THE PRE-LAUNCH OF.... FIND YOUR STRENGTH!

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

About a year ago, a parent came to me concerned about the high incidence of assault against young women on college campuses. Since then, I have come across many articles and discussions related to this same concern. It is now clear to me that many, if not most, parents are afraid as their daughters leave home to embark on a new chapter in their lives.

But I wasn’t really shaken up until I began to see statistics claiming that up to 1 in 5 girls are sexually assaulted during their college years. This was when I finally became inspired to do something. 

The problem I had was that traditional self-defense (short term) programs didn’t resonate with me. They are good for sure…but more like a bandaid. If I was going to make a difference, I wanted to try and make our girls immune to an attacker in the first place.

So I spent a lot of time pondering what martial arts has given me, and how it has made me a strong person both inside and out. I was always physically strong as a kid, but physical strength wasn’t enough to keep me from making poor choices, leading to dangerous situations. I always wondered why I did that. After 23 years of martial arts training, I have come to understand why I made the choices I did. 

Now I want to help our girls and young women become stronger than I was. 

I have taken my knowledge and life experiences and used them to develop a program based on my philosophy. I believe there are 3 types of strength.  Build these three TOGETHER, and it will lead to the true confidence necessary to be safe. The true confidence necessary for our DAUGHTERS to be safe. I am excited to finally be launching this program.

I have two important events happening in June. Please help me pass on the word by taking part in, and/or sharing, this information with those you know who have teenaged daughters.

Friday, JUNE 5TH (hopefully…I will confirm this date) - The pre-launch of my Amazon e-book FIND YOUR STRENGTH: The Essential Self-Defense Handbook For Every College Woman - I will be listing it at only $.99 for the first month, the lowest price possible. It would be the best birthday present ever if you would purchase it ON LAUNCH DAY. My goal is to become a #1 best-seller in categories relating to self-defense and teen safety. But you have to purchase it ON LAUNCH DAY! I will send a reminder and a link via email and post it on FB. All you will have to do is click on the link.

Saturday, JUNE 13TH & JUNE 27TH - FIND YOUR STRENGTH 3-HR Intensive Workshops - These workshops will follow up the book pre-launch. I am accepting 20 girls in each of these initial workshops. I will teach them my philosophy and go over 7 lessons to keep them safe, strong and able to defend themselves. They will go away stronger and more empowered….and their insight will help shape the future of the program… and of the book! If you are interested in having your daughter attend a seminar, please email me at masterlee@themartialwaykicks.com. 

Thank you so much…I appreciate you all!

Jodi Harrison-Lee

TAKE A "NEW HABIT" CHALLENGE

All of us struggle with various bad habits we have incorporated into our lives.  Whether it is eating certain unhealthy foods on a daily basis, spending too much time playing video games, or the numerous things we do to procrastinate, we all struggle with them. From time to time we fight to try and break these habits, and we even fight to get our kids to do the same. However, to fight against something is very difficult. It is much easier to just START A NEW HABIT. 

I realized this about a year ago and I started to develop some new habits of my own. The cool thing about doing this, is when you start a new habit that strengthens your body, mind or soul, it makes you feel AWESOME. When you feel awesome enough, the bad habits start to disappear naturally. And that is a very nice thing.

In light of this, and because that is what we are all about here at The Martial Way, I thought I would start a 30 day HABIT CHALLENGE each month. 

Our first challenge is for the month of May, and is one to strengthen our BODY. It is THE FIVE MINUTE PLANK. Yes, I know what you are thinking. There are 2 exercises that I really stink at, burpies, and THE PLANK. But I figure we can do anything for just 5 minutes. I tried it yesterday and it wasn’t pretty; I had to drop a knee a number of times. But I did it and I felt great afterwards. That is the feeling I will remember when it is time to do it again today. And when I stop to think about the transformation that will happen to me at the end of 30 days for just 5 minutes of my time each day... well that is actually exciting and is what will keep me motivated.

So who is with me? Get your kids (or parents, or friends) to do it with you for an even bigger impact. Modify it, tweek it, or change it to fit your needs... JUST DO IT!

