One of my martial arts instructors asked me what my thoughts were on another instructor’s decreased presence because of an increased presence elsewhere and outside of the academy.
…He was concerned this instructor may choose to walk a different career path and very much wanted him to choose martial arts as his career path.
My response was simple… “Let him.”
I’ve worked with high performers my whole professional life and I know that high performers within the academy are most likely high performers elsewhere as well—and this is a beautiful thing.
The mentality should never be to stop them from exploring other areas of interest or guilt them into making martial arts the exclusive focus in their life.
The mentality should be to make our art and career so appealing and exciting that they choose us over the alternatives willingly and full-heartedly.
Because if they don’t choose us willingly, then they’re going to build up resentment. And half-hearted mixed with resentment is a bad formula for any kind of a long term partnership.
…And I’m not just talking about jobs.