Yin vs YangThe Battle for Success in Life

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Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

It took only one human to invent electricity, one to discover the theory of relativity, one doctor to cure polio, and one man to lead the civil rights movement of the 60s. Albert Einstein had a problem, Jonas Salk had a mission, Martin Luther King had a dream, Thomas Edison had a goal, and hundreds like them had the same courage to live out their dreams no matter what that entailed.

Albert Einstein once said ‘It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.’

Martin Luther King had a dream that many were afraid to listen to, yet he told the world about it.

Jonas Salk tested the initial polio vaccine on his wife, daughter, and himself.  Read more... (1109 words, 1 image, estimated 4:26 mins reading time)

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Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Everyone in life has their position. Whether at work, in your own business, in sports, at the dinner table, financially, or even in your personal relationships, their is an element of positioning. When trying to climb the ladder of success, we are inherently trying to improve our position in life, be it at work, or in our bank account.

Accountability

The first step to fighting for a better position in life is similar to a lot of first steps: Accountability. We must understand that what ever position we are in, it is because we settled for that spot. It is not because of any other reason. We decided at some point that this particular position was good enough. It might not have been a conscience decision. You may not have even thought of it that way, but the truth is, at some point, you accepted the position you are in.  Read more... (1557 words, 3 images, estimated 6:14 mins reading time)

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Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Monday is personal development through Jiu Jitsu…

Jiu Jitsu is very much like a chess match. In each match, you are constantly positioning yourself to capitalize once all the pieces are in place. However, unlike chess, there is a very brief moment of time that those pieces will be in place. In fact, as you become more and more advanced at Jiu Jitsu, the shorter that window of opportunity becomes.

I can not tell you the countless times in my BJJ career that I have seen a perfect opportunity and failed to react to it. The majority of time is when I am rolling with someone who is better than me. When I am better, I am much more patient, and trusting in my abilities, but when the opposite is true, I tend to not trust my instinct as much because I am expecting to fail.  Read more... (935 words, 2 images, estimated 3:44 mins reading time)

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Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Monday is personal development through Jiu Jitsu…

Today, it occurred to me that achieving success in life is a lot like setting up a good arm bar. For those that don’t know, an arm bar is a submission attempt in which you use your body to hyperextend the elbow on someone’s arm. In training, and even fights, the person ‘taps’ before their elbow is hyperextended, unless they are rather dumb, which happens from time to time.

Today I was rolling with a lower belt in Jiu Jitsu. He was a stronger person than me, and weighed about 30 pounds more. I was on my knees in his guard (between his closed legs). He was ripping my right arm with all his strength, desperate to kick his leg over my head and apply an arm bar, similar to the guy on his back in the picture below.  Read more... (604 words, 3 images, estimated 2:25 mins reading time)

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Friday is Video Day…

Two days ago, at the tender age of 95, one of the most influential martial artists in history, Helio Gracie, passed on from this world.

He is one of the founders of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, also known as Gracie Jiu Jitsu. His list of accomplishments are too long to list. If you are interested, I certainly invite you to check out his Wikipedia page. His story is the stuff legends are made from.

The video up top is an interview from October of 2007. Helio talks about his long lasting legacy and what he considers his greatest accomplishment. As a student of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, I’d like to personally wish the entire Gracie family my condolences during this trying time. I have never met a bunch of nicer, more down to earth people than the Gracie family, and all those that train in their schools.  Read more... (233 words, 1 image, estimated 56 secs reading time)

YinVsYang was created to help shed light on the internal battles we all have on a daily basis, but usually fail to vocalize with others. We wanted to open up our souls, and tell all of the things we silently tell ourselves to the rest of the world. We figured if we think like this, than it must be that other people do as well.

By understanding the way we all function inside, it will help us to better understand other people’s reactions as well.  This helps us immeasurably in our daily lives.  Each time you interact with people, your emotion subsides, and your understanding takes over.  It leaves you calmer, with a clearer mind, and able to think from different perspectives.  Instead of being mad at someone for how they are acting, you turn it around, by understanding their motives.  This gives you the edge.  The person who gets the most emotional is the person who is the most out of control.  Read more... (929 words, 2 images, estimated 3:43 mins reading time)

Yesterday morning I took a Jiu Jitsu class.  My good friend & training partner, Tony, teaches at my school once a week.  He asked the class if they remembered the move he had taught the week before.  Even though many of them were there and Tony tried to explain it, they barely remembered it at all.  I, being the seasoned veteran I am, boldly declared that I remembered the move, which was a guard pass.

Tony picked me to be his dummy and began to review the details of the move with the class.  He was barely two steps into the demonstration when I realized I had forgotten numerous details.  I knew the idea of the move, but as far as the details, I was lost. Thank God I did not have to show it!  Read more... (995 words, 3 images, estimated 3:59 mins reading time)

@YinVsYang we always write about the power of the spirit.  Well, tonight, I learned a little more about the spirit world than I ever have before.  As a matter of fact, I was completely and utterly moved by a story my mother told me.  It really got me thinking afterward about all sorts of stuff.

So I figured I would share.

My mother has owned a Nursery School for almost 18 years.  She has had many wonderful Teachers and Aids over the years that I have gotten to meet.  One of those was a woman named Jean, who also happened to have two daughters I went to high school with.  Well, sadly, a few months ago, Jean died of cancer in her fifties, leaving behind her two daughters, a husband, and her own mother.  Being that she was so young, it was obviously very hard on the family.  Read more... (850 words, 2 images, estimated 3:24 mins reading time)

In Jiu Jitsu, life is all made pretty clear right on the mat.  You can always tell if a new guy is going to last by the way they handle competition.  Those who thrive on winning, and throw temper tantrums when they lose, never last too long.  Instead of learning the most consistent ways to be effective, they spend the entire time trying to find cheap, lucky ways to win.

The people who last in Jiu Jitsu typically react to winning and losing exactly the same.  If you looked at their face right after a match, you wouldn’t be able to tell the outcome.  They lose, they move on.  They win, they move on.  Either way, they are just happy to be competing.  Read more... (536 words, 1 image, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

In today’s rough economy, every expense can be a burden.  It can be tough choosing which expenses to cut.  One of the toughest expenses to decide on can be your gym membership.  Staying in shape is good for your health, and that can make your gym membership feel like a necessity.  However, in actuality, your membership is really a luxury because there are countless ways to work out without ever going to a gym.

When it comes to staying fit, money should never be an issue.

On that note, I’ve come up with 7 ways to stay in shape and save that monthly gym membership fee.  Not only that, but mixing all 7 ways into your workout routine will actually be 100x better for your body than a continued routine at the gym.  Now, some of my suggestions cost some minor money, but it is nothing compared with a monthly membership.  For example, you can’t do a kettle bell routine without kettle bells.  Therefore, I’ve also broken it down by cost.  Read more... (947 words, 1 image, estimated 3:47 mins reading time)