Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

In the final hours of 2009, many people all over the world will look back on their year and look to the coming year with hope for improvement. It's a beautiful act of reflection and reaffirmation towards our goals and dreams. Now is always the best time to begin something new - not the "now" of the New Year's occasion, but right Now.

And the next Now. And the Now after that.

We live in the Now, and Now presents us with our only time to influence both past and future: our past by giving us memories worth savoring, and our future by contributing to our next Now: our next chance to choose and act well.

How was your year? Unfortunately, some people can only look back on their year as if it were any other: the repetition of mundane routines day in and out. In my opinion, that's just living the same year over and over again. It's like pacing in place while we wait to die, and still, the circumstances of our lives give us powerful reasons to organize our lifestyles in this fashion.

Unless you take charge of it - right NOW.

The process is twofold: choose, and act. Taking charge, for most people, is only the choosing. Let's make this year one where we take massive action for change. Don't let your doubts stop you. Decide!

"The only limits to the possibilities of your life tomorrow are the buts you use today." ~Les Brown

In 2010, be less of a 'but-head'. It's time to kick your 'but'.

I want this to be a big year, and I'm shooting for some pretty ambitious targets. (Check out my list of goals.)

What will you accomplish in 2010? Set your sights now. Choose now, and then take consistent action throughout the year.

See you on the other side!

Time Well Spent

My brother is staying with me for the next few days, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with him.  It's been quite a while since the three Garcia boys shared a few rounds of gaming, fun, and laughter.  I've missed it because a lot of our connection is built upon these times.

Sometimes, relationships fade without some conscious energy put into them.  You may feel like everything is fine, and perhaps you've got one of those connections that can be 'picked up' as if no time had ever passed...and then weeks turn into months, and the months become years.  Before you know it, you may drift apart even though you've never intended for it to happen.

Sometimes the best way to reconnect and mend a relationship is to spend some quality time together.

Have a happy holiday everyone.

Live Like A Champion

In 14 days, the Live Like A Champion project begins.  I've had an eight-month head start, but I still have a long way to go!  Lately, my efforts have been focused on securing firm commitments from my student team.  I'd been drumming up a lot of interest over the past few months, leveraging the power of the "teenage social network" and I'm proud to say that it's paid off - both in my program and at the high school that hosts us.

As of today, I have 42 members on my team, all from the high school:  2 parents, 7 faculty, 2 alumni, and 31 students.  According to Coach Tom, there hasn't been a team of this size before, so this is definitely going to be a learning experience! 

I'm excited about our success and have been doing a lot of planning and thinking around ways to keep everyone involved.  I've been rereading posts and videos, read Jeff Brinker's manual (thank you Jeff!) and loved it, but I'd also love to hear more from other UBBT participants about strategies that you've been using to keep your student team engaged and involved.  We're starting off the year with a New Year's workout and following up right away with a Free Hug Day (props John Mariotti!) at our host high school as a fun way to welcome everyone back from their holiday break.

You'll be hearing more from us in January.  Between now and then, some of my students may be saying hello to the world as we begin to gather our team on Ning.  Stay tuned!

My Live Like A Champion Goals

In 2010, I will be participating in BJ Penn's Live Like A Champion project, along with a large number of students, teachers, and parents from the LPS community. For me, this is also my Ultimate Black Belt Test (UBBT): a major component of my 6th degree black belt test.

People don't earn 6th Dans every day. Truth be told, I'm probably too young to be taking the test, and I'm realistic about the possibility that I may be asked to wait until I'm more experienced before I earn the rank; however, that's not going to stop me from setting my sights high and working relentlessly to achieve them. I chose the UBBT as my vehicle for testing because it is HARD.

As a Live project member, my teammates and I must achieve 10 personal victories during the course of the next year, in addition to completing all of the curriculum elements of the program. As a UBBT tester, I also need to complete additional requirements beyond those of my team. All of these have become a part of my goals for the coming year.

My goals for both projects have shifted since I first began the project. In fact, I think that it's important for me to do so! Knowing where you are and where you're headed is an important part of the goal-setting process: you MUST review your actions, assess your progress (or lack of), and then renew your goals.

If you're doing this with me, know that your goals may also shift over time as well, but don't quit, EVER. When I say that my goals have shifted, it's because I've accomplished them already and it's not even January yet, so I obviously haven't really challenged myself enough. I didn't change my mind. I'm setting better goals. I'm listing mine here not to freak anyone out: these are the things that I expect of myself for my test, but feel free to adapt any of my goals if you want to make some of them yours!

