Bohdi Sanders's Blog, page 25

Anger at a petty offense is unworthy of a superior man. Mencius

Anger at a petty offense is unworthy of a superior man,

but indignation for a great cause is righteous wrath.

Mencius

There is a time and a place for everything, and that includes letting your anger out. I have talked about the need to control your anger, over and over. I spend so much time discussing this one issue because it is an issue that so many people deal with on a daily basis. Being in command of your emotions, whether it is anger, or any other emotion, is vital for the warrior. He simply cannot allow his emotions to dictate his actions – end of story.

But, being in control of your emotions does not mean that you never express your anger. It means that you choose when and where you allow your anger to be expressed. You are in control, not your emotions. Being angry about small, meaningless aggravations is silly and speaks to your lack of self-control, but as Mencius taught, there is a place and a time to allow your anger to come out of its cage.

Just as with everything else, there is a right way and a wrong way to express your anger, even when you feel it is time to allow your anger to show. You should always remain in control of yourself, even if you are expressing your anger. Don’t lose your temper. This is not what is meant by allowing your anger to show. You can express your anger without losing control. Even if the time is right for you to communicate your indignation, you still must do it in the right way. The time is never right for the warrior to lose his temper.

Dr. Bohdi Sanders ~ excerpt from the book,

The Warrior Lifestyle: Making Your Life Extraordinary

The Warrior Lifestyle: Making Your Life Extraordinary is available, in both paperback and on Kindle, from Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ELW2DVM.

Signed copies and package book deals are available on: http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-....

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Lao Tzu

A journey of a thousand miles

begins with one step.

Lao Tzu

Some journeys are harder than others. Putting off the inevitable only extends the amount of time that it will take in order for you to get where you need to be. It doesn’t matter how hard nor how long the journey is that you have to make; it starts with the first step. Don’t delay your journey because of fear or dread. If it is a journey that you have to make, just get started and take it one step at a time.

Your decisions always bring with them consequences of one kind or another. This is just the way it is. Sometimes unwise, thoughtless decisions can have far-reaching consequences which we wish we didn’t have to deal with, but deal with them we must. The consequences of our actions don’t just disappear because we long for them to go away. You must take responsibility for your actions and deal with those consequences. The warrior has to take responsibility for all of his actions and the consequences which accompany those actions.

Sometimes the journey that our actions have set in motion can be a long, hard journey, but it still has to be traveled. Have the courage to face up to the road that you choose and walk it with honor. It doesn’t matter if the road is long and hard, or if the road is short and easy, your journey still begins with one step. And, no matter how many bad, ill-thought out decisions you have made, you can still change your life. All it takes is making a firm decision to live life as it should be lived and it begins by taking that first step.

Dr. Bohdi Sanders from the book,

WARRIOR: The Way of Warriorhood.

WARRIOR: The Way of Warriorhood is now available, in both paperback and on Kindle, from Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ELWCALA.

Signed copies and package book deals are available on: http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-bohdi-sanders/.

To subdue an enemy without fighting is the greatest of skills. Sun Tzu

To subdue an enemy without

fighting is the greatest of skills.

Sun Tzu

We all train to improve our martial arts skills as warriors. We have confidence that we can defend ourselves and those who depend on us, but we should only use these skills when there is no other option available to us. In Sun Tzu’s famous book, The Art of War, he tells us that it is a greater skill to subdue the enemy without actually having to resort to fighting. The word “subdue” means to pacify or control. We should try to pacify the enemy. We should try to defuse the situation with words or gestures.

The hard part of pacifying the enemy, for the warrior, is swallowing some of your pride. It takes a lot of discipline and confidence to swallow your pride in order to pacify some rude, aggressive guy who you would rather lay out on the floor. But, as a warrior, it is one of those things which you have to discipline yourself to do. Nobody said that living the warrior lifestyle is easy.

