Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 22 | Issue 6

THE WARRIOR WAY
Overprepare to Reach
Your Goals
by Grandmaster Bill Clark
Know your goals, vision and strategic plan inside and out. Your product, know your
staff, know your resources, know your customer, and know your competition. KNOW
YOURSELF. Have backup plans. Anticipate objections, eliminate roadblocks, so you
can be over-prepared with solutions.
The clearer you are about your goals and objectives, the harder
it will be to divert and slow your progress. The clearer you are
about your vision, the easier it will be to draw inspiration, motivation,
support and action, especially in times of trouble.
Not to mention PERSISTENCE! That ability to keep
going no matter what.
You need to know your goals, vision and
strategic plan inside and out, whether it is with
martial arts, your life or in your job, business or
career. You need to know where you’re going
and what you might
have to deal with, to the best of your
ability… and look at it every time
you take a change of course.
I know people who were
devastated because
something they didn’t
expect happened
and it totally derailed
their life – like their
husband leaving,
getting badly
injured, a fire, flood
or earthquake!
You get the
idea. These are
not things outside
our realm of understanding but they are things most people never
think about. Have backup plans. Anticipate objections. Eliminate
roadblocks. Be over-equipped with solutions. That way, when
something so-called “unexpected” happens, you can spring into
action, and draw support if needed, instead of stagger around in
an emotional daze.
The importance of good preparation cannot be overstressed
and it feels amazing. Personally speaking, I’m pretty good in a crisis.
I can quickly analyze a situation and immediately begin looking
for solutions. I actually love that part… being a puzzle-solver. And
without going through the emotions of fear first!
So I asked her… “Did you prepare for things not going as
planned?” “No”, she said. “I only visualized the positive outcomes.”
Well, that’s your problem. I responded. You were not
prepared. When the unthinkable happened you had NO STRATE-
GIES! You have to think ahead, about what could go wrong. This
will give you the opportunity to mentally rehearse what to do. So
then, when something does go wrong, you will do the right thing
in the moment.
Unrealistic Targets Causing yourself to fail because you have
unrealistic targets not only sets up failure, but also places undue
stress on you and those around you. This not only happens in
business, but I’ve seen people set an unrealistic goal, like to get to
the Olympics, but not factor in the kind of talent and persistence it
takes, let alone all the possible things that could go wrong.
The difference between a dream and a goal is the reality factor.
Think it through. And then adjust your goals accordingly!
GRANDMASTER BILL CLARK is a 9th degree black belt and a former PKA Fighter of
the Year. He is widely considered one of the top experts in martial arts business with over 50 years
of leadership and innovation, having been inducted into almost every Hall of Fame in the industry. He
is one of the largest multi-school owners in the world.
100 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 6
Photograph by phototechno