,Iammoreaccuratenowandmyshotsaremorepowerfulthanever.Howlongwillittakemetobecomeasamuraiarcher?”

Akirasmiled.“Youknowtheanswer.Itisstilltenyears.”

Johnkeptpressing,“ButwhatifIdevoteeverywakingmomenttobecomingasamuraiarcher?Nochoppingwoodorcarryingwater,justarchery.”

ButAkiraonlyshrugged.“Then,itwilltakethirtyyears.”

John had reached his emotional breaking point. He blurted out, “But I don’tunderstand!”

AkiralookedatJohnwithcompassion.“Youwilllearn,youngJohn,thereasonittakeslongerisbecausewithoneeyeonthegoal,youonlyhaveoneeyeforthejourney.”

HethenwentontotellJohnstoriesofpeoplewhoclimbicemountains,andhowiftheyarefocusedonthetopofthemountaintheywillnotknowwheretostepinfrontofthem.Theywillslipanddie.Thekeytoiceclimbingistofocusononesolidstepatatime.“Nomanclimbsamountainallatonce.Heclimbsitbymakingonesolidstepatatime.”

John nodded, he understood now.Hewould try to focus on doing his best atarchery,choppingwood,carryingwater,andlettinggooftheresult.

-CHAPTER5-

NothingisaTest

But tryashemight,Johnkeptunconsciouslyslippingback intohisoldhabits.Growing up, he had always succeeded in sports and school by focusing onproving himself. Some of his coaches even told him they liked the way heplayedwithachiponhisshoulder,andeveninthepeacefulenvironmentofthesamuraicommunityitwashardforhimtoshakethoseinstinctsofseeinglifeasonetestafteranothertoprovehisworth.

Without realizing it, he began to pride himself on completing each drill andarcherymovementthefastest,andevenmadesurethathechoppedmorewoodandcarriedmorewaterinlesstimethantheotherapprentices.

One day, hewas so focused on this that he filled his buckets well above thenormallevel.Walkingbrisklytowardthecommunityhouse,hisfootcaughtthelipofanoldrootburiedintheground,andtheweightofthewaterinhisbucketssenthimtopplingover!Heslammedtotheground,soakedtothebone.

But just as heopenedhismouth to shout in anger, henoticedAkirawatchinghim. The old sensei had seen the whole thing, and as John picked himselfpainfullyupofftheground,AkirapulledJohntohisfeet,pickeduponeofhisbuckets,andwalkedwithhimbacktowardthewell.

“Youwerecarryingquitealotofwater,weren’tyou?”heasked.

Johnshrugged,tryingtoplayitoff.“Iguess.Idon’tthinkaboutit.IjusttrytocarrythemostthatIcan.”

Akirasawthroughthis,askingquietly,“Themostthatyoucan,orjustmorethananyoftheothers?”

Johnreddened,caught,asAkirawenton.“John,youkeepgettinginthewayof

yourownpotential,becauseyoukeepseeingeverythingasatest.Thesecretistounderstand that nothing is a test, but only an opportunity to learn and grow.Manypeopleneverfulfilltheirpotential,becausetheylookateverysituationinlifeasatest.

Ifyoulookatsomethingasatest, thenyouwillfocusonlyonpassingthetestinstead of maximizing your growth through the experience. Over time, thepersonwhoissimplyfocusedonmaximizingwhattheycanlearnandhowtheycan grow will become much greater than the person who sees life as onecontinualtesttoprovethemselves.”

Johnnodded,strugglingwiththatwisdom.

“Don’tfallforthetrap,John.Eventestsinschoolarenottests.Nothingisatest,it’s only an illusion. Everything is an opportunity to learn and grow, becauseremember,youarebuildingyourownhouse.”

-CHAPTER6-

WhereDoYouFindYourIdentity?

As time passed, despiteAkira’s warnings, John grewmore andmore intentlyfocusedonhisgoalofbecominga samurai archer.Heevenbegan to sneak inextratimeattherange.Everynightatdusk,hewouldslipawayfromthedininghallanddowntotherange,wherehe’dshootuntildarknessfell.

Butovertime,theextrapracticebegantowearonhisbody.Then,oneafternoonat the range, he began to feel a burning tightness as he drew his bow,whichbecameincreasinglypainfulashelockedhisshoulderintothefiringposition.Hepushedthroughit,forcinghisbodytorepeatthemotion,butsoonthepaininhisshouldermadefiringhisbowimpossible.Hecringed,as…

“What’swrong,John?”

Akira walked toward him, concerned. Clearly, the old sensei had noticed thepaininJohn’seyes.Johnknewtherewasnowaytohideit.

Thenextthingheknew,hewasintheinfirmary,gettinghisshoulderwrapped.Akiraexplainedhisinjury,tellinghim,“Practiceisgood,buttoomuchpracticeisnot.Yourmuscleshavetorn,andtheyneedtimeandrestinordertoheal.”

“Howlong?”

“Sixtoeightweeks.”

John’sfacefell,asherealizedthatbecauseof this,hewouldfall farbehindinhisprogram.

Seeingthis,Akiraaskedhimaquestion:“John,whowouldyoubeifeverythingyoudowastakenawayfromyou?”

“Whatdoyoumean,Akira-sensei?”

“Imeanthatrightnow,youcannotshootandpracticearchery.Youcannotchopwoodandcarrywater.So,whoareyou?”

Johnthoughtforaminute,becomingfrustratedasherealized:hedidn’thaveagoodanswer.

Akiranodded,understanding.“Donotworry.EvenIfallintothistrap,John.ItissoeasyformetogetcaughtupintheresultsIgetfromworkingwithpeople,toget lost in thework or in the response frommy archers. I constantly have toremindmyselfthatmyvaluecomesfromwhoIam,notfromwhatIdo.Iamnotasamuraiarcher,Iamahumanbeingwhohappenstobeworldclassatarchery.

Itiseasytofeellikeyourvalueismuchgreaterwhenyourteamswin,whenyoumakea lotofmoney,whenyouexperiencegreat success inbusiness.But it isjust as easy to feel defeated and depressed when your teams aren’t winning,whenyourbusinessisfailing,andwhenitfeelslikeyouarefailingateverything.

Thetruthisthatyourvalueisconstant,itispriceless,anditnevertrulygoesupordownbasedoffofresultsoryourperformance.Yourvaluecomesfromwhoyouare,notfromwhatyoudo.

Youaremorethananathlete.

Youaremorethanaparent,abrother,andadaughter.

Youaremorethanacoach.

YouaremorethanaCEO.

Youaremorethanafastfoodworker.

When your identity getswrapped up inwhat you do, it clouds every decisionyoumake.Itiseasytoseesomeofthereasonsthatapersonwouldmakeverycompromisingdecisionswhentheiridentitycomesfromwhattheydo.Youmustfightthatinstinct.”

Johnnodded,realizingthetruthinhissensei’swords.

Akirastoodtogo,leavingJohnwiththis:“Hereismychallengeforyouduring

your time here, John. Find your identity in something that cannot simply bestripped away in amoment, and do the hardwork of reminding yourself thatyourvaluecomes fromwhoyouare.Forme,and it tooka long time tograspthis, butmy identity comes from being a child ofGod, and knowing thatHerecklesslyandunconditionallylovesme.

I believeHe feels the sameway about you, and alreadyunconditionally lovesyou.Ithasneverbeenaboutyourperformance,anditneverwillbeaboutyourperformance.Youcan’tdoanythingtomakeHimloveyouanymore,andyoucan’t do anything tomakeHim love you any less. Therefore, you are free toacceptHislove,loveHimback,loveyourself,andfinallybefreedtoloveotherswithnostringsattached.

IdonotexpectyoutobelieveeverythingthatIbelieveJohn.Youmustcometoyourownconclusions.Whateveryoudothough,pleasedon’tfindyouridentityinsomethingthatcanbegoneinamoment’snotice.”

-CHAPTER7-

GuzzlingSaltWater

Onceaweek,theapprenticeswereallowedtowatchtelevision.JohnandAkirastartedtoformabondwatchingAmericansportstogether.OneoftheirfavoriteteamstowatchwastheLosAngelesLakers.Onenight,Akirabegantospeaktotheapprenticesabouttheimportanceofcreatinganewscorecardforlife.

HepointedtoKobeBryantasKobedrainedanotherthree-pointer.“Tellme,whyisKobeBryantstillplayingbasketball?”

The apprentices watched Kobe hustle. John answered, “Because he lovesbasketball?”

“Yes, possibly, but he has repeatedly said that if hewins his sixthNBA title,thenhewillbesatisfiedand retire.Kobe isn’t theonlyonewhohas fallen forthistrap.Everyday,peopleeverywherelivetheirlivesbelievingthateverythingwill be different if they can just achieve more, win more, or make moremoney.Butifachievementhasn’tfilledthatvoidtodate,howisachievingmoregoingtofillitinthefuture?

Likethirstypeopleguzzlingsaltwater,achievementonlycreatesagreaterdesireforaccomplishingmore,dehydratingusoftruesatisfactionandfulfillment.

AfterAndreAgassimade it to number one in theworld in tennis, he said, ‘IthoughtthatgettingtonumberonewasgoingtobethemomentImadesenseofmylife.Butitleftmealittleempty,andIspiraleddown.’

Haveyouevernoticedthatsomeofthemostoutwardlybeautifulpeopleonearthseeminglyhavethemost troublingrelationships,or thatsomeof thewealthiestpeoplehavethemostsleeplessnights?

A man from South Korea who played in 3 World Cups and in the English

PremiereLeagueoncetoldmeinhisbrokenEnglish,‘BeforeIhaveanymoney,I neverworry aboutmoney. I get to theEPL and sign big contract, then all Ithinkaboutismoney.’

It is not ourplace to judge, but it iswise to learn from thosewhohave comebeforeus.

The scorecard society judges us by is tragically flawed, and pursuing it willleaveyoucompletelyunfulfilled.

Itistimewedevelopanewscorecardforhowwedefineatrulysuccessfullife.Iwantyoutothinkaboutafewpeoplethatyoutrulyadmire,andwriteoutwhatcharacteristicstheyembodiedthatyouwouldliketobeknownfor.”

Johnstartedtothinkaboutthepeoplehetrulyadmired,andhewrotedown:

Courage

Boldness

Empathy

Loving

Grateful

Persistence

Joyful

Resourceful

Akiranodded.“NowIwantyou tochoose the top fourcharacteristics that aremostimportanttoyou.”

ThiswastoughforJohn,becausehefeltlikeallofthecharacteristicsonhislistwerereallyimportant.Buthefinallywrotedown:

Boldness&Courage

Loving

Resourceful

Persistence

Akira smiled as the apprentices finished writing. “You now have your newscorecard.Iwantyoutogradeyourselftwiceadayonhowyouhavedoneonthethingsthatyouhavesaidarethemostimportantcharacteristicsforlivingatrulysuccessfullife.Ifyougradeyourselfaroundthemiddleoftheday,thenyouwillknowwhat areasyouneed to focuson that evening.With this new scorecard,youcanuseanysituationyoufindyourself inasanopportunity togrowthesecharacteristics!”

Johntookablank4x6notecardastheywerebeingpassedaround,andwroteouthisnewscorecard.Hewasexcitedbecausehenowhadaverypracticaltoolforusinganycircumstanceasanopportunitytodevelopintothemanhewantedtobecome.

-CHAPTER8-

Evil’sBestWeapon

Onesummerday,theweatherwassohotandhumidthesenseiactuallytoldtheapprenticestostopchoppingwoodandcarryingwateranhourearly,inorderforeveryonetospendsometimeinthenearbylake.

On the way to the water, Akira asked John if anyone had told him the storyEvil’sBestWeapon. Johnsaid thatnoonehad, andAkira smiledwide, “Thenyouareinforatreat!”

Astheywalked,hebeganhisstory.“Oneday,aneviloldwitchwasgoingoutofbusiness,andshehadayardsaletosellherpotionsandtools.Youcouldbuyallthe traditional toolsyou thinkofwhenyou thinkof evil: jealousy, anger, lust,pride,envy,deceit,andadultery.Drovesofpeopleflockedtothesaleandallhershinytoolsweresoldtothehighestbidder.

Towardstheendoftheday,afterallthetoolshadbeenwellpickedthrough,allthat remainedwere a few trash heaps of old worn-out and broken tools. Onegentlemandugthroughthescrapsandfoundatoolthatwasverywellworn,andlooked like itwason its last leg.Hoping for agooddeal, hebrought it to thewomantoaskhowmuchitcost.

Theoldwitchwasstartled.‘Thattoolistoovaluableformetosell,itistheonlyoneI’mpassingdowntomyniece.Giveitbacktome.Itshouldnothavebeenouthere!’

Nowthemanwasevenmoreintrigued.‘Butit’ssoworn,andyetyouclaimitisworthmorethanalltheseothershinierandnewertools.Imustknowwhatitis.’

Thewitchrefusedtotellhim,andinsteadsheprieditfromhishandsandaskedhimtoleave.Shetooktheoldtoolbackandhiditinherhouse,andbytheday’send,everyothertoolhadbeensoldexceptforthatone.

Afewmonthslater,thewitchwasonherdeathbed.Shecalledforherniece.Herniecewasveryangryshehadsoldallofherfancytools.

‘Howcouldyousellallyourtoolsandnotpassthemontome?!’sheshouted.

Theoldwitchwaitedforhertocalmdown,andthentoldhertolookunderherbed.Theniecelookedunderthebedbutallshesawwasanold,worn-outtool.

Shewassurprised.‘This?!Thisoldthingisallyouleftme?!’

Theoldwitchlookedatherandsaid,‘Ohhownaiveyouare,youngchild.Thistool is discouragement, and it is more powerful than all the other toolscombined.The best part is thatmost people never suspect that it comes fromyou.Discouragementwillallowyoutogettoaperson’sheartwhennoneoftheothertoolswill,andoncetheybecomediscouraged,theyareputtyinyourhands.You can squash themost powerful of dreams, level the greatest of ideas, andruin almost anything in the world without detection, all by using this tool toplanttheseedsofdiscouragement.’

Andwithnothingbut that single toolofdiscouragement,herniecewenton tobecomeoneofthemostpowerfulwitchestoeverlive.

John, one of themost powerful forces youwill face during your time here isdiscouragement.Itcancomeinmanydifferentforms;sometimesitisthevoiceinsideyourhead that saysyouaren’t goodenough,whileother times itmightcome from giving your best and still not succeeding. Still other times it willcreep in inways youmight not even be aware of.Butmake sure you alwayskeepyourguardup,andfuelyourheartwithencouragement.”

Johnnodded,asking,“HowdoIfuelmyheart?”

Akira smiled. “Good question.You fuel your heartwith six things:what youwatch,whatyouread,whatyoulistento,whoyousurroundyourselfwith,howyoutalktoyourself,andwhatyouvisualize.Letmeaskyouaquestion:ifyouownedaLamborghini,wouldyoueverputwaterintothegastank?”

