Achieving a black belt in the martial arts requires years of training, dedication, practice and personal evolution. The primary evolution centers around moving from a primary focus on self-achievement to a transcending focus that centers on im

Life Transitions--From WHAT you do to WHO you are!

Mar 27th, 2023 12m 10s

Life transitions are often extremely difficult for people. The difficulty often stems from an inability to recognize that "what" they do may be different from "who" they really are. By focusing on the "why" we do things, or the innate calling

Listen to your Gut! Trust your Innate Intuition.

Feb 27th, 2023 10m 14s

In the martial arts we train our students to trust their instincts about people, places and things. The best self defense is being aware of your surroundings and listening to your "gut feelings". Author Gavin de Becker, in his book, The Gift o

Riding the Stallion--Managing Conflict

Jan 23rd, 2023 11m 5s

Inevitably, we all experience conflict almost every day. It could be at work, school, or at home. Conflict, although anxiety provoking, is a means for personal growth. Tune into this podcast to learn different styles of dealing with conflict. W

Mind Like Moon--Mind Like Water

Dec 21st, 2022 10m 37s

Samurai warriors were taught to create a hyper- state of awareness by clearing their mind creating a state referred to as "Mushin". This state of "no mind" improved the warrior's ability to be overcome their opponent in battle. The teaching com

Moving through Life with Good Intent

Nov 21st, 2022 9m 57s

We all remember the old western movies where there is a barroom brawl. Inevitably, one of the characters throws a punch and when his target moves out of the way he tumbles uncontrollably over the bar crashing into the glassware! This is moving

Falling like a Ball

Oct 24th, 2022 8m 14s

In the martial arts we teach the skills of how to fall on the ground safely to avoid injury. We tuck our chin to our chest and round the surface of our back so we can dissipate the energy of the fall over the rounded surface of our back--much l

The Value of Tradition in our Modern World

Sep 26th, 2022 10m 44s

Tradition brings great joy and value in many societies across the world. Tradition aligns practices and beliefs and contributes to a feeling of comfort in the familiar. It is also important to recognize that tradition is often a practice witho

Gratitude to Generosity --The Virtuous Cycle

Aug 22nd, 2022 10m 45s

Learning that experiencing gratitude leads to generosity is the premise of this podcast. A virtuous cycle is created that perpetuates generosity from the foundation of appreciation and gratitude. Examine your life circumstance and uncover what

Succession Planning--Continuing your Legacy

Jul 23rd, 2022 9m 53s

As we move toward the end of our careers or even as simply as moving up the corporate ladder, we will need to consider who will take our intent forward. Who will carry out proverbial "ball" forward, into the future, to preserve and enhance t

The Happiness of always being busy---Ikigai

Jun 20th, 2022 10m 12s

There are areas around the world called "Blue Zones" where there are concentrations of people that have lived longer than 100 yrs. The people of these areas have much to teach all of us regarding how to live a long and purposeful lives. Ikigai

Closing the Gap--Creating Effective Action

May 20th, 2022 10m 33s

The space between two martial arts combatants is a finite separation which we call the "gap". In order to engage in combat, participants must close that gap to initiate the physical interaction or combat. In order to close that gap--combatants

The 20 Mile March of Life

Apr 25th, 2022 10m 52s

When we establish our life goals we can either approach the process with abandon and run the risk of burn out or exhaustion in an"all-out" effort to achieve them, or we can be more metered and take smaller more disciplined steps to get to our

A Beginner's Mind--The Value of the Empty Cup

Mar 21st, 2022 10m 54s

In today's day and age we are constantly faced with new challenges, obstacles and dilemmas. To discover success we must maintain the ability to adapt and change as our environment dictates. Our ability to be a life-long learner comes from our

The Non-Abiding Mind--Evaluate all Perspectives!

Feb 19th, 2022 10m 34s

As leaders, we are often approached by colleagues who relay a situation or incident to us and ask us to do something about it! We must first seek the truth by evaluating all perspectives. We cannot put the "stake in the ground" about what we b

Finding your Inner Peace--Strategies to moderate negative emotions

Jan 21st, 2022 11m 25s

With all that is going on in our society today we often find negative emotions affecting our ability to flourish. Negative emotions impede effective communication and often lead to many interpersonal breakdowns. To discover personal inner pea

Feathers in the Wind--Managing false narratives and rumors

Dec 19th, 2021 10m 55s

The internet and all social media make sharing information globally an instant reality. Unfortunately, the things we read are frequently only perception of truth and not actually true. We tend to believe what we read or see as irrevocable truth

Solving the Impossible?......Let it be!

Nov 20th, 2021 9m 24s

Have you encountered a problem that seems to be so difficult to solve that the answer is just not apparent? The problem seems to rent a space in your brain and preoccupies your thinking. You become overly focused and persistent on finding a sol

Emerging from the Pandemic Burnout--Finding your Spirit!

Oct 25th, 2021 9m 59s

During the pandemic many of us have felt burned-out and are merely existing instead of passionately embracing life. We find ourselves searching the internet, binge-watching Netflix and impulse-buying on Amazon to get an endorphin high to escape

Ensemble is the new Team!!

Sep 20th, 2021 9m 10s

The word team is used in may areas of lives, work, school, play, sports, etc. We use acronyms like "Together Everyone Achieves More-TEAM" or "Team work makes the dream work!". The language implies that we are involved in some sort of competit

"Broken"-Finding Strength and Value in Imperfection

Aug 23rd, 2021 10m 4s

In today's world we often focus on our personal imperfections. It may be our appearance, our family, our heritage, our work or any thing we perceive as different from the norm. Unfortunately, we invariably craft narratives that are negative an

Stealing the Moon--Allowing Happiness to Find You!

Jul 26th, 2021 8m 42s

In today's society we are taught that happiness comes from achieving success. When we search for happiness we find it! We just need more preparation! The truth is happiness finds you! When you start with positivity--happiness inevitably foll

"Heaven and Hell"--Understanding Respect and Disrespect

Jun 28th, 2021 11m 16s

All too often we leave an interpersonal interaction feeling like we have, in some way, been disrespected. This feeling leads to an emotion which may result in a regrettable action. Tune in to this episode to learn about the concepts of respect

Discovering the Silver Lining--Maybe Yes, Maybe No?

Jun 1st, 2021 10m 46s

In life, we often encounter changes and situations we immediately judge as good luck or bad luck. The ancient story--"Maybe Yes, Maybe No" helps us understand that we can't be too quick to judge and categorize every life circumstance as eith

Self Care--the critical missing ingredient!

May 16th, 2021 12m 36s

Our current world is stressful. Our work is difficult, relationships are hard and trying to take care of our self is almost impossible. Real self care is more than just focusing on things that reduce stress such as massages, yoga, organic diet