The Missing Ingredient

Very early in my martial arts journey, I was fascinated with watching the more advanced students break boards...or at least attempt to. For some, it appeared to be easy. Good stance, deep breath, exhale and punch...followed by a rewarding “snap” of the board.

For others, it was pure misery. Good stance, deep breath, exhale and punch...followed by a gut-wrenching “thud” of bare knuckles striking the board, and the sobering reminder they would have to repeat this misery at least one more time.

I asked my instructor after the testing why some were successful and others weren’t. He didn’t answer immediately, but told me he would show me the missing ingredient for board breaking success.

I had a good instructor who truly cared for his students, and wanted to see us succeed. In one particular class, we were working on what is called “reverse punch”. Left foot forward, left hand forward and my right hand pulled back to the hip.

On command, we would pull the left hand back quickly as we punched with the right hand, without stepping forward. As we punched, we would yell. We would then reset and do the technique again and again.

As my instructor worked to refine the technique with me, he pointed to a fellow student in front of me and asked me to watch this student punch. Same stance, same hand motions, yell and reset.

Initially I didn’t see the difference. But then my instructor noted a couple of fine points I was not yet observing. As the student would pull the right hand back, the right hip would slowly rotate back as his body rotated around his spine.

When he punched, his hip engaged first, thrusting forward. This action helped to propel the right fist forward with immense power and speed. You could literally hear the sleeve of his heavy cotton uniform snap in the air.

My instructor turned and said with a sly smile, “This is the difference between breaking a board at your next testing...or not.” He then informed me I was testing at the end of the month. It would be my first attempt at board breaking - which was a requirement to advance.

I worked on honing my hip rotation as I improved my punching, and when it was time to break my first board, I was ready. Good stance, deep breath, exhale and punch...followed by a rewarding “snap” of the board. I passed my rank advancement test.

I asked my instructor at a celebratory dinner that evening if the “missing ingredient” was the hip rotation he had taught us in class. He asked us for our own answers, and we gave him several: hip rotation, tight fist, punching speed, good stance, good breath and exhale, powerful yell or plain ole luck.

His answer surprised us. He told us that all the things we had mentioned were important, the “missing ingredient” was being intentional about what we were doing, and seeing the board breaking before we ever threw the punch.

I then realized that as we became intentional about refining our hip rotation, it also required that we improve our stance. As our stance became stronger, our firm footing allowed us to engage with more power, which improved our punching speed. Good breathing focused our mind on the task at hand, allowing us to visualize the board breaking before we ever threw the punch.

We had become intentional about becoming a better version of ourselves through focused, deliberate, continual effort. As a result, we became a better version of ourselves as martial artists.

While you may experience unexpected success on your journey, you can’t be truly successful by accident. To be successful as a leader you MUST be intentional about personal development. That requires focused, deliberate, continual effort.

I was recently with leadership guru John Maxwell for 4 days in Orlando. One of the things John told us in training was, “Today’s success is insufficient for tomorrow’s challenges.“ He reminded us that if we intend to continue to lead others, we have to continue to lead ourselves.

That requires being intentional about personal development. It’s the missing ingredient to your success.

The secret to your success is found in your daily routine. For a leader, that necessitates growing daily. In his new book, “Leadershift”, John shared the results of a recent Stanford University study. The study found that knowledge is increasing at such a rapid pace the “shelf life” of a Bachelor’s degree today is only 5 years.

So in order to stay relevant, and tackle the challenges of tomorrow, you’ve got to keep learning. That requires intentionality.

Leaders do daily those things average people do on occasion. They understand their best today will not be enough for tomorrow. This promotes a passion for intentionally growing.

If you plan on getting better then you don’t fear tomorrows challenges. Why? You embrace the missing ingredient of intentionality and are daily focused on becoming a better version of yourself.

When you become intentional about your personal development, and you do the things necessary daily for your future success, your vision for your own future, and the future of the team you’re leading, becomes clearer and more defined.

You focus on honing your strengths to make them stronger. You fine tune what you’re doing well so you (and your team) do it better, stronger and faster. You see the challenges of tomorrow as just another stack of boards waiting to be broken through.

Black belt leaders in life do this daily, because that is who they are.

To date, the JMT Global Youth Initiative has impacted over 680,000 lives in 50 countries. Our goal for 2019 is to impact 1,000,000 lives through a GYI leadership event worldwide.

Want to make a difference in the lives of the next generation of leaders in your city or state? Let's talk about hosting a Global Youth Initiative in your school, church or youth organization.

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2X martial arts Hall of Fame inductee, John Terry (The Black Belt Leader) is a motivational speaker, leadership, sales & communication coach and trainer.   

Through his coaching and training company, IMGA.com, John (and his daughter, Jessie) seeks to INSPIRE others to see their limitless potential, MOTIVATE them to pursue black belt excellence as a leader in life, GROW personally and professionally and ACHIEVE greatness through living a life of significance.  

For more information, schedule John (or Jessie) to speak to your organization or to book a personal, group or corporate coaching session, visit www.IMGA.com.  

If you are a faith-based organization, learn more about John and Jessie's outreach to churches, para-church organizations or faith-based volunteer groups by visiting www.DunamisFactor.com.

John is an Executive Director with the John Maxwell Team and is passionate about helping others pursue excellence as they become "Leaders in Life". He is also a Master Coach & Trainer with Real Life Management, a behavioral analytics organization helping people learn how to live "Real Life" and make better choices when it comes to relationships, money, health and wellness.

Jessie is a Certified Speaker, Coach and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team. By the age of 18, Jessie has traveled to Guatemala and Cameroon, Africa to challenge and inspire young people to believe in themselves, and (regardless of age) to pursue with passion the dream within them. She is actively involved in the JMT Global Youth Initiative. Jessie was the youngest JMT member to ever speak on the Big Stage at the International Maxwell Certification conference in Orlando, FL in February, 2018. She is also Real-Life Management trained.

Jessie's first children's book, Ebenezer's Journal, is available on Amazon.com.

Join Ebenezer as he uses the power of imagination to transform Dr. Lime's School of Normal Monsters into something amazing. See AWARENESS on display as Ebenezer awakens the dreams of his fellow students to transform his school and his community.

A fun read that can start young children on their own personal leadership growth journey. Buy a copy for yourself, and a copy to share with someone else.

?Click HERE to order.?