YOU’VE GOT TO BELIEVE IT! (Making Goals You’ll Meet - Part 3)

It is always mind-blowing when you realize the first quarter of the year is already gone. Life can get moving incredibly fast, so it is important to pause and reflect on where you are in relation to where you want to be. Did you set goals for yourself? If you did, there is a 92% chance you have already forgotten about them, or altogether abandoned them. But don’t give up! You CAN be one of the 8% who actually reaches his/her goals. 

I previously outlined two out of three reasons people tend NOT to succeed in reaching their goals. It may be because of…

Reason #1: You are are focusing too much on how far you need to go. Or....

Reason #2: You didn’t own it! Or possibly, it's....

Reason #3…

First, take a moment to consider each of your goals and answer these questions honestly: 

• Can I envision myself reaching this goal? 
• Can I feel the feeling of what it will be like when I do reach it? 

If it was difficult to answer these questions, or you didn’t come up with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” then you probably fall into the third reason for not meeting your goal, which is……

…YOU DON’T BELIEVE IT! You set a goal that you don’t actually BELIEVE you can achieve. This might seem silly, but it happens all the time. It might be something you WANT to achieve, but you don’t really believe in yourself….yet. Or maybe you set a goal higher than you currently think is possible. Don’t get me wrong, ANY goal is achievable, but you have to BELIEVE it is so.  

In fact, I don’t want you to sell yourself short. I have seen it written in many places that a goal has to be “realistic.” What does that even MEAN? And who decides what is realistic? That may be why so few people go after what they truly want. Somehow they have convinced themselves it is not “realistic.” YOU get to decide what is realistic for YOU. And when you gain more confidence, raise it up a notch.

To summarize, being in the top 8% really just comes down to setting goals with a mindset that will better ensure success to begin with. So, make goals you’ll meet by following these three steps:

1. Stop and be appreciative of where you are. You HAVE come so far. You have had so many great life experiences that have made you who you are today. Appreciate them, and give yourself credit!
2. Set goals, intentions, that mark where YOU want to be by the end of the year. Make sure it is not based on what others think. Only YOU can decide what is best for you. So, ask yourself, “What path do I want to take?” 
3. Now, BELIEVE IT! Be sure to set your goal high enough that you are excited about the prospect of meeting it, but not so high that you don’t believe you can. Remember, you have every right to have, or be, or do, whatever it is you want. And when those negative voices get together in your head, tell them to sit down and shut up!

All the best as you move forward this year toward becoming part of the 8%.

Jodi Harrison-Lee

WHEN YOU MAKE A GOAL, OWN IT! (Making Goals You'll Meet - Part 2)

In this series, I am addressing why only 8% of people who set goals, actually reach them.  As martial artists, don’t we want to be part of that 8% who do reach their goals?  After studying this for the past couple of years, I am convinced there are three main reasons why people fail, and it’s usually before they even get started!  I addressed Reason #1 in the last post here: The idea that we tend to look at how far we need to go instead of how far we have come.  Now for reason #2.

REASON #2 is that You didn’t buy into it in the first place.  IT’S NOT YOUR GOAL!  Maybe you set a goal you THINK you should have, not one that you WANT to have.  You see, we all have these little voices inside of our head telling us what we should be doing.  You know, the one that pops in and says things like “You should lose weight…. You should work harder…. You should get better grades…. You should practice more…. You should meditate…. You should ______…” Then, we set our goals accordingly.

Well, that is a total recipe for failure.

Think about it.  Let’s take weight loss as an example, which is a classic goal.  Friends, family, and the media have a lot to say as to how we should look, and what is a healthy weight.  So if those voices are the guiding factor for your goal, then IT’S NOT YOUR GOAL!  You are doing it for someone else.  Conversely, you may not have embraced a goal that you really want because others have convinced you it is not a worthy goal.

Either way you haven’t owned it.  Here’s the key:  YOU HAVE TO OWN IT!  You have to decide that regardless of what other people think, YOU have decided it is a goal YOU want for YOU.  Not for anyone else, and not because society says so.