Johnlookedupinconfusion.“Ofcoursenot!Thatwouldruintheengine!”

“Exactly,”Akira said,“But this iswhatmostpeopledowith theirhearts.YouandIwerecreatedjustlikethatLamborghini,butifweputthewrongfuelintothe gas tank of our hearts, we won’t run as we were intended to. We getfrustratedanddiscouragedbecauseweknowdeepdownthatwewerecreatedforsomuchmore.YouwerecreatedperfectlyandmeticulouslyforapurposeJohn,but if you put the wrong fuel into your gas tank, it is very easy to getdiscouragedandbreakdownasyougothroughthejourneyoflife.”

-CHAPTER9-

WhatWentWell?

Ononeparticularly toughdayof training, John just couldn’t seem to shoot aswell as normal. His groupings were loose and unfocused, and he becamementallydistractedbythefitofhisnewshootingguard.Ashefinishedthedayinfrustration,Akiratookhimaside,andaskedhimhowhisdayhadbeen.

“Terrible!Icouldn’tfocus,Igotdistractedbymynewshootingguard,andmygroupingsweren’tastightastheyneededtobe.Ifeellikeafailure.”

Akira smiled, and shrugged. “I didn’t ask how you shot John, but since youbroughtitup,whatdidyoudowellintraining?”

John paused, thrown off. He struggled to think of a single positive takeawayfromtheday’sshooting.“Nothing.Ididnothingwell.”Hesaiddiscouraged.

“IhaveaveryhardtimebelievingthatJohn.”saidAkira.“Whydoyouthinkitissohardforyoutothinkofwhatyoudidwell?”

Johnshrugged,“IguessIdon’t thinkabout it,because…Idon’twant togetabighead.”

“Letmetellyousomething,John:Ido.”

John looked at his sensei in surprise and confusion, asAkira continued. “It ismuch easier for your brain to focus on the negatives, even if they are totallyoutweighedbythepositives!Manypeople’sconfidencesuffers,becausetheyaremoreconcernedwithappearingtobehumble,sotheyhavebeenconditionedtotellreallynegativestoriesaboutthemselvesandtheirperformance.

Now,therearepeoplewhohavethereversechallengeandcan’tseetheirflaws,but far and away the bigger issue is peoplewho lack confidence andwho are

highlycriticalofthemselves.Butlet’sbeclear,negativityanda‘nothingIdoisgood enough’ attitude is not humility. A much smarter man than I said,‘Humilityisnotthinkinglessofyourself,butthinkingofyourselfless.’

LetmetellyouacouplesecretsabouthowourmarvelousbrainsactuallyworkJohn.Yourmemoriesarenotcreated throughyourexperiences, rather theyarecreatedthroughthestoriesyoutellyourselfandothersaboutthoseexperiences.So, if you leave a practice or amatch and you tell everyone how poorly youplayed, and you focus on all your mistakes, then that is what your brainremembers. Most people undermine all the hard work they are putting in bytellingreallynegativestoriesandblockingoutallthegrowththatishappening.”Akirasmiled.

“What do youmean “blocking out?”Said John as his nose scrunched and hiseyebrowsfurrowedinquisitively.

“Ourbrainsaremarvelousmachines,John,whichprocessaroundelevenmillionbitsof informationper second.Butweareonlyaware of about fortyof thosebits. In other words you are only aware of .00000364 of what is actuallyhappening around you! You and I block out 99.99999% of what our brain isprocessing.So,ifwewanttochangethewayourbrainscanstheworldandstarttoadoptamorebeneficialrealityandvantagepoint,wemuststartbyrewiringthewayourbrainscanstheworldaroundus.”

“Well, that sounds incrediblychallenging!How in theworlddoyoudo that?”askedJohn.

Akirahandedhimasmallnotepadandapen.“Bywritingitdown.”

Johnflippedthroughtheblankpages,asAkirawenton,“Iwantyoutodothisaftereveryshootingsession.Iwantyoutostartbywritingavaluestatementatthe top. It should say, ‘Myvalue comes fromwho I am,not fromwhat I do.’Then, follow thatwith agrowthmindset statement. ‘Anything that happens tometodayisinmybestinterestandit’sanopportunitytolearnandgrow.’Then,I want you towrite out between fifteen to sixty-three specific things you didwell.”

Johnblinked,takenaback.“Whoa,that’salot!Ithinkthatmightbeimpossible!”

“Ofcourseitfeelsthatway!That’sbecauseyouhaven’tyettrainedyourbraintothinkthatway.Doyourememberthefirsttimeyoutriedtomakealefthandlayupinbasketball?”AskedAkira.

Johnblushedandmumbled,“Yes, Iwaselevenyearsold,andIstarted tocry.Truthfully,Istartedballingandranoutofthegym.Ithoughttheguywhowastrainingmewasahuge jerk!Buthemademekeepdoing it formonths,oftenthroughcryingfitsoffrustration.”

“Soundslikeatoughtrainer.Diditgeteasierthough?”Akiraasked.

“Yes,eventuallyIbecamehighlyskilledwithfinishingwithmylefthand.”SaidJohnasasmilebrokethroughandthingsclickedinhismind.

“In time this will get easier as you consistently force your brain to scan theworlddifferently,butuntilthenIencourageyoutoalwayskeepgoinguntilyouhaveatleastfifteenthings.Ifyoudecidetoquitbeforefifteen,makesureyouatleast get two more than where you quit the day before. Remember, this isrewiringyourbrain.Itishardwork,butitisveryworthit.”SaidAkira.

Onethingthatmightbehelpfulistocarrythisnotebookwithyou,andjotthingsdownasyougothroughpractice,yourday,orduringbreaksincompetition.Youmaynotneedtowritethemall thewayoutduringcompetitionorpractice,butwrite down enough to rememberwhen you complete your journal later in theday.AndrememberJohn,youhaveignoredwhatyouhavedonewellforalongtime,whileblowingyour‘flaws’outofproportion.So,maybefor thenextsixmonthslet’stryanddothereverse.Let’signoremostofthe‘flaws’andfocusonfindingeventhesmallestthingsyoudidwellandhowyougotbetter.”

“That’shelpful,actually.IthinkIcandothat,”saidJohn.

“Thenextpartofthejournaliswritingoutonlytwoareasforgrowth,butyouonly get towrite these down once you get to fifteen specific things you havedonewell.Youonlyget twoareasbecause it ishard to remember to focusonmore than twoatanyone time.Bywritingdownonly twoareasyoucan lookbackatyesterday’s journalandknowexactlywhatyouneedtofocusontoday

during training.Finally, the last thingyouwrite out is at least two things youlearned today, because remember ‘nothing is a test.’ Everything is anopportunitytolearn,butweneedtoactuallyfocusonlearning.Akirasaidwithabigsmile.

John,ittakesalotofdisciplinetostickwitha‘whatwentwelljournal,’butitisa very rewarding exercise with far-reaching implications for your life! If youcan’tseewhatyoudowell,itisawfulhardtoencourageotherpeoplewithwhattheydowell.”

Johnnodded,encouragedtotrythisnewexercise.Assoonashegotbacktohisroom,he flippedopen thenotebookandbeganwriting.Whenhehad finished,hisentrylookedlikethis…

WorthStatement:MyvaluecomesfromwhoIam,NOTfromwhatIdo.

GrowthMindset:Anythingthathappenstometodayisinmybestinterestanditisanopportunityformetolearnandgrow.

WhatWentWell:(Writeout15specificthingsyoudidwelltoday.Feelfreetouseexamplesofareasyougotbetterineveniftheyweren’ttheverybestyouarecapableof.)

1. Ikeptmystancesolidforeveryshot

2. I caught myself wondering if I would be able to finish the practice.Startedtotalktomyselfinsteadoflisteningtomyself

3. I was intentional about treating the other apprentices very well evenwhenIfeltliketheydidn’tdeserveit

4. IchosetotakedeepbreathsbeforeIapproachedthefiringline

5. Iheldmycorestableandkeptcleanlinesinmyshootingform

6. I cleared my mind before each release and remembered to focus oncontrollables

7. I sawKatsuo shoot three tight groupings, but I chose not to compare

andfocusedonmyownshots

8. Ichose to seemyselfbeingverystrongevenwhen I feltmyshouldershakeonmylastsetofdraws

9. WhenIgotfrustratedandwantedtogiveup,Iremindedmyself thatIambuildingmyownhouse

10. Istartedandfinishedmypracticetodaywithoutanyoneforcingme

11. Ikeptmybreathingslowandfocusedonthefiringline

12. I remembered tokeepvisualizingeacharrowhittingwhereIaimedit,evenwhenmyshotswereoff

13. I remembered to pause and settle my mind and breathe before eachrelease

14. I encouraged the other apprentices by reminding them of what theyweredoingwell

15. Ididabetterjobtodayoflettingthenegativethoughtsflyonbyandnotgivethempower

16. Ikeptmyreleaseseasyandunconscious

AreasForGrowth:(Formerlycalled“Weaknesses”butwearelookingatthemasgrowthopportunitiesnow)

• Keepingmymind clear and focusing onmyprocess evenwhen I amdistracted

• StayingpresentafteramistakeandfocusingonwhatIneedtodoNOWWhatILearned:(Thiscanbesomethingthatyoualreadyknowbutlearnedtheimportanceofagain)

• I shoot tighter groupings when I remember to release my goals andfocusonmycontrollablesinstead

• Byfocusingonwhatmyfellowapprenticesdowell, itcreatesamuchbetterenergyandenvironmentforgrowthandoptimumperformance.

-CHAPTER10-

Insta-everything

Another year passed, and John kept growing and learning. Everymorning hechoppedwood,andeveryeveninghecarriedwater.Hishandsdevelopedthickcalluses, his arms grew stronger, and his movements became fluid andmemorizedashisbrainwrappedintricatewiresofmusclememory.

Onenight during the summer John and theSensei didn’t find anygames theywantedtowatchonTV,sotheydecidedonthenewKarateKidmoviestarringJadenSmith.

During a commercial break,Akira told John about his admiration for Jaden’sfatherWill.Inaninterview,heonceheardWillsay,“Talentyouhavenaturally.Skillisonlydevelopedbyhoursandhoursandhoursofbeatingonyourcraft.”Willwenton,“Ihaveneverconsideredmyselfparticularlytalented,butwhereIexcel is ridiculous, sickeningwork ethic… there is no easyway around it, nomatter how talented you are, your talent is going to fail you if you are notskilled.”

Johngrewupwatching reruns ofTheFreshPrince ofBelAir, and he alwaysconsideredWill Smith to be oneof those talentedpeople towhomeverythingjustcamenaturally.

HeaskedAkira,“SodoyouthinkthatsomeonelikeWillSmithreallyisn’tthattalented?”

His sensei replied, “I thinkhemighthaveplentyof talent, but I think thathistalent is overshadowed by his character. A wise man once told me, ‘Talentwithoutcharacterislikeanexpensive,fastcarwithnogas.Itisuselesswithout

thefuelthatdrivesit2.’”

Johnnodded,asAkirawenton.“AndwhileIdonotknowwhatanyoneisbornwith,Idoknowthatnoneofusknowourpotential.Infact,Iwouldarguethatyourpotential ismuchgreater thanyouever realize,but itwill take incrediblededicationandpurposeful trainingtounlockit.Mostpeopleneverrealize theirpotential,becausewhenthingsgethard,ortheyexperiencefailure,theyjustquit.Or, they never give their very, very best and exhaust themselves in order toprotect theirego.Theyenjoybeingable tosay, ‘Ididn’tevenreally try,’or ‘Ididn’t reallycare.’Because if theydid reallygive it theirbest,andstill failed,thatwouldbetoomuchfortheiregotohandle.”

John felt like he had just uncovered one of the greatest secrets to success. “Iguessitmakessensenowthatyouexplainit likethat,becausewiththingslikeInstagramandYouTubeweonlysee themostedited,Photoshoppedversionofpeople’slives.Itfeelsliketheywakeuplikethat,butreallyeverythingisstaged,they took fifty pictures, and highly edited the very best one. No one postsanythingofthemnotlookingtheirbest.”

Akiranoddedhisapproval.“Exactly!Neverforget,youdonotshineunderthebrightlights;thebrightlightsonlyrevealyourworkinthedark.Wegetsousedto seeing superstars on game day, that we forget what we do not see: all thehours they spend beating on their craft, drenched in sweat, at the point of

exhaustion,with no onewatching3.Toomany people seek exposure from thebrightlights,butthebrightlightsonlyexposetheir lackoffaithfulnesstotheircraftinthedark.”

-CHAPTER11-

WanderingEyes

Afterthatevening,Johnwenttobedwitharenewedsenseofexcitementtochopwood,carrywaterandbeatonhiscraft.Overthenextcoupleofmonths,hestillhad his days that weremore challenging than others, but overall he was in amuchbetterplace.

Eventually though, John developed a wandering eye. One of his fellowapprentices, a young man named Katsuo, seemed to constantly be achievingthingsfasterthanJohn.Hisshotswerestrongerandmoreaccurate,andhedidn’tcomplain or grow tired with his work. It seemed like he was always doingeverythingbetterthanJohn.

Andhewasn’ttheonlyone.Johnstartedlookingatallofhisfriends,andbeganto grow jealous at how easy things seemingly came for them and how hardthingswereforhim.

Oneday,JohnwaswalkingtolunchwhenAkiracameupbesidehim.“WhytheheavyshouldersJohn?Itlookslikesomethingisreallyweighingonyou.”

Johnsulked,“Ihavereallybeenstrugglingthelastfewmonths,becauseit justfeelslikeit’snotfairthatIworksohard,yetotherpeoplewhoaremoretalentedthanmecontinuetosurpassmewithlesseffort.Doyouknowhowembarrassingitistobebustingmybutteveryday,andgivingmyeverythingtogetbetter,andit never feels good enough? IwatchKatsuo give half the effort, and he’s stillbetter thanme. I just feel like I should quit, go home, and get a normal job.Maybethiswholesamuraiarcherthingjustisn’tforme.”

Akirastopped,spunJohnaroundbyhisshouldersandstareddeepintohissoulwithhispiercinggreyeyes.“Letmetellyouastory,John.WhenIwasyourage,I was the last in my class in everything. I struggled. I wanted to quit. I was

constantly embarrassed, because I gave everything, but it never felt goodenough.”

“Sohowdidyougetsogood?”Johnsaid.

“Inevergaveup,andIrealizedthewholetimeIwasbuildingmyownhouse.AsenseisharedwithmethatverysamestoryaboutKotabuildinghisownhouse,and I realized that it wasn’t about what I was doing, but rather about who Ibecame.John,letmetellyoutwoveryimportantthings:comparisonisthethiefof all joy, and the grass isn’t greener on the other side.The grass is greenerwhere youwater it. You have grown up in a societywhere things like socialmediaand twenty-fourhour televisionhaveestablishedaculture that ishyper-focusedoncomparison.But ifyouareconstantlycomparing,youwillhaveallthejoysuckedoutofyou.Youmustfocusonyourjourney,yoursalone.”

