There is a mind virus in the world that infects most people.
Maybe you are infected, but you don't even know it.
I was infected at an earlier stage of my life.
Luckily I found out about it and took the antidote.
I was shocked out of my sleep state and woken up.
Unfortunately this is not the story for most infected out there in the world.
You see this mind virus is called instant gratification.
This mind-virus has been inserted in the minds of millions of people.
They have been taught since they were kids that they can have anything they want right now.
If they want ice cream or a burger right now, they get it.
If they want to get some extra pocket money from dad right now they get it.
The price they pay for these treats?
Nothing.
They just get it.
So when they leave school the story continues.
Now they get to university and they still get everything they want right now.
Even better for them is now they are at university and they are surrounded by others who are infected with this mind virus.
And they are all at the advanced stage of the disease.
At the advanced stage of the disease, the infected usually act with rage when their instant gratification world view is challenged.
So the big problems start when they leave school or college.
Now they are in the real world.
Suddenly they get hit with the cold reality.
All the things they want they can't get.
Suddenly when they want that big paycheck at the end of the month they can't get it.
Why?
Because in the real world you have to work for things to get it
So what do most of them do?
They give up and cry about how unfair it is.
Words like struggle, hard work and perseverance are alien to them.
And if they do learn to adapt these ideas it's only for show.
You might see them post #hustle #nevergiveup or some other pointless social media posts but that's it.
The Real World
The real world is a hard place.
This is not a bad thing it's just the way the world is.
If you accept this then you are halfway into the battle.
If you refuse to accept this fact then you are making everything in life harder.
For example, let's look at building muscle, losing fat or getting in shape.
Call it what you want but this is one of those areas where a lot of people struggle.
You will see the symptoms of this just after a new year.
When everyone suddenly joins the gym after having a drunk moment at a new years eve party.
With a glass of champagne in hand, a promise was made to get in the best shape of his life.
So on January 1st he walks into the gym with the usual hashtags.
Hashtags like #newbeginnnings #newme #iron and other bullshit.
A week later you go back to the gym and he and hundreds of others left that gym membership in the trash.
Suddenly the gym is empty again.
In Business the same happens.
Someone sees a Facebook post or YouTube video about someone bringing in cash.
He sees thousands of dollars coming in a month on autopilot.
So he decides to invest in the course to learn how to build a business.
So the first week he blasts off.
He watches the videos and takes a bit of action.
Unfortunately, most of those actions are posting and commenting on business Facebook groups.
He is thy guy who asks the most questions and has the most advice for everyone around him.
3 Weeks later the business is gone and his back at his job.
In Martial Arts, I see this mind virus all the time but one guy stands out for me.
I remember years ago when I was still a white belt in JiuJitsu this guy came into class for a few weeks.
He would learn new moves and roll a bit.
This guy was a talker.
He would tell everyone how excited he was to get his black belt and “start his journey in martial arts.”
A week later, he was gone.
We never saw him again.
The Process Reality
What happened in these examples?
Well, the people in these examples loved the idea of losing weight, starting a business, or getting a black belt.
But unfortunately, they hated the work it takes to achieve those things.
In their minds, they wanted those things now.
But when they were in it the reality of the process it was too overwhelming for them to accept.
So they quit.
The reality is this.
Behind the smoke and mirrors and all the bullshit is a cold hard reality.
The reality of hard work and the process.
The process is where all value gets created.
It is where we take raw material and create it into a work of art.
In Martial Arts it's taking a white belt and molding that raw human potential into a skillful martial artist.
In Business it's taking all your resources and creating value in exchange for money.
In Fitness its improving aspects of your body and mind to the point of excellence.
All these processes are forged in hard work.
There is no way around it.
The World We Live In
It's not that hard these days to be successful.
It's hard but very possible if you take into account how many people quit and how easy it was for them to give up.
For most people, these days, any form of resistance is enough to make them run.
So in today's world if you don't quit you have already won half the battle.
Right now, unfortunately, the cold hard reality of the process is too much for most to handle.
That process does not stop.
It does not wait.
You have to join it or you get left behind.
Where Will You See Success?
OK, so when all the glitz and glamour of talk and bullshit about the future is over then reality stays behind.
When the conversation is over and the talkers and bullshit artist are gone there will only be a few left standing.
They are the ones in the gym that was there before the new year.
They were there after the new year.
And they were there after all the bullshit artists left.
You will not find them on Business Facebook groups or forums.
They will be in the process of being creators.
They will be on the JiuJitsu mat, you will find them rolling week after week.
You will see them watching, learning, struggling and coming back for more.
The thing about these individuals is that they have become artists.
They have realized that the beauty of life is in the process.
That is where excellence gets sculpted.
