This blog was motivated by my sister Darlene’s recent victories, but many people’s stories could have led to the same revelation too.

For many years, Darlene has lived with chronic depression.

As you can imagine, this has kept her from living her best life; in fact, it kept her mostly paralyzed from living life at all.

She slept a lot and played video games when not sleeping. She was unhappy, unsatisfied (and sometimes worse), unproductive and generally without hope.

But today Darlene is happy and energized, productive and excited.

   What happened to make such a drastic change in just a few months?

Well, two actual events happened:

1. She had a surgery on her neck and
2. I challenged her to take a challenge with me.

Everything happens for a reason and serves us well, and that leadership principle did play out though these events towards the ultimate transformation.

However, I am not going to spend much time writing on the specifics of either of these details, because circumstances and events are like the wind- the same wind blows on everyone, it’s the set of the sail that matters…

which is if course a poetic way of stating another of our Blackbelt Leadership principles, that life is 10% what happens and 90% how we react to what happens.

But even then, I’ve failed to explain what it is that I seek to share in this blog, so I’ll do so now.

What I want to share are the fundamentals of the change- that is, those universal truths that will reveal to us the hacks I promised- that any and all of us can live a better, even best, life through the application of the following life hacks:

1. Discover who you are- there are many great tools to help you discover you, i.e., personality assessments, working genius and more… but you can also just observe certain things about yourself: where do you find joy and passion? what are your natural proclivities and gifts? what are you doing when you feel lit up, in spirit or in the flow?

2. Discover what you’re called to do- discovering who and how you are is the first step towards also figuring out what you are called to do. Find your tribe and who you are called to serve, your mission and your inspiration. When we are working in our calling, we never work a day in our life; yet we work so much more than anyone else. 🙂 It’s hard to explain, and difficult to understand until you’ve been there. When we are living in our calling, we go to bed thinking about it and wake up working on it too, but we love it so much it feels like play does to others… I am so grateful I live my calling through Krav Maga Martial Arts, that my sister has found hers now, and I can’t wait for you to find yours so you can feel this way too! By the way, I know many in my tribe are living or have lived their calling too. I’m also talking to you! Perhaps you need to feel it again, if it’s gone missing, or perhaps you can help me help others to find their calling too.

3. Do it- this is one of those profound truths in the realm of simple, not easy. The Israelites wondered the desert for 40 years after God gave them the promised land after all. As we all often do, they saw themselves as grasshoppers in their sight. Has the same ever happened to you? Fear, anxiety, and even the condition popularly called imposter syndrome today keep many from stepping into their destiny and towards their dreams.

                                                       The good news is that we can change that.

By training our minds- our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions- and by developing our powers, like Focus, Discipline, Confidence and Vision…

By decision, through inspiration and then by training, we can become the confident competent leaders who can live the lives we’re called to live.

This is the transformation I’ve made over many years, the one my sister just started, the one many of my students are doing, and the one you can too!

If you are already on this great hero’s journey with us, congratulations!

I am honored to be your guide and fellow traveler!

And, if you’re not yet, this is the time!

All great stories, transformations and quests begin with the decision to answer the call.

                      Start your journey today! 

Grand Master Stephen J. Del Castillo

Author, MBA & 7th Degree Blackbelt

Founder & Chief Master Instructor,

Krav Maga Martial Arts

TampaKravMaga.com 

 StephenDelCastillo.com

p.s. speaking of my purpose, I was recently interviewed for a martial arts hall of fame and the story tells a little about me finding mine. I hope you like it.

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About Grandmaster Stephen J. Del Castillo: Grandmaster Del Castillo is the founding Master Instructor of Krav Maga Martial Arts and has been empowering lives in Pasco and Hillsborough Counties since October of 2000. He is a 7th degree Blackbelt, MBA, author, mentor and success coach, a US Army Veteran and a proud father and grandfather. He is married to Ms. Barbara Del Castillo who helps him run the school. Grand Master Del Castillo began his training in the early 80’s and has high level blackbelts in Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Premier Martial Arts and Krav Maga Martial Arts as well as experience in kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do and Jiujitsu. He has high level instructor certifications from BBSI, IKMF, and KMG and has been featured in numerous Martial Arts publications and also Success magazine. He was a competitive sport karate and American Kickboxing instructor until he enlisted in the US Army where he served in the 82nd Airborne Division, where he won an Army Green to Gold scholarship and proceeded to ROTC and the University of Tampa. He was commissioned in 1992 and went on to serve in Germany with the 3rd Infantry Division and then in several other posts in the US until he left military service to pursue his dream of creating KMMA in 2000.

The Krav MagaMartial Arts Headquarters is in Lutz, FL at 1900 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., 33549. Krav Maga Martial Arts serves Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, and surrounding areas.

See stephendelcastillo.com for more information and to order my book, Developing Your Superpower, Meditations on Mastery, Volume 1.

Also, check us out on Fun4TampaKids & on Go2Karate.com