My Mastery Quotes

“Wearing a black belt does not make you a super hero, and wearing a white belt does not mean you have little to offer as a person. It is what we do in the belts we wear, and not the belts themselves that matter.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“There is no higher calling than service to your fellow man, and to do so through your own personal mastery of a craft is a gift enjoyed by few. Cultivate this gift, and give it away.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“Relativity is a beautiful, irrifutable truth. We must acknowledge that wearing a black belt in jiu jitsu does not make you a black belt in life. In the home, there are black belts who are white belt fathers, and there are white belts who are black belt fathers. This holds true for all areas of life. A black belt does not mean you are successful in life. It does mean that you have mastered this art to an enormous degree, and that the skills you have acquired can be transmuted to a plethora of other activities. It does not mean, however, that you have done this.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“Mastery does not exist.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“The major events in our lives receive the entire spotlight, but ultimately your life will be defined by the same handful of choices you make each day.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“An intelligent consistency is the foundation of genius.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“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.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“You have become more and therefore expect more, but never become too purpose-driven to step back and realize just how far you have progressed.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“You are never as good as you think you are, and you are never as bad as you believe yourself to be.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“I train because it makes every area of my life better, and it makes me better at every area of my life.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“We see that the vast majority of our suffering is needless, and simply arises from the misidentification with our thinking mind.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“Jiu Jitsu is the vehicle. Not the road.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“Every moment is an opportunity to exercise effort in pursuit of your dreams. Whether you do or do not rests solely on your shoulders.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“Let's live our lives with great meaning and purpose in the attempt to influence the world to whatever degree our circumstance allows.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“You have been blessed to stand on the shoulders of giants. Make sure that someone stands on yours as well. This is the only way of human progress.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“I believe it is the responsibility of each of us to pass on whatever we have learned in our time here. If I reach enlightenment after meditating in a cave for 10 years, but do not pass on this teaching and it dies with me, this was a wasted life. I believe we are here to help one another, and each of us has a unique wisdom that we should do our best to convey to others.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“I train jiu jitsu because I love jiu jitsu. But I also train knowing that my practice in this art will allow me better practice in any art. If you have learned one thing, you have learned all things, because you have learned how to learn. I can think of no more worthwhile pursuit of education.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“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.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“We must remember that regardless of our differences in rank we are all equal as human beings. You can always tell how caring and compassionate others are in their actions towards those "below" them. Of course you are going to treat your black belt professor kindly, but how do you treat the white belt taking their first class? In spite of the division in belt rank there must be no division as people.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“A man has only so much life, and must diversify his efforts according to his values.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“I would more appropriately define mastery as the technical ability possible within the constraints of your particular existence. It must be noted that this is a subjective definition, and that this degree of mastery would be individual to each of us.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“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.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“Mastery, to whatever degree your circumstance allows, is determined by a handful of choices repeated daily.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“Your potential for growth is directly proportionate to the degree to which you are willing to make mistakes.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“Do not get caught pursuing the goals of who you used to be instead of who you are.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“The more specifically you define your goals the more attainable they become.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“If you do not define success for yourself, you may unknowingly adopt someone else's definition along the way.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“My growth as a human being has been directly proportional to my growth as a marital artist.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“There is an undeniable truth that as one progresses further in his understanding of a craft the rest of his life progresses along with it. This symbiotic relationship between all things is experienced on a daily basis, but rarely articulated through conscious thought.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“Society is a collection of selves perpetuating their myth.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu