Beginning white belts are known to be spazzy. Guilty as charged. During sparring sessions, a more experienced practitioner would sometimes just apply pressure and wait. The white belt will use all their strength and athleticism, exhausting themselves shortly. Then the higher belt goes for the kill. Once a white belt becomes ready for blue belt, it is common for higher belts to say to them “You’re getting better. I can tell from your breathing.” (Okay, maybe that was just for me). Learning how to control breathing sets the foundation of effective Jiujitsu.

You have just finished taking your first class of Intro to Evil Corporations and signed up for White Man’s Fault 101. You are fired up! You march into protests, you start riots, you block traffic, and you proceed to burn yourself out before you turn 25. As reality and angry jeers begin to take their toll, you become ‘over it’ and grow ‘out of that phase’. You suit up :), sell out to Corporate America, and after you see how much of your first paycheck goes to taxes, you say, “fuck that!” and go Republican.

You are not going to save the world by powering through it. Like getting good at BJJ, changing the world is a very long process with infinite variables. You can’t afford to be impatient or reckless. It is a never-ending learning process in which you will spend your life dedicated to. You must have the same professional attitude as the businesspeople you stereotypically must despise.

Also, you need to be nice to yourself. Understand you are a human being with personal and financial needs. You are not selling out by taking a corporate job or treating yourself to something nice. What good is passion if you snuff it out with unrealistic expectations and hotheadedness?

Yup…Rickson Gracie training the Hulk