What It Takes To Become A Champion

To be a champion, you cannot think small. You must currently push yourself to the outskirts of your comfort zone so that you can stretch and grow. True greatness is a dynamic state because you are constantly seeking out new challenges to tap into unused areas of your potential. Remember, God designed us all for greatness, but it’s our duty to tap into the potential that he placed in us.

When a champion has a meeting, they arrive 15 minutes early. They are the best performer on the job.

Champions constantly tap into greatness, because they have cultivated four key characteristics so well in their lives that using them is second nature. You will know you’re a champion when all four of these characteristics become second nature to you:


Vision
Execution
Completion
Excellence

VISION: Champions see the future before it becomes the present. They cast out a vision of where they want to go and create a plan to get there. Most people are very good at dreaming, because they confuse dreams with vision. A dream only becomes a vision when you make it concrete by writing it down so that it no longer floats around in your head without any plans attached to it.

EXECUTION: Don’t talk about it be about it. Think does not build skyscrapers, execution does. Once you have thought up plans to achieve your vision, you must act upon it with conviction and urgency. You will lose your motivation, if you do not stay in execution mode. Your vision will revert back to a dream that will never be achieved. The park is full of people who dream of being in the NBA. Stay in execution mode no matter what obstacles you face and keep moving forward.

COMPLETION: Be apart of the finishers club. No matter how well you start, it does no good if you do not finish.

EXCELLENCE: Champions do not cut corners because they are focused on greatness rather than quick fixes and get rich quick schemes. Excellence is a journey of constantly improving and believing good is not good enough. Whenever you are given the option to compromise on excellence pass.

Take a moment to reflect and answer this question:

ARE YOU READY TO BE A CHAMPION?

WHAT IS HOLDING YOU BACK?

DO YOU HAVE A GOOD SOLID PLAN IN PLACE TO REALIZE YOUR DREAMS?

Tao Te Ching No# 16

Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return.
Each separate being in the universereturns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.
If you don't realize the source,you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused, kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king.
Immersed in the wonder of the Tao, you can deal with whatever life brings you,
and when death comes, you are ready.

The river carves out the valley by flowing beneath it.

Thereby the river is the master of the valley.

In order to master people

One must speak as their servant;

In order to lead people

One must follow them.

So when the sage rises above the people,

They do not feel oppressed;

And when the sage stands before the people,

They do not feel hindered.

So the popularity of the sage does not fail,

He does not contend,

and no one contends against him.

A skillful soldier is not violent;

An able fighter does not rage;

A mighty conqueror does not give battle;

A great commander is a humble man.

You may call this pacific virtue;

Or say that it is mastery of men;

Or that it is rising to the measure of God,

Or to the stature of the ancients.

Contentment

Health or reputation:

which is held dearer?

Health or possessions:

which has more worth?

Profit or loss:

which is more troublesome?

Great love incurs great expense,

And great wealth incurs great fear,

But contentment comes at no cost.

For who knows when to stop

Does not continue into danger,

And so may long endure.

The Eightfold Path

1. Right View

2. Right Intention ~wisdom

3. Right Speech

4. Right Action

5. Right Livelihood~ethical conduct

6. Right Effort

7. Right Mindfulness

8. Right Concentration~ mental development

The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. These are not commandments, although great emphasis is put on the practical aspect,because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps,instead they are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other.

1. Right View

Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realize the Four Noble Truth. As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions.

2. Right Intention

While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right intention refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions:

1. the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire.

2. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion.

3. the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop.

3. Right Speech

Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guidelineto moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not self-sufficient, however,essential, because mental purification can only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows:

1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully.

2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others.

3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and

4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purposeor depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.

4. Right Action

The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural means ofexpression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explainedin terms of abstinence: right action means:

1. to abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently.

2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty.

3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. Further details regarding the concrete meaning of right action can be found in the Precepts.

5. Right Livelihood

Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason:

1. dealing in weapons.

2. dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave tradeand prostitution).

3. working in meat production and butchery.

4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcoholand drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided.

6. Right Effort

Right effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itselfan act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of endeavors that rank in ascending order of perfection:

1. to prevent the arising of un-arisen unwholesome states.

2. to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen.

3. to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen.

4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.

7. Right Mindfulness

Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as theyare, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualize sense impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond our reaction of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualization in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness:

1. contemplationof the body,

2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral).

3. contemplation of the state of mind.

4. contemplation of the phenomena.

8. Right Concentration

The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration.Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of theeightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhistmethod of choice to develop right concentration is through the practiceof meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object i.e the breath. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.

Shaolin Kung Fu

Shaolin Kung Fu is more than kicks and punches it’s a way of life. It builds self control, discipline to include self defense. When we learn to control ourselves we learn the actual true value of life, and become more confident in everyday life.

In the physical aspects the person learns to control the body through practicing the forms and the techniques. By learning to control the body the person learns to discipline the mind, to strengthen the mind over the body, and to push the body beyond endurance through determination and sheer will.

In unity with the mind, body and soul the rewards are limitless. Through martial training the person learns more than just to how to defend themselves they learn the initial steps to becoming a constructive, positive, and contributing member of society in developing patience as well as compassion through bitter work.

Shaolin Kung Fu serves as exercise, healing, self defense, most important a spiritual path of enlightenment.

We at the Bao Shu Fang Lian Kung Fu School and it go like this: Sha Wu Jing Shing mean: Hold the martial arts to its highest esteem. We as martial arts Practioner’s should strive to fulfill at all times.