10 Personal Goals for the Live Project

1. I will drop my weight below 200 pounds and keep it that way.
I haven't been there since high school, and I want it back. I was up to 249 when I began the program, and now it's dropping. When I hit the magic 199, I will revise this goal and continue pushing. If I'm going to stand for health and fitness, I'd better look the part.

2. I will abandon the sleep-deprived lifestyle which has dominated much of my life.
If I'm going to train like I've never trained before, I am going to need to rest my body and learn all about better sleeping habits. Right now a full night's sleep is a treat for me. I'm going to change that and get at least 7 hours of sleep per night, on average.

3. I will outperform the pushups and crunches requirement of the UBBT (52,000 of each in 1 year) and complete 109,500 of each, plus 109,500 kicks to get my leg work in.
This is triple the amount that I am expecting from my student team members (36,500). I already have a significant headstart on these (as of today, I have completed 51,200 of each), so I anticipate the need to revise this goal during the coming year.

4. I will personally outperform the individual Acts of Kindness requirement of the Live program by a factor of 25 or more.
I will personally perform at least 25,000 acts of kindness before December 31, 2010. This is a big leap forward in my ongoing progress towards a commitment that I made to myself on my 21st birthday - to personally perform 1 million AOKs in my lifetime, big or small, as part of the way that I wanted to impact the world before I leave it. That's 10k per year for 100 years, or roughly 30 per day.

5. I will pay off 2 out of my 3 credit cards in full.
The real objective is to set aside my cards for various purposes: one card to handle day-to-day mundane expenses (groceries, gas, etc), one for gifts & major expenses, and one for emergencies. The cards that I want to pay off completely are my 'emergencies' card and my 'day-to-day' card. In fact, the 'day-to-day' card is going to be paid in full every month.

6. I will live in a clean home.
I'm pretty good about my public living & work space, but my private living space is cluttered beyond belief. Some spots are no longer actually living spaces, they're just piles of stuff. This goal involves more than just a housecleaning; it also means that I need to treat my home with the same kind of care that I give to my classroom. It also extends to the point of me needing to organize and sort all of the files in the hard drives of my computers.

7. I will learn how to cook.
Part of my problem with my weight stems from the fact that I am capable of ruining cereal in the kitchen and choose to eat out instead. By the end of the program, I will be able to prepare a variety of meals using mostly fruits, veggies, nuts, chicken, and/or fish (I'm lightening up on the grains and sugars) to support my dietary needs and UBBT goals.

8. I will develop a series of at least 10 leadership project planning guides and donate them to teachers.
I want to help transform LPS into the kind of school where leadership is taught, expected, and performed. This can only happen if positive work spreads and inspires others to do similar things, so I will offer my materials to other teachers. In addition to LPS faculty, I will gladly coach teachers outside of the LPS umbrella, especially charter school educators and other martial arts instructors.

9. I will learn the fundamentals of film & music editing, and then produce a series of at least 10 short videos for my martial arts program and my English classes.
Although I have my brother's help for my video editing needs, there are many simpler videos that I can (and should) be constructing myself. I will learn how to do this and delegate the larger projects to him.

10. I will assemble the largest UBBT/Live student team in the history of the program, with a student program completion rate that places us in the top 10% of Live project teams, and an unprecedented level of interaction with other UBBT teams.
Attracting, inspiring, and coaching a successful student team is a demonstration of leadership ability, and in my opinion, a high-level master teacher should be able to do this.


Goals & Requirements for my Ultimate Black Belt Test
(plus updates on my progress)
Note: Some goals overlap with the my Live Project Goals because it's all the same for me.

1. Weekly Journaling: This week will mark the 100th post that I've made on my UBBT blog since April of this year. That's far more than once per week because there was a point when I had made a commitment to my honors English class to write one essay per day. I'm still at it, and that's just my blog.

2. Become a certified Anger Management Educator: I will be taking a course through Dr. Tony Fiore, one of the foremost experts in the world on anger management.

3. Host three Community Action Projects: 2 down, one to go. I still have more in the works, and I'm working on inspiring others to take charge and lead some of their own! I'd like to make a significant contribution to the UBBT's overall team goal of 1000 community action projects next year.

4. No Quitting: I'm not going anywhere except forwards, and neither are you.

5. 1000 repetitions of a single form: I have completed this requirement twice already with Chung-Mo 3 and Chung-Mo 4. I am continuing this into the coming year with the ITF black belt poomse, Gaebaek. Upon completion, I will have accomplished triple the required number.

6. 52,000 pushups and crunches: OWNED, as of tomorrow. I plan to continue onward, racking up a grand total of 109,500 (triple the 36,500 that I expect of my team) during the year, plus the same number in kicks.

7. 1000 rounds of sparring: I am halfway there at the moment, but plan to exceed this requirement in the coming year.

8. 1000 miles of walking, running, biking, hiking, and/or swimming: OWNED. I'm going to continue into the coming year with additional cycling and plan to hit at least the 2500-mile mark by December. Much of this will be accomplished by replacing most local commuting with bike work.

9. Take a Diabetes Education Course: I plan to complete this course in the coming year and share what I learn with my team.

10. Attend at least 3 UBBT events: I will be attending the UBBT 6 Graduation event, I will be in Alabama, and am planning a trip to Hawaii. If opportunity allows for additional events, I will adjust my plans as much as possible in order to attend.

11. 100 hours of groundwork: I'm at 40 hours currently and am hungry for more!

12. 20 hours of boxing/kickboxing coaching: OWNED. More coming!

13. 5 public performances: one down (winter showcase), four to go!

14. Complete the Body-for-Life program or an equivalent: This was completed during the summer; however, I will repeat the program and reinforce what I've discovered during my first time through.

15. Daily meditation: OWNED. I am a meditating BEAST, usually getting at least 30-45 minutes daily between 2 sessions. (dissonant metaphor intended)

16. Custom testing requirements: This objective is in the works. I want to construct a test that will highlight my skills while pushing myself to expand my knowledge.

17. Make and post a film: With my brother's help, we've constructed 5 (2 DVDs, 3 videos). I need to learn how to do this on my own. Once I do, I'll be a short film-making machine!

18. 10 personal victories: See Live Project goals above.

19. Contact teammates regularly to keep posted on progress/challenges: Will do!

20. Two anonymous acts of kindness to teammates: On hold until the official start date. I'd tell you all of the details, but then they wouldn't be anonymous anymore. This one's going to be between myself and Master Callos - I'll tell him what I did and when it occurred.

21. 1,000 acts of kindness: Through my work, I amass roughly 100+ AOKs per day. I plan to blow this goal out of the water in the coming year.

22. Inspire 50,000 acts of kindness through school & community: We're going to do this together!

23. Right 3 wrongs in my life: In progress.

24. Mend 3 relationships that have gone bad: I believe that I have accomplished 2 of them, or at least I've made significant progress! This means a lot to me because I felt that they would be the hardest 2.

25. Profile 10 living heroes: Will complete this during the 2010 year.

26. Host an environmental cleanup project: OWNED, with more in the works!

27. Memorize a lengthy quote of 100+ words: In progress. Lots of juicy ones to choose from!

28. Seek out a Master: In progress. I plan to interview and profile them.

29. Empathy Training (1 day blind, 1 day mute, 1 day in a wheelchair): Today, I spent the day at work mute. I will complete the other two during the coming year.

30. Read 12 books: OWNED. More coming!

31. Reduce use of plastics & consumables by 40-90%: I will purchase Brita water filtering pitchers and use them instead of bottled water at work and at home. Additionally, I will bring in any cups, plates, bowls, or utensils that I may need for munching at work. I also plan to brown bag my lunch more often instead of eating out.

32. Buy nothing new for a year: I live a life of abundance and I recognize this. Aside from food, cleaning supplies, and other needs/services which are means to meet my other goals, I will not purchase any new products during 2010. Those purchases, if necessary, will be made second-hand through garage sales, Craigslist, and other sources. (Thank you to Lisa Teichner, whose commitment to this goal inspired me to adopt it as well)

Sharpening the Saw

In Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the seventh habit is "sharpening the saw", a metaphor for constant improvement and refinement of your greatest asset: yourself.

The UBBT process gives its participants the opportunity to construct a path towards balanced self-renewal and to ensure that small steps are being taken on a daily basis, not only to achieve goals, but to refine your consciousness towards the point where your lifestyle includes sharpening your saw.

I haven't even formally begun my UBBT, but inside my head, I'm living it.  I followed some good advice from a lot of wise people like Master Callos, my first teacher, Master Ed Fong, plus many others (you know who you all are - thank you!) and began training immediately in every aspect of the test that I could wrap my head around and kickstart myself into doing...plus some.