Don’t look at these situations like you are letting the other person get the best of you, but rather as a training exercise in the art of war. You are actually controlling the enemy without his even knowing that he is being controlled and manipulated. You are sharpening your arsenal of weapons. Study the art of verbal self-defense and learn how to diffuse potentially dangerous situations without resorting to the use of your martial arts skills. Victories of this kind are even more rewarding than physical conquests.   Dr. Bohdi Sanders ~ excerpt from Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior

WARRIOR WISDOM: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior is available from Amazon.com, in both paperback and on Kindle, at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009F27CQY.

Signed copies and package book deals are available on: http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-....

Who Are Your True Friends?

Avoid friends who are detrimental

to your peace of mind.
(Gongs and Drums of Gampopa Precepts)

Maintain your piece of mind, no matter what is going on around you. This admonition is definitely easier if you are selective concerning who you allow into your life. If someone is detrimental to your piece of mind, they aren’t truly your friend. People use the word “friend” much too liberally in today’s world.

I will give you a tip, you don’t have 1,000, 3,000 or 5,000 friends. A friend is someone who you have developed a relationship with over many years, someone who has proven his trust and loyalty to you over time. A friend is not some total stranger who sends you an email and clicks the “Friend” button on you profile.

Just think about it. If you have 5,000 Facebook friends, and your house burns down, how many of those 5,000 “friends” are going to drop everything in their life and come help you or give you a place to live? How many of those 5,000 “friends” would put their life on the line to stand by you in a physical confrontation? How many of those 5,000 “friends” are there when you need a friend? And, I am not talking about shooting you a quick comment stating, “I am hoping things get better soon.” I am talking about being a true friend. I assure you that this number is much lower than you may think.

True friends are rare. You are blessed to have one or two. True friends will stand beside you when the proverbial “shit hits the fan.” Others simply watch and send you their best wishes. A true friend is there for you in the good times and the bad. He will give you the shirt off of his back to help you, as you should for him.

The word “friend” has been so bastardized that the vast majority of people don’t even understand the meaning anymore, much less how to be a real friend. To these people, friendship is taken as lightly as switching the channel on the television. It shouldn’t be that way for the warrior.

Strive to ensure that your real friends are men and women of character, honor and integrity. People who make you a better person, people who you can count on 100%. These will be people that you can count on for life, as they are not fickle or fair weather friends. And, when you have a true friend, be their true friend as well. Complete the circle of friendship. That is really the only kind of true friendship; everyone else is merely an acquaintance, a stranger, or an enemy. Think about this.

Dr. Bohdi Sanders ~ author of the award-winning bestseller,

Modern Bushido: Living a Life of Excellence

For more great martial arts wisdom and wisdom of life, check out Modern Bushido!

Modern Bushido stayed in the TOP 10 EVERY WEEK FOR 75 WEEKS on Amazon.com’s Best Sellers List and hit #1 six times during that period! That is OVER 2 YEARS as one of the top martial arts books available!!

This multiple award-winning book was recognized by the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame for it contribution to the martial arts and won a 1st Place Award in the 2013 National Indie Excellence Book Awards. It is recognized as one of the TOP 7 books on excellence by BestCollegesOnline.com, and now has won a 1st PLACE BOOK AWARD in the USA NATIONAL BEST BOOK AWARDS!!

If you haven’t read it yet, you can get it immediately with no waiting on KINDLE at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S26INK. It is also available in paperback! CHECK IT OUT TODAY!

Signed copies and package book deals are available on: http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-....

How we train is how we shall respond.

How we train is how we shall respond.
Kelly S. Worden

Warriors of the past took their training much more seriously than people seem to today. Musashi stated that one should train more than he sleeps. Now, in today’s society, we realize that this is impossible, unless you are independently wealthy. We all have to make a living and provide for our families. There are just too many responsibilities on our plates today to devote six to eight hours each day to our training. Because of the time constraints on our lives, it is even more important to be focused during our training time.

The time that we have to train is much too short and it is vital that we be focused and mindful during our training. How you perform during your practice time is ultimately how you will perform in a time of crisis. Your training matters. Practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. You should take your training seriously. Don’t just haphazardly walk through your training sessions like a zombie. Make them count. Push yourself and strive for improvement each time you enter the dojo.