Hecontinued,stern.“Ifitrains,bottlethewaterandsellit.Ifcrapfallsfromthesky,packageitandsellfertilizer.Ifitissunny,plantagarden.Usewhatyouandyou alone have been given. You do not know what other people are goingthrough,andeveryonehastheirownuniquestruggles,evenKatsuo.Stoptryingtolivetheirlife,becausetherearemillionsofpeoplewhowouldgiveanythingtoliveyourlife.Didyouknowthereareabillionpeoplewithoutaccesstocleandrinkingwater, andmillionsofpeoplewithdebilitatingdiseasesandaccidentsthathaveleftthemnearlyparalyzed?”

John perked up and he got tears in his eyes as he thought about Jordan. HewouldgiveanythingfortheopportunityJohnwascomplainingabout.“IguessIgotsodistractedwiththepeoplewhoseeminglyhavemorethanme,thatIforgotaboutthosewithlessthanme.”

“Youmust alwayskeepperspective, John. It isvery easy to lose it, andwhenyou loseperspectiveyou forget that this life isbutavapor;wearehere todayandgonetomorrow.Donotwasteyourlife,John.Focusonwhattrulymatters,anddonotfallfortheliesofthecomparisonthief.”

-CHAPTER12-

RoughSideoftheMountain

Oneday,justastheapprenticesreachedtheshootingrange,theskycrackedwiththunder,andbeganpouringdownrainlikeJohnhadneverseenbefore.Everyonewasinstructedtogointothedininghall.Oncetheyarrived,theywereaskedtobeseated.

Upontheboardwaswritten:Talentvs.Skill.

As the apprentices settled in, Akira began to teach, speaking about how thedifferencebetweentalentandskilliswidelymisunderstood.“Manypeoplethinkthatallyouneedistalent,andthatonlythechosenfewcanevertrulysucceed.Manytalentedpeoplebelievethesamething,andthengetfrustratedwhentheyfail, because they think all they need to do is show up, and everything willmagicallylineupforthembecauseoftheirtalent.”

Aftereveryonewasdismissed,Johnwaitedaroundtotalkwiththeoldsensei.

John was bubbling over with excitement. “As you were talking, Iremembered thatMichaelJordangotcut fromhishighschoolbasketball team.Heevenhadacommercialoncewherehesaid, ‘Maybe it’smyfault.MaybeIledyoutobelievethatbasketballwasaGod-givengift,andnotsomethingthatIworked foreverysingledayofmy life.’Manypeople thought thecommercialwasM.J. going at LeBron James, and sure enough, LeBron’s work ethic andwillingness to sacrifice increaseddramatically since thatcommercial. Itwasn’tuntilhehadthatshiftthatheactuallywonanNBAchampionship.”

“Veryinteresting,”musedAkira.“Ididn’tknowthat,butitdoesn’tsurpriseme.Ialwayswonderedwhathappened,butIhadneverheardthatcommercialorM.J. quote before. Maybe it did have something to do with LeBron’s shift inmentalityandworkethic.”

Itwasstillpouringrainoutside,soAkiraaskedJohnifhewantedtojoinhimbythefire.Johnagreed,loadingafewlogsintothefurnace.Theysat,enjoyingthewarmthoftheflamesinthechillydininghall.

Akiraasked,“John,youlovegolf,don’tyou?”

Johnreplied,“Yes!Mydad,JordanandIgrewupplayingeveryFriday,anditdevelopedaspecialbondbetweenus.JordanLOVEDtowatchusplay!”

The oldman smiled as John spoke of the warmmemories he and his familysharedonthecourse.Finallyheasked,“Butdoyouknowthestoryofhowgolfballswerefirstmade?”

“Idon’tthinkIdo,”Johnrealized.

Akiracontinued,“Atfirst,golfballsweremadesmooth,withoutanydimplesatall.Buteventuallyduringtesting,onemanstartedtonoticesomethingstrange.Hedevelopedatheoryaboutit,andonedayhecameintoworkearlytotesthistheory,becausehethoughtthateveryonewouldthinkhewascrazyifhesharedhistheorywiththem.

Histheorywasthatthegolfballsthathadbeenhitmanytimes,thebruisedandroughones,actually traveledmuch further than theperfectly smoothonesdid.Sure enough, he was right: these tiny imperfections create a thin layer ofturbulence around theball, reducingdrag and allowing air to flow further andmore smoothly around the ball. And that is why today, all golf balls havedimplesonthem.

John,Iknowyouareafraidofyourperceivedweaknessesandshortcomings,andyou feel like your journey has always taken you up the rough side of themountain.Butwhenyoudon’tgiveupandyoudon’tgivein,theroughsideofthemountainactuallymoldsyouand shapesyou intoapersonwhocan travelmuchfurtherinlife,justlikethoseroughed-upgolfballs.Theblemishes,scars,andsetbacksarewhatgiveyouthecharactertotakeyouplacesotherpeoplearetoosoftandsmoothtogo!”

Johnnodded,feelingaweightliftgentlyoffhisshouldersasAkiraspoke.

“Are you still strugglingwith comparing yourself to other people who thingsseeminglycomemoreeasilyto?”hissenseiasked.

“I’mdoingalotbettersincewelasttalkedaboutit,butifI’mhonest,it’sstillastruggle.”

“Ithinktalentisoftenmoreofacursethanablessing,John.Didyouknowthatmostpeoplewhowin the lotteryareworseoff financially fiveyearsdown theroadthantheywerebeforewinningthelottery?”

Johnshookhishead.“Ineverknewthat.”

“Winningthelotteryskipsthevaluableprocessofgoinguptheroughsideofthemountain. Insteadofbeingforced to learnanddevelop theskillsnecessaryforcreatingorsustainingsuccess,youarriveatthetop,withoutanyofwhatittakestostaythere.Talentcanbeakindoflottery,John.Atalentedathleteisoftenlesslikelytodeveloptheskillsandworkethicthataless-talentedonehastodevelopjusttosurvive,andbecauseofthat,theymayendupmuchworseoffdowntheroad. They never learned the work ethic, persistence, and grit needed toovercometheinevitablechallengesthatlifethrowstheirway.

I know that it seems like life is unfair right now, and you want things to beeasier,buttheroughsideofthemountainwillactuallyprepareyouforlifemuchbetterthanthesmoothside.Believeitornot,thesetbacksoftodaycanquicklybecometheforgingbladesofgreatnessfortomorrow.Infact,awisemanonce

said,“hardshipoftenpreparesordinarypeopleforanextraordinarydestiny.4”

“Wow,I’dneverthoughtofitthatwaybefore,”Johnpondered.“IguessIneedto rethink my setbacks! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom andperspective.I’mnotsureIwouldhavemadeitthislongwithoutyou.”

Akirajustsmiled,noddingpatiently.“Myblessing!”

-CHAPTER13-

HarnessingPower

OneeveningJohnandAkirahadgoneonalongwalkafterdinnertotheedgeoftheproperty to catch the sunset.As theywatched the sundrop to thehorizon,Akirapointedtoalargeoaktree,whichhadbeenuprootedandlayfallenattheedgeoftheproperty.

Heasked,“Doyouseethattree,John?”

“Ofcourse.Whathappenedtoit?”

“Avery strongwind stormblew it over,many years ago.But after that samewindstorm,acompanyinthecitycameoutandsetupthose.Doyouknowwhattheyare?”

Akirapointed in theotherdirection,acrossawide field.Faraway,Johncouldglimpsethespinningturbines.

“Awindfarm?”

“Exactly.Isn’titstrange,John,thatwindcanbebothcreativeanddestructiveatthe same time? It all depends on howyouharness it. It can destroy homes ortrees,oritcancreatepowerorpushasailboatacrossanocean.”

Johnnodded,“I’dneverthoughtofitthatway.”

Akira continued, “Words are a lot like that. Just like the wind, they areeverywhere.Weusethemeverydaytotalktoothers,butmostimportantly,weuse them to talk to ourselves. And just like the wind, their power can eitherdestroy,orcreate.Youmaynothavecontroloverhowotherpeopletalktoyou,but you do have control over how you talk to yourself. And that is hugelyimportant,because…

Wordsputpicturesinyourmind.Picturesinyourmindimpacthowyoufeel.Howyoufeelimpactswhatyoudo.Whatyouhabituallydoimpactsyourdestiny.

Whatamazesmeisthatmanypeople,oftenwithoutrealizingit,usethispowertotalkthemselvesintochoicesthatareharmfulforthemselvesinthelongrun,even if theymightoffer temporaryhappiness.Or, theyuse theirwords togivepower to their innercritic,destroying theirown joyandgrowthbefore it evenhasachancetostart.”

“Whatdoyoumean?”askedJohn.

“Weareallexperts inmental training, John,becausewepractice iteveryday.Mostpeoplejustaren’tawareofit.Ourbrainscan’tdistinguishbetweenwhatisreal and imagined, and we can actually wrap muscle memory with vividvisualization.Youusevisualizationeverysingleday,thoughyoumightonlybeusingitinnegativeways.”

“Howso?”askedJohn.

“Do you everworry, John?Worrying is a formof negative visualization, thathelpscreatethescenarioyouseehappeninginyourmind.Thehardchoice,buttheonethat isbestforusinthelongrun, is touseourwordstoputbeneficialpictures in our minds, and to talk to ourselves in ways that push us towardgrowthandtowardwhatismostbeneficialforourselvesinthelongrun.Itmightsound crazy at first, but using beneficial and constructive self-talk instead ofgivingpowertoourinnercriticisoneofthemostformidablestrategiespossibletousetowardreachingourownpotential.

You might not be able to stop negative thoughts or your inner critic fromscreamingatyou,butyoudon’thavetobelievethemorgivethemsignificance,and you can definitely talk to yourself rather than just listening to thenegativity!”

Johnnodded,understanding.“Justlikethewind?”

Akirasmiled,“Yes,John.Justlikethewind.”

-CHAPTER14-

DietCoke

OnenightJohnwaswatchingTValone,whenacommercialcameon.Itwasaloud,garishadvertisementforaproductthatpromiseditsuserstheycouldlosetwentypoundsintwoweeks.Suddenly,avoicesoundedfrombehindhim…

“Whataridiculousidea!”

John whirled in surprise to find Akira standing at the doorway. The senseienteredtheroom,shakinghishead.

“Thosecommercialsalwaysfrustratemeandremindmeofsomething.Haveyoueverseenapersonorderatwoorthreethousandcaloriemeal,completewithahuge dessert, but then ask for a Diet Coke?What is that Diet Coke possiblydoing for them? Itmightmake them feelbetter,but it isnothelping themgetbetter!Unfortunately,thisishowmostpeopletreatmentaltraining.”

Sensing John’s confusion, Akira explained, “Most people want to consumewhatevertheywanttofor86,000secondsoftheirday,justliketheywanttoeatwhattheywanttoeatformostofeachday.Butthen,justlikethiscommercialoffersa‘getfitquick’fixforanoverweightbody,theywantatricktheycandofor the other 400 seconds left in their day that is going to override all thenegativetrainingthey’vebeendoingalldaylong!”

Johnnodded,understanding,asAkirawenton.

“Mental training is notmagic. It is deliberate, intentional, and extremely hardtraining. If I told you itwould be easy to lose one hundred fifty pounds, youwouldthinkIwascrazy,justlikeyoudowhenyouwatchthesecommercials.Itisthesamewithmentaltraininganddevelopingtruementaltoughness.It’snotsexy,it’sdirty,hardwork.”

The commercial ended, and John smiled. “So you’re sure I can’t lose twentypoundsintwoweeks?”

Akirajust lookedatJohn’sathleticframeandsmiledback,“Ifyoulost twentypounds,whatwouldbeleft?”

-CHAPTER15-

ThePathtoMastery

Even though John enjoyed his time with Akira, it took four very long andfrustratingyearsbeforehewasabletomoveupfromtheseven-foottargettothefulltargetsmorethanahundredfeetaway.

When the day finally came, John couldn’t wait. He walked to the firing linefilledwithconfidence,drawinghisarrowsmoothlyandquickly.Witha smile,hereleasedit…onlytowatchintotaldisappointmentasitflewsideways,totallyoff-target.

Hecouldn’tbelieveit!He’dbeenshootingeverydayforfouryears,andnowthebowandarrowfeltlikeforeignobjectsinhishands.Onceagain,hewonderedifallthistimehadbeenawaste.

For weeks, he couldn’t hit the target. Every day he tried, and every day hisarrowsflaredallovertheplace.Thenoneday,Akirawentovertocheckonhisprogress.

John shrugged in total discouragement. “I can’t hit the target, and I feel likegivingup.MaybeI’mjustnotmeanttobeasamuraiarcher!”

John expectedAkira to respondwith someof his usualwordsofwisdom,butinstead theoldsenseibeckonedJohntofollowhim.Hewalkedawayfromthefiring line, to a patch of dirt. He bent down, and used an arrow to drawsomethinginthedirt.

Johnpeeredatthedrawingscuriously.Theylookedlikethis:

“Whatisthat?”

“That,”repliedAkira,“Isthepathtomastery.”

He explained that while John wanted to feel constant improvement, masterymovesmuchdifferently: itmoves insteps,notconstants.SowhileJohnmightfeeldiscouragednow,hewasonalongplateau,andintimehewouldeventuallyhaveanothergrowthspurt.

ButJohnwastiredofallthephilosophicalsayingsandstories,andhecouldn’tbelievethewordsthatslippedoutofhismouth.“Youmakeitsoundsoeasy,butIbetyoucan’tevenhitthetargetanymore,oldman!”

Akiracalmlyresponded,“Meetmebackhereattentonight.”

-CHAPTER16-

IAimWithEverything

Alldaylong,Johncouldn’tshakehisnerves.Heknewheshouldn’thavespokentoanysenseithatway,butespeciallynottheonewhohadinvestedsomuchtimeandenergyinhim.Johnwasfearfulofwhatwouldcomenext.Halfexpectingtobebeaten,Johnshowedupattheshootingrangeafewminutesearlytoscoutthescene.

At9:59,Akirawalkedup silently, holdinghisbowand twoarrows. Johnwasconfused,becauseitwaspitchblackoutside.Youcouldbarelyseetowalk.ButAkiracalmlywalkedovertooneoftheshootingblocks,nockedanarrow,anddrewhisbow.

John watched in awe, as— all at once, with intense focus that still seemedeffortlesssomehow—Akiraexhaledandreleased.

THWACK!

Johnknewthatsound.Akirahadhitthetarget,butitseemedimpossible.

