A Grown-Up Kind of School
An uncommon school, where we continue our education beyond the basics of K-12, or even college, focused on success.
Who wants to go back to school?
To re-live the awkwardness of growing up?
Some of us, maybe? Most folks would say, “No thanks.”
But, seriously, who wants to go back to school?
Better asked, who NEEDS to go back to school?
In reality, we ALL do!
According to Literacyinc.com, 80% of U.S. families have not purchased a book this year. 50% of books started are never read to completion. 1 in
3 U.S. high school graduates never read a single book after high school.
Reading is one of the ways we learn something new, how to do something in a different, better way, or add the life experience of another individual to our own. It’s one of the ways you can add the collective wisdom of people who have tried, failed, and won without having to make the same mistakes they did before they got it right.
It’s a grown-up kind of school.
Yet when most of us look back at our time in school, we realize it was a time of being taught WHAT to think, act, or speak. Unless you were among the fortunate few who have a dynamic teacher who taught you HOW to think, and WHY thinking is SO important, you were likely indoctrinated into the “worker bee” mentality.
You get an education, you get a job, you do what you’re told to do by someone else for the next 30-40 years of your life, get married, raise some kids, save some money, and then, you retire.
Sadly, millions of Americans have bought into this mindset of mediocrity and never risen to their full potential in life. They’ve lived a mundane existence, wondering if there was something “else” out there, but never really venturing out to see if it was really there.
Think about your time in school.
You were taught to read, write, do math, and learn science. Throw in a bit of history, art, music, or athletics, and that was basically it.
Were you EVER taught the principles of success?
Did any teacher ever take the time to teach you a good work ethic or the value of accomplishment?
Did your school emphasize critical thinking? Of learning HOW to think?
Were character values, such as discipline, respect, honor, integrity, humility, kindness, goodness, generosity, or compassion taught in the classroom?
How many classes did you take where you were encouraged (or taught) how to discover your passion, your calling? To uncover and cultivate your giftedness?
Did any of your teachers actually teach values-based leadership? How to lead yourself well and make good choices? How to effectively lead others, to create cohesive, collaborative, synergistic teams that are high-performance, results-focused, people-centric, and values-driven?
Short answer for most Americans, NO!
Philosopher and naturalist, Henry David Thoreau, asked similar questions in the 19th century. He observed that students were learning the basics in school, the 3 R’s, but they were not really being prepared for success in life. Thoreau noted:
“It is time that we had uncommon schools, that we did not leave off our education when we began to be men and women.” (Henry David Thoreau)
I like that idea, an UNCOMMON school, where we continue our education beyond the basics of K-12, or even a 4-year college degree.
But this uncommon school is focused on SUCCESS.
A school committed to teaching men and women how to discover, develop, and deploy their own unique Black Belt Leader Within, becoming a World-Class MASTER of who they are and what they do. To create an environment where the relentless pursuit of Black Belt Excellence was expected and encouraged, and people were equipped to pursue it.
Here’s the good news.
This uncommon school exists.
It’s called LIFE.
You and I, we can each create our OWN uncommon school, the “Dojo of Success”, by choosing to never stop learning, always be training.
I’ve said for years a Black Belt Leader is a lifetime learner. When you commit to personal growth, professional development, a life plan, call it what you will, you set yourself up for MORE success and a MORE satisfied and fulfilled life.
One of my favorite quotes from Ray Krok, the intellectual genius behind the global success of the McDonald’s Franchise, is this:
“As long as you’re green, you’re growing. Once you’re ripe, you start to rot.”
Far too many people live ROTTEN, unsatisfied, unfulfilled lives because they’ve stopped learning, growing, training, improving, and daily becoming better at who they are and what they do.
Why?
They stopped feeding their mind.
And as you think, you become.
When you stop thinking, you stop becoming.
Hello?
We live in a time of unlimited opportunity, a time of unprecedented capability. Yet less than 1% of the people on this planet will choose to take advantage of this and rise to their full potential.
They did their time in K-12, maybe another 4 years in college or vo-tech, and they settled for the mundane, to simply become another cog in the wheel of someone else’s business.
You and I were created ON purpose, FOR a purpose. It is up to each of us to EQUIP and PREPARE ourselves to fulfill this purpose. That requires we attend “A Grown-Up Kind of School.”
The Dojo of Success.
If you won’t take the time to discover, develop, and deploy your own unique Black Belt Leader Within, who will?
If you won’t take the time to become a Black Belt MASTER of who you are and what you do, how will you ever rise to your full potential and achieve an unparalleled level of success in life?
So, what should this Dojo of Success teach you?
For starters, how to improve the quality of your thinking, because you can’t outperform the quality of your thinking. Remember, as you think, you become. To BECOME better, you have to first THINK better.
The Dojo of Success should also instruct you in the areas of goal setting, self-motivation, handling adversity, and overcoming self-defeating habits.
It should teach you effective, values-based leadership, time management, good decision-making, efficient time management, building self-confidence, improving self-esteem, organization, managing stress, and how to take those uncomfortable steps into the “Growth Zone” where Mastery begins, and how to stay there until you become a Black Belt Master in that area.
But wait…there’s more!
The Dojo of Success should also teach you how money works and how to make money work for you. It should provide you with not only the keys to creating and accumulating wealth but the wisdom for its wise use so you don’t squander what you create and how to use it well.
Wisdom teaches you how to control money so money doesn’t control you.
This “Grown Up Kind of School” should also teach you how to influence people, which is an essential part of leadership. It should instruct you in the ways of effective communication, and how to purposefully listen to others, and how to ask good questions that lead to good answers.
It should also teach you how to mentor and guide others, helping them to discover their own Black Belt Leader Within and cultivate it.
What else should you learn?
How to establish a good work/life balance, proper diet & exercise, and how to rest, relax, and recover.
This Dojo of Success should also teach you the importance of moving from success to significance and how to leave a lasting legacy that inspire others.
Hendrick Williem van Loon was a Dutch-American historian, journalist, and children’s author. He is perhaps best known for his book (and movie) “The Story of Mankind.” A quote from this book sums it up succinctly, “In history as in life, it is success that counts.”
What is your GREATEST asset?
Your ability to learn, grow, and improve.
Your ability to move from where you are to where you want to be.
Your potential to transform yourself from the person you are now to become the successful person in life you want to become.
That only happens when you enroll in, and stay in, the Dojo of Success.
It’s a Grown-Up Kind of School for people who are serious about becoming a Black Belt Master at who they are and what they do.
It’s a Grown-Up Kind of School for people who want to discover, develop, and deploy their own unique Black Belt Leader Within.
It’s a call to invest in yourself and your future success. After all, if you won’t invest in YOU why would you ask other people to invest in, or believe in, you?
Are you ready to GROW UP and GROW INTO becoming the successful person you were put on this earth to become?