Begin
With The End In M ind
Know
the End, Before You Begin
Sun
Tzu wrote, “If you know yourself and know your opponent
you will be victorious 100 battles out of 100 encounters.”
Only by understanding all the factors involved in a decision
can one make appropriate choices that lead to a successful
outcome. Whether you are talking about combat, running a
business or even personal relationships, the warrior knows
his exit before he ever implements any action. The average
person, on the other hand, comes into a situation not understanding
himself or what he is up against, and has little or no chance
of achieving their goals. The modern martial artist thinks
like a warrior and knows his skills, weaknesses, values
and priorities. He knows in advance what is worth fighting
for or even delegating energy towards, and what should be
deferred to another day. He uses well thought out action
plans to decide his priorities in advance and never tries
to figure it out in the heat of a battle. One is not born
with this knowledge but it must be gained through experience,
hopefully with the help of and under the eyes of a successful
mentor. Knowing when and why you must act based on your
values and attitudes are the foundations to self-knowledge,
and the first step towards success in any endeavor.
In
Japanese the saying “Mokuteki o Motte Hajimeru” translates
as see, target, hold, begin; or in other words see the target
and hold it in the mind and then start. Stephen Covey describes
the same concept when he says “Begin with the end in mind”.
No matter whether you are developing tactics and strategies
for combat or developing a plan of action to run a successful
martial arts school, the process begins with having a clear
vision of your end goal in your mind.
The
first step in achieving any goal is to identify what it
is you really want. For example, many people set goals to
be financial successful but once they are there realize
that their family life has not grown at the same level or
that they have health problems because they did not have
a regular fitness program in their routine. In goal setting,
the first step is to identify your true values, then write
out long-range strategic plans and work backwards to quarterly,
monthly, weekly and daily goals. This is the only way to
establish priorities of what needs to be done on a daily
basis. Knowing what you want, knowing what it is going to
cost, and the willingness to pay the price is the trait
of the modern warrior.
Practicing
and teaching the martial arts produces positive qualities
and satisfaction on many levels and holds a very special
place in the heart of many of us. What ever your specific
goals are, your success and happiness in the martial arts
is a very personal one and only you can develop the action
plans to bring your goals into reality. For some it may
be to make a black belt, another to run a successful martial
arts school while yet another may want to impact the community
at large through city wide or even national programs. The
following definition of happiness has been a good foundation
for running our successful martial arts programs.
“
Dedicate yourself to the development of your natural talents
and abilities, by doing what you love to do, and doing it
better and better in the service of a cause that is greater
than yourself.”
This
powerful statement helps us understand the commitment necessary
to achieve success and happiness in any area, including
the martial arts. When happiness becomes a key element in
your goal setting and your personal mission statement, life
will become much easier. Earl Nightingale once said, “
Happiness is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”
You will only feel happy and become successful when you
are moving, step-by-step, toward the accomplishment of a
clearly defined goal. This is one of those classical principles
of success that is still true today.
