Hey family we have this week’s updates ready for you! 🙂 Before we get to the new training available in the Training Hall. I wanted to talk to you about something that has been on my mind lately.
You see, often times we get emails from people telling us things like they would love to train with us online but they don’t have time right now. Or things like it just cost too much money and things are tight right now.
Personally, I am High School drop out and didn’t come from a background of money. I am from a working class family and I know what it feels like to be tight with money.
I also know we can make time for things we really want and we can afford things we want as well assuming it is within reason.
So is My Word that goes forth from My mouth – it does not return to Me empty, but shall do what I please, and shall certainly accomplish what I sent it for.  – Isaiah 55:11
(On a side note, Jamie posted Isaiah 55:11 on her Facebook early this morning, I didn’t know until she read my post when editing it and let me know! How cool!)
As we come to the close of another year according to the Gregorian calendar many are beginning to reflect on their lives.
The truth is everyday you wake up you choose how your day is going to be. Your thoughts and words shape your reality literally on a daily basis.
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become. – Buddha
If you don’t think you have time to train then you don’t. If you don’t think you have the funds to afford your training then you don’t.
Ultimately you will bring to existence what ever you believe it is. Â As you reflect on this past year and you think about your future. Begin to see your life the way you want it to be. Believe your life will be what you want it to be.
And I promise you, the more you focus with your mind and your words on what you want for you life. The more you will see it become your reality.
And you are probably wondering what Jamie was referring to her when she beat me thoughts to Isaiah 55:11 today…
Here’s Jamie’s Isaiah 55:11 inspired thought:
Once upon a time, I didn’t want to call myself a martial artist. I felt I wasn’t good enough, so I didn’t want to refer to myself as one. But then one day I made a decision that I would do martial arts for the rest of my life, that I would never quit no matter what happened. Sadly most people never get sick and tired enough to be sick and tired enough to get past their excuses and obstacle that come at times in our lives.
If they would, they too would be so hungry, they couldn’t  and wouldn’t let anything get in their way of obtaining their goals.
I know that is extreme, but not only have I been through this and came out the other side becoming not only someone that knows I am a Martial Artist, I am also honored to be considered a Sifu by not just my students but also my great teacher, Sifu Phu.
And Jamie, let me tell you I’ve known her since April 2009, and trust me if someone had a reason to let money, time or distance to keep her from living it was her. But she didn’t. I know some of you know parts of Jamie’s stories, but trust me you have no clue.
Is Jamie more special than anyone else? She’d like to think not, she believes anyone can achieve the things she has and even greater if they would just put their mind to it and stop letting excuses and obstacles to get in their way.
And she is right! We’ve noticed here at Enter Shaolin, that when everything seems to be going wrong, that’s the time you have to keep doing all the things that better your life even more. It’s imperative you stay positive, healthy, and taking care of your temple. This is so you can have the energy, rest, health and clarity to find solutions and navigate past the challenges with a whole lot more ease than if you were tired, sick and stressed out. 😉
What if I let my income, my time or the fact I stopped training keep me from coming back and making that promise to myself to never stop? Somethings I know for sure… I wouldn’t have become a Sifu, I wouldn’t be a martial artist and Enter Shaolin wouldn’t be here.
What if Jamie let her income, location, lack of experience, time constraints as a single mom, etc. get in her way of pursuing her dream since she was a little girl? She most likely would have never starting training because she couldn’t find anything locally in several different states that resonated with her spirit, nor would Enter Shaolin exist.
Without her tenacity and patience to keep hinting at why aren’t we doing this yet!?!?… Without that, Enter Shaolin and Ngo Dac Na wouldn’t be being shared around the world.
Jamie had the spirit of a martial artist, that can do, never give up, overcome the obstacles and find solutions kind of attitude. If she didn’t, if I didn’t, we wouldn’t even know each other or you today.
We seeked what we wanted and kept going even when we got road blocked.
“What you seek is seeking you.” – Rumi
Our questions to you family are…
- Have you decided to be a martial artist for the rest of your life?
- Have you decided to not quit or give up no matter the obstacles?
