"Consistently failing is nothing more than an indication that you are progressing. The more we fail the farther we will see. Failure is not an option, it is the only option. A master is a master because he has had the courage to fail and the wisdom to learn from it."

"It is fellowship, this most fundamental need on our way toward achieving our highest expression of the human experience, which Jiu Jitsu provides."

"I believe we must pursue mastery for who we become along the way in its achievement. When we progress in Jiu Jitsu, that newfound experience and wisdom transcends into all areas of our lives. We use Jiu Jitsu as the vehicle for growth, but that growth radiates over all of human activity. Someone who devotes time and energy in learning this skill is learning far more than how to subdue an opponent. The student learns persistence, perseverance, pattern recognition, problem solving, and most importantly, learning how to learn. In the arena of life, these virtues are far more valuable than any guard pass."

"Jiu Jitsu has given me an education in education, which I now see is the most valuable education there is."

"The point of meditating is not to learn to sit quietly in a room. The point is to live that way in the world."

"Life is a constant build up and release of tension. If we go too far in either direction bad things happen."

"A core group of guys, all sharing similar goals, can move mountains."

"In whatever we do, we should be investing in ourselves and not our jobs. Everything I have ever pursued has been for the sole goal of who I was becoming in its achievement. I competed and fought because of the man I became. This is the only worthwhile victory. You cannot take the trophies with you."

"As a human being, I know of no greater example of success than someone who is self-sustaining through using his passion in the service of others."

"This is a trust that you just cannot find in modern society for there are no conditions to forge it."

"Those who serve others have purpose. Those who serve themselves are lost."

"When we know our values, we can easily measure whether or not our actions are in accordance with them. Values are the measuring sticks with which we determine the worthiness of our actions. To be better associated with one's own values is to remove a lot of the needless activities of daily life."

"This is what it means to be mindful. To watch the thoughts as they come and go without judgment while completely accepting what arises in the present moment."

"We are force-fed beliefs through incessant advertisements by a culture that ceaselessly fosters our conformity to values which are of no service to the individual."

"Jesus was not a carpenter forever."

"It was my letting go that gave me a better hold."

"Jiu Jitsu is the vehicle. Not the road."

"Jiu Jitsu is a vehicle for self-discovery and growth. It reminds me of my ego, of my insecurities, and of my shortcomings."

"It is a shock to many college graduates that their segway into the real world is one of obligation, profound debt, and countless sacrifices of the soul."

"We strive toward the middle, and we run from ourselves."

"It appears, at least from my perspective, that each and every position in Jiu Jitsu regardless of the seeming complexity is really governed by no more than a handful of minimum viable products. Pursue to understand these essentials, and you will see that complexity is a myth perpetuated by lack of understanding, and it is this understanding which is possible for each of us."

"Properly directed thoughts result in properly directed actions. The only way to appropriately guide our thoughts is to know their foundation, our values."

"Every interaction with another is an opportunity to serve."

"We are free to live the life we have imagined, not the life imagined for us."

"Service, it seems, is the only antidote to existential frustration."

"The highest aim was never to master Jiu Jitsu, it was to master myself."

"Words make the intangible aspects of human experience communicable, and a single sentence can shatter our world view and assist us in the formulation of a new one."

"The greatest effects we have on the world are the ones we can never see."

"In mastering one thing, you have mastered all things because you have learned how to learn."

"If you are fortunate enough to have a particular activity with which you find greatest joy and technical success, it is your responsibility as a growing human being to continue that study. Whatever your endeavor, if you can expand upon the knowledge in your strongest subject, that new found understanding of all things will trickle down to every other area of your life."

"We call it training. Not because we are training for Jiu Jitsu. We are training for life."

"We tend to view ourselves as this, lying in contradiction with everything that is not ourselves, that."

"Jiu Jitsu opened up doors in my mind that public education had bolted shut. In hindsight, I see just how superficial my thoughts had been prior to this art. It is no coincidence that my efforts in reading and writing have run parallel with this craft. I began training Jiu Jitsu at twenty-two, and at the time of this writing I am about to turn thirty. I have learned more in the past eight years than the previous twenty-two, and have no doubts that Jiu Jitsu opened up my mind in a way traditional organized education never could. Jiu Jitsu gave me a life when I didn't know how to live. It is the best thing I have ever done, and is the foundation upon which all I will do."

"I use my understanding of jiu jitsu as a road map to learn other activities. I look for the similarities between the two, and use jiu jitsu as an allegory for whatever my new practice may be. I truly believe once you have learned one thing, you have learned all things because you have learned how to learn."

"In the history of history, there has never been someone with your particular genetic make-up or life experiences. This being the case, we have no reference points with which to compare ourselves, and therefore it is futile to attempt to measure yourself relative to others."

"In the modern world we are surrounded by so much abundance that we cannot see it."

"That nagging state of constant thought that exists somewhere between the ears and behind the eyes is the self."

"A man has only so much life, and must diversify his efforts according to his values."

"There is no concrete way to play Jiu Jitsu, and this is why so many different types of people find joy in it."

"Through Jiu Jitsu I have developed many of the most meaningful relationships in my life, and if that were the only benefit of my practice, Jiu Jitsu would still be the best endeavor I have ever undertaken."

"Many of us begin this art with little to no understanding of what we are getting ourselves into. Then, maybe a year or a black belt later, we realize this odyssey we have embarked upon and rest happily in knowing we have chosen a noble struggle.I think we owe most of our successes to our initial ignorance. When we begin, we cannot see the obstacles ahead, and so we march on optimistically. In hindsight, when we look back and connect the dots, we see just how green we were at the start, and it was only our ignorance that upheld us from the crushing despair of the task at hand."

"Let's live our lives with great meaning and purpose in the attempt to influence the world to whatever degree our circumstance allows."

"Systems and processes will always surpass motivation."

"As far as our relation to the physical world, I doubt there will be much more improvement. Our basic survival needs have been met, and much of our current progress is superfluous or downright troublesome. Most advancement is performed out of comfort rather than necessity. What we are lacking, what the world so desperately needs now, is adjustments of the mind. We need to see the world again with fresh eyes, and come to an understanding of who we are as individuals, and what drives us."

"Language has created a barrier that prevents us from seeing existence as it truly is."

"We are only different because there exists something to be different from, and it is this difference that bonds us."

"Jiu Jitsu has given me something to pursue. We all need something to work towards. For people, as well as every piece of matter in the universe, there is no such thing as maintenance. If you are not growing you are decaying. The insidious nature of modern times is that it is so easy not to pursue anything. Societal norms pressure us into jobs we do not like, and the daily comforts of televisions and computers offer much in the way of distraction. If that isn't enough, there is always the numbing effects of alcohol coupled with attention-grabbing sporting events which conveniently run year round so one is never short of stimulus."

"This is the opportunity the fellowship of Jiu Jitsu affords us. To reach our highest potential of self, and then to offer that self to another."

"I have found that the morning is far more accessible when a good book awaits you."

"If Jiu Jitsu does not make you a better father, son, mother, daughter, wife or husband, you are missing the point. If Jiu Jitsu does not leave you viewing strangers in a kinder light, you are missing the point. If you are not better equipped to deal with the vicissitudes of life due to your training, then you are not really training."