THERE AIN'T NO FREE LUNCH

Many years ago a wise old king called the most intelligent men in his kingdom together and gave them an assignment. He wanted them to compile the wisdom of the ages and put it in book form to leave it for posterity.

The wise men worked for a long period of time, then finally returned with twelve volumes they proclaimed held the wisdom of the ages. The king looked at the twelve volumes and, concerned that no one would want to read such a lengthy collection, asked the wise men to condense it. The wise men again went off and worked for a long time to condense it, finally returning with one volume. The king, however, knew that it was still too long, so he told them to further condense their work.

The wise men reduced the volume to a chapter, and then to a page, then to a paragraph, and finally to a sentence. When the king saw the sentence, he was absolutely thrilled and said, “Gentlemen, this is truly the wisdom of the ages, and as soon as all men everywhere learn this truth, then most of our problems will be solved.” The sentence simply said, “There is no free lunch.”

Many times the reason we become disappointed or discouraged when trying to reach a goal is because we have unrealistic expectations. You can’t eat whatever you want and exercise only when you feel like it and expect to lose weight. You can’t skate by doing the bare minimum at work and expect a promotion. You have to work for everything that you want.

Hard work can sometimes seem like a dirty word, and there are those who avoid it like the plague, but when you get down to it good old hard work is usually the best answer for how to get from where you are now to where you want to be.

Some goals can seem dauntingly large. Breaking it down can help it seem more manageable. Create a schedule for yourself in which you work towards your goal a certain amount of time everyday. Take classes, attend seminars, read books. Do all that you can to prepare yourself for success and create the right mindset for what you want to achieve.

You as an adult know that no one is going to hand you things just because you want or ask for them, so why treat your children that way? It’s tough saying no sometimes, but you are the parent and have to think about the lessons you are teaching you kids when you give in to their demands.

You’ve probably been in this situation before: you’re in the store and your child is insisting that he must have a toy. Your instinct is to quiet your child immediately by whatever means, especially if he’s crossed over into tantrum mode.

Instead of handing over the goods, make your child work for the things he wants. For young children, create a system by which they can earn a special treat by doing chores or being extra nice to their siblings. If they are older, you can let them buy it themselves once they have earned the money through chores or a part-time job. This can teach them a great sense of responsibility. That way when they are out on their own they won’t expect the world handed to them—they’ll know there’s no free lunch.

Contributed by Solomon Brenner Author of Black Belt Parenting and Master Instructor for Action Karate

WHAT FLEAS CAN TEACH YOU

Ever wonder how people train fleas for a flea circus? Probably not, but the flea trainers actually have an important lesson to teach us about reaching our full potential.

You train fleas by putting them in a jar with a lid on top of it. Fleas jump, so initially they will jump and hit the lid of the jar over and over again. Eventually, they will stop hitting the lid. They adjust the height at which they jump to prevent themselves from hitting the hard surface. You can then take the lid off the jar and the fleas won’t jump out. They have conditioned themselves to jump to a certain height, so they won’t ever jump higher than that.

People are the same way. When we first start going after our goals or ambitions, life seems limitless. Along the way we hit roadblocks, fall down and drag ourselves back up again. We are susceptible to the negative influence of other people. Eventually we stop trying to jump quite so high. The realm of possibility seems much smaller.

A great example of this is Roger Bannister. In 1954, the thought of a runner doing a four-minute mile was unheard of. Everyone, trainers and doctors alike, agreed that it could not be done. Roger Bannister didn’t let this lid keep him down. In 1954 he ran the first four-minute mile. Less than six weeks later another runner broke the barrier. Soon athletes the world over started running four-minute miles.

So what happened in those six weeks? People didn’t suddenly become physically faster. The barrier was mental, not physical. People were breaking it because someone had shown them it was possible.

Creating these mental blocks for yourself (or letting them be created by others) cheats you of your true potential. The second you think, “I can’t,” it becomes true. If you don’t believe you can do something, there’s no way you’re even going to try, let alone succeed.

For example, let’s say you want to start your own business, but then tell yourself there’s just no way you’ll ever be able to afford the initial investment you need. You’ve just officially given up on your goal. You will never open your business because you’ve told yourself that it’s impossible.

Instead of saying, “I can’t,” start thinking, “how can I?” You open yourself up to a whole new world of possibilities. Maybe you couldn’t afford the investment by yourself, but by changing the terms of your thinking you might find another way to attain outside investors. Always explore more than one avenue. The mind is like a parachute: it only works if it’s open. With the right mindset, you can jump out of the jar.

Contributed by Solomon Brenner Author of Black belt Parenting and Master Instructor for Action Karate.

APRIL NEWSLETTER

We were thrilled to see so many of you at the AK5K yesterday. It was a beautiful day for the event! Coming up next is the Action Karate Invitational. Hope to see you there. ASAH!