Working on “The Dream” & philosophizing about Jiu Jitsu…

I am paying my bills right now but one of my current jobs will end on Nov. 6th and then I will be working at a new club that opens up around that date. I am waiting to start working at that new club so I can get my schedule locked and loaded. That way I can have 3 specific days and times every week so I can have a consistent schedule to teach and build my student base up with. I have 12 dudes now that say that want to train with me but I am stuck here trying to do the bill pay thing…it’s pretty darn frustrating but that’s how starting a business goes…at least when you are starting from scratch and have no investment or seed money;) I still remember opening “Animal Fitness Systems” in Seattle 6 years ago and having 10 of my personal training clients just waiting for me to get my equipment delivered and set up so we could start Rocking & Rolling:) It was the exact same thing I am going through now but this time it’s with Jiu Jitsu:) My patience is being tested but I see the end goal and am laser focused on that! Successful people think in years and not days!

As I wait I have had the great Honor to be on the mat with some Black, Brown, & Purple Belts and be inspired to continue doing what I am doing. The sense of Peace and Joy I get when engaged in combat on the mat is something I can’t put into words, but I will try. Regardless of the struggles I am facing now, which are vast and numerous, I am reminded of how Beautiful Jiu Jitsu really is! Once I step on that mat and prepare myself for battle, all of the problems in my life and the world disappear into nothingness…when you are worried about not getting your arm broken or choked the F out, the lack of money in your bank account or personal relationship problems mean absolutely nothing…life becomes strangely and Beautifully quiet and serene. In the midst of trying to survive and destroy your opponent/Brother-in-arms life is Peaceful and in the words of Bob Marley “Everything’s gonna be alright”

If you are reading this and have never tried Jiu Jitsu I encourage you to give it a shot and see what ya think and if you do please let me and all the readers here know your thoughts on the most Beautiful Martial Art known to man:)

Thank you for reading my Blog and your support!!!

Got to roll HARD tonight!!!

 

One of the hardest things to find on this planet is a place where there is a mat with a good amount of high level guys that want to roll. I am so Blessed to have found a place just like that:) I walked into the school and expected to get my tail handed to me and boy oh boy was that going down tonight;) I held my own technically but WOW does this altitude mess with a Jiu Jitsu Fighters game or what! It was crazy how my body just shut down on me and wouldn’t do what I wanted it to do after only 2 rolls! I am by no means the stamina king but I was in absolute shock at how I my leg would NOT go from an armbar to a triangle after an effective shuck from a very skilled Black Belt…I just couldn’t move my leg! I am by no means making ANY excuses…I am and will always be a student of this Beautiful thing called Jiu Jitsu but this was the first time I felt the way I did, wanting to do something technical but just totally NOT being able to do it! I had a BLAST getting thrown around and rolling with some AMAZING Jiu Jitsu Pimps and I am Blessed beyond measure to be able to have these guys around and am soooooooo looking forward to getting on the mat again:)

In regards to Animal Jiu Jitsu, I went by a gym/kickboxing school that I might be able to teach at. I am going to talk to the owner next week, after he is back from that piece of shit country known as mexico, about me bringing 2-5 students over there so Animal Jiu Jitsu can have it’s very first roll session:):):)

As always I Thank ALL of you for reading my posts:) Your support means more to me then I could ever put into words!!!

Getting closer…one possible student at a time…

It’s been a muito muito busy week busting my butt trying to pay the bills:) My 3 jobs this week included; Bouncer, Personal Trainer, and door to door political talker-guy (I have no idea what my title would be for my door to door political job;) My hours have been pretty up and down and I’ve been forced to take a nap a few of those days due to extremely low sleep going from one job to the next. I am Blessed beyond measure though b/c I am making enough money to pay my bills…Thank You Jesus!!!

