Stretching Yourself...

After opening my first martial arts school, a competitor opened a school around the corner. We were primarily a children's and youth-focused dojo at the time, teaching traditional Shorin-Ryu Karate, while the newcomer was teaching something relatively new in our industry, Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu. My partner and I went to introduce ourselves, and a friendship developed. Sifu King wanted to continue to learn Karate, and we were anxious to expand our knowledge base, so we agreed to meet regularly for cross-training.

Welcome to a whole new world! Fighting from a standing position was one thing. Learning to fight from your back, rolling and grappling, was something entirely different. Arm bars, X-chokes, Darce chokes, leg locks, bridges, elevator sweeps,..that was just the start. We purchased a second school location in Clarksville, and with that an introduction to the world of Small Circle Ju-Jitsu through an introduction to the former school owner's instructor, Master Danny Dring, also a high level BJJ instructor.

I was literally stretched in SO many different ways...(LOL)

My prior role as Vice-President of the International Martial Arts Council of America introduced me to many high level practitioners of the Arts. While a martial arts school owner, my business partner and I hosted Tak Kubota, IKA founder and creator of the Kubotan, and again our thinking of the martial arts was stretched. GM Richard Bustillo, one of Bruce Lee's original students, visited our school and he became one of my teachers and mentors. My stretching now included JKD and the IMB martial arts system. Dr. Clement Reidner introduced us to Shiho Karano Ryu Ju-Jitsu, again stretching our thinking (and our joints) beyond that of traditional Karate.

The problem with most people is they DON'T want to stretch. The status quo is comfortable; it's easy. That's why the vast majority of people simply go with the flow and never rise to greatness. They are content to live life by default. To grow is to experience pain, tension, and stress. It requires getting out of your comfort zone and STRETCHING yourself to become a better version of you. As John Maxwell says...

Motivation may get you going, but growth keeps you going!

The continued success of the New England Patriots can be attributed to a growth mindset. This NFL Team has really become a dynasty, in great part, to their desire to continue to grow - to stretch themselves and see the impossible become reality. It's easy to sit back after winning a Super Bowl and say "We've arrived!" The Patriots have learned a very important lesson when it comes to growth:

What got you here today won't keep you here tomorrow! You've got to keep growing, keep stretching, to see continued success!

Edmund Gaudet once said, "Average is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst, the bottom of the top and the worst of the best." ("Are You Average?", The Examiner, January, 1993). Far too many people in life are content with living mediocre, average lives that accomplish little and leave no lasting legacy. It has been said God's gift to us is our potential and our gift to God is how we develop it.

To be content to remain average is like a hunting knife being content to remain dull, a thoroughbred race horse being content to jog around the pasture, or Tom Brady being content to play sandlot football. To be a Black Belt Leader in Life is to stretch beyond average and strive for becoming exceptional.

I'm reminded of John Maxwell's Law of the Lid when it comes to remaining average. If 1 is the worst and 10 is the best, 5 is average. A person who is a level 5, even if he or she is a leader, can never attract and retain followers who are level 5 or above. A level 5 leader will attract, at best, level 4 followers...and realistically level 2 or 3 followers most of the time. Mundane leaders attract mundane followers, and together they never go anywhere.

In golf, each hole on the course has a par value. That's the number of strokes, on average, it should take to get the ball in the hole. The goal for any accomplished golfer is to see how many strokes below (better than) par in which the round can be accomplished. If a golfer on the PGA tour simply settled for par, and never stretched to do something greater, he or she would not be remembered with the likes of an Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Nancy Lopez or a Tiger Woods.

Why do we remember martial arts legends like Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan or Jet Li? Why do we remember sports legends like Peyton Manning, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Dorthy Hamill, Mary Lou Retton, or Usain Bolt? They refused to be average. They stretched themselves physically, mentally and emotionally to become "the best of the best" at what they do. Their performances were legendary. Why? They refused to be average.

All the "A+" potential within you will never be developed if you are willing to settle for living a "C" level life. To get an "A+" in life, you have to stretch, you have to grow. That takes conscious effort, persistence and a dogged commitment to stay the course. It's an uncomfortable, but rewarding life. As you raise the lid of your leadership potential through stretching, you raise the leadership potential of those who are following and learning from your example.

Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who studied the human condition. One of his observations speaks to the importance of stretching to become more than average: "If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life." Settling for less than your best, being content with the status quo, will lead to a life of regrets, a life constantly asking, WHAT IF?

Stretching starts internally. It starts with changing your thinking from status quo (just getting by) to possibility thinking. Since every action begins as a thought, stretching your thinking toward excellence and exceptionalism will cause you to begin taking small steps in your actions. James Allen immortal classic, "As a Man Thinketh" played a role in my personal and professional development. Allen reminds his readers, "You cannot travel within and stand still without."

John Maxwell reminds us in the Law of the Rubber Band that stretching always requires change. It's that change, that not being satisfied with the status quo, John writes, that ultimately sets us apart from others as we pursue excellence and exceptionalism. Leaders understand success is not a destination, not an arrival point - it is a journey. They are always reaching, always stretching, never settling, never being content with yesterday's accomplishments.

As we stretch ourselves, we also stretch those who are following. LeBron James constantly stretches his teammates. That can be said for any world-class athlete. The same can be said for great thinkers, business leaders, pastors, teachers and world changers. It's that willingness to stretch, to strive for excellence and exceptionalism, to pursue with passion that next, great achievement or milestone, that allows a leader to achieve significance and leave a legacy.

Back to the sports analogy...stretching means one more set of push-ups or sit-ups. It's one more lap in the pool than the day before, or one more lap around the track. It's another 30 minutes of shooting free-throws, hitting balls on the range or taking swings in the batting cage. It's drinking another 8 ounces of water when you're craving a Mountain Dew.

In life, it's turning off the TV or getting off of social media to read or listen to a podcast. It's scheduling a weekly meeting with a mentor who can speak into your life. It's traveling to a conference to listen to and meet with other successful professionals. Stretching means investing in yourself in a daily effort to become a better version of you than the day before.

In the plant kingdom, flowers and trees grow as tall as they can. They aren't content to say, "That's good enough." They keep growing; they keep stretching. One has only to count the rings of a tree to see a visual reminder of a life committed to stretching and growing.

It has been said the richest place on earth is the cemetery, for it is there the books never written, businesses never launched, inventions never created, songs never sung, and knowledge never passed on are buried. The amazing potential given to each of us individually is sadly never realized to its full potential in far too many lives.

Mankind is unique in its ability to settle for the mediocre or the mundane. Mediocre and mundane is easy. It's living life in neutral. It's living life by default. It's wasting the amazing potential within because today's comfort is more important than tomorrow's successes. Nothing great has ever been achieved by those who live their lives in neutral.

A Black Belt Leader in Life realizes that "good enough" is the enemy of "the best", and continually strives for excellence. That requires that you live intentionally, stretching yourself to become a better version of you each and every single day - and challenging those around you to do likewise.

Where these is no stretching, no tension, there is no growth!

(Q) Are you stretching, or living life by default?

REMINDER: We are on Week Ten of learning to apply John Maxwell's "15 Invaluable Laws of Growth" to our lives. We spend one week focused on practicing daily one growth law, then the next week, we add the next growth law, without neglecting what we've already started to practice.

To order John Maxwell's 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, click HERE.

2X martial arts Hall of Fame inductee, John Terry 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".  

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.

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.?