I hope so, because until you do, there will always be something to keep you from realizing your dreams and passions and that’s not just in Kung Fu, it’s in all things.
Take this weekend to reflect on your commitments in life and your passions. What can you do to seek them more?
Let us know in the comments below!
Now on to your training…Â
Here’s What’s New In The Training Hall:
ACCESS LEVEL: Junior, Senior and Abbot
Ngo Dac Na
Wing Chun
Happy Training,
Sifu Larry Rivera
& The Enter Shaolin Family
1-844-9-KUNGFU
I was taking Tai Chi at a local class. The instructor was good but there is no comparison to what I’m learning here especially regarding energy. I looked around a lot until I found Enter Shaolin, so I scrimped and saved to become an Abbot member. I have all the benefit of this incredible martial arts school and instructors. I’ll reap the benefits here till the day I die.
Hey Steven, so glad your an Abbott. You will definitely reap the benefits of its lifetime membership. Let us know if you have any questions and welcome to the family.
That is very inspirational. Thank you! I opened my school here in Colorado in mid October, and so far I have only signed up 4 students. This has been very discouraging to me and had caused me to doubt not only my ability as a Sifu but also as a business owner. I work a full time job and teach here in the evenings. The school is my retirement plan as I also decided about a year ago that I will be a martial artist the rest of my life so I will make this work, i will find a way to attract more students! Your post is additionally very inspirational to me, Thank you Sifu Larry.
Thanks Michael! It can be frustrating for owners of martial arts business. I know a lot of people who have struggled with their schools. It’s not because they are bad teachers. A few problems I’ve seen in my own business over the years is.
1. People see martial arts as a luxury item, so they feel they can’t afford it.
(The reality is martial arts is life changing. So some would say how could you live without it?)
2. People want Bruce Lee’s skill – But once they realize it’s going to take a lot of training to get there they give up on themselves.
Because I teach martial arts and have my own school, when we began to mastermind about building Enter Shaolin we wanted to create solutions for everyone interested in martial arts.
I put myself in your shoes another words, I asked myself how would I use Enter Shaolin in my martial art business.
Alot of martial art schools do contracts. Sifu Phu doesn’t do Contracts nor do I. Where my daughter goes to Wushu they do use contracts. The upside of contracts is you get paid even if your student doesn’t show up (which happens quite often).
The down side is having contracts put people off.
So a solution to this could be using Enter Shaolin as your text book and homework assignments. You tell your students what you want them to practice at home and you work with them when they are in class.
You can get your students join Enter Shaolin through your affiliate link and you earn commissions monthly on their membership. This is one way for you to put some money back in your pocket, without having to have contracts.
That’s just one idea on how to use Enter Shaolin fully to your advantage.
Finally congratulations on making a decision to be a life long practitioner, it was the best decision I’ve made in my life.
The entire crew of “Enter Shaolin” are an inspiration,
especially Jamie! I would be proud to follow in her footsteps, and be enlightened and happy following her shadow!
Thank you so much brother, your comment seriously lit up my day and made my week! This is why we do what we do! 🙂
It is such a blessing to meet someone that gets exactly what we are sharing. Blessings to you & yours! <3
I love being a martial artist and I love the health benefits. I see many people around me who don’t have much mobility because they’ve let time and inaction steal their health. I never want to be in that position! Sometimes life knocks you down and it’s hard to get up. Hard isn’t impossible though, I just have to keep trying. There may be some things I can no longer do like jogging because of back problems. (Skydiving isn’t an option anymore because the landing would be too hard on my back but I can live with that.) However I will always be learning something more and working on keeping fit so I can live a full life and enjoy this wonderful world we live in!
I feel that sister!!!! I see so many people crippled and just beaten up by life. But not because life didn’t give them the chance to get back up, but because they chose not to get up and in some cases don’t even realize they have the option to even get up at all.
I love your spirit and attitude! Yes, indeed there is always something more to learn and work on! Keep up the great work Melani! <3
Great post! Thank you Sifu.
Thanks Anthony, glad you enjoyed it. 🙂