You ARE interested in being a highly successful submission grappler, aren’t you?

If so, then it makes sense to do what the most successful people in the world do.

And, there’s 3 things I can tell you that Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and the other uber-successful people have done that you need to do, too. And that is clearly defining:

1 – Your VISION – what you want for the future.

2 – Your MISSION – how you plan to create that future

3 – Your PRINCIPLES – the foundational beliefs that will take you there

Let’s dig in a little deeper…

Your Grappling “Vision” Statement:

You already have a vision… it’s what you want to get from your grappling training, and it’s the reason you started grappling in the first place.

The problem is, it may not be clearly defined. Most likely, it was something like “That’ looks pretty cool. I’d like to learn how to do it. I’m going to take some lessons.”

So, your current vision may be to merely to “take some lessons.”

Now, compare the power of that vision to one that says:

“Two years from now, I’m going to consistently have an 80% tap out rate on every purple belt in class”.

Wow… that’s going to require a whole different level of effort and commitment than merely taking lessons, isn’t it?

Right off the bat, just having a clearly defined VISION statement lights a fire under you that just isn’t there without it.

How to create your Grappling “Vision”

Your vision is your long term goal. However, it’s not how you’re going to get there.

You only get ONE chance to set your vision. Since it’s long term, you won’t be changing it every couple months. That means…

…NEVER make your vision small. This is long term stuff, and you’re going to put a lot of effort in between now and the time you accomplish it, so shoot for the stars.

Small begets small. Big begets big. Make it monumental.

To create a big vision, you need to ask yourself “WHY?”

To be sufficiently big, your grappling vision has to be bigger than yourself, and it has to important. Really important.

Ask yourself:

- Who would be affected if I don’t reach my vision?

- How would their lives be negatively impacted if I don’t succeed?

- Would my future be any different if I don’t achieve my vision?

- Why do I get up every day and go to train?

- Why should I make the sacrifices I’m going to make to do this?

Asking yourself those questions should help you get to the real reason you want to accomplish your vision, and make you aware that this actually is really important to you.

Next, define your MISSION:

Your mission is HOW you plan to accomplish your vision.

It’s about the actions you are going to take, today and everyday, until you get there.

A sample mission could be:

“To be the most committed grappler in my school by preparing before every class, staying late after class, and spending 2x as much on the mat than everyone else. “

With that mission in place, you know you’ll be going in the right direction and increasing the odds of accomplishing your vision exponentially.

Tighten it up with your PRINCPLES

Your principles are the basic behaviours and beliefs you live by that are going to make your vision a reality. It’s your “code.”

These should be decisive, powerful and evident to everyone around you. And, they should make accomplishing your vision a foregone conclusion.

Some example Principles:

- I never miss a day of training. Not for anyone or anything

- I master 1 new technique each and every day of my life

- I make everyone else rise to my level

- If I’m going to practice a technique once, I will practice it 50 times

- I will always demonstrate more self-discipline than anyone I know

- Every loss just motivates me even more

Principles like those will put you in an elite group of people, and you’ll quickly see results of those behaviors showing up in your skill on the mat.

Following through with your vision

Ok, now you’re armed with a killer Vision, a Mission to implement it, and Principles to guide your daily behavior.

But, to make your vision a reality, you have to do 3 thing:

1- Always remember WHY you have your vision in the first place.

Remember, this is bigger than you. Accomplishing your vision will change you, and that’s going to change the lives of the people around you.

2 – Never, ever, deviate from your BELIEF in your vision.

You are going to have major failures, extreme self-doubt and intense negative reinforcement from others. Expect them, and insist that you are unstoppable and they do absolutely nothing to deter you from your mission.

3 – Take continual, relentless ACTION toward your vision.

The only thing that can stop you from achieving your vision is stopping. Period.

Never let anything stop you. Each setback, criticism and failure should just make you even more determined. If you stay on your mission and behave in accordance with your principles, it’s impossible to fail.