Onceagain,theoldmannockedhisarrow,drewit,and…

THWACK!

Thistime,thenoisewasn’tasloud,butJohnknewitmusthavehitsomething.Hetookoffrunningtothetarget,andwhenhegottherehecouldn’tbelievehiseyes.

Itseemedimpossible.Akira’sfirstarrowwaslodgedinthemiddleofthetarget,whilehissecondhadhitthefirstarrow,splittingitinhalf.

John walked back stunned, stuttering, “How on earth did you do that? It’simpossible!”

Akira smiled,pointingdown in thedirt towherehisdrawingswere still clear.With nothing but a little bit of moonlight he indicated the steps of the finaldrawing.“Manyyearsofchopwood,carrywater.”

Heindicatedthebottomstep.“Firstyear,youmustlearntoaimwithyoureyes.”

He indicated the next step. “Second year, you must learn to draw your bowsmoothly,holditstable,andaimwithyourmuscles.”

Again,thenextstep.“Thirdyear,youmustlearntobreatheslowly,controlyourdiaphragm,andaimwithyourlungs.”

Herepeatedthis,allthewaytothetopofthedrawing,wherehestopped.“John,Ihavebeenchoppingwoodandcarryingwaterforforty-nineyears.Andwhileyoumayonlyaimwithyoureyesandyourmusclesandyourlungsrightnow,Iaimwitheverything.ThewayIstand,thepositionofmyfeet,howmuchtensionIputinthebow,howmuchtensionIhaveinmyhands,howIbreathe,andwhatI see in my mind all impact the end result. Everything impacts everything.Everything is aiming. You have much to learn, John. Get some sleep, andtomorrowwechopwood,carrywater.”

Johnjustnoddedin totalamazement, thankful forsuchamasterfulandpatientteacher.

-CHAPTER17-

Bamboo

Thenextmorningatbreakfast,Akira toldJohntomeethimat thebigbamboogrove in ten minutes. Still mesmerized from the night before, John quicklyagreed.

WhenJohnarrivedsevenminuteslater,Akirawasalreadytherewaitingforhim.“Let’sgoforawalk.Iwanttotellyouastory,”hesaid.Johnreplied,“First,Ioweyouanapology.Iamverysorryforspeakingtoyouinsuchadisrespectfulmanner.Itwaswrong,andIamverysorry.”

The old man looked at John and said with a smile, “I appreciate that yourecognizedthisonyourown,andIacceptyourapology.Ihadalreadyforgivenyouthough,becausenotforgivingpeopleislikeswallowingadeadlydrugandhopingthepersonwhowrongedyoudiesfromit.”

Johnwhippedhisheadaround.“That’scrazy! Ihadnever thoughtof that.Mywhole life I thought that forgiveness was about something you did for otherpeople, but I never thought about its importance for the person who waswronged!”

Akirajustsmiledattheboyastheykeptwalking.

“Now,hasanyoneevertoldyouthestoryofbamboo,John?”

Hepointedtothetoweringgroveofbambootrees,withtheirthickgreentrunksandwhisperingleaves.Johnshookhishead,“No,sir.”

“Wellthen,youareinforatreat!”Akiragrinnedandwenton,“Yousee,manypeople love bamboo. They love the bamboo trees, and they love the bamboowood,butveryfewpeopleunderstandtheprocessofgrowingbamboo.Youdigupthesoilandmakesure it isgoodsoil,andthenyouplant thebambooseed.

You then must faithfully water it every day. After three months, guess whatstartstohappen?”

Johnsaidexcitedly,“Thebambootreestartstosproutupoutoftheground?”

“Nothing! You see absolutely nothing happening. You keep watering it andwatering it, but you continue to see nothinghappening for oneyear, then twoyears,thenthreeyears.Doyouknowwhathappensafterthreeyears,John?”

Johnreplied,moretentativelythistime,“Thebambootreestartstosproutupoutoftheground?”

“Nothing!Youseeabsolutelynothing.”

Johnshookhishead,“Idon’tunderstand.”

“What you don’t see happening is what is taking place beneath the surface.Beneath the surface, amassive, dense foundation of roots is spreading out allthroughout the ground to prepare for the rapid growth that the bamboo willexperience.So,youkeepwatering it andwatering it, andeventually,after fiveyearsofseeingnothingatallhappenabovethesurface,thebambootreeshootsuptooverninetyfeettallinjustsixweeks!

You see John, most people want the ninety-foot-tall bamboo tree without thefiveyearsoftheprocess.Theywantthebambootogrowtoninetyfeettallinsixweeks,butwithoutthefiveyearsofinvisiblegrowth,thebamboowouldn’thaveasolidfoundation,anditcouldneversustainthemassiveandrapidgrowththatoccurs.This is why you see people who achieve massive levels of ‘success’ end upbroke,homelessanddivorced.Didyouknowthataround75%ofNFLplayersandaround65%ofNBAplayersendupbankrupt,homeless,anddivorced?”

Shaken,Johnshookhisheadno.

“Do you rememberwhen I told you that themajority of peoplewhowin thelotteryendupworseoff financially than theywerebeforewinning the lottery,justfiveyearsdowntheroad?”

Johnnodded,ofcourseheremembered.

“John, chopping wood and carrying water is the price of admission for theopportunitytoreachsustainedexcellence.Liketherootsofabambootree,itisalong and arduous process of invisible growth, where you are building thefoundationthatisnecessarytosustainsuccess.Formanyyearsitmightfeelasifnothingishappening,butyoumusttrusttheprocessandcontinuetochopwoodandcarrywater,dayindayout,regardlessofwhatishappeningaroundyou.

Therewillbedistractions.Therewillbepeoplewhotellyouthatyouarestupidorcrazyfordoingit.Therewillbepeoplewhotryandlureyouoffthepathwithquickfixesandgetrichquickschemes.Butyoumustbewiseandstaythepath,and continue to build your foundation by chopping wood and carrying watereveryday.Greatnessisn’tsexyJohn,itisthedirty,hardworkthatisoftenveryboring.Youhaveabrightfuture.Staythepath,andneverforget--”

“I know, I know,” interrupted John. “No matter what happens, I must chopwood,andcarrywater.”

Akiracouldn’thelpbutgrin.“Youhavelearnedmuch,butyoustillhavemuchtolearn.”

-CHAPTER18-

RoadSignsonThePathToMastery

OnabeautifulfalldaywhileJohnwasouttraining,Akirasatnearby,watchingas John shot arrowafter arrow.Eventually, hegrabbed twocupsofwater andhandedonetoJohn.

“Timeforabreak,John.”

Johnwashappytooblige,andtheysatinsilenceforaminute.Then,Akirasaid,“HaveItoldyoulatelythatIlovetowatchyoushoot,andthatIamveryproudofyou?”

John’sfaceturnedalittleredashereplied,“Yes,youtellmeeveryweek.”

“Good!”Akiranodded.“DidyouknowthatIdrovetrucksalloverAsiafortwoyearswhenIwasinmyearlytwenties?”

“Really?!Ididn’tknowtheyevenhadcarsbackthen!”

JohngrinnedathisownjokeasAkirashookhishead,“I’mnot thatold,John.NeedIremindyouaboutournightofshootinginthedark?”

Johnlaughed,“Ofcoursenot,I’llneverforgetit!”

“The interesting thing about driving trucks back then, was that withoutnavigationaltechnology,wedependedalotonroadsignstohelpus.Youwouldoften snap out of haze and wonder, ‘Wait a minute, am I going in the rightdirection?!!’”

Helookedoffforaminute,thencontinued:

“The same thing often happens with people in their teams, businesses,corporations, and families. The road signs on the path to mastery are similar

regardlessofthecontextwefindourselvesinatanyparticulartimeinlife.Wecantakesolaceinknowingthatwearegoingintherightdirectionbythesignsontheroad.Herearesomeofthoseroadsigns:

• Thisishard.

• Idon’tfeellikedoing________today.

• Everyoneelsehasmoretimethanme.

• Idon’tfeellikethisismakingadifference.

• Almostnooneelseisdoingthis.

Soundfamiliar?

Thethingaboutallofthesesignsisthattheyprovideinformation,buttheydon’tgiveawhole lotof instruction.Instead, theyaremore like themile-markersorrest stop signs that tell us where things are. But the great thing about mosthighways is that they don’t just provide information; they actually provideinstructionthatwillhelpusmovesafelyandefficientlytowardsourdestination.These are the yellow diamond signs that we see instructing us about a speedchangeforasharpbend,unevenroads,orroadworkahead.Theroadsignsonthepathtomasteryarenodifferent.So,whataresomeofthepathtomastery’sinstructions?

• Talktoyourselfinsteadoflisteningtoyourself.

• Ask the question, “What is one thing I can do to make the situationbetter?”ratherthan,“whyisthishappeningtome?”

• Livebyprinciplesratherthanfeelings.

Finally,therearewarningsignsthatmarkthepath.Theyaresignsthatwarnusabouttheresultofourchoices.Onthehighwayweseewarningsaboutfinesinawork zone, fines for littering, and fines for HOV violators. They are theboundariesthatwemustoperatein,orelsetherewillbeaconsequence.Thepathtomasteryismarkedwiththoseaswell.

• Yourchoicecreatesyourchallenge

• Youarebuildingyourownhouse• Yourchoicecreatesachallengeforthoseonyourteam• Youwillreapwhatyousow• Thegrassisgreenerwhereyouwaterit• Thewisemanfindsthediamondsonhisownland

Eventhoughthepathtomasteryisavailabletoeveryone,veryfewwillchoosetotakeit.

Willtherebeobstacles?Yes.Willtherebepeoplewhotrytoholdyouback?Yes.Will there be circumstances that create challenges outside of your control?

Yes.Willitbelonelyattimes?Yes.

Butchoosing tobelieve thatanything thathappens is inyourbest interestwillturnallofthechallengesandcircumstancesintoarefinerythatwillshapeyourcharacterandskills,andwilldevelopwithinyouanabilitytochangetheworld.”

Johnnodded,amazed.Then,asmilegrewonhisfaceashebegantolaugh.

“Issomethingfunny,John?”

Helookedathissenseiandgrinned,“Sureis.Ijustpicturedyouinatruckerhat!”

Akira began to laugh aswell. “Aren’t you glad I didn’t stick to trucking? IknowIam.”

-CHAPTER19-

BeWhereYourFeetAre

A fewmore years passed, and Johnhadbegun to hit the far targetwith someconsistency,becomingmore andmore accurate.His excitementgrew,becausethe annual apprentice tournament was coming up, and he felt like it wouldfinallybehistimetoshineandprovetoeveryonehowgoodhehadbecome.

Butthatweek,Johnreallybegantostrugglewithaconcepthehadjustlearnedintraining.Asenseihadtalkedabouttheneedtobefullyabsorbedinthemoment.Thewayhedescribeditwasalmostasifthegreatestsamuraiarchersarrivedataplacewhere theywere so fullyabsorbed in themoment that theymeldedwiththebowandarrow,sothattheywerenolongertwoseparatethings,butbecameone.

It reminded John of a concept he had been taught at a high school basketballmental skills workshop. The teacher had shared the importance of playingpresent.HetoldJohnthat themajorityofpeoplefeelpressureandnevercome

close to playing to their potential, because they never play present5. Instead,theyplayinthepastorthefuture,whichiswheretheyfeelpressure.Thereisnosuchthingaspressureinthepresentmoment.

John didn’t understand how to play present, but had made a commitment tohimselftotrytolearnhow.HehadevenreachedouttoafewpeopleonTwitter,tryingtodiscoverhowtobemoreeffectiveatplayingpresent.

The response he never forgot said simply, “Sit in the front row away fromfriendsand teammates, turnoffyourphone,and takenotesbyhand, foreveryclass.”

Oneafternoon,Johnwassoabsorbedwith thinking this through thathenearlyranheadfirstintoatreeonhiswaytotheshootingrange.Stumbling,hecaught

himself,as…

“Goodcatch,Ithoughtyouweregoingdown!”ItwasAkira,whohadseenthewholethingandcouldn’thelpbutletoutabellylaugh.Johnjoinedin,redwithembarrassment, asAkira continued, “What areyou thinkingabout? Itmustbesomethingbig,ifyou’rewalkingintotreesthinkingaboutit!”

Johnstartedexplaininghowconfusedhewasbytheconceptofplayingpresent.Hesharedthatstrangeresponsefromyearsagoaboutsittinginthefrontrow.

Akiranodded,quizzical.“So,didyoudowhathetoldyoutodo?”

Johnsquirmedabit,mumblingsomethingindiscernible.

Akira said, “I didn’t think you had, or you wouldn’t be struggling with theconcept.Hereiswhatyoumustunderstand:toplaypresent,youmustfirstlearntolivepresent.Remember,youarealwaystraining!”

Johnnodded,realizingsomething:“I’malsolate.NowIhavetogochopwood,carry water!” He bowed to his sensei and turned to leave, but Akira wasn’tfinished.

“Excuseme?”hesaid.“John,thereisonlyonethingyouhavetodoinlife,andthatisdie.Youarealwaysdoingwhatyouwanttodo,becausethereisalwaysachoice.Youmaynotlikethechoices,ortheconsequences,butyoualwayshavea choice.When you tell yourself that you have to do something, it creates anegative internal energy, but when you realize you want to do something itcreatesamorebeneficialinternalenergy.”

Johnnodded,“Thenletmecorrectmyself:Iwanttogochopwood,carrywaternow!”

Akira smiled,watchinghis apprenticego,proudofhowJohnhad transformedovertheyears.

-CHAPTER20-

Goalvs.Mission

Thedaybeforethebigapprenticetournament,JohnwasonawalkwithAkira.

“Howareyoufeelingaboutthetournament?”Akiraasked.

“Great! Iput inmyworkin thedark,andnowit’smytimetoshineunder thebright lights.Mygoal is towin the tournament, and I think I finally have theskilltoaccomplishthat,”Johnsaidwithexcitement.

Akira pondered that for a silentmoment, then replied, “Doyou knowwhy somanypeople lovegoals, John?Because they secretly let themoff thehook. Ifyourgoalistobecomeadoctor,therearealotofpeoplewhocanstopthatfromhappening.Therearemanycheckpointsalongthewaywherepeoplecantellyouthat you aren’t smart enough, or that you don’t qualify. But if you look atMotherTheresa’smission,‘toservetheneedsofthesickandthedying,’noonecouldeverstopherfromlivingthatout.

Goalsactuallyallowyoutoshirkresponsibility.Butamission?Onlythepersoninthemirrorcanstopyoufromlivingthatout.

I thinkoneof thereasonssomanyyoungpeople todayareflounderingaroundchasingallthewrongthings,isbecausetheyareboredwithgoals.Theyneedacompelling mission. One hundred years ago, teenagers were leading armies,raisingfamilies,andlivinginspiredlives.Theymighthavelived‘boring’ livesby today’s standards, but I would argue many of them were inspired by acompellingmissionfromaveryyoungage.Today,ourparentsandcoachesdoall sorts of things to shelter kids from the consequences of their choices, andrarelyinspirethemwithamission.