Master Funakoshi taught that you should always take your training deadly serious. The reason for this is pretty obvious, especially considering the type of skills that warriors are training to obtain. When the time comes that you need to call on the skills that you are trying to perfect, it could very well be a deadly serious situation. At that point in time you will be glad that you took your training seriously and applied yourself to your training, spirit, mind and body.

Bohdi Sanders ~ excerpt from the book,

WARRIOR: The Way of Warriorhood

 

WARRIOR: The Way of Warriorhood is available from Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ELWCALA.

Signed copies and package book deals are available on: http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-....

Native American Wisdom for the Warrior

The hunter can make many mistakes,

the hunted, only one.

Native American Maxim

Predators are the hunters. They can makes many mistakes and still live to try again, unless one of their mistakes lands them in jail or dead. You, on the other hand, are the hunted. You can’t afford to make a mistake if you are attacked by one of these predators. Being unprepared or untrained could mean death for you, if your path crosses paths with a dangerous predator.

It is for this reason that you should take your martial arts training, and your overall total self-defense skills, seriously. You should look at your martial arts training as a matter of life or death, not simply as another fun activity that you participate in two or three times a week. You have to be as prepared as possible for whatever the winds of life blow your way. Good, realistic, martial art training is a huge part of being prepared.    Bohdi Sanders, Ph.D. ~ (excerpt from Modern Bushido: Living a Life of Excellence)

Check out Modern Bushido! Modern Bushido has been in the TOP 10 EVERY WEEK FOR 75 WEEKS on Amazon.com’s Best Sellers List and has hit #1 six times during that period! That is OVER 2 YEARS as one of the top martial arts books available!!

This multiple award-winning book was recognized by the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame for it contribution to the martial arts and won a 1st Place Award in the 2013 National Indie Excellence Book Awards. It is recognized as one of the TOP 7 books on excellence by BestCollegesOnline.com, and now has won a 1st PLACE BOOK AWARD in the USA NATIONAL BEST BOOK AWARDS!!

If you haven’t read it yet, you can get it immediately with no waiting on KINDLE at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S26INK. It is also available in paperback! CHECK IT OUT TODAY!

Signed copies and package book deals are available on: http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-....

Who is Your True Enemy?

……………………………………

My enemy is not the man who wrongs me,

but the man who means to wrong me.

Democritus

Every enemy has the capability to disrupt your life, some in a small way and others to a much larger capacity, but not that many of them go to the effort to cause you harm. The fact that you don’t openly see enemies attacking you physically, verbally or discreetly behind your back, doesn’t mean that you do not have any enemies. It simply means that your enemies are not malevolent enough or energetic enough to make the effort to cause you harm, but their lack of effort should not be mistaken for a lack of malevolence toward you.

As Democritus taught, just because a man does you no harm, it doesn’t mean he is not your enemy. You have to look deeper than that. You have to read between the lines. Your enemy is not only the man who wrongs you, but also the man who longs to see you wronged. He is the man who is happy when you are hit with misfortune, the man who celebrates your downfall. Your enemy is he who wishes you calamity, even if he doesn’t have the courage to openly state the fact.

Be careful who you trust. You don’t always know who your enemies are. They are not always those who openly oppose you. The enemies of a good man are usually not men of character and backbone. They are more likely to be men of low character who lack the courage to openly come against you. Instead, they find it easier to simply sit back and think malicious thoughts of your ruin. Be wise and learn to read people’s spirits. Be careful who you trust. Bohdi Sanders, Ph.D. ~ excerpt from the book, WARRIOR: The Way of Warriorhood

WARRIOR: The Way of Warriorhood is available from Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ELWCALA.

Signed copies and package book deals are available on: http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-bohdi-sanders/.

How to Continually Improve Your Life Everyday!

In order to progress in life,

one has to improve every day

in an endless process.

