When I was in high school, three big guys took me out into the school courtyard and kicked the sh*t out of me.
They kicked me in the face and chipped one of my front teeth.
They left a scar on my chin that you could still see today if you look closely.
But that's not the worst part.
They took away my confidence. They made me afraid of the world, afraid to go to school in the morning, afraid of strangers.
I started entering school from hidden side doors. I wanted to avoid these guys any way possible.
But one day, I thought to myself…
“This isn’t the way I want to live my life. I don’t want to hide forever.”
That's when I decided there would be no more of this. That’s when I decided to learn martial arts - I started practicing Wing Chun.
If you don’t know what Wing Chun is, it’s the martial art style you see in the Ip Man movies.
Wing Chun was first developed by a female because she needed a way to defend herself against larger opponents...
Which was perfect for me because of my 110lb frame at the time.
The earlier generations of Wing Chun users were assassins - it was designed to “end” the opponent or end the fight within seconds.
One of the first major principles you learn in Wing Chun defies all natural human instinct, it's this…
Only attack. Don't defend.
This goes against natural human instinct because when you’re attacked...
The natural instinct is to fall back, cower, and protect yourself with arms covering your head.
However, this is the position you find UFC fighters in before they lose. This is the position I found myself in as the three bullies took turns kicking me in.
But in Wing Chun, you don’t fall back when attacked. You do what your attacker least expects… you step forward.
You step forward into the “trap range” and go for their throat - before they can react, the fight is over and they’re choking on the ground.
This was one of the first principles of Wing Chun I learned.
After a few more months of training, I was no longer scared of the bullies - I knew how to take care of them.
The funny thing is… after I started practicing Wing Chun, those three guys stayed away from me.
It’s as if they could sense my newfound skills and confidence and knew that I wouldn’t take any more BS from them.
Now, what does this story have anything to do with you?
You see, when we face a problem in life, our natural human instinct is to play defense.
All the conventional advice you hear tells you to play defense - to save, to conserve, to play it safe.
Financial advisors tell you to skip the lattes, pinch pennies, and make the most of what you have.
But sometimes, playing defense will only leave you cowering on the ground… with life kicking your face in.
Sometimes, the only way out is to fight back.
Sometimes, the only way out is to say enough is enough and go on the attack.
That's why I call BS on financial advisors who tell you to penny pinch, save up, and wait 40 years before you can have a "moderately comfortable" retirement.
That’s why I teach my students to go on the offensive, not the defensive.
This goes against natural human instinct.
Instead of saving what you have, why not go out and earn more?
Instead of pinching pennies, why not capture more dollars?
Instead of waiting for years with no certain payoff, why not create the life you want NOW?
No. Don’t defend.
Sometimes, the only way out is to attack.
For those who found this helpful and want more, I've put together a free on-demand training that gives you the skill you need to attack life head on instead of cowering away from it.
If you want to get access to it, just put the keywords “I’m ready” below and I’ll send it to you here and now.
It's free, no credit card required. Go through the training, leave a comment if you find it valuable, and you'll be surprised by the results when you apply it in the field.
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