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There’s nothing like sharing a passion for something with another person to forge strong bonds between you.

Passion for what you are doing in your life is rocket fuel. Find it and use it, and it can take you higher and further than you could ever have dreamed.

Life without that passion is duller, flatter and so much less satisfying. Your passion is something you need to find, and then ignite, to help you on your way.

Because if there’s no passion… there’ll be no progress. 

I really dislike poor customer service.  But whenever I receive it, instead of blaming the person who’s done a bad job, I ask a different question.  I ask why it happened. I wonder why this person is in that job in the first place.

If you take no pride in something – why is it worth your time?  

I encourage as many of my students as possible to take a very independent approach to their careers, and if they can, to work for themselves, or consider doing so in the future. If this doesn’t work for you, or you’ve found a career path, that really is working out for you, this independence of mind is still the key to success.

Your boss isn’t looking out for your interests! You can’t just stay in a job and know that you’ll be helped on your way, or wait to make progress automatically. Whether or not you’re in business for yourself – nowadays, you’re in business for yourself!

It’s up to you to you to decide where you want to go next

It’s down to you to look ahead, take ownership of your career and decide where you want to go next, then talk to your employer about how this can happen. It’s up to you to take that initiative.  You need to own the process.

And to do that, you need to be doing the right work for you: your passion, pride and motivation need to be strong. If they’re not, you’ll struggle to get focussed and stay focussed.

It might be that in your working life, that ladder is not being offered to you right now. It might be up to you to go and find it.  That’s tough – but you can still do it, using the persistence and indomitable spirit that the martial arts teach..