Yin vs YangThe Battle for Success in Life

Last Thursday, I received my purple belt in Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It was quite an accomplishment for me. For those that don’t know, the belts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu go (from low to high): white, blue, purple, brown, black. Getting a purple belt usually takes 3-5 years (took me 4), if you stay consistent and progress. The cool thing about Jiu Jitsu is there is no test to get any belt. You just are ready when someone tells you you are. So getting a purple belt is quite significant because most people don’t ever get that far.

It took a little while for it to sink in, but one of my close friends who also got his purple belt brought it up to me. He remarked how it had been quite a journey. Recollecting, we talked about all of the people we had seen come and go for various reasons. All of them could have been as good as us, if they had only stuck with it. It’s funny too b/c these people will return to the school once in awhile. They smile, and talk about how much they miss it. They bring up the excuse that is keeping them from coming. Then, they sit and watch. You can always tell how mad they are that they did not keep up with it. They know, as well as we do, that all they had to do to be where we are at is to keep going.

Keep at it. That is the lesson that popped in my head. Many people never give themselves a chance to succeed. They look for short term glory and lose their drive shortly thereafter. People tend to not look at the big picture. In order to be successful at something, you have to be doing it. If I want to be a successful film maker, I can’t just think I will pick up a camera and be him. It takes years of experience. The business world is all about competition. And do you think you have a chance competing against someone in your field for 10 years on your first try? Chances are, you do not. It takes patience, persistence, practice, and perseverance to succeed at anything.

Hoping for short term success in anything is simply short sighted. That goes for anything from playing a sport, to playing the stock market. Experience is the only way to gain wisdom. If you have short term success, all the better. But looking for it is not the way to go. That’s like getting disappointed every time you don’t win the lottery.

The purple belt was a great compliment to everything I’ve done in BJJ. It’s nice to have something to look back on. I worked at least 3-4 times a week for almost four years to get to the level I am at. There were many ups and downs, but I stuck with it nevertheless. I hung my blue belt in my new office to remind me of this through the ups and downs of my new business.

Whether going through the ups, or dealing with the downs, the important thing is to just keep moving forward. After a while, you will have a lot to look back on.