I believe a mission is something you can do right where you are, anywhere,usingonlywhatyouhave.Youdonotneedanyone’spermission.

So,whatisyourmissionJohn?Itismuchdeeperthanagoal,anditisokaytoborrowonefromothersandthenrefineitasyougo.Butyourmissionwillactasyour internal navigation system.Without amission, youwill flounder throughlifeandveryeasilyendupwithyourladderonthe‘ohsh**’building.”

Johnwassurprised,butcouldn’thelpcrackingup.“Whatbuilding is that?”heasked.

“Manypeoplekeepclimbingandclimbing,only toget to the endof their lifeand the top of the ladder, and realize their ladder has been on the wrongbuilding.Withoutamission,itiseasytoloseperspectiveonwhattrulymatters.Amissionwillmakeyouthinkbeyondthemoment,whichisgreatlyimportantbecausetheonlythingthatissignificantaboutthemomentiswhoyoubecomeintheprocess,andtheimpactyouhaveonothers.

Nooneontheirdeathbedisworriedabouthowtheydidinagame,onatest,orhowmuchmoneytheymade.Theycareabouttheirrelationships,andwhotheyhavebecomeasaperson.Iknowthatinthemoment,theachievementsfeellikea big deal, but with perspective, you will realize just how insignificant theyreallyare.”

Johnnodded,butinallhonesty,hismindwasstillsetonthetournamentthenextday.

“Do you understandwhat Imean?” askedAkira. John said he did, but Akiraknewbetter:John’smindwaselsewhere.Hesighed,knowingwhatwascoming,butknowingthathehadtoletJohnexperienceitonhisown.

Oftentimes,failureisthegreatestteachingtool.

-CHAPTER21-

Surrender

Sure enough, when the tournament came around, John just couldn’t seem toperform as well as he knew he could. Anxiety got the best of him, and afterblowinghis first threerounds,hewasn’tevenclosetohittingthetargetbytheendofit.

So instead of winning, or even placing, he watched in jealousy as Katsuo’sarrowsslammedintothebullseye,winninghimthetournament.

AsJohnwalkedoff,emotionovercamehimlikeatidalwave,andtearsofpurefrustrationbegantofall.Hehadworkedsohardforthelastsixyears,andnowhe felt likehewasbackat squareone, shootingat a seven-foot target.Lost infrustration, he walked for miles, ending up at the edge of the community’sproperty.Hecollapsedatthetopofabeautifuloverlook,exhausted.Hewassowornout,thatheeventuallydozedoff.

Awhilelater,afamiliarvoicerousedhim…

“John?” Sure enough, it was Akira. He offered John a bottle of water and asandwich.“Ifiguredyoumightbehere.”

Theoldmangesturedtothesurroundinghills,rollinginmilesineverydirection.“When Iwasanapprentice, I tooused tocomeupherewhen Iwas frustratedwithmytraining.”

Johnbegantoeatanddrink,asAkiracontinued,“John,Iknewthiswasgoingtohappen.Assoonasyoutoldmeyourgoalwastowinthetournamentlastweek,Iknewyouhadallowedyour focus toshiftawayfromtheprocessandonto theuncontrollables.Youcannotplaypresent ifyouare focusedonwinningor theoutcome.”

Asthesunbegantoset,theskyignitedwithanexplosionofcolor.AkiralookedJohnintheeyes.“Iwantyoutodosomethingforme,John.Iwantyoutogofora two minute gratefulness walk. I want you to walk around for two minutesthankingGodforeverythingyouaregratefulfor,andmakesureyoupayspecialattentiontoallthelittlethingsyouoftentakeforgranted.”

Johnnodded,deciding togive it a shot.After twominutes,he returnedwithahugesmileonhisface.“Thatwasamazing!Icouldfeeltheenergyinsideofmeshift!”

Akiranodded,“Rememberthatthenexttimeyouarestrugglingandyouneedaperspectiveshift! It’snot justwhatyoudo,but it isalso theheartpostureyouhavewhiledoingit.Ifyoubrokeyourlegs,Ibetyouwouldgiveanythingtojustbe able to go for awalk.But it is easy to lose perspective and focus on sillythings like the results of a tournament, rather than on being grateful for evenbeingabletoparticipateinthattournamentinthefirstplace.

Whenyouoperatewithaheartpostureofgratefulness,youfreeyourselfuptobeatyourbestandslipintothezone.Whenyouarefocusedonresultsyoutendtoforce things,whichmakesyou tight, and it’salmost impossible toget into thezone.Not tomention,youarealsomuchmoreofa joy tobearoundfor thoseyoulovewhenyouoperatewithaheartpostureofgratefulness.”

John nodded, as he took in the sunset.Akira thought for aminute, then said,“John,Iwanttosharewithyouthemostimportantpieceofwisdommysenseieversharedwithme.

Theultimateillusionofthehumanexperienceiscontrol6.Thepersonyouwantbeside you in battle is the guy who has surrendered the outcome, andsurrenderedtothefactthathemightdie.Whenyousurrendertheoutcome,youarefreeduptobeatyourbest,tobeinthemoment,andtotrustyourtraining.Itis the one who has surrendered the outcome who ironically has the greatestchanceofsurvival.

It is theonewhohassurrendered theoutcomewhohas thegreatestchanceofsuccess.Itistheonewhohassurrenderedtothefactthathecouldfail,whohas

thegreatestlikelihoodofnotfailing.Untilyousurrendertheoutcome,youwillalways be the greatest enemy to your own success. In order to reach yourgreatestpotentialyoumustoperatewithaheartpostureofgratitude,committothecontrollables,surrendertheoutcome,andtrusttheprocess.

-CHAPTER22-

FamousFailures

Theweekafterthetournament,thecommunitybuzzedbecauseofaspecialguesttheywerehostingfortheweek.JackieChanwasgoingtobearrivinglaterthatdayandspeakingtothegroupthatnight,andJohncouldn’tbemoreexcitedtogettomeethim.

When Jackie got up to speak, he said he wanted to talk to them about theimportanceoffailure,andthatfailurecanbeanincrediblelaunchingpadifyouhave a growth mindset. He said that a growth mindset is believing that,“anythingthathappenstomeisinmybestinterestandisanopportunitytolearnandgrow.”

Mr.Chanbegantosharealistofpeoplewhobecamefamousafterperseveringthroughmanycontinuousfailures:

“It was 1937 when Theodore Geisel’s first book hit the market after beingrejected twenty-six times by different publishers. He went on to write a fewbooksyoumighthaveread,suchasCatInTheHat,GreenEggsandHam,andOhThePlacesWeWillGo.

Einstein’s teachers labeled him ‘mentally slow.’ He didn’t speak until almostfiveyearsold,andhewasexpelledfromschool.

Ben Carson was told he was stupid by teachers, andmade to sit in the backcorners of classrooms. He eventually became the first neurosurgeon to everseparateSiamesetwinsattachedattheskull.

Oprahwasfiredandtoldshewas‘unfitfortelevision.’

David Sanders’ famous chicken recipes were rejected by over 1,000 differentrestaurants,butyouhaveprobablyeatenataKFC.

AyoungengineernamedSoichirowantedacertainengineering jobatToyota,andhewasveryupsethedidn’tgetit.So,heleftandstartedabrandusinghislastname:Honda.

Henry had multiple businesses fail under his leadership, but eventually hecreatedasmallcompanycalledFord.

WaltwasfiredfromalocalKansasCitynewspaperfor‘lackingcreativity’and‘havingnooriginal ideas.’Mr.Disney’soriginal ideasstilldrawbillions tohisamusementparksandmovieseverysingleyear.

At thirty years old Stevewas fired from the company he created, untilApplebeggedhimtocomebackandsavethecompanytenyearslater.

Tomwastoldhewas‘toostupidtolearnanything’butMr.Edisondidinventthefirstlightbulbalongwithatleastonethousandandninety-threeotherthings.

Theirgroupwastoldthey‘havenofutureinshowbusiness’butIbetthepersonwhotoldTheBeatlesthatmighthaveeventuallyfoundhimselfwithnofutureinshowbusiness.

StevenwasrejectedfromtheUniversityofSouthernCaliforniathreetimes,andeventuallydroppedoutofanothercollege.HecreatedafewmoviesyoumighthaveseenlikeJaws,JurassicPark,andIndianaJones.

RowlandHusseyhadsevenstraightbusinessesfailbeforehestartedMacy’s.

AyoungsingernamedPaul’ssampletapewascontinuouslyrejectedbyrecordlabels as, ‘not suitable for us,’ but those samecompaniesperkedup their earswhenBono and his bandU2 eventually became some of the most successfulrockstarsofalltime.

Akio’scompanywassobroketheystartedmakingricecookersthatdidn’tworkverywellatall,butaftermanyyearsofbarelykeepingthelightson,Sonyfoundtheirniche.

Winston failed thesixthgradeandwasbeaten ineveryelectionhepartook in,untilbecomingtheprimeminister.Hislastname,Churchill,isnowsynonymous

withthestalwartleadershipthathelpedtheAlliesdefeatHitlerinWorldWarII.

Abrahamfailedatseeminglyeverythingheputhishand to (includingmultiplebusinesses and runs at office) but President Lincoln eventually got a couplethingsright,likesavingtheUnionandtheEmancipationProclamation.

Jerryfrozehisfirsttimeuponthebigstage,andwasconsequentlybooedoffit.Histelevisionshow‘aboutnothing’waslaughedatandridiculed,untilSeinfieldbecameoneofthelongest-runningandmostpopularshowsintelevisionhistory.

Vincentonlysoldonepaintingduringhislifetimeandwasatruestarvingartist,buttodayVanGogh’spaintingstogetherareworthbillions.

Mr.PresleywasfiredfromtheGrandOldOpryinNashvilleandtoldto‘gobackto driving a truck.’ Elvis was able to buy many trucks in his lifetime whilesellingacouplerecordsalongtheway.

Ludwig was completely deaf, which made playing the violin and composingprettydifficult.ApparentlyafewpeoplestillplayBeethoven’smusictoday.”

JackieChanpaused,everyeyeintheroomlockedonhim.

Hecontinued, “I’mgrateful thesepeopledidn’tgiveup, and Ihopeyoudon’tgive up either.Because your failures, shortcomings, and challenges can eitherendupasyourexcuseoryourstory.Ihopeyouchoosecourage,curiosity,andpersistence.Becausethosearestoriesworthtelling.”

HavingwatchedallofJackie’sfilmswithhisfatherandJordangrowingup,Johnwasahugefan.Butitwasn’thismoviesthatJohnwasstillthinkingaboutthatnight as he lay in bed. Instead, it was the incredible stories Jackie told; Johnnever realized that somany of the people he admired had gone through suchadversitythroughouttheirlives.

As he finally drifted off to sleep, he knew that if all of them could overcomesuchincrediblechallenges,thensocouldhe.

-CHAPTER23-

TheIllusionofPartiallyControllableGoals

One day, as the sunwas about to go down,Akira found John at the shootingrange. He was still firing, intensely focused. THWACK! THWACK!THWACK!He sent arrow after arrow into the target, hurriedly reloading andmovingontothenext.

Akiracalmlyasked,“John,whatareyoushootingfor?”

“IneedtogetfourbullseyegroupingsinarowbeforeIlosethelight.”

“Why?”

Withoutthinking,Johnsnapped,“Becausethat’sKatsuo’srecord,andIneedtobeathim!”

“Behonest.Doyoureallyneedtodothat?”

Johnshookhishead,slowlydeflating,asAkiracontinued…

“John,letmetellyoustoryabouttryingtoreachagoalbeforelosingthelight.Avery long time ago, I was in lovewith a girl namedKimiko.One summer, Isurprisedherwithatriptoalandshehadalwayswantedtovisit:Croatia,homeofsomeoftheworld’smostbeautifulwaterfalls.

Therewasonewaterfall inparticularwhosebeautycapturedus.Wefoundoutaboutitonthelastdayofourjourney,andIwasdeterminedtoseeitbeforeweleftthecountry.

Ourguidesatthehotelhadtoldusthatthisbeautifulplacewasfivehoursaway,throughthewindingmountainroadsandoverseveraldangerousbridges.So,weawokeatdawnandbeganour journey.Afterdriving trucks fora living, IwasconfidentIcouldnavigatethedifficultroadsandterraininplentyoftimetoget

there.According tomy calculations,wewould arrive at thewaterfall halfwaythroughtheafternoonatthelatest.

Idroveusthroughthewindingmountainroadslikeamadman,butallmycrazydriving was for nothing as we arrived at our first sign of trouble: the first‘bridge’was nobridge at all, but a car ferry across awide lake.And the nextferrydidnotleaveforanotherhourandahalf.

Wetooksomepicturesbythebeautifulferry,andItriedtoenjoytheviewandthe journey. Truthfully though, Iwas not enjoying any of it, becausemy solefocus was achieving my goal (getting to the waterfall) and I wouldn’t besatisfieduntilwe(I)madeitthere.

Determinedtomakeupourlosttime,wewerethefirstpeopleofftheferry.Westoppedatthetollboothonthemountainroad,wheretheoperatorinformedus:despitemycalculationsthatthewaterfallwasanhouraway,itwasmoreliketwohourswiththemuddyroads.

Aswedrove,Kimikoaskedme,‘Doyouwant togodosomethingelse?I justwanttospendtimewithyou,itdoesn’tmatterwhatwedo.’Ishruggedheroffasifshe’djustsuggestedwerideawoodenhorse,insteadofexperiencesomethingtrulyspectacular

We(I)weregoingtomakeittothecascadingwaterfall.

IbegantosnapatKimiko,irritatedateventheslightestinconvenience.IwishIcouldsayIwasenjoyingthejourney,butIwasn’t.Instead,Iwasangrilyfocusedon how quickly I could make each turn in the road, instead of enjoying thebeautifulvistasaroundus.Icouldnotgetmymindoffofmygoal,andwiththesunpassingoverhead,Iknewwedidnothavemuchtime.

Wefinallyarrivedatthetrailheadtothewaterfall,butaswegotoutofthecar,we saw that even theman andwoman running a roadside stand nearbywerebeginningtopackupfortheday.

Iaskedthemfrantically,‘HowdoIgettothewaterfall?’

‘It’stoolate.’

‘HowdoIgettothewaterfall?!’

‘It’stoolate.Comebacktomorrow.’

Weleaveinthemorning,andnowistheonlytime!HOWDOIGETTOTHEWATERFALL?!’

‘Thewaterfallisseveralmilesaway.Itisabouttodownpour,andthetrailisnoteasy.Itisaverybadidea.Youcan’tmakeitthereandback.Thereisn’tenoughlight, it isverydangerous.Youwillbe in themiddleof theforestwithnoonearoundtohelpyouifyougetintrouble.’

