Success in Kokoro, and in life for that matter, is largely dependent upon one thing: balance.
Baseline test:
as many perfect, Navy SEAL-style push-ups as you can in 2 minutes
10-minute rest
as many sit-ups you can in 2 minutes
10-minute rest
as many pull-ups as you can before you gas out
10-minute rest
a 500-meter swim (or substitute a 2000 meter row if you don't have access to a pool)
10-minute rest
1.5 mile run
Record you repetitions and times in a journal
Training is passionately applying carefully conceived principles to develop yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually. It cultivates a deep awareness of your inner and outer worlds and aligns these worlds into a serious force. You show up as exceptional every day.
No serious commitment happens without a rock-solid foundation and purpose.
My purpose with SEALFIT training is lifelong growth of your physical, mental, emotional, intuitional, and spiritual capacities.
Nothing good in life comes easily. The accomplishments you hold most dear require your most valiant efforts.
Recognize and love the simple, good things in life so much they make you laugh, cry, or both together. Now plug the same level of passion into your training.
Develop a disciplined habit of training. Even your rest days count. Be steady, week in and week out. Training, eating, and breathing are the three pillars of optimal health, so master them now!
When you travel, you train. When it snows, you train. When you're injured, you train. Got it?
Seek to perform 80% of your planned training and fueling goals. Allow a 20% buffer for spontaneous days off from training and cheat days with meals. Life is too short to be rigid and boring.
The five primary human potentials, or "Mountains," that must be developed for warriors and leaders to operate at their peak are:
Physical control and development
Mental toughness and development
Emotional awareness and resiliency
Awareness and intuition
Kokoro spirit
Respect literally means to revisit or take another look at something.
The more you respect your training, the more competence and momentum you'll build.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Select a training pace that's between slow and fast. Be methodical, purposeful, and maintain a relaxed awareness.
If you go out at 100 mph and get frustrated, you'll lost faith and fall off.
Strive to refuel within 20 minutes of a strength or high intensity training session.
Twisting and bending mash your internal organs like a washing machine and lead to internal organ detoxification and cleansing.
The more energy you put into the seriousness of the training session, as you maintain focus, intensity, and a sense of teamwork, the more you'll get out of each session.
The biblical concept of tithing has you pay God first, then yourself, then the merchant, and then the tax man. Try it for growth -- discipline yourself to spend the first 10% of your day on your mental, emotional, and spiritual training. Empty your cup to learn. Fill it with far more value to give to the world.
Do you know what integrity is? It's when you do what you say and say what you think.
Be honest in all your actions, big and small. Pay attention to your thoughts. Speak only words of truth that are also helpful and positive. Otherwise, remain silent. Let your actions speak your character.
LEARN TO TRUST YOUR GUT. Pay close attention to the feelings and images that churn your stomach or whisper unease. They could change the course of your life.
The code of SEAL teamwork:
Loyalty to country, team, and teammate.
Serve with honor on and off the battlefield.
Be ready to lead, ready to follow, and never quit.
Take responsibility for your actions and the actions of your teammates.
Excel as warriors through discipline and innovation.
Train for war, fight to win, and defeat your nation's enemies.
Earn your Trident every day.
Understand the importance of every decision you make from here on.
It's important to ask yourself what you are willing to sacrifice for the results you are capable of achieving.
How do you respond in a crisis? Are you a leader immediately seeking solutions, or do you shrink back, hoping someone else will step up?
The more you lean into the hard things, the grittier you character becomes. If you slack off, you lose it. Grit is earned.
Check into your passion and purpose daily.
"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." St Francis of Assisi
Leadership is difficult to learn if you don't have the character to lead.
Open yourself up to the risk of failure... there's simply no better way to earn leadership stripes.
You don't have to be the best at everything, just willing to do your best.
Though SEALFIT training can be done solo, it's more powerful with a team.
The team loves it when the boss can beat them at a workout. You may leave your guts on the floor, but you'll earn points along the way.
The universe will slow you down if you don't do it yourself.
Safety trumps hard. Balance the training to prevent injuries, and be smart about how you plan to execute the mission.
No plan survives first contact with reality -- you have to adapt and innovate on the fly.
Hard work is a habit. Use it or lose it.
Expect absolute integrity at all times.
The team takes care of the team first, then the swim buddy, and then themselves last. Because we all understand the set-up, safety, transitions, and the leader's needs, we've become a self-reliant team.
In the SEALs, everyone is a leader and a follower.
Your shift from selfishness to caring has a powerful, positive effect on your own energy. You simply can't take care of someone else in a negative state.
A team that jokes together stays together.
"The good things of prosperity are to be wished; but the good things that belong to adversity are to be admired." Seneca
If you can't figure it out, you won't make it through the fire. Discovering your "why" is like taking a big drink from the well after walking across the Sahara Desert. It feels like coming home.
Love and fear are the only two emotions that emerge with us from the womb. All other emotions evolve from these two.
To hate another is to hate yourself and all of life.
Look at training as your teammate in human alchemy, driving you relentlessly toward your highest potential as a human.
The Unbeatable Mind Stand
The world is Chaotic and Dangerous.
Destiny favors the prepared in Mind, Body, and Spirit.
Personal growth must encompass the Whole Person and be integrated to accelerate growth.
There is an Athlete and Warrior within everyone. We differ only in degree and purpose.
Leadership is shown through Example and cultivated in the Arena.
True learning is Experiential and the best learning is through Trial and Error. We use what works and discard what doesn't.
We treat others with Respect, Compassion, and, if necessary Tough Love.
To qualify for the team you must have a burning desire to do Better Every Day, to meet your Commitments, and to maintain a Winning Attitude.
"If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves." Thomas Edison