And parents, when we "guide” our kids by telling them what goals THEY should have, the same thing holds true: They’re NOT THEIR GOALS!
(I am totally guilty of doing this, by the way.)

Now this brings us to TASK #2.  First, write your goals for 2015.  I like to write goals in four areas, but you can write them in any areas you like.  Here are my four areas:

A goal to strengthen my MIND
A goal to strengthen my BODY
A goal to strengthen my SPIRIT
A goal to CONTRIBUTE to others

Then, take a good look at each of your goals.  Ask yourself three questions.

1. WHY do I want to reach this goal?
2. Is it clear that I want it for ME?
3. How is it going to FEEL when I achieve it?

If the answer to these questions make it clear that the goal is for YOU and you will feel GREAT in the having of it…. then congratulations.  You have a goal!

But, we still have one more hurdle to overcome.  I’ll be back next week with Reason #3!

LOOK HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME! (Making Goals You'll Meet - Part 1)

It is a tradition here at The Martial Way for me to hand out our annual “goals” sheet this time of year. On it, I ask you to write down your New Year’s resolutions in a few different areas of your life.  It is very important that we do this so we can take charge of our lives.  Otherwise, well... life takes charge of us.  But goals have gotten kind of a bad rap, and we tend to joke about them because only 8% of people who set goals, actually achieve them (Forbes online Jan, '13.)  I read somewhere else, (sorry I don't remember where,) that most don’t even make it past February before they quit trying.  YIKES!

In light of that, and before we even get into goals, I want to explore WHY that is and then give you your FIRST TASK. In the spirit of Martial Arts and The Martial Way, we are here to PERSEVERE, so let's shatter this dismal percent and get a much better success rate!

So, why don’t people meet their goals?  I think there are three main reasons, but this week I am only going to discuss Reason #1.

Reason #1 is that WE HAVE A FAULTY MINDSET FROM THE START.  We, meaning most people (except the really young who haven’t been tainted yet by life’s many voices that reside inside our head), tend to consistently look at how far we need to go instead of how far we have come.

This stems from that “I’ll be happy when….” mentality.  I’ll be happy when…. I lose weight.... I get married.... I get the promotion.... I make x amount of dollars.... I have a better_______.  And for teens, it might be I’ll be happy when…. I get better grades.... I have certain types of friends.... I get into the right college.  This makes us only look at what we don’t have or what we didn’t accomplish, and that doesn’t feel good.  

It seems hypocritical or paradoxical that I am saying this because on the one hand I am telling you it is good to set goals, yet on the other hand I am telling you that thinking "I’ll be happy when....” I meet those goals is bad.  EXACTLY.  

This is because when we BASE OUR HAPPINESS on meeting these goals, we put too much pressure on ourselves. That mindset sets us up for failure.  We have to find a way to FEEL GOOD NOW. And when we do that, we just might believe we can meet those new goals.

So how do we do that?  Well, by doing the opposite, BY FOCUSSING NOT ON HOW FAR WE NEED TO GO, BUT ON HOW FAR WE HAVE COME.

Even if you didn’t meet your goals last year---or didn’t have any to begin with---you have had many experiences that have caused you to grow.  You can’t help it. It is part of life!  Whether it appears positive or not, you are better and wiser. All you need to do is acknowledge it.  If you are proud of yourself and happy where you are, it is much easier to meet new goals.  You have to know what success feels like.  If you know you have experienced it, you can believe that you can experience it again.      

And this brings me to TASK #1.  Let's start by looking at what we DID accomplish this past year. My challenge for you is to get a piece of paper and title it MY AWESOME ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2014, or something similar.  Then give yourself about 10 minutes to brainstorm all the positive things you accomplished, achieved, or learned.  Remember: Positive growth even comes from perceived negative experiences.  After you have done this, ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR AWESOMENESS!

Remember to check back next week, and I will share the other 2 reasons I think people don't reach their goals and how to overcome these issues.  Then I'll give you TASK #2!