The Hagakure

There is a term in the Japanese language called kaizen. Kaizen, loosely translated, means constant, never-ending improvement. The warrior must strive daily to improve his life and to live up to the standards that he sets for himself. As Gichin Funakoshi stated in his book, Karate-Do Kyohan, “The ultimate aim of the art of karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants.”

This should also be the ultimate aim of the warrior, to perfect his character. Of course the perfection of character is only one of many goals that the warrior tries to improve on in his daily life, but each of the other goals ultimately lead to this perfection of character that Master Funakoshi spoke of in his teachings. The perfection of your character is the ultimate culmination of all your training.

The warrior has many areas of training that he has to focus on daily. It is his duty to keep his martial arts skills sharp and to train his mind through visualization and meditation. No matter what area he is working on, the warrior strives to improve his skills daily. There is no slacking off. There is no laziness. Make constant, never-ending improvement your goal in life.  Bohdi Sanders ~ excerpt from award-winning book, WARRIOR WISDOM: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior

Doing nothing is also an action; not making a decision is making a decision. Bohdi Sanders

Doing nothing is also an action;

not making a decision is making a decision.

Bohdi Sanders

Doing nothing is also an action; not making a decision is making a decision. Everything you do is an action, even if it is the action of inaction. By deciding not to workout, but instead to take the afternoon off and sit in front of the television, you are still acting. Watching television is an action. Taking a nap is an action. Everything that you do is some type of action. Whenever you decide not to do one thing, you are deciding to do something else. This is true even if what you decide to do is nothing. Doing nothing is in fact doing something.

What the warrior should always be concerned with is whether his actions are right or wrong. Always use your sense of honor to determine the correct course of action, and remember, as Plutarch pointed out, “Not even the gods can undo what has been done.” You can’t go back and change the past; all you can do is start to do right, right now, this very moment. Starting now, strive to make your every action right, according to your own code of honor.  Bohdi Sanders ~ excerpt from the award-winning, best-seller, Modern Bushido: Living a Life of Excellence

Modern Bushido just won another 1st PLACE BOOK AWARD in the USA NATIONAL BEST BOOK AWARDS!!

Modern Bushido has been in the TOP 10 EVERY WEEK FOR 74 WEEKS on Amazon.com’s Best Sellers List and has hit #1 six times during that period!

This multiple award-winning book was recognized by the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame for it contribution to the martial arts and won a 1st Place Award in the 2013 National Indie Excellence Book Awards, and now 1st PLACE BOOK AWARD in the USA NATIONAL BEST BOOK AWARDS!!

If you haven’t read it yet, you can get it immediately with no waiting on KINDLE at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S26INK. It is also available in paperback! CHECK IT OUT TODAY!

Signed copies and package book deals are available on: http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-....

Determine Your Objective

 

………………….

In whatever position you find yourself,

determine first your objective.

Marshall Ferdinand Foch

Your objective is your goal or your purpose. As you may already know, in order for you to hit your target, you must first know what your target is. This is common sense. The first step in achieving your goal is knowing what your goal is. Without knowing what your goal or objective is, how would you determine what needs to be done in order to reach your objective. Different objectives require different actions in order to successful.

This principle applies to everything that you do. The first step in any endeavor should be to determine your objective. This is particularly important to the warrior and yet another of the traits which sets the warrior apart from the man who is only a street fighter. The street fighter will not let an insult go unnoticed or unaddressed. His foolish pride will not let such an offense slide. He has a warped sense of honor which tells him that he must put this guy in his place.

The true warrior, on the other hand, takes into account his objective in this situation. Is his objective to save face, or is his objective to keep himself and those under his care safe in this situation? I think you know the answer. Knowing what his situation is, he knows what his response must be. Different objectives require different responses. It is only when you know what your objective is that you can know what your action should be, and once you have determined your objective, the appropriate actions are much easier to discern.

Bohdi Sanders

excerpt from the book, The Warrior Lifestyle

The Warrior Lifestyle is available, in both paperback and on Kindle, from Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ELW2DVM.

Signed copies and package book deals are available on: http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-bohdi-sanders/.