Finding a Role Model series
Who Has Achieved What You Want to Achieve?
That’s true, you should find an amazing instructor. But that may not be enough. Once you determine exactly what you want to become, you must look long and hard to find somebody who has already achieved what you want – or something similar enough that the lessons can be transferred effectively. If you have a great teacher who hasn’t achieved what you want to achieve, you may have to find another role model at some point.
Once you decide who your role model is, make this person’s life the object of careful study. Learn everything you can about him or her... I mean everything! Study his training habits, diet, sleep patterns, the people he associates with, his superstitions, heroes, favorite books, and anything else you can think of or find out about. Short of becoming a stalker, you can be obsessive about it.
The thing is, you don’t know at the beginning which characteristics are the ones that give your role model his or her greatness. If you did, you’d already be doing those things, and YOU would be the role model!
Get it?
This is a mistake many students make with their own teachers. They limit their attention to the things they think are important. By choosing what to focus on and what to ignore before they really understand the whole picture, most students miss critical success skills of their sensei. In the beginning, don’t filter.