But I refused to listen to them. Instead, IpulledKimikowithme, ignoring theominouscloudsthatgatheredoverhead,andtherapidly-fadingdaylight.

Ihadnow traveled forovereighthours toexperience thisbeautifulcascadingwaterfall,anditwastoolatetoturnbackoradmitdefeat.

Even Kimiko’s patience began to wear thin as we trekked through themountains. I am sure she asked ifwe could just stop and go somewhere elsemultipletimesalongthemuddytrail,butshemightaswellhaveaskedastatue,becauseIjustkeptgoing.

Aswecrossed the firstbridge, it started to rain. Itwasmuddyandhard togetgoodfootingafterthebridge,butwekeptgoing.Occasionally,IlookedbacktoseeifIcouldstillseeher.

Wepassed twoother travelers,on theirwaybackdownthemountain. Iasked,‘Is itworth it?’ and they replied, ‘It’s amazing!Butyouwillnevermake it intime.’ItoldKimikotowalkbackwiththem,andIpressedon.

Itookoffrunning.Itstartedtorain,butIranharder.Icameacrossapondinthemiddleofthepath,andIcouldbarelygetaroundit.Thelightwasgettingworse.Ikeptrunninghard,althoughthehillsweremakingmylegsburn.Igottothetopofanotherone,andrealityfinallysetin.

Icouldmakeittothecascadingwaterfall,butthenIwouldhavenolightfora

difficult(evenwithsunlight)trekback.

Iwasinthemiddleofaforeigncountry.

Therewerewildanimalsinthisforest.

Kimikowasworriedsick,andIhadabandonedher.

Itwaspouringrain.

Ihadnoteatenallday.

Therainstormwaskillingthelastofthesunlight.

Iwasnotgoingtoreachmygoal.

Iwouldnotexperiencethecascadingwaterfall.

Iscreamedatthetopofmylungs.IcursedtherainandCroatia.Isacrificedsomuchtoachievemygoal,andIwassoclose,butIknewIneededtoturnback.Iscreamedandcurseditallagainand…Ifinallyturnedaround.

John,thisiswhereIlearnedthetruthaboutpartiallycontrollablegoals:theyarevery alluring, but very dangerous. Things like winning, rebounding, sales, orbeatingyouropponent’s records, candistract us fromwhat ismore important:thepersonwebecomeonthejourney.

That day, my focus was on the partially controllable goal, and I spoiled thejourney, my character, my health, and my relationship in the process. Icompromisedthethingsthatarenotonlyimportanttome,butthethingsIspendmylifetryingtoteachotherstodowell.

Cascading waterfalls in life are sexy and alluring, and I hope you get toexperience some of them. But if we focus on them instead of true mentaltoughness, we so often end up compromising all the things that trulymatter. Sometimes we make it to the waterfalls, many times we do not. Butregardless of whether we achieve our goal or not, there is always a path ofdestructioninourwake.

Itmightbeeasiertojustifythatwakeofdestructionwhenyouachievethegoal,butitisevenmoreofarealitycheckwhenyoudonot.John,awisemanoncesaid, ‘Youcangochaseadream,but thensometimesyou lookbackand

there’satrailoftearsbehindyou.Andthetearsareusuallyyourwifeandkids.’7

I have nowife and children, but that day I learned the truth: that focusing onpartiallycontrollablegoalscanbemuchmoretroublethanitisworth!”

John nodded, looking up as the night sky faded down around them.The lightwasnowgoneforshooting,buthefeltrelievedandhisbodyfeltlighter.

“Thankyou,Akira-sensei.IthinkIneededtohearthat.IgetveryderailedwhenIfocusongoalsinsteadoftheprocessandbuildingmyhouse.”

Akiranodded,“Iknow,John.Istillhavetore-learnthislessontoosometimes.”

Johngrinned,“Somaybeonedaywe’llbothlearn?”

Akirajustsmiledback,“Yes,John.Letushopeso!”

-CHAPTER24-

TheFight

Onedayduringlunch,theapprenticesgatheredinthedininghallasusual.Butinthemidstofsomegood-naturedjoking,Katsuocrossedaline,talkingabouthowJohnhad“choked” in the last tournament.Johndidn’thearasinglewordafterthat.Hisbloodboiled,andbeforeheknewit,hehadtackledKatsuo!

Theyrolledwildlyacrossthefloor,foodflying,eachtryingtolandapunch.Astheotherapprenticespulled themapart, Johnmadeone last lunge.ButKatsuododged,sendingJohnslippingpasthimon theslickfloor, thencrashing to theground.Ashe fell, Johnheardahollowpop! followedbyawrenchingboltofpain,ashefelthisarmshatterintotwopieces.

Later thatday, after thedoctorshad finished settinghis armandhad senthimback from thehospital, Johnwassitting inhis roomwhenAkiraarrived. Johnlookedaway,unabletomeethissensei’seyes.Hefeltashamed,hewasn’treadyforalecture.

But instead of a lecture, the oldman seemed to be filledwith joy. “John, it’sgreattoseeyou!Iknowyouwishthecircumstanceweredifferent,andIbelieveme, I know how you feel. Iwas a hot head growing up aswell, and I got inplenty of trouble. It took me a long time to learn how to live by principles,insteadoffeelings.

Manyyearsago,Ievenfoundmyselfinaplacejustliketheoneyouareinrightnow. Ihadbeenknockedout,my facewas split open,gushingblood, andmynosewasbroken,byamanmuch larger thanmyself.But I chose tobelieve itwas in my best interest and an opportunity to learn and grow. That mindsethelpedpropelmetowardsbecomingthemanIamtoday.”

“Wait a second!” said John, “You can’t just say something like that and skip

overit!”

Akira just smiled, “That is a story for another day. Right nowwe havemoreimportantthingstothinkabout.DidyouknowthattheChinesesymbolforcrisisisthecombinationoftwowords:dangerandopportunity?

Johnshookhishead,asAkiracontinued,“Ateverycrossroadsthereareatleasttwo choices: to view your circumstance as a calamity, or to view it as anincredibleopportunity.Themostimportantquestiontothinkaboutrightnowisthis:fiveyearsfromtoday,willyoubeashamedofhowyoushrankfromwhatyou saw as a calamity? Or, will you look back and be proud of how youmaximizedyourincredibleopportunity?”

John nodded, but couldn’t stop the tears that began to sting his eyes. “I can’tbelieveIwasthisstupid!WhydidIhavetobreakmyarm?I’mtryingtobelievethis is inmy best interest and an opportunity to learn and grow, but it seemsimpossibletobelieverightnow!”

Hissenseipulledupachairbesidehisbed.“Ifiguredyouwouldfeelthatway,soIthoughtmaybewecouldtalkaboutchasinglionsonsnowydays.”

Johncouldn’thelpchucklingevenwithtearsandsnotflowingdownhisface.“Idon’tknowhowthat’sgoingtohelp,butlet’shearit.”

Akira continued, “The thing about incredible opportunities is that they oftencome to us disguised as five-hundred-pound lions. Right now you are face tofacewithoneofthemanylionsyouwillencounterinlife.Thequestionis,whatwillyoubelieveaboutit,andwhatwillyoudoaboutit?ThereisanancientstoryaboutawarriornamedBenaiah,andwhilehedoesn’tgetverymanylinesintheBook,theytellusalotaboutlife.Inthefirstline,itsaysthatonedayhechaseda lion intoapitonasnowyday,andkilled it.Thenext linesays thatBenaiahwentontobecomeKingDavid’schiefbodyguard.

Whenmostpeoplecomefacetofacewiththeiropportunities(lions)theyrunasfastas theycan in theoppositedirection,butwhenyoudecide toembrace thelionandchaseit,youhavetheopportunitytobuildyourresume,yourcharacter,andyourskills.

John, noone is interested inwatchinga storywhere theherodoesn’t have toovercomealotofadversity.Thatwouldbeincrediblyboring.

Do I condone you getting into a fight? Not at all! But we all have differentchallenges in life, andnowyouhave foundyourselfhere. Iwouldneverwantsomeonetocomefacetofacewithaliononasnowyday,butIcantellyouonething: if Iwere theking, Iwouldwant theguywhohadkilled the lion in thatencountertobemybodyguard.

Rightnow,youhaveanopportunitytodevelopmental,emotional,andrelationalskillsinawaythatyouneverwouldhaveifyouhadnotsufferedthisphysicalsetback.Butwhatyoudowiththatopportunity,isuptoyou.Willyousquanderitwastingtime,orwillyouharnesstheopportunityandallowittobuildyouintomoreofthepersonthatyouwanttobecome?”

John grinned, sounding more like his old self, “I want to harness theopportunity!”

Akira nodded, “Good.” He walked to a cabinet, and pulled out a pen andnotepad.“Iwantyoutomakea‘cando’listofallthethingsyoucandotogetbetterwhileyouarenotabletotrain.Iwouldstartwithreadingatleastfifteen

booksoffthisreadingchallenge.8”

Johnnodded,thenstartedthinkingaboutallthethingshecoulddotogetbetterwhilehewasinjured.Hestartedwriting…

• Visualizationexercises• Listentoguidedimagery• Dohighlightfilmstudyofmybestshots• Filmstudyofothergreatsamuraiarchers• Encouragemyteammates• Write articles about the lessons I’ve learned duringmy time training

andthelessonsI’mlearningthroughtheinjury• Strengthtrainingareasnotaffectedbymyinjury• Hand-eyecoordinationexerciseswithmyotherarm• StudyWisdom

Ashefinished,Akiralookedoverthelist,thennoddedinapproval.“Thoseareafewgreatexamples,andIamcertainyoucanthinkofmanymoreoverthenextcoupleofdays.Now,Ihavetogetbacktotherange,butitsoundslikeyouhavea‘cando’listtostartgettingtoworkon.”

“Isuredo,”Johnsaid.“Andthankyouforhelpingmeseethisasanopportunity.I’lldomybesttotakeiton…justlikealiononasnowyday.”

-CHAPTER25-

PrinciplesInsteadofFeelings

Afewdayslater,Johnreturnedfromhischeck-inatthehospitalwithhisarmina cast and a recommendation from the doctors of fourweeks of no strenuousphysicalactivity,followedbyeightweeksofonlylightphysicalactivity.

Ashegrabbedhislunchinthedininghall,Akiracameupalongsidehimwithato-gocarton.“Howaboutwegoforawalk?”

Johnwas happy to comply, as they took their lunch to amassive tree on theproperty. Under its shade, they ate in silence for a while. Then Akira asked,“John,doyouremembermetalkingtoyouafewdaysagoabouthowittookmealongtimetolearntolivebyprinciples,notfeelings?”

Johnnodded,quietlyacknowledgingthathehad.

Akirawent on, “Like I said, just like you I had quite a hot headwhen Iwasyounger.Imademanystupidandcarelesschoicesthatcausedothersandmyselfmuchpain.Thankfully, Ihadamentor inmy lifewhobroughtmeoutof that,andtaughtmeaboutlivingbyprinciples.

WhenIwasaboutyourage,hehadseenmereacttoseveraldifferentsituations.

Finally,heaskedmeaverysimplequestion:‘Howisyourstrategyoflivingbyyour feelingsworking out for you?’ I got very quiet, and had to admit that itwasn’tworkingoutverywellatall.HethensharedaquotefromamannamedEricThomas, ‘At the endof your feelings is nothing.But at the endof everyprincipleisapromise.’

Livingbyfeelingsisnevergoingtoworkoutwellforanyone,becausefeelingschange. Sometimes we simply wake up and we feel differently. Sometimes,someonedoes something tomakeus feeldifferently.Livingbyour feelings is

like riding an emotional rollercoaster.Whenyoumake the choice to liveby acertainsetofprinciples, itwillnotonlyprotectyoufromyour feelings, itwillallowyoutostepintoyourgreatestpotential.

Manydays,youaren’tgoingtofeellikeworkingoutandhoningyourcraft.

Manydays,youaren’tgoingtofeelliketreatingpeoplereallywell.

Manydays,youaren’tgoingtofeellikebeingunconditionallygrateful.

Manydays,youaren’tgoingtofeellikegivingyourverybest.

Buttheprinciplesaysyouaregoingtoreapwhatyousow.

The principle says that diligent workers are going to serve kings instead ofordinarymen.

Theprinciplesaystoturntheothercheek.

Theprinciplesaystoseekwisecounsel.

Theprinciplesaystospeaklifeandnotdeath.

Attheendofprinciplesthereislife,freedom,hope,joy,andpeace.

Butattheendoffeelingsisdestruction.

John,whatIwantyoutodoistoseekoutprinciplesfromancientwisdomthathave been tried and tested through the ages.When you switch from living byyourfeelingstolivingbyprinciples,youwillstarttoseeverydifferentfruitinyourlife.Itisnoteasy,andsometimesyouwillslipupandmakechoicesbasedoffofyourfeelings.Pickyourselfup,andgetbackontheroadtolivingbyyourprinciples rather thanyour feelings. It’snoteasy,but—”henodded toJohn’scast,“—itisalotbetterthanlivingbyyourfeelings!”

John laughed in agreement, as Akira went on. “Now, can you think of fourprinciplesyouhavelearnedsofarfromyourtimeherethatyouwanttoliveby?”

Johnstartedtothinkdeeply.Hefinallyreplied,“One:youarebuildingyourownhouse. Two: to play present, youmust train to live present. Three: youmustsurrendertheoutcomeandcommittotheprocessoryouwillbecomeyourownworst enemy. And four: no matter what my circumstances are, always chopwoodandcarrywater.”

Akira smiled, “Those are excellent! I am happy to see our time together ispaying off.Now, each daywhen youwake up, before you enter the shootingrange,orbeforeyoucompete,writeout four tosixprinciples thatyouwant tostick to no matter what. Stick them in your pocket, and if you feel yourselfwantingtolivebyyourfeelings,either touchthatpocket,orpull themoutandsaythemaloudoffewtimesbyyourself.Gotit?”

“Yes,Akira-sensei,”saidJohn.Hewasexcitedtousethisnewtool.

-CHAPTER26-

WarriorDial

Afewmonthsandmanyrepsofthecan-dolistlater,Johnwasfinallyclearedtotrainfullyagain.Thenightbefore,hewassoexcitedhecouldbarelysleep.

Thenextmorning,Akirajoinedhimastheywalkedtotherangetogether.

“I’msoexcitedforyoutogettobebackouthereshooting,John,andIthinkitisreallyimportantthatIshareaconceptwithyouthatI’mnotsureyouhaveeverbeenawareof.It iscalledthewarriordial.Thinkaboutyourwarriordialfromonetoten.Oneisultrastealthmode,andbarelymoving.Tenisasuper-hypedkamikazescreamingandrunningintoabuildingwithabombstrappedtothem.