I have also made some pretty decent progress in terms of building Animal Jiu Jitsu, at least in terms of “potential students” Beside my first student Mitch, I have a total of 6 other dudes who say they want to train under the Animal Jiu Jitsu banner. One of them, and possibly two, are Blue Belts so that is going to be Awesome! and one of them is a white belt ammy fighter so I am hoping he does train with me so I can help him in his career of being an accomplished Professional MMA Fighter:) Out of those 7 dudes that say they are going to train with me, I say 2, maybe 3 will actually join and be there week in week out. Not being pessimistic, just being realistic. I’ve been teaching for too many years to know that “everybody and their freaking dog” says they are going to get on the mat and train, but only a handful actually do:)

This last week has been a week of personal reflection and goal setting as well as heavy on the work to pay the bills. I have been watching my budget this last week and am planning on completely getting out of debt the Dave Ramsey way:) I have been listening to Dave Ramsey’s (http://www.daveramsey.com) and Adam Corolla’s (http://www.adamcarolla.com) podcasts for many many months now…I actually started listening to Adam Corolla years ago when he was on LoveLine (when it was Adam and Dr. Drew). Anyways my point is that both of these men are mentors of mine, online/audio mentors at least;) I have yet to meet either one of them but am so looking forward to it someday! Since I am FINALLY in a city that I can live in for the rest of my life, and hope I am able to, I have started to heavily reflect on what I am doing and who I am in this Entrepreneurship process. Both of my mentors have really been on my mind in the last couple of weeks as I formulate a more solid game plan of exactly how I will open my own school. Thanks to Ramsey, this is the very first week I have been keeping track of the exact! amount of money I spend on everything and it has been an Awesome experience! My goal is to be debt free when I open the business doors for Animal Jiu Jitsu’s and I am now working with that express goal in mind:) I have also been reflecting on the “keep at it” and the “never give up on being successful” mantra that Corolla preaches in his podcasts. I have NEVER been a quitter but this experience of mine in Denver has been taxing beyond anything I can describe. It has been beyond extremely difficult in many ways:( Although hearing story after story on Adam’s podcast talk about  how he and others “just got through it” and how it is possible to not cave into mediocrity has helped me beyond measure make it through this week! Having Dave’s and Adam’s online/audio support has crystalize my resolve and totally helped me “Keep My Eyes On The Prize” as Big Daddy Kane would say:) I don’t know what I would do without my mentors!!! If either of you Homies ever read this, I just want to say Thank You for guidance and help!

On an AMAZING note…I am sooooooooo PUMPED b/c I have finally found a church home:)!!! I am looking forward to growing spiritually with and in Park Church in Denver (http://www.parkchurchdenver.org) Tonight was an AMAZING night b/c I felt in my Heart like I have a church I can call home:) It is time for me to plant my flag and get involved and find some Beautiful and Amazing Fellowship at my home church. Been meeting some AMAZING Jesus Loving people there and am starting to get involved in the community there and I couldn’t be more Joyful about that process:) Thank You again Jesus!!!

So off I go into another week of frenzied work to pay the bills to support the Dream of Animal Jiu Jitsu…Thank You all who are reading and are supporting this process and Dream, Thank You from the bottom of my Heart!!!

The very first Animal Jiu Jitsu student has arrived!!!

So I am PUMPED more then I could ever possibly write down on paper/Blog:) I was out tonight with my former student at Guy Mezger’s Combat Sport Club (www.guymezger.com) for some Amazing Denver Brew and chill time. He will be in and out of town for work until November 1st when he moves here for good…that’s when the training will beginning!!!!!! His name is Mitch and he has been training Jiu Jitsu/grappling for a few years here and there and has learned a lot from the time I was able to work with him. We’ve been talking about my move up here and him being the first Animal Jiu Jitsu student for several months now, almost a year actually, and it’s Finally Time:)!!! We downed some tasty Denver Brews and talked to some cool ass people at a local Denver bar where the bartender seriously almost got a F’ing beatdown from me for being a total dick! Either way, we had a Blast and talked about how we are going to build Animal Jiu Jitsu into a force to be reckoned with!!! I will have to find a place to start teaching 2 times a week and just build my business from the ground up, the old fashioned way;) I will also be competing around town and nationally as well as busting dumbasses up in the clubs so through all those avenues I should grow my business slowly but surely:) I am feeling the itch to fight in the cage again too and once I get my job situation settled that will most likely happen, which will be another avenue for me to build my business:) I just realized I do a LOT of smily faces! Who cares, the people that really know me know that’s my style and they dig it so there you go;)

