Respect

Respect

The other day I was sitting in my 4 year olds Tiny Tiger Karate Class when the Head Sensei walked into the Dojo. Five young ones and the Sensei teaching class stopped what they were doing and quietly turned bowed and said Anagazi Maz which means please help me or please teach me. It was amazing to me, watching their faces, to see such RESPECT. It made me think about how important respect is and how little most people get. I thought wow; if everyone was shown the respect that Sensei Paul receives what a boost to their self-confidence. Why, every aspect of their lives would be improved. Think about it, if every day when you went to your job or did your work, people thanked you and bowed, listened quietly to your instructions and then did their best to follow them. People would look up to you and ask you for your advice. Sounds wonderful, but then I thought about it further. Sensei Paul is a black belt in Karate, he has been training many years, he treats his students with respect and offers them sage advice that he has learned through the years with hard work and listening to those with knowledge. In other words he has earned the students respect. He does not ask them to do things that he himself cannot do. He does not ask them to do the things he does not want to do. He leads by example. How many of us walk our talk? How many times do we tell people how to do, but not do it ourselves?

So I realized yes we all deserve respect but it is not something that is given lightly. It is given when we are striving to be the best we can be, when we are impeccable with our word and we are showing respect to those we come in contact with.

How does this relate to my business? Am I doing the best I can? Can I jump a little higher? I am demonstrating to others how to do the business or am I just telling them how to do it. In order to gain respect we must do and we must do it to the best of our ability. Just like karate we must practice, and enjoy our training. We must push beyond our boundaries in order to achieve greater success. The only thing holding you back is yourself. Sensei Paul says, “when you are tired is when the training begins.” “Anyone can assume a karate stance but only those who train can hold that pose after five minutes.” Only those who have trained their minds can push past the pain and become stronger. We must have belief in ourselves and take action in that belief.