Last week my email server crashed. =(

The good news is that it’s up and running again.

The bad news is that the list was wiped.

The good news is that you can resubscribe by visiting the home page.

The bad news is that if you didn’t make it to this page from the newsletter link, you’ll never know this…

The good news is that if you are here now, you know what to do. 😉

I always try to end on a good note.

Which reminds me of a story – do you know the story of the Chinese farmer and his son?

A Chinese farmer lived in a small village with his only son. He was a poor man and had only one horse to plough his fields. One day his horse broke free and escaped.

The village people came to him and said, “You poor man – you must be cursed. You only have one horse and now he’s gone! What will you do?”

The farmer replied, “How do you know this is curse? Perhaps it’s a blessing.”

The villagers looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and left.

Later in the year, the horse returned with 25 of the finest stallions in the land. The villagers once again visited the farmer and exclaimed, “You are so blessed! Now you will be able to plough your land with ease!”

The farmer retorted, “How do you know this is a blessing? What if it’s a curse?” The villagers again looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and left.

Then 2 weeks later when working the fields, the farmer’s son fell from a horse and was trampled.

The villagers heard the news and returned to offer their condolences, “You poor man, you truly must be cursed. Your only son is now confined to a chair and can no longer farm the land with you.”

The farmer responded, “Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise?”

The villagers, for the 3rd time, looked at each other puzzled and left.

Early the next year civil war broke out and all the able bodied men were called to fight. Of course the farmer’s son could not go…

Three months later a messenger came with the sad news that all the young men had been killed in battle. Of course the villagers returned once more…

I guess the lesson for today is this…

Stuff happens.

It’s how you look at it and how you react that determines your success or failure.

There’s never a perfect time to begin anything.

If you’re considering implementing something BIG for your school and you’re waiting for a better time to start – I’ll let you in on a secret…

Ready?

There isn’t a better time!

You’ll always have something else going on, like your horse running away or returing with 25 others.

It doesn’t matter – stuff happens and will always happen.

It’s up to you.

For your karate school’s success!

– Jason