I will be posting the very first “Official Animal Jiu Jitsu School” picture once Mitch makes the permanent move and we get on the mat for our very first AJJ teaching/training session…it’s gonna be an AWESOME DAY!!!! So if you are paying attention and you are supporting this Crazy Animal’s dream please get ready for some Awesome training pics:)

Hopefully this coming week I will start training with some local Black Belts and will have to fight hard to earn my nickname….looking sooooooooooo forward to that!!! so I will let you know how that goes, hopefully my arm or neck doesn’t get broken;) hahahaha

Thank You sooooooooo very much all of you out there that are reading this right now…YOU are what is keeping me going and driving towards my goals…THANK YOU and a Huge Animal Air Pound:)!!!

I’m still here…Kicking and F’ing Screaming but I’m still here…

So the good news first…I have 2 jobs!!! I’m bouncing again and walking door to door telling people about some random dude who is running for the Colorado legislature. The door to door job is extremely weird and different from what I’ve ever done in my entire life! It’s a job and I am beyond Thankful for both of them!!! That is the good news, the bad news is that I am barely making my bills and I have to find another job or jobs to supplement my bouncing gig and door to door gig in a few weeks, or asap! But I have work and for that I am sooooooooo Thankful:)!!!

I’ll tell ya what though I really can’t understand how people in this country can complain and whine about not being able to find work. I talked to one of my former roommates here about this a few weeks back and I told him that people absolutely HAVE  TO work more then 40 hours a week in almost every career to get ahead and not spend money that don’t have. He looked at me like I told him he had cancer, utter and complete shock and a huge “are you serious” look. It was Amazing how easy it was to get work when I just put my mind to it and started Huslin’ by dropping off resumes at random places, answering job ads on http://www.craigslist.com, driving around and writing down places to call about a job, and telling EVERY SINGLE person I ran into up here that I am looking for work asap! People are inherently lazy and stupid, at least that is my view on people that are not working as hard as they possibly can but whining about how they are “behind on payments” or “they hate their job” or “I want to start my own business” but they never do a thing about it…these people are just plain Stupid and Lazy!

Sorry to rant there but I have had the WORST 2 weeks since Feb. 17th of yesteryears and all I did to get out of it was Pray my soul out and wake up and start moving/Huslin’. The job part search sucked and it still sucks Hard b/c I have a college degree and have owned my own business before (which made a lot of money for a little while) and I also worked in some of the biggest companies in the US (and had extremely well paying jobs at them) BUT here I am going door to door bugging strangers about something I don’t care about as well as throwing dudes out of bars/clubs (btw got to very Intensely throw a guy out on my first night at the club=Happy Animal:) So here I am just doing WHATEVER it takes to pay my bills and Praying like crazy that Jesus will change my Extremely Proud & Haughty Heart so I can be humble enough to walk door to door and bother people, and have doors slammed in my face, etc… And you know what I am a living example that His Grace is enough in all of these situations b/c I was literally laughing out loud today while I was jamming to the Bee Gees and texting with my Lil Sis (whom I Love very very much) about how miserable it was talking to random people at their doors when it is pouring down rain and I have my jacket and umbrella barely keeping me and my work papers dry…HAHAHAHA…I was Totally Miserable!!!!!! and I couldn’t stop having fun with it!!! God is Good in our most miserable times…at least that’s what I’ve been experiencing for the last few days after I went through my 2 week desert…I just Pray all day that He keeps showing up during this journey like he has in the last few days…Thanks Homie:)!!!

