I once thought being a Ninja had something to do with wearing a mask and climbing over walls.  Maybe it had to do with secrets, saving others, or fighting a battle.  Whatever it was, in my heart and deep inside, I always wanted to be one. Who wants precious time to slip away, days to come and go, for nothing?  I don’t.  I am many things, but I’m not a follower and I’m not one to succumb to life’s hardships.

Surprisingly, when I look at my life, I realize one very important thing.  I don’t need to wish or desire to be a Ninja. I am already one. I’ve climbed plenty of walls, so to speak. I’ve even built them. I am a good listener and adept at keeping secrets and others confide in me frequently.  I fought plenty of battles in life and martial arts, and even saved a life once (a pregnancy that went awry.)

But that is not enough.  I want to do much more than that, and a lot has to do with you.

I want to help you find success and happiness.  It is a huge task, but I’m up for it.  I’m a superhero of sorts.  A martial arts woman. Made of steel.  A person who has seen and done the usual and who can shed light on life through balance and positive thinking.  Who can’t use a little of that?

Why do I want to do that?

I suppose I cannot answer that question very easily.  I truly believe that this world would be a better place if we all reached out a little more.  Does it hurt to give a compliment?  Is it a struggle to say hello when you get in the elevator?  Is it necessary to be rude or unforgiving?  Is it that hard to forget about yourself for just one moment to make someone else feel better?  I have found that the more I build others up and the more I support and believe in them, the more I land on higher ground myself.  My motto is “your success is my success,” and I believe that.

I attribute it all to my life path in the martial arts which started more than twenty-six years ago.  I was captivated by the athleticism and artful beauty that I witnessed in the experienced martial artists. How naive I was to think that a martial art was a physical sport. Sure it entailed learning some very demanding movements.  Yes, it made me sore at times, or pushed me to my limits. But, that was just the tip of the iceberg and just  the beginning.

So began my trek toward something very deeply personal. I learned a lot about myself over time. Back then I was a little selfish.  It was all about how I felt, how I looked, and if I was doing the right thing properly. It was about fixing small imperfections. Your foot is in the wrong place.  Your bending over too far.  You need to punch straight ahead as it looking at yourself in a mirror.  The rules in my mind were many.  My brain was full.  And, I could care less about what anyone else was doing, as long as I was progressing.  For that time, I was as selfish as they come.

Until I realized something. Martial arts are only partly physical. The biggest challenge is the mind exercise. You can’t win a fight, score a point, perfect a skill if you don’t believe you can. You can be the most athletic person in the world, but if you don’t believe you can do it, you will be sitting on the sidelines with the rest of the people. I decided then that the sidelines were the last place I wanted to be. Easy lesson learned.

One of the other lessons I learned was to always keep going.  If I was in front of an audience and forgot part of what I was doing, I would just keep going.  If I forgot a movement in the middle of a kata, where each movement is memorized and executed with precision, I would just do another movement, something that came to mind at the spur of the moment, and finished. People in the audience couldn’t really tell, unless they knew the exact kata. More importantly, I did not give up.  I did not just stop and stand there as if to say I can’t remember this part.  I’m embarrassed.  I don’t know what to do. I finished with all the effort and energy that I could muster.  I learned how to adapt, how to be flexible, in both my physical and mental approach.

This can be applied to any life challenge, cant’ it?  Whatever obstacle comes up and appears to prevent you from reaching your goal, you must gloss right over it.  Find another route.  Try a different idea.  Make a different decision.  Just don’t stop dead in your tracks.

Maybe you have some talents that you are not utilizing right now.  I encourage you to pull them out of your back pocket and put them on the table.  Stop worrying about who thinks what, or why you should not pursue your dreams.  Those who follow their dreams, who at least try to follow them, find success is not so difficult after all.

Most people allow fear or laziness to keep them from moving forward.  If you just begin to move forward, you will have accomplished a lot more than the rest.  It’s worth it.

I have an important message for you.  You can find all the success and happiness you desire if you have the right mindset and a positive outlook.   Listen to what your heart tells you.  For me, I heard a message loud and clear and it said, “Wake up.  Be a spokesperson.  Let others know that obstacles can be overcome and that they are important.” To this day that is what motivates and inspires me. I want to share what I know to make things easier for you. I think it is the kind of Ninja I aspire to be.

We all have a Ninja spirit, don’t we?   That means centering your thoughts on something personally worthwhile.  There is commitment involved.  A Ninja stands up for what is right and honorable and seeks truth.  Informally defined, a Ninja is a person who excels in a particular skill or activity.  I think that is all of us.  Some of our skills are innate and some are learned.  Surely you have discovered by now some of what defines you.   Whatever it is that makes up who you are, the very makings of your soul and what fills your heart, define the Ninja spirit in you.

Have you ever had someone unexpectedly help you?  Has someone been an advocate for you at some time in your life, pushing you along, helping you get better, showing you the way? Don’t take that for granted.  Their Ninja spirit is captivating.  It draws you in.  And, when you least expect it, it works.  You are suddenly catapulted far ahead, into the exact place you’ve always wanted to be.

I have some Ninja payback to do, and so do you.

I have several Ninjas in my life. Those who would go out on a limb for me, who believe in me, and who have encouraged me. The true friendship that underlies their spirit is the true reward, not the end result of what I so desperately seek.  When you find success, you have not achieved it alone. There is a warrior somewhere who has guided you, given you direction and listened.

The fear and anxiety that I felt when my husband dragged me to my first martial art class didn’t last.  I grew to love the spectacular flair of it. I learned that there is so much more than what is seen on the surface.  A martial arts is many things:   a way to keep physical fit, a confidence builder, a method to overcome stress, a self-defense. More than that though, a martial art intensifies the Ninja mindset.

If you are not a martial artist, it does not matter.  You are a Ninja if you choose to experience life as it is meant to be.  Don’t sit back and let it pass by.  Don’t let your dreams and hopes go by the wayside.  The clock is ticking and once this moment passes it is gone forever.  Although a Ninja is timeless (in my book), he must step out in extraordinary ways to make life meaningful. Sitting on the sidelines is much less appealing to the Ninja, then climbing the highest obstacle and jumping over to see what awaits on the other side.

Andrea

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