“Devoting yourself to a particular art is invaluable. The art becomes our vehicle with which we drive down the road of life. We use this vehicle to learn about ourselves and this place, to conquer fears, to become more of what we already are. In my own life, I have found most valuable the transferable skills of learning from jiu jitsu to all other facets of day to day study. In devoting myself with such commitment to this art, in undertaking the task of understanding jiu jitsu to whatever degree by circumstance allows, I have unknowingly learned how to learn.”

“Who you are as a person far outweighs what you do in an athletic arena.”

“There are no trophies for the real victories in life.”

“Jesus was not a carpenter forever.”

“Every interaction with another is an opportunity to serve.”

“Your happiness is in direct proportion to the amount you serve others.”

“Service, it seems, is the only antidote to existential frustration.”

“Life is always easier when lived for others, and living for others is the best way I know to live for yourself.”

“There is no higher calling than the service of your fellow man, and to do so through your own personal mastery of a craft is a gift enjoyed by few.”

“To base your self worth relative to others is to play a losing game. If you are at the bottom, you will be filled with self-loathing. If you are at the top, you will be filled with self-aggrandizement and ego. This will most certainly be one of your greatest obstacles to achieving whatever degree of mastery you are capable.”

“I believe the devil exists in those little, seemingly unnoticeable moments when we choose to value our own insecurities over the service of others.”