I firmly believe that life will continually try to teach you the same lesson, with increasing pain, until you heed the call.

We are now forced to actively pursue our struggles. If we do not go out of our way to stretch our comfort zones and grow, no one nor nature will do it for us.

Self-improvement is generally a removal of a vice rather than an acquisition of a virtue.

Empathy is a breaking down of the false constructs of division between the observer and the observed.

Deep down I believe each of us is a well-spring of understanding and wisdom, but we simply never allow the space or time for this understanding to rise to the level of conscious thought.

Jesus was not a carpenter forever.

We must know where we want to go in order to get there. Our modern lives are growing increasingly chaotic, and it is only a clear, definitive purpose that will keep us on track.

Those who serve others have purpose. Those who serve themselves are lost.

That nagging state of constant thought that exists somewhere between the ears and behind the eyes is the self.

My growth as a human being has been directly proportional to my growth as a marital artist.

We must remember that regardless of our differences in rank we are all equal as human beings. You can always tell how caring and compassionate others are in their actions towards those “below” them. Of...

A life of joy awaits the man who sits alone quietly in a room and determines what he himself believes rather than simply adopting the values of another.

I have been given the rare opportunity to teach Jiu Jitsu for a living. This is a privilege that I wake up everyday grateful for, and a responsibility that I hold dearly. I understand how...

Jiu Jitsu is the vehicle. Not the road.

Life is easier lived when lived for others.

The knowledge you acquire in an area of study is accompanied by an incalculable ignorance. The farther we get into anything, we learn that we have even farther to go.

The quality of your life is directly proportional to the positive effect you have on others’ lives.

Properly directed thoughts result in properly directed actions. The only way to appropriately guide our thoughts is to know their foundation, our values.

Service, it seems, is the only antidote to existential frustration.

You are the space in which these thoughts arise, but not the thoughts themselves.

Your potential for growth is directly proportionate to the degree to which you are willing to make mistakes.

Mastery lies on an infinite continuum, and as a result we will never reach the end. We can, however, see to it that we are as far along that continuum as our circumstance allows.

A man has only so much life, and must diversify his efforts according to his values.

I train jiu jitsu because I love jiu jitsu. But I also train knowing that my practice in this art will allow me better practice in any art. If you have learned one thing, you...

Our social contract is becoming an exchange of free thought for mindless stimuli.

The beautiful truth about service is that we are afforded countless opportunities to be its vehicle. Every interaction with another is an opportunity to serve. From simply letting someone into your lane in traffic, to...

If you are fortunate enough to have a particular activity with which you find greatest joy and technical success, it is your responsibility as a growing human being to continue that study. Whatever your endeavor,...

The more specifically you define your goals the more attainable they become.

When we know our values, we can easily measure whether or not our actions are in accordance with them. Values are the measuring sticks with which we determine the worthiness of our actions. To be...

Your happiness is in direct proportion to the amount you serve others.

Society is a collection of selves perpetuating their myth.

You are never as good as you think you are, and you are never as bad as you believe yourself to be.

The best yardstick for our progress is not other people, but ourselves. Am I better than I was yesterday? This is the only question worth asking. As long as you go to bed at night...

Do not seek victory, for victory in itself will not serve you. Seek to understand what made the victory possible.

I use my understanding of jiu jitsu as a road map to learn other activities. I look for the similarities between the two, and use jiu jitsu as an allegory for whatever my new practice...

If nothing lasts then everything has meaning. If everything dies that means we actually live.

We must strive to become more daily. We must honestly assess our weaknesses and overcome them. We must work toward the highest possible version of ourselves. This is a worthy use of our time, but...

All of the great writers and sages we are so quick to quote have simply given their interpretation of what it means to be human.

Do not get caught pursuing the goals of who you used to be instead of who you are.

When we honestly take stock of our ability, we are then granted the opportunity to improve our circumstance. Accessing where you stand is the only way to stand somewhere else.

Every interaction with another is an opportunity to serve.

We tend to view ourselves as this, lying in contradiction with everything that is not ourselves, that.

I would more appropriately define mastery as the technical ability possible within the constraints of your particular existence. It must be noted that this is a subjective definition, and that this degree of mastery would...

Your progress as a Jiu Jitsu practitioner is a direct reflection of the standards you have for yourself.

There are no trophies for the real victories in life.

In mastering one thing, you have mastered all things because you have learned how to learn.

You have been blessed to stand on the shoulders of giants. Make sure that someone stands on yours as well. This is the only way of human progress.

This is the opportunity the fellowship of Jiu Jitsu affords us. To reach our highest potential of self, and then to offer that self to another.

Everyone, no matter how historically famous or modernly praised, has no idea about the ultimate truth of what it means to be human.

I am a better son, brother, friend, and teacher because of the daily sacrifice and effort I put toward my craft. WIth all the advantages modern society has created, it has left us wanting. We...