The Little Things

Pay attention to detail.

Little things can make a difference.

When black belts pass their test one of the initiations would be to take them to a bar to celebrate. One of the things I did to show that they did not know everything was to do something that would put them in a little pain but show them it could be done.

They thought this meant they had made it.

They were GOOD.

I wanted to show them that this was just the beginning of their training.

There was a candle on the table. It was in a small container. Most didn’t pay attention to it. After a while, it burned below the top of the container. If you put something across the top the oxygen would burn up and the flame would go out. You could put your hand across the top of the container and prevent more oxygen from entering to keep the fire alive.

During the celebration, I would ask if they could handle a little pain. Being high on their accomplishment the would usually say yes.

I would take the candle and put my palm over the container and it would go out.

The new black belts would try over and over and burn their palms before the flame would go out. I would do it again just to show it is possible.

The little thing that they did not notice was that I would lick my palm before attempting to put out the flame.

Even though it was uncomfortable the flame would not burn the skin until the liquid evaporated.

If you did not know this the pain would cause you to pull away from the fire.

Pay attention to the little things.

They could mean the difference between

Success and Failure