Wisdom from Miyagi and Larusso

"The two most important days in your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why."- Mark Twain

It's amazing that after a long time everything seems to come into focus. We walk around for years in this daze. We are just trying to survive. We are just trying to do our best and then like Daniel Larusso, we find out what it is all about and our life changes in a blink of an eye.

For those of you who don't know the 1980's hit movie, The Karate Kid, Daniel is taken under the wing of Japanese (Okinawa) immigrant, Kensuke Miyagi. "Mr. Miyagi" teaches Daniel karate, but more than that he teaches him about life.

They become more than teacher/student. They become friends who would do anything for each other.

In the video above Daniel is frustrated with Mr. Miyagi in which he has been treated to four days of slave labour. Daniel thought he was going to be taught karate but instead he is forced to wash and wax a whole bunch of cars. Then the next day he was told to sand the decking at Mr. Miyagi's house. The following day he turns up to paint the fence surrounding the house. On the fourth day, Mr. Miyagi has gone fishing and Daniel sees a message to paint the house.

Daniel confronts Mr. Miyagi about the four days of "chores." He quickly realises that everything is not as it seems as the chores correspond with karate defence moves and everything clicks.

So, the two most important days for Daniel is when he meets Mr. Miyagi for the first time and the second important day is when he finds out what all the work was for.

It reminds me of a client recently who showed me a whole bunch of prints and to me it was just a bunch of weird colours on a piece of paper, then he showed me, using a magnifying glass how all the colours are made and everything in my mind went click.

Remember that you might still be walking around in that daze but like Daniel Larusso, one day you will realise why you are where you are and why you were put on this earth and when that day comes it will seem like the best thing ever in your life. It will be like a big weight lifted off your shoulders and you will really know where you are going.

Don't despair if that day hasn't arrived yet. I assure you, it will. By the way, some people might get it when they are 18. Some people when they are 24. Some people when they are 54. In the mean time, keep working, keep hustling and like Daniel Larusso, you will win the prize at the end of it and "find the balance."