Some proud moments:

• I'm on track to completing 52,000 pushups and crunches by Christmas, although I'm going to pick up the pace a little and try to hit the mark in front of my students next week.
• I have performed over 1,000 repetitions each of two different forms.
• I have engaged in 500 rounds of sparring and bag work.
• I have traversed over 1,000 miles in a combination of biking, hiking, walking, and trail running.
  
• I've lost 25 pounds and my body is gradually becoming more defined.
• I have personally completed over 10,000 acts of kindness, most of them little things (which really add up), with some powerful ones to punctuate my list.  I'm going to shift my focus to the Charter for Compassion website and inspiring my student team to begin recording there, although I'm going to continue doing my own.
• I have meditated for over 100 hours, mainly with twice daily 20-minute meditations: one when I wake up, the other during my break at work, with some additional moments as needed.  I haven't counted the mini-meditations that I do at the beginning and end of my classes.
• So far, I believe that I have successfully mended two relationships in my life which have gone bad, and these mean a lot of me because I had feared that they would be the most difficult to repair.
• I have coordinated two community events so far: an environmental cleanup and another event to support a local charity.  I have plenty more in the works, and have been training my students team to initiate some of their own.
• I have averaged at least one journal entry per week, with only minor variations in my posting frequency.
• I feel like I've made some digital connections with other UBBT members already, and am looking forward to meeting them in person!
• With some technical assistance from my brother (much love and thanks!), I've aided in the creation of 5 films (2 DVDs and 3 videos) that we're really proud to share, and my students love!

These accomplishments, plus much more, are the result of adopting daily habits and sticking to them.  If you're just beginning your UBBT journey, as I am technically about to, begin boldly and stay strong!

As far as I've come, I still have a long way to go.  I'm still dissatisfied with my physique and I need to step up my game if I'm going to get results in this area.  I need to overcome my own camera shyness and produce some simple videos on my own so that my brother can concentrate on high-quality large projects instead of my basic editing needs.  I want to fire up my student team and get them 100% behind this process so that we begin strong and end stronger.  There are still many requirements left for me to complete, including some of my personal goals, and even though I've hit most of my initial marks, I'm not going to stop.

I've only just begun to sharpen my saw.

Internal Dialogue

Earlier tonight, I performed with my students at the LPS Winter Showcase, a celebration of the talent that exists within our small high school community.  At the end of our martial arts routine, I came on stage and broke six bricks at the culmination of a dramatic piece of epic orchestral work.

I received a lot of great feedback from people, both for the break and for the overall performance, and I'm glad they enjoyed the show.  Many people wanted to check out my arm to see if I had hurt myself, and more than a few of them were flabbergasted at what seemed to them to be an extraordinary human feat. 

Inside my head, however, I was all too human. 

My conflict was not with the bricks.  It never is.  My battle is always within myself, at the crossroads in my mind where focus, skill, confidence, and preparation face off against distraction, doubt, fear, and misfortune.  Should I win, my bricks become twins.  I don't want to find out what happens if I lose.

The last time I tried this break, I made mistakes.  I misaligned the bricks and the break went poorly.  I paid no small price for that error.  Tonight would rectify that error, even as the memory of the last break attempt played over and over again, like a splinter in my mind.

There were plenty of other things which could have messed me up tonight.  That afternoon, I had modified the brief form routine that I use as a lead-in to the brick break, about 30 minutes before the performance.  We had also misplaced a wooden plank that we were going to use to provide stability to the slightly-springy portable stage, and I needed to compensate my hit to account for the give in the flooring.  The lighting from the stage crew switched to an alternating black/red pattern while I was setting up my break, creating a red strobe light effect that reduced my visibility to near-zero.  As I had initiated and committed my forearm to the strike, the lights switched off completely and I finished the break in the dark. 

None of this was part of the practice.  All of it had to be done on the spot.  My victory had to be won inside my head before it played out on the bricks.  I replayed my own pep talk to my students in my mind, which went something to the effect of: "The future hasn't happened yet, and we can't change the past.  The only moment we have control over is right now - the time when we can choose, and act.  Therefore, go out and choose well, so you have no worries and no regrets."


In the heat of the moment, with all eyes on me and my mind in conflict, I chose.

I chose to win.

Now I have 12 smaller bricks. :)