Inspiration Comes in Many Forms

You can be influenced and inspired to do better, think better, find solutions, or just simply change your perception on something from many sources. You just have to listen and watch and look at everything around you as a gift or opportunity. Sometimes I look at things of influence as they have to be great, they have to come from experience, or at least something that you have to think it through to move forward and act. It needs to be extraordinary and seemingly impossible in order to work. Bruce Lee once said, "If you spend too much time thinking about something, you will never get it done." I seem to have forgot that the little things have a much more profound impact than the more prominent. I sometimes waste too much time thinking about things. Keep it simple stupid, is a phrase I commonly go to when stuck. Other times an outside source in a basic format can punch me right in the face and give me that boost or push I need. Even perhaps the straight forward approach that used to come so naturally to me.

The young martial artist you see in the photo above put me in my place and brought me back to reality in a very powerful way. She laid out a plan. Nothing complex, nothing extreme, she just did it. She didn't spend days planning. She didn't make things overly complicated and she didn't need the perfect time or planned opportunity. She just did it.

This young martial artist took a break from Kung Fu and returned almost a year later. A few classes in, she made a plan and set a goal to have earned her yellow belt before Christmas. She needed a two or three stripes in order to be eligible to test for promotion. She worked towards her goals and a few weeks later she was promoted to Yellow belt.
Barely a few classes in as a yellow belt and the goals began, orange belt by her birthday and a black stripe by next class. That week she was given an assignment and went to work on it at home. Within a very short period of time she developed her own combination containing all parts of what was asked of by her Sifu's. She asked me to help which of course I did. But the reality of it was all I really had to offer was a few block suggestions and some stance tweaking. That was it. Next class came a there it was, a black stripe on her belt. All of this was done by simply setting a goal and working towards it. She just did it, no excuses, no over thinking, no bulls@#t. Just straight up took what she felt was hers and ran with it.

That young martial artist is my daughter and I couldn't be more proud or more humbled by her example and lesson she gave me. Well done and thanks for the reminder to keep it simple stupid and just do it.