So many people compete fearful that they have something to lose. I’ve been there, I get it. But if this is you, it’s important to remind yourself that you have nothing to lose. . . you haven’t won anything yet.

Almost everyone can become skilled at BJJ. But that doesn’t mean that BJJ is for everyone.

Self-criticism is a beautiful thing, unless it leads to self-destruction.

Your success with the big things is usually decided by how well you can obsess over the little things.

Good training can be competitive, but that doesn’t make it a competition. No one cares about your gym record.

Your life isn’t a practice round to get you warmed up for the real one. It’s the only round you get. So be disciplined and push yourself to give it everything you’ve got while there’s still time on the clock.

Quantity can create quality. Everything mastered is usually built on the back of failed attempts. In BJJ your technical ability is determined in a big way by your willingness to attempt, fail and respond to the feedback.

Wisdom comes when knowledge and experience dance.

A lesson from grappling I apply to everything: Be willing to do the work when nobody is watching, when nobody cares and when you feel like you’re not making progress. There’s usually a reward on the other side of this struggle, but you won’t earn it if you quit.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you celebrating! May you eat enough to bump up a weight class. And if for some reason you feel guilty about eating so much, just remind yourself you’re improving your top pressure for that open mat at your gym tomorrow.

Movement precedes motivation. Action is the spark.

What’s the toughest belt to get in BJJ?

You push yourself closer to failure by the fear of it. What you think is going to happen vs what actually happens when you fail almost never line up. Just an idea to chew on.

If you want to be aggressive with submissions or any offensive techniques. Don’t overlook developing your defense and escapes from bad positions. It’s hard to give 100% to an attack if you’re hamstrung by the fear of “what if this fails” lurking in the back of your head.

In my bearded opinion, it’s better to find 100 ways to use 1 technique you’ve mastered, rather than finding 1 way to use 100 techniques you haven’t.

The way you cheer people on, or cut them down, says a lot more about you than it does anyone else.

Remarkable outcomes are usually the result of unremarkable actions chained together with long term consistency. Achieving success or being skilled at something doesn’t look sexy until it’s attained.

Being disciplined isn’t about a rigid attachment to a plan. It’s about being flexible. When life happens and your plans go to hell (which they will), you gotta find a way to make it happen.