Worst week I’ve had since Feb. 17 two years ago…

So whoever says the “American Dream” is easy is full of shi!!! First of all Entrepreneurship is not exclusively an american thing which is something our culture teaches us from birth (or at least in my era!) Point is, there are people ALL over the world struggling trying to build something from nothing like me:) But either way this shiznits is HARD/PAINFUL/IT HURTS:(

So this week has been so bad there are things going on in my head that I can’t say on paper/internet:( Let’s just say it’s been a struggle in a major major way!!!!!!, more then words can say…how’s that for explanation? Basically I was promised a job/something I could pay my bills with (something to give me the ability to buy/purchase food) and I was lied to, yes lied to….that’s the Horrible thing about working for a large corporation/gym, they ultimately don’t care about the individual!

Some extremely BAD and Painful things have been going through my head:( this week:( BUT I am a Fighter in my Heart and I will NEVER quit (even if I lose, or think no one cares!)…I will pick up my F’ing sword and strike my blow!!! You think you are tougher then me…then let’s see! “It’s the Heart that hurts more then the sword” though and that is the hard part for me this week:( My Spirit has been beaten down by job/money/pay my bill prospects and that is hard. Before you build something you Love and Dream about, you first have to pay your rent/food/electricity…and car/insurance BUT I realized that when things are very hard and times are tough, food and shelter are pretty much the only thing you pay for! I am learning how to live on the lean:) I am a man of my word so I called my car peps and told them I would pay them and pay interest/early payments b/c of my late late payments and they are cool with that:) I WILL pay them no matter what it takes!!!

For all of ya’ll thinking I’m not trying to work…well let’s just say I am not going to say anything online about ya;) I am trying and working and struggling to make something happen….doing interview after interview after F’ing interview BUT it’s just not happening!!! It’s not the times and the economy!!! It’s just a work thing, it’s hard to find work and it’s even harder to find work in a field you know, no matter what time/century/culture it is!

I’ve been reading a LOT except when the depression hits HARD and then I “check out” and can’t do anything. BUT when I’m here and awake, and not looking/working for a job, I’m reading/nerding out:) Finished 2 books this week thus far:)

I’m past rambling and I only have 400 views on this damn thing so it really doesn’t matter what I say, except for the 24 AWESOME people I have supporting me in this crazy endeavour and for those 24 our there I say THANK YOU and your support means more then I can put in words or ever express in person!!!! Seriously Thank You!!!!

 

It’s a waiting game but I got speed reading to work on…

been a pretty crappy week thus far…I’ve  just sitting around waiting for a large commercial gym to finish their paperwork on me so I can start working and making money…uuuuugggghhhhhh!!! This is EXACTLY why I live for entrepreneurship. I do NOT like relying on other companies or other people for my financial certainty! And the “keep things simple” concept in business is harder to keep alive when you are the size of a commercial gym like 24 hour fitness. I was told by my fitness manger that I would be starting 10 days ago, and this crap has drug on and on and on….it’s not really his fault, per se, b/c he doesn’t have control of the “onboarding process” once he decides to bring a trainer on BUT I am not sure he truly understands how bad of a financial situation I am in right now and it seems like he could be doing more? I haven’t worked/made money for 6 weeks now…it’s getting extremely scary right now…

On a very positive note I have been reading like crazy this week and been reading some Awesome books!!! I finished 2 so far and have been working on my speed reading ability as well:) There is a speed reading software product I am using for free this month that I’ve been doing the speed reading exercises on. I will buy the full version once I start making money b/c it is limited in it’s ability to do stuff b/c I am using the “free” version. For example it gave me a score of 320 words a minute BUT I wasn’t told I was being tested so I read very slow and I can’t redo the test or any of the test b/c it’s the “intro/free version.” I would say I’m at 400 words a minute, but honestly I’m not sure? I’m looking forward to working at it so I can be at the 800-1,000 words a minute level:) The basic exercises I’ve been doing thus far have helped soooooooooo much!!! I am running through pages in my books and totally comprehending the information thanks to the speed reading exercises I am doing:)