That is where value gets sculpted.
That is where their art gets sculpted.
They know that the process requires everything.
What The Process Asks
It requires their body, mind, and Soul.
They have seen what it takes but they have also seen what it gives.
They know that sweat equity is the only way to get what they want in life.
Its day by day.
Week by week.
Month by month.
Year by year.
Whatever it takes.
They are all in.
You will find these individuals in the grind.
They Know The Truth
They know the biggest truth in the world.
That truth is that anything of value takes time to create.
They respect that reality.
They live it.
They are the ones that you hate.
They are the ones that drive the nice car.
The are the ones with the hot girlfriends.
The ones with a tailored suit.
The ones with the beast of a body.
The ones with the cauliflower ears.
They are the masters of their craft.
They are the warriors who get things done.
They are the ones that grind when nobody is watching.
They are the ones working when others are sleeping.
They are the ones working when others are watching TV.
They are the ones working when others are out partying on the weekend.
They are the ones who never makes excuses because they know they are pointless.
They are the ones that focus on the process.
These are the thinking habits of successful people.
Because the process is everything.
Do You Want To Transform?
If you want to transform your life then you need to accept the process and embrace it.
All those that reject the process fail quickly or gets later exposed as a bullshit artist.
But if you choose to accept the path of the process the possibilities for you are endless.
If you think something and then dream it you can turn in into a reality.
Only if you do the work and accept the process.
I get it !!
The process is not glamorous and it's not always fun.
The process can ask everything from you.
I will ask your weekends, your time with family and friends.
It will even make you be misunderstood.
But this is the price you have to pay to get everything you ever wanted.
There is no other way.
The Kaizen Story
In Japan, there is a philosophy called Kaizen.
This Kaizen philosophy is one of the reasons why Japan is so successful and their society functions so well.
After World War 2 ended the USA noticed that their car sales were going down.
They realized that Japan was kicking their ass with quality cars that they were able to produce consistently.
And worse yet for the Americans was that these cars seemed to get better every year.
How did they do it?
Enter Kaizen
The underlying philosophy of Kaizen is this: continuous, incremental improvement that leads to massive change over time.
Kaizen is thoughtful adjustments, accepting failure, and applying the lessons you learned through failure to improve and lead to massive success over time.
The Core Idea of Kaizen is this:
Standardizing your processes so that it’s repeatable and organized.
Focusing on measurability and evaluating your progress. Then using data to adapt and improve.
Comparing your results against your goals.
Innovating new and better ways to achieve the same and better results.
Responding and adapting to circumstance and evolving your methods over time.
Kaizen Philosophy Can Be Adapted To Your Own Circumstances.
Start a process of never-ending consistent improvements in all areas of your life and you will see everything change.
In other words, raise your standards, work hard, improve, improvise and adapt.
And on top of that be consistent.
In the west, we get obsessed with the big golden apple on the horizon and we forget about the process
What happens then for many people is that they get overwhelmed when the reality of the process hits them.
They start thinking about the weeks and months that they need to get through to get what they want.
So they give up and with it goes there goals and dreams.
What If You Take a Different Approach?
What about being more mindful in the process?
What about showing up every single day making small improvements over time?
Coming back week after week.
Just focusing on the process and creating value through the quality of the actions you take.
Because when you focus on creating value the rewards will follow.
But only if you stay the course consistently and keep on walking the process path.
But value takes time.
There is no magic pill.
Adapting Kaizen
If you adapt Kaizen to your life you can transform your life.
With Kaizen, you now focus on your system and learn how to push your goals to the back of your mind.
The Kaizen system can be built on 3 core points:
(1)Figure out where you waste all your time and energy.
(2)Ask yourself what small things you could change to be more productive and improve your efficiency?
(3)Have a weekly review session to see what is working. Ask yourself what can be improved and what can be removed?
For example, Want to lose weight and build muscle?
(1)Where are you wasting time and energy that could be spent in the gym?
Maybe you watch too much TV and go out drinking too much?OK cut those 2 things out consistently.
(2)Ask yourself what small steps can you take to build muscle and lose weight? Maybe eat less junk food and go to the gym at least 3 times a week.This is simple and easy to execute.
(3)Weekly sit down and evaluate where you did good work and where you can improve? For example, maybe you can add one more gym session a week instead of going to the football game. And maybe you can stop eating a snack at work and take an apple with you instead.
No Magic
Kaizen is a philosophy that works.
However, it's not magic.
It still comes down to you taking the ball and running with it.
The process is where you need to be to ensure improvement and transformation.
Its all on you.
What is it going to be?
Are you going to go for it and live the life you always wanted?
Or are you going to be one of those old guys in the future that talk about what he could have done but didn't?
