Chase Dreams Today or Live with Regrets Forever

Everyone has dreams. For so many they remain just that – dreams.

Fear and inaction kills dreams leaving people to live their happiest lives in a dreamland of maybe tomorrow.

I have been training in Martial Arts 33 years.

For years I wanted my own club but told myself I could not do it as I worked shifts in the Police and it would not work…

Then when I moved up the ranks and into more specialised departments my hours became more stable on paper but the reality was you had little control over when you would be required to work overtime on a big job. If I had my own club what would happen if I needed to stay late at work? I told myself again it would not work. There were plenty of reasons not to do it, but in reality they were just obstacles I was letting come between me and a dream.

I was focusing on what may go wrong.

Fear of failure is the biggest killer of dreams.

People, myself included, focus too much on what may go wrong rather then what may go right.

Eventually there is a tipping scale where the pain of not doing something becomes more then the perceived pains around doing it.

Think of someone who is scared of the dentist. They may have tooth ache and put off going to the dentist due to their fear, but there will come a point when the pain of the tooth ache becomes so great it is worse then the fear of going to the dentist. The scales tip in favour of taking action.

For me there was a point when I realised It was now or never. If I didn’t start my own club now I would never do it and the pain of not knowing whether I could have been a successful instructor outweighed the potential pain of failure. I knew I had to give it a go, If I failed I failed. I would lose nothing and at least I would know I had tried.

This was when I started my own club. it all began with a very badly presented advert on Facebook with a £10 ‘boost’ as I knew nothing about marketing and digital advertising. But the key bit was it started. Any step you take towards your end goal whatever that may be is a win.

I told myself If I got 10 people I would give it a go as that was enough to pay for the hall and run a class. If I didn’t I would give up on the idea.

I got exactly 10 people signed up to a 4 week beginner course. Now I was committed. I had to follow through with it…

The course was successful, people enjoyed the classes and they wanted more.

This was the beginning of a great adventure, one which is still going. A journey that has led to me achieving more then I every thought was possible.

Roll on 6 years and the number of students has reached 260. The one class is now 13 classes. The one location is now 4 locations.

All because I took the first step.

There is a good saying I have heard ‘Start now and get perfect later’.

A lot of people wait and wait and wait. I was the same. I waited for a more perfect time when I was not working shifts, when I had no overtime, when I had more time to do it. People wait to start a new hobby until they are better prepared.

My favourite is when I hear people say “I will start Martial Arts once I am fitter!” This is like not sending your kids to school because they are not clever enough – it makes no sense at all!

If I had not taken the leap and given it a go, I would not be a full time Martial Arts Instructor now.

I did not have the business skills, knew nothing about marketing, nothing about Tax and VAT, nothing about processes and systems. I learnt all this on the journey…

If you have a dream take the first step now – get perfect later!

If you wait until the perfect time it will never happen.

As the club grew and grew I loved what I was doing more and more.

At the beginning of last year I was toying with the idea of leaving the Police and teaching Martial Arts full time.

Again all the negatives consumed me, the what if’s. What If it failed and I lost my income, what If I got seriously ill or injured and could not teach, what if my students left…

Each one I tried to counter with a positive.

If it failed I could go back to the Police, they would take me back and if it is within 5 years it would be at the same rank I left.

I had already taught through some pretty painful injuries and illnesses and survived.

One class I could hardly stand due to shoulder nerve damage and managed, with the help of some senior students and loyal helpers, to get through it. I would come to class attached to a TENS machine with wires coming out from my uniform, attached to an electronic current with my shoulder literally vibrating! Not ideal but the world did not end, the club did not end and the classes continued as normal. I would have to do something pretty horrendous for all my students to leave. It hadn’t happened in 6 years and the club had grown continuously.

I began talking myself out of inaction and into taking action.

Again the tipping point was reached where the pain of not knowing if I could have turned a passion into a full time job became greater then the fear of failure.

The key point came at a Martial Arts Business seminar where Paul Mort was a keynote speaker. I recall the words that struck me to the core;

‘If not you, who and if not now, when?’

I looked around at all the full time Martial Arts Instructors around me that were living my dream. They were all doing it and they were no better then me. If I didn’t do it someone else would and if I didn’t do it now what was I waiting for?

I left knowing 100% I could do it and I would do it.

I didn’t want to get to the end of my life still wondering If I could have made it successful. Living with regrets is harder then living with failures.

Failures teach you something, regrets just haunt you for ever.

I left the Police in July last year and never looked back. I am now a full time Martial arts instructor with a club that continues to grow and flourish. I am surrounded by awesome students and I get to watch them achieving their goals and facing their fears. I get to love what I do everyday.

When I took the first step 6 years ago in stepping out on my own I never dreamt It would lead to a full time career.

It may be you have a dream and you try it and realise it is not for you. This is far better then living a lifetime of not knowing if you could have achieved it or where you would be if you had tried.

Your dreams and goals will no doubt be different from mine. It may be you want to achieve a black belt in Karate, learn a new skill, change a job you don’t enjoy or become fitter and more healthy. It doesn’t matter what your goal is but…

If you really want to do something with your life, take the first step today.

Who knows where it may lead you…