My first job out of college was writing for a living, at a small community paper. I am getting the writing bug BIG time again. Writing this Blog has helped stoke that fire as well:) I am thinking about offering my writing services for free (at first) to some local community papers in the area:) Wanna start off doing small articles or “features” about Health and Fitness stuff and maybe some local Entrepreneurs, stuff I’m deeply interested in…I’m just spit balling ideas right now though. I absolutely have to start working and paying me bills ASAP though!!! I will update this bad boy with more info as I find out more about my personal training job…I do have a couple interviews set up this week and the beginning of next week already, so we’ll see. Thanks again for reading this puppy and please Pray for my financial/job situation:) Talk soon…

Here’s a Nugget of Wisdom for all you aspiring Entrepreneurs out there….

Hello there! I am so muito muito happy that I made the move!!! It will be extremely difficult to build up my business and grow something from nothing and I honestly couldn’t do it if I was not in my personal geographic utopia! I LOVE living in Colorado!!! I am a Texan in my soul…I was raised there my whole life and my mannerisms and my views are extremely Texan and that is something I am very proud of:) But  more importantly then that I do have the mountains in my blood! There is a magical feeling I get when I think about and am around the most majestic things ever created by my Lord & Saviour!!!

Here’s how my day went down yesterday…I took off to the mountains yesterday with my new pup, Sid. We literally just took off with no particular destination in mind other then to just “climb” something:) We found our way to the Amazing city of Boulder, Colorado:) Unfortunately it started pouring rain the second we got into town so our trail blazing was going to have to wait another day….that worked out just fine b/c I found a local Microbrewery that was extremely dog friend and extremely people friendly as well! I spent the day and the evening having Awesome Brew with Awesome people, and even ended the night with some BBQ rabbit and elk at a house party with people I had just met that evening…straight Amazing!!!

Here’s my Nugget of Wisdom for all you soon-to-be or wanna-be Entrepreneurs out there…DO IT!!! Create something, putting your mind and Heart behind something you Love to do and just DO IT!!! The one thing I Highly suggest when you decide to take that leap is make sure you absolutely LOVE the environment that you are in so that when you do sacrifice everything to live your dream, you are content in the process:) I tried to open up my own Jiu Jitsu school in Dallas, Texas 3 years ago but it never came to fruition….I just couldn’t bring myself to spend my days toiling at something I loved in a place I didn’t want to stay in for the rest of my life:( I Love Texas for a lot of reasons but I also was dying there emotionally and creatively b/c it is just a blah place for me to live. Everyday I struggle here in Colorado financially, socially, emotionally, etc…I know one thing…I can always go to the mountains and “touch the sky”:) If you are a beach person, which I am not, or you are a downtown large city person, which I “kinda” am…my suggestion is go where your Heart is content and happy and just DO IT!!! Start living and realizing your dream of creating something out of nothing today!!! Just make sure you Love where you are when you do it and the path of struggle will seem like an Adventure and not a sloggingly painful trek. I Pray that helps b/c this move for me has been extremely difficult in a LOT of ways and I have had to step out of my “comfort zone” and “personal happy shell” almost everyday since I decided to make this thing happen, but it has been more Rewarding and Beautiful then I can put into words…so now it’s your turn….DREAM, CREATE, and LIVE your Dream TODAY!!!

Super stressful, crazy, but Blessed week….