Every one of us can turn ourwarrior dial up or down, and depending on thecontextofthesituationandwhereweareatourbest,wewouldbewisetodoso.Thinkabouttoday.Basedoffthecontextofthedayanditbeingyourfirstdayback,wheredoyouthinkyouareatonthewarriordial?”

Johnthoughtforasecond,thenanswered,“Iamprobablyataneightoranine.”

Akiranoddedhisheadinagreement.“Andwheredoyouthinkyouneedtobetobeatyourbest,andnotgetre-injured?”

Johnreplied,“Honestly,I’mnotsure.GrowingupIhadalwaysbeentaughtthatyou were supposed to get hyped before games by watching movies likeBraveheart and listening to upbeatmusic. I’ve never really thought about thisbefore.”

“Then I am glad we’re talking about it now,” said Akira. “I think the bestsamuraiarcherswouldtellyouthatyourbestshootingwillhappenaroundafour

orafive.Ifyourdialistoohigh,youaremorelikelytoshootinaccurately.”

John nodded, trying to process what he had heard, while simultaneouslywonderingwhyhehadneverlearnedthisgrowingupplayingsports.“So,howdoyouturnyourwarriordialdown?”

Hissenseismiledwide,“Iwashopingyouwouldask.Youcanturnyourwarriordial down by doing deep-breathing exercises, talking slower, lowering yourvoice, listeningtoclassicalmusic,andslowingyourmovements.Infact,manyofyourteamsinthewestwouldbenefitfromturningtheirdialdownbeforethe“BIG”gamesand turning itupbefore the“smaller”games.Youalreadyknowhowtoturnyourwarriordialupbywatchinginspirationalmovies, listeningtoupbeat music, and by jumping around. But in my experience, it is morechallengingtoturnyourdialdown,thanitistoturnitup.Itwilltakepractice,butyouwillgetthehangofit.”

Johngrinned,“Thankyou,sensei!I’mexcitedtotryitouttoday.”

Sureenough,assoonasJohngrippedhisbow,asurgeofenergyflowedthroughhim. Remembering Akira’s lesson, he breathed deeply, and hummed a slowsong,calminghismindandlettingtheoxygeninhislungsquiethisnerves.Thatsimpleexercisewasenoughtosteadyhishandashenockedanarrow,drew,andreleased,sendingthearrowslammingintothebull’s-eye!

Itfeltgoodthatallofhismentaltrainingwaspayingoff,butitfeltevenbetterjust to get back out on the blocks and be able to chopwood and carrywateragain.ItseemedasifJohnwasfinallylearningtofallinlovewiththeprocessofbecominggreat.

-CHAPTER27-

“They”

As the years passed, John kept training with focus and perseverance. In coldweatherandwarm,hekeptchoppingwoodandcarryingwater.Inwindandrainand sun and storms he kept beating on his craft, focusing onmental trainingwhen theweather was too rough to shoot, and shooting four hours each day,everyday.Andbeforeheknewit,Johnhadnearlyspenttenyearsatthesamuraicommunity.Hewasveryclosenowtograduation.

Onedayatdusk,justasthesunwassetting,Johnwasfinishinguphisshootingwhen Akira approached, watching his apprentice with great pride. As Johnfinishedhisshooting,heandAkirawalkedbacktothedininghall.

Astheydid,Akirasaid,“John,youareveryclosetofinishingyourtrainingnow.Youwillgraduateasasamuraiarchersoon,andthenyouwilldivebackintotheworld.Beforeyoudo,thereissomethingImustsharewithyou.”

“Andwhatisthat,Akira-sensei?”askedJohn.

“Iwantyouknowthatwhenyougetbackintotheworld,youwillfaceauniquechallenge.Youwillfacethechallengeof‘they.’”

Johnjustblinked,curious.“Whoare‘they’?”

“John,we comeout from thewombcreating and exploring.But thenwe startschool, and we are told to sit down, shut up, and get in line.We are told tobehave and to color inside the lines.We are told to dream sensibly and to be‘realistic.’

Youwanttoknowwho‘they’are?‘They’aretheonessayingallofthat.Andifyou don’t obey, if you don’t do what ‘they’ say, they call you disobedient,unassimilated,disturbed,ortheydiagnoseyouwithADHD.Thentheydrugyou,

alltogetyoutofitintheirnicelittlebox.

‘They’calledacoachnamedJohnWoodencrazywhenhetriedtorunapressforthe entire game. ‘They’ also thought it was crazy he didn’t scout opponents;rather,hechosetofocusonlettingtheotherteamworryaboutstoppinghisteam.

The board atApple ranSteve Jobs out of the company calling him crazy andreckless.Twelveyearslater,monthsawayfrombankruptcy,theycamecrawlingbackbegginghimtocomebackandsavethem.HetookApplefromthefringesof bankruptcy to one of the most successful and innovative companies of alltime.

‘They’ wanted to have the man committed who came up with the idea oftelevision. ‘They’ thought the ideaofa24-hoursportsnetworkwasstupidandcould neverwork. ‘They’ calledNelsonMandela a terrorist, and ‘they’ calledJackie Robinson much worse. Rest assured, ‘they’ will call you all sorts ofnames,theywillthrowdownthegauntletinfrontofyou,theywilldoeverythingtheycantokeepyouinsidetheir‘safe’container.

Ifyouputonecrabinabucket,itwillcrawlout.Ifyouputmultiplecrabsinabucket, theywillpull eachotherdownevery timeone starts tocrawlout. If acrabcontinues to tryandcrawloutof thebucket theothercrabswillbreak itsleg.

Unfortunately,John,weliveinasocietyofcrabs.

Butweweren’tcreatedtositstillandlearnthe‘right’answer.Wewerecreatedtoexplore,create,tobeloved,toloveandtolearn.

Becourageous,andneverlistento‘they.’Onceyoubreakouttheywillcallyouagenius,andtelleveryonehowtalentedyouare.Theywilltryandneatlysweepallyouryearsofsweat,turmoil,anduncommonpersistenceundertherug.Why?Becauseitissomuchmorecomfortabletobelievegreatnessisreservedforthechosenfewthanitistoworkyourever-lovingbuttofftobecomethebestyouarecapableofbeing.”

Andmost importantly, please don’t try and teach your friends and family thelessonsyoulearnedhere.”

“Butthatdoesn’tmakeanysense?”SaidJohn.

“John,itisdifferentherebecauseyousoughtoutthisenvironmenttogrowandtransform.Therewillbepeoplewhoaskyouforwisdom,andfeelfreetoshareitwiththem,BUTyoumustnevercrossboundarieswithoutaninvitation.Awise

manoncesaid“thedifferencebetweenapestandaguestisaninvitation.”9Youhave gained so much wisdom while you are here, but most people won’t beinterestedinlearningorchanging.Itisverysad,butyouneedtobepreparedforwhatyouarewalkinginto.

If Iwere the best heart surgeon in theworld, andmy best friend had a heartproblem that only I could fix, does that giveme permission to do surgery onhim?”Johnwaspuzzled,buteventuallysaid,“Iguessnot.”

“Exactly! Iwould stillneedpermission toperformheart surgery.Even thoughyou are equipped with life changing wisdom that could transform lives, youmustnot share itwithoutan invitation.Mostpeople justwant tobeheardandloved, they don’t want your wisdom, and that is OK! Sometimes, you canactuallybecomethegreatestimpedimenttootherpeoplegrowingwhenyoutryandforce thingson them.In time, if theyseeyoumodel it, theywillprobablystarttoaskforhelp.

ButI’llsharesomethingwithyouIhaveneversharedwithyoubefore.Idon’taskyourpermissiontosharewisdomwithyou,becauseofthenatureandcontextofourrelationship.However,withmyfriendsandfamily,Ialwaysask“wouldyou likemyopinion or do you just need to be heard andwantme to listen?”Sometimes this annoys them, and just because I couldhelp, Imustmake suretheyneedit,wantit,andgivetheirpermission.

Trust me John, disregard this advice at your own peril. We get letters fromformerapprenticesallthetime,andthisisthebiggestchallengetheyfacewhentheyassimilatebackintothe‘real’world,”saidAkira.

“ThankYOUAkira-sensei!Iwilldomybesttoalwaysbeaguestandnevera

pest!”

-CHAPTER28-

ANewName

By the time he neared graduation, John had becomeone of themost accuratearchers inhis class.Hewasable topack thebull’s-eyewitha clusterof threearrows,evenatafarrange.Finally,aftertenyearsoftraining,Johnhadbecomeasamuraiarcher!

Afterhisgraduationceremonyandbeforeheleft thecommunitytotravelbackhome,JohnandAkiratookonelastlongwalkthroughthegrounds.Theypassedmanyoftheirfavoritelocations,spotsthatJohnhadcometoloveduringhistimethere.

Astheywalked,Akiratoldhimhowproudhewas,saying,“Youknownowthatexcellence is within your reach, John. It is accomplished through deliberateactions,ordinaryinthemselves,performedconsistentlyandcarefully,madeintohabits,compoundedtogetherandaddedupovertime.Ilearnedthisfromacoach

in your country whowon twenty-one national championships10. He said thatgreatness is a bunchof small thingsdonewell, addedupover time, thatmostpeoplethinkaretoosmalltomatter.John,youhavelearnedtofallinlovewiththeprocessofbecominggreat,totaketheroughsideofthemountain,andtoletyourskillsandcharacterberefinedbytheday-in,day-outprocessofchoppingwoodandcarryingwater.Iamsoproudofyou!”

Johncouldn’tstopsmiling,ashissensei’swordsresonatedinsidehim.Thiswasoneofthesatisfyingdaysofhislife,notbecauseofwhathehadachieved,butbecauseofthemanhehadbecome.

Akirawrappedhiminabighug,thensaid,“Beforeyouleave,thereisonemorethingwemustdo.Iwantyoutocloseyoureyes,putyourhandonyourheart,and takesomedeepbreaths. Iwantyou to thinkaboutall thenamesyouhavegone by in your life. Each of those names probably represents a part of your

personality. And I want you to think: which of the names represents thestrongest,kindest,andmostauthenticversionofyou?”

Johnobeyed,closinghiseyesandtakingadeepbreath.Finally,heopenedthem,andsaidwithresolution,“Jonathandoes.Growingup,myfamilyalwayscalledme Johnny. That’s the very playful side of my personality, but also a veryimmatureversionofmyself.EventuallypeoplestartedcallingmeJohn,butthatsideofmypersonalityiskindofsoftandapushover.IthinkthatJonathanisthebestversionofmyself.”

His sensei smiled, and said, “Then fromnowon tell people that yourname isJonathan, and do not allow them to call you anything else. Names are verypowerful.IntheBible,manypeopleexperiencednamechanges,andthosenamechangeswerewatershedmomentsintheirlives.YouhavetransformedthroughyourtimehereJonathan,andyouneedtohaveanewnamethatrepresentsthattransformation.Iamexcitedforallthejourneysyouwillgoonfromhere,andItrust thatyouwill impactmanypeople’s lives in theprocess. I amhonored tohaveknownyou.”

Jonathan nodded, his heart filled with emotion. He embraced Akira one lasttime.Eventually,heletgo,grabbinghisbagstoleave.“Akira-sensei,I’llneverforgetmytimehere.Thankyouforteachingmehowtochopwood,carrywater,andtofallinlovewiththeprocessofbecominggreat!”

Theend….

-FINALTHOUGHTS-

My hope is that you feel encouraged, refreshed, and maybe even a little bitlighter from reading this book. Before you go though, there are a few moresecretsofwisdomI learnedonmypersonal journey to falling in lovewith theprocessofbecominggreat,andIwanttosharethemwithyou

You don’t need to spend too much time around me before I bring up JudahSmith. In my opinion he is the best in the world at sharing stories in publicspeaking,handsdown.

Another one of my friends who does a lot of public speaking and is worldrenownedathiscraftsaid,“Judahisthebest,andnooneelseisevenclose.”

Iagree.

I’veonlyspentabout5minuteswithJudahinaprivatesettingandIchosemyquestionscarefully.ThefirstquestionIaskedhimwas,“Whatdoyouknownowthatyouwishyouwouldhaveknownwhenyoufirststartedout?”

Everyweek I study Judah’swork. I listen tohismp3’s. I’ve readhisbooks. Ilistentohimlivetwiceaweekeventhoughhegivesthesametalktwice,Itakenotes and stay for both. His thinking, writing, and speaking have greatlyinfluencedallofmine.However,nothinghashitmeashardashisresponsetothatquestion.

Hesaid,“WhenIstartedout,ItriedtowritetheBESTsermons.NowIjusttryandlovethepeopleintheaudience.”

WhenIstartedout,Itriedtobethebestintheworldatperformancepsychology.My focus was teaching mental training exercises, tips, and tricks to increaseperformance.

Today,Istartalmosteverytalkwith“YOUMatter.”

Iletpeopleknowthattheymatter.

Notwhattheydo.

Notwhattheyachieve.

Nottheirgoals.

Nottheirstuff.

Nottheiraccomplishments.

Nottheirdreams.

THEYmatter.

YOUmatter.

YouareahumanBEING,notjustahumanDOING.

Alwaysrememberthis.

Be bold and courageous, chase lions, but never forget where your true valuecomesfrom!

“WHATDOYOUDOWITHALLYOURTIME?”

“Joshua,whatdoyoudowithallyour time?”Russaskedme thedaywe firstmet.

It was such a simple question, but looking back it completely changed thetrajectoryofmylife.Ihadjustquitmyjob,movedoutoftheclosetofagymandintoanapartmentwithmymom,andIwasfocusingonbuildingmynon-profitorganization.

Inthemoment,IgotuponmyhighhorseandpontificatedaboutallthethingsIdidwithmytime.Itoldhimaboutthenon-profitIstartedandhowItrainedkidsinthetoughesthousingprojectinthecountry.ItoldhimaboutthehumanitarianeventsthatmyfriendandIwouldplanandrun.ItoldhimthatIneededasociallife.

Heseemedtohaveboughtit,buthardquestionsalwaystrumpeasyanswers,andthatquestionhauntedme.

Timeistheonlyresourcethatisthesameforeveryoneregardlessofhowmuchmoneyyoumake,yourrace,orwhereyoulive.Weonlyget86,400secondsperday.

JohnWoodensaid,“Thesoftestpillowisaclearconscience,”andmysoftpillowquicklybegantofeellikeacrustyhardrockatnight.

I knew I had massive dreams, and how I used my time was not in directproportiontothesizeofmydreams.

So,IstartedcuttingalotofstuffoutofmylifeanddrasticallychangedwhatIdidwithmytime.Iwasguilty,asmanyofusare,ofrunningtowardsallthestuffthatwaskeepingmefrommydreams:friends,chilling,Facebook,TV,stayingbusy,parties,andmanyothertimewasters.

