25 Years' Worth of 1st Days

September 1st, 1991

Twenty-five years ago, today, I took my first karate class.

It’s incredible to look back and imagine a boy who just wanted to learn how to do cool moves, and who wanted to stop being bullied.  A boy who had no idea how that day would be a pebble in a pond, the ripples from which he would still be feeling two-and-a-half decades later.

The list of experiences is long and filled with so much joy and pain.  I met so many amazing individuals and, unfortunately, plenty of despicable ones.  I fell in love with teaching and nearly all of my “greatest hits” involve the achievements of others, rather than my own; memories in which one of my students had a breakthrough.

But beyond the techniques I learned, the experiences I had, the obstacles I overcame, some of the most important aspects of my training were the life lessons I stumbled into and the resulting philosophy I developed.  Here are just a few of the things I learned along the way:

1. Just because a person has knowledge, doesn’t mean they have wisdom.
   
   
2. Talent is much more common than I expected, but wasted talent is almost just as common.
   
   
3. People can tell you everything about themselves without ever opening their mouths.
   
   
4. True friends will come to your aid when you’re in trouble.  But even truer friends will call you out of the blue, just to see how you are.
   
   
5. Many people will give you good advice that they, themselves are unwilling or incapable of following.
   
   
6. It can be very difficult to forgive someone who has done you wrong.  It’s even harder to forgive yourself for doing wrong to others.
   
   
7. Language is equally one of our most powerful salves and most dangerous weapons.
   
   
8. Some of the greatest lessons you can learn may come from the unlikeliest of teachers, if only you are able to keep your mind open.
   
   
9. One of the rarest traits is the willingness to change, and is also the one most likely to be met with criticism by those closest to you.
   
   
10. No one else can tell you who you are.  Or who you should be.  And the only way you’ll discover this for yourself is to explore, both within and without.

​Twenty-five years' worth of first days.  And I'm grateful for every single one of them...

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