So I found a new place! I am a Huge fan of Matt Chandler’s preaching (feed://feeds.feedburner.com/TVCSermonAudio) and one of the things he always talks about is how people in the church get married after being single for years, the whole time living by themselves only to find out that living day in and day out with another person is extremely difficult. He is a big time  proponent of single dudes having roommates to prepare themselves for living with their future spouse. I Completely Agree! with this idea. The whole time I lived in Dallas I was living by myself and my ability to resolve conflict and  my ability to be selfless sucked in a big way. Being a bouncer and cracking skulls at will didn’t really help my ability to properly “resolve conflict” with other people either, seriously. Point is I made a conscious choice to live with roommates here in Denver and work towards being a better “housemate/roommate” with the full intention of someday being a better husband! Well obviously I will not live in a druggie environment with a dude that needs to get his skull cracked and have some serious sense knocked into him! Which I had to hold myself back from doing after his behavior on my last night there…so I am so glad to report that I am free of that chaos:) I have found a Great place to live in SE Denver! I live in a house full of working male and female professionals who are all here for different reasons and we all respect each other and our individual lives and spaces, very cool. I’m really looking forward to growing out of this experience. It’s also really neat to be able to get to know people outside of my fighting/fitness/bouncer world too!

I have been absent all week b/c I have been studying day and night and will continue to do so until I take another stupid and pointless personal training certification next week. The gym I will be working at will only take this certain certification. Jumping through hoops all in the name of being able to pay my bills so I can build my school up slowly but surely is not always fun but such is life;) Btw I have passed 4 of these dumb things but just never kept them current so here I am getting a new one…..sometimes we never learn, hahahaha!

I want to Thank ALL of the people that have supported me this week via this Blog, my Animal page of FB, FB private messages, texts, calls, emails, gift cards for Chips/Queso/Brew (thanks Broham, that really really hit the emotional spot today in a Blessed and Amazing way:)

Looking forward to getting back on that mat and getting my roll on…I enjoy lifting weights but nothing quite satisfies my soul like cracking skulls on a mat:)

Thank You All!!!

First bump in the road….

“Nothing easy is worth having”…hhhhhmmmmm…well I want to change that  to “It won’t be hard, there are just annoying things you have to go through along the way”. Point is I hit my first major road block in the realization of my goal of having my own Jiu Jitsu school. The reason I changed the saying is b/c I am choosing to focus on how this isn’t a “problem” or this situation isn’t a “hard” one, it is just an annoying bump in the road along the road to success:) Right now it is a matter of perspective! and NO I am not into the “be positive all the time so as to attract positive people and/or situations”…this is just me choosing to live my life day by day and not letting a bad situation bring me down or slow me down AT ALL!!! I just get sick of hearing people drone on and on about how life is so positive b/c they are choosing to put out positive thoughts and energy out there…that is a load of BS. Life is hard and has its ups and downs and this is just one of those down times and situations and there is always tomorrow to live for and I am Blessed to even have what I have!!! so with all that in mind I am just choosing to not let this keep me down:)

The situation is that I live in a house with 2 roommates, one of them cool, the other is a complete drug addicted loser! The roommate loser is 34, is still in junior college, waiting tables at a pizza place, and more importantly is a complete drug addict. This is one of my roommates. So long story short it is inconceivable that I will allow my world to have drug addicts in it, so I have to move out, and fast! I was only living in my place for a week and have had enough of the lying from the roommate, the endless stream of random people coming in and out of the place I live, and basically worrying that something really bad might happen. This is an EXTREMELY annoying thing to deal with b/c I have to spend hours out of my life looking for another place to live and have to do this quickly but like I said I am choosing to take this as a challenge and move forward:)

What makes this all the more difficult is that I only have 10 days to take another stupid personal trainer certification. I have to pass another one b/c I let my other ones lapse since I owned my own gym and I did and still do think personal training certifications are dumb…but here I am paying for my mistake! So upward and onward, time to pass this test and find a new place to live. Wish I had some positive stuff to report here but it’s been a pretty rough few days.

I do have to say I am 100% convinced that I am in the right place and doing the right thing and I know this will all pay off someday, sooner or later doesn’t matter b/c I don’t quit!