For six months, I studied like a student in medical school, reading for up tofifteenhoursaday.MostofmyfriendsandfamilytoldmeIwascrazy.Ihadtoblockoutalotofnoisefromoutsideinfluences.Whenyouareclimbingoutofabucketfullofcrabs,therewillbemanypeoplewhotrytopullyoubackdowntotheirlevel.

Today, I get tomentor and consult for a lot of amazing people, but itwasn’talwayslikethis.Therewasatimewhennoonewasaskingmetomentorthem,butbackthenmycircleneededaseriousupgrade.

Certainpeoplehadtogo.Theywerenegativelyinfluencingmydecisions,anditwasmyresponsibilitytochangehowIspentmytimeandwithwhomIspentit.

Themajorityofmycircleat that timecame fromspending timewithLincoln,SteveJobs,Jesus,MLK,andotherpeoplewhoselivesIwanttomodel.Youmaynothavephysicalaccesstotheidealpeopleforyourcircleyet,butweallhaveaccesstobooks,mp3’s,andvideoswherewecanbringthegreatsintoourcircle.

Youdon’t have to be a jerk or tell the people of your current circle that theyhave been negatively influencing you. You can treat them very well, butconsciouslychoosetospendmuchlesstimearoundthem.

According toarecentstudydonebyaHarvardprofessorandpublishedby theNewEnglandJournalofMedicinein2007,youare57%morelikelytobecomeobeseifyouhaveapersonclosetoyouwhobecomesobese.

It’snevereasy tospendless timewithpeopleyou’vebeenaroundforawhile,but at somepoint youhave to remember thatyouare theonewho is buildingyourownhouse.

Yourchoicecreatesyourchallenge.Youneverknow,theymightstartfollowingyouwhen they see things inyour life starting to change for thebetter.Maybetheywillcallyounamesandtreatyoupoorly,buteitherway,howtheytreatyouisoutsideofyourcontrol.

After sixmonthsof spending themajority ofmy time reading and studying, Ifoundmyself in an elevator withAnsonDorrance. Anson serves as theHeadCoachof theUniversity ofNorthCarolinaWomen’sSoccer program.Wegot

offtheelevator,andwhileeveryoneelseturnedright,AnsonandIturnedleft.

Iaskedhim,“Whoworkswithyourgirlsonmentaltraining?”

Hesaid,“Ido.Icanreadandwrite!”

Touché!IfIhadwontwentyoutofatotalofthirtynationalchampionshipseverheldinmysport,Iwouldprobablybeveryconfidentinmyworkaswell.

So,IaskedifheknewwhoBarbaraFredricksonwas,andhereplied,“Idonot.WhyshouldI?”

Ispoutedoffmyresponseatthepaceofanauctioneer.

“Her researchonpositivity shows that if yourpositivity ratio is around1 to1that forecasts clinical depression. If your positivity ratio is around 2 to 1 thatforecastslanguishinginlife.Butifyourpositivityratioisover3to1ithitsthisfunny tippingpoint and it starts to forecast flourishing, regardless of howyoudefine‘flourishing.’Italsoimpactsindividualsandteamsinasimilarway.Oh,andshe teachesata littleschoolyoumightbe familiarwith, theUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill.”

Ahugesmilespreadslowlyacrosshisface,andhestoppedinhistracks.“Canyou write that down for me? You might have just made my trip hereworthwhile.”

Three months later, he invited me out to work with his program as only thesecondoutsiderevertoworkwiththeUNCWomen’sSoccerprogramonmentaltraining.

For a long time, I was really frustrated because I felt like nobody took meseriously.Now looking back, I realize the real problemwas that I didn’t takemyself seriously.When I started takingmyself seriously I drastically changedhow I used my time, and everyone started to take me very seriously as abyproduct.

Wehavecontroloverhowweuseourtime,butwedon’thavecontroloverourgoals.Weknowitiscounter-culturalandpotentiallycrazytoletgoofgoals.It

goes against everythingmost parents,mentors, self-help books and expensivespecial consultants imploreus todo.That iswhy Jamieand Iwrote thebook,BurnYourGoals.Whatitreallycomesdowntoisthis…

Everyonewantstobegreat,untilit’stimetodowhatgreatnessrequires.

Anyone can set a big sexy audacious goal, but very fewpeople arewilling tocommit to focusing 100% of their energy on the things they have completecontroloverinlife,likefallinginlovewiththeprocessofbecominggreat,anddoingtheboringwork(chopwoodcarrywater)withexcellence.

If you feel stuck, or like you haven’t made it to the level you know you’recapableofachieving,takeahardlookatwhoisinyourcircleandhowyouuseyourtime.

Ifyouarefrustratedwiththethingsthatkeephappeninginyourlife,takeahardlook at those with whom you are spending your time. If you are continuallyfindingyourselfatthewrongplaceatthewrongtime,takeahardlookatyourcircle.

Ifyouwanttoachieveyourgreatestpotential,youmustsurroundyourselfwithpeoplewholoveyoudeeply,believeinyou,andencourageyou,butwhoarealsowilling tochallengeyou tobecome thebestyoucanbebymodelinggreatnessforyou.

My encouragement to youwould be to actually track how you use your timeeachdayfor thenextweek.Mostpeopleareshockedathowtheyactuallyusetheir86,400seconds.

“DROWNINGWITHOUTAMISSION”

I’venoticedsomething,andmaybeyouhave to.Haveyouevercomeacrossaperson who seemingly has endless amounts of energy, and they continue toperseverethroughthechallengesthatlifethrowsatthemwithjoyandoptimism.Thesepeoplenotonlyinspireyouwiththeiractions,buttheyarealsothepeopleyouwanttospendyourmostpreciousresource,time,aroundthem.

Ibelievethatgroupofpeopleallhavesomethingincommon.Ibelievetheylivemission driven lives. Mother Theresa lived a mission driven life, and shedramatically changed theworldwe live in.Dr.MartinLutherKing Jr. lived amissiondrivenlife,andhedramaticallychangedourworld.Gandhi.Mandella.Thelistcouldgoonandon.

LikeIsaidinthestory,Ithinkoneofthereasonssomanyofouryouthtodayareflounderingaroundchasingallthewrongthingsisbecausetheyareboredwithgoals.Theyneedacompellingmission.

Agoalisdifferentthanamission,andthatiswhywewrotethebookBurnYourGoals.Noonecanstopme from lovingpeople, servingpeople,andprovidingvalue,buttherearemanybarrierstobecomingasportpsychologist.Noonecanstopyoufrompursuingathleticexcellence,buttherearemanypeopleandteamsthatcanstopyoufromwinninggamesorachampionship.

Howdoyoufindyourmission?

Ithinksomegreatquestionstoaskyourselfarethefollowing:

WhatamIreallypassionateabout?

WhatwouldIdoifmoneydidn’tmatter?

Whatmakesmereallymad?

Whatmakesmereallysad?

What do Iwish Iwould have known, orwhat do Iwish Iwould have had tobetterequipmeformyjourney?

Mypersonalmission is to livemy life in away that I cangetdiagnosedwithterminal cancer and it not changeda thing inmy life.My fathergrewup in atrailerpark,andhesolddrugsasameansofsurvival.Hehadaveryroughchildhood, but he worked very hard and became one of the most successful eyesurgeonsinOklahoma.Hemodeledformethathardworkpaysoff,andshowedme that anything is possible.However,when hewas diagnosedwith terminalcancer at age 50, his life dramatically changed. I couldn’t help but think hewouldhavedonethingsalittledifferentlyifhecouldhaveado-over.

But in lifewe don’t get do-overs. So, at the age of 21 after seeingmy dad’sstruggle, I made a commitment that I wouldn’t wait until I got cancer to begratefulforeverythingGodhadgivenmeinlife.

Our mission at Train to be CLUTCH is to Love People, Serve People, andProvide value.We are passionate about seeing hearts and minds transformedthrough love andmentorship.We often go back to the question, what do wewishwewouldhavehadorknownaboutearlierinourjourney?Wethentryandcreateorbetheanswerstothosequestions.

Todd White is a person I have a lot of respect for and the mission of hisorganization is “To become love so that everywhere we go people will wantwhatwehave.”Ithinkthatisincrediblypowerful.

Theway I foundmymissionwas through serving, and it is something IoftenrecommendtopeopleImentorwhoarestrugglingtofigureouttheirmission.Iencourage them to immerse themselves in a service project for at least sixmonths.AfterIdidthisattheDreamCenterinLosAngelesmymissionstartedtobebirthedoutofthatexperience.AbookIalwaysrecommendaboutfindingyour mission is Adam Braun’s book, The Promise of a Pencil. Anotherrecommendation is to spend asmuch time as possible around peoplewho areactivelylivingouttheirmission.

Onceyou start togivebirth toyourmission, everydecisionalong the journeybecomesmuchmoresimple.Notnecessarilyeasy,butsimple.Yourmissionwill

oftenactasyourinternalGPSsystem.

Amissiondrivenlifededicatedtoservingisoneofthemostpowerfullivesyoucan live, and you only get one life to live. I hope your life is a story worthtelling.

I don’t knowabout you, but Iwant tobecome the typeof personpeople lovebeing around because my life inspires them to become everything they arecapableofbeing.

Originally this story was apart of a larger work that included my personaljourneyofbuildingTrain tobeCLUTCH.Butafter listening towisecounselIdecided tomakemypersonal journey it’sownbook.Hustle-ThePeopleat theTopoftheMountainDidn’tFallThere.So,pickupacopyifyouwanttohearabout the personal lessons I learnedonmy journey to falling in lovewith theprocessofbecominggreat!

I lookforwardtohearingabouthowthisbookandallour toolshaveimpactedyourlife!

Email:Joshua@traintobeclutch.com

Twitter:@joshuamedcalf

Ifyouareinterestedinleadership,life-skills,mental,orsalestrainingprogramsbasedontheChopWoodCarryWaterprinciples,pleasefilloutthecontactformatt2bc.com/Joshua

Website:t2bc.com

READYTOAPPLYEVERYTHINGYOULEARNED?!

Gotot2bc.com/chopwoodactionplantodownloadyourfreeactionplantoday!AdditionalT2BCResourcesKeynoteSpeaking-t2bc.com/joshuaMentorshipProgram-Ourmentorshipprogramisn’tagoodfitforeveryone,butweare

alwayswillingtoseeifitisagoodfitforyou.Itisaseriousinvestmentoftimeandresources.EmailJoshua@traintobeclutch.comformoreinformation.

T2BCReadingChallenge-www.t2bc.com/challenge tosignup for free todayThe Experience- Transformational Leadership Retreats. We bring togetherpeoplefromalloverthecountrytoengageinadayofinteractivelearning.Wealso create space for fun activities like golf, surfing, or snowboarding withJoshua and Jamie. Visit t2bc.com/experience formore information and to seewhenthenextretreatwillbe.

T2BC101OnlineVideoCourse-Withover20shortvideosessions,youcanusethiscourseindividuallyor to teachyourteamtheT2BCcurriculum.It isagreat next step tool. Available at t2bc.com/training Join the T2BCcommunity-Thisisthebestwayforustoprovideconsistentvaluetoyourlifeand for us to develop a long term relationship. You will get articles, mp3’s,videos, and other tools as they come out. It’s also free. Join at t2bc.comBooks-Youcanalwaysordersignedcopiesofanyofourbooksbyemailingus,and they are also available on iBooks, Kindle, Amazon, and through ourpublisheratLulu.comThefirstbookwewroteisBurnYourGoals.

The second book we wrote is An Impractical Guide to Becoming aTransformationalLeader.

The third book Iwrote in conjuctionwith this book isHustleYouTube-Ourchannel is train2bclutch Twitter- @joshuamedcalf Instagram-@realjoshuamedcalfWebsite-t2bc.com

THANKYOU’S

I’mincrediblygratefultomymother,whohassupportedmeandbeenoneofmybestfriendsmywholelife.Thankyoufornevergivinguponmewhennoonewouldhaveblamedyouifyouhad.

Thankyoutomyfather,whodidthebesthecouldwithwhathehad.

ThankyouJudahSmith forbeing themostamazingpastorapersoncouldaskfor.YouhavetaughtmesomuchaboutJesus,andhowHereallyfeelsaboutme.Idon’tthinkanyonehaseverhadsuchaprofoundimpactonmylifeinsuchashortperiodoftimeasyouhave.

I’msogratefultoJamieandAmy,youbothhavebeensuchanamazingsupportsystem inmy life, and I’m so grateful I get to spend somuch timewith you.Thankyouforcreatingasafespaceformetobemedevoidofjudgment.

ThankyouLisa for always being there to hearmy articles, or just to listen toanotheroneofmycrazystories,andforbeinganincrediblebestfriend!

Thank you Steph for being an amazing woman full of love, empathy, andcreativity. Your childlike spirit encourages and inspires me every day. Yoursunshinelightsuptheworld

Thank you to Tim& Laura for being a living representation of the love andgraceofJesus!

ThankyouAmberforalwayslisteningtomystories.It’sprettyamazingtohearabouthowyouhavegrownsomuchinthelastcoupleofyears

ThankyoutoAustin,TJ,Kyle,Joe,Pooter,Krause,Bradyandmymanyotherfriendswhohavebeenthereformeduringthemanylowpointsinmylife.

ThankyouAnsonforallyourwordsofencouragement,andforallowingmetoworkwithyourprogram.

ThankyouRussandSkipforallthementorshipovertheyears.ThankyouSkipforbeingoneofthefirstpeopleoutsideofmyfamilytofinanciallyinvestinmeandmydreams.

ThankyouAndyandTerryforteachingmesomuchasateenager.Iwouldn’tbeheretodaywithoutyourloveandwisdom.

Thank you Jacob Roman for clearing your schedule to transformmy horrificgrammarandat times incoherent thoughts intosomethingpeoplewill loveandtreasure!

Thank you to all the people who have given me the great privilege andresponsibilityofmentoringyouandspeakingintothelivesofthoseyoulead.Ihavelearnedsomuch,andIamtrulygratefulfortheopportunitytoworkwithyou.

Thank you toTimMcClements for never giving up onme atVanderbilt, andhelpingmeget a scholarshipatDuke. Iwasa royalpain inyourass, and I’mforevergratefulyoustuckbymyside.

ThankyouAdriforallyourprayersandfriendship.

ThankyouJesusforyourextravagant,reckless,relentless,andundeservedlove

ENDNOTES

1BenHoganquote

2ThewisemanisJonGordon

3ThisisfromanoteAnsonDorrancewroteMiaHamm

4ThewisemanwasC.S.Lewis

5ThisconceptwasoriginatedbyGrahamBetchart

6JudahSmithquote

7–ThewisemanisMarkRicht(HeadCoachofGeorgiaFootball)

8t2bc.com/challengetodownloadtheT2BCReadingChallenge

9Dr.JamesRichardsquote

10AnsonDorrance