A Quandary

[sensei8]

You're the Head of your governing body...

The current student body is HUGE...thousands...

You've been training in the MA for 5 decades...teaching for 4 decades...

Everything you've ever wanted in the MA, has nearly occurred...your MA bucket-list is nearly complete...

You've been approached...

You've been interviewed...

You've been offered an executive position with a well known, and respective, company, that's willing to pay you six-figures...

You're not giving up your MA journey, and that includes training...you can still train!!

What do you do?? Do you accept or do you not accept??

[Wado Heretic]

Have I stagnated? Have I reached a dead end and need something to pull me forward, challenge me, to keep me improving?

All new things come with a cost; it's a cost to benefit ratio challenge. By the sounds of it, little cost for a lot of benefit, however, it is the hidden costs. If I already have stability, and a lot of responsibility, but am still moving forward in many ways; I would not take it.

However, if it is time for something new, then I would. Comes down to where I am in terms of challenge. If my MA journey does not have regular skin of the teeth moments, I suspect I am stagnating. Comfort is the enemy of ambition, and ambition is the fuel of success.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Any kind of executive position demands a great deal of time and work. So does being the head of a very large governing body. There is no difference, aside perhaps from the salary, between the two. Head of a governing body overseeing thousands IS an executive position! In fact, as far as work load is concerned, it is akin to being president of a large company!

There are not very many people who could manage work two high executive positions simultaneously and with equal attention. One of the two is bound to fall behind the other. Something will give and it will be either one of the positions or the person in charge. Maybe the wisest choice is to pick just one and think it over with much caution. In which position would one be most content? How would one continue training?

[JR 137]

What to do really depends on where you are in life. For example, my father owns a '71 Mercedes 280 SL. Being a mechanic, he bought it from a customer of his. The car needed a lot of labor intensive work that the previous owner wasn't willing to pay for.

About 15 years later, a friend of his offered him $85k for the car. My father thought about, but realized he didn't need the money. His house is paid for. His children have been put through school. He owns a vacation/retirement house.

He came to the conclusion that he doesn't need the money. The offer was a good offer, and $85k would be a solid return on his investment, but at the end of the day, he likes the car. He told the guy he'd call him first if he needs the money in the future.

Me, I need the money. I don't own my house. I have 5 and 3 year old daughters who'll need money for school, proms, weddings, etc.

At the end of the day, it's a matter of do you need the money or not. If the extra money is going to allow you to do the things you need to do, then by all means take the money. If you've got enough and you're genuinely content, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[bushido_man96]

This is an interesting scenario. It would be a tough one to figure out, for sure. For me, getting 6 figures a year would really be a boon to my family, so I have to consider their needs in the situation, and not just my own. If the job was one I enjoyed, I'd probably really consider taking it, and then trying to start what I can from there with another step in the MA journey.

[The Pred]

You're the Head of your governing body...

The current student body is HUGE...thousands...

You've been training in the MA for 5 decades...teaching for 4 decades...

Everything you've ever wanted in the MA, has nearly occurred...your MA bucket-list is nearly complete...

You've been approached...

You've been interviewed...

You've been offered an executive position with a well known, and respective, company, that's willing to pay you six-figures...

You're not giving up your MA journey, and that includes training...you can still train!!

What do you do?? Do you accept or do you not accept??

Executive position + Head of your governing body + your family(if you have such) + training. That can be difficult while yes you can still train, question is, how much training will one be able to do. If a person enjoys training every day could they handle training once a week.

[Spartacus Maximus]

It is already difficult to manage juggling a regular day job, family and daily training. Being in any kind of high responsibility and time consuming executive role in addition to all these other important roles is not within anyone's capacities or stress threshold.

To be fully effective, would require one to make sacrifices and compromises and that means one set of responsibilities will inevitably get less attention. Will it be training? Familliy, or something else? Personally, wealth and luxury mean nothing if it means being away from family most of the time, not being able to train everyday and not having any time to enjoy said wealth.

[sensei8]

I manage them all...training...teaching...administrative duties...family; it's a full plate, but manageable...once it's fine tuned. Until then...crazy...comes to mind. My wife, Linda, hates this...

I treat them all the same; none more important than the other. My wife, accepts that part of me, and has stopped trying to change my thinking, but, 25 years later, all she can do is shrug her shoulders and shake her head side to side.

Truth be known...Family above all things!!

Training...I do that as often as I breath.

Teaching...I do that still, but not as often as I use to. I sold my dojo/retail last year February. I still do seminars often. I teach full time whenever I'm In-House at the Hombu.

Administrative Duties...I do that Monday - Saturday...up to 8 hours a day...from the comfort of my home. Plus the great many visits of our Hombu that I do, on and off the schedule calendar, as well as the network visits to the various Shindokan dojo's.

I've never learned how to juggle, but I do my share of juggling, if you get my meaning, and I do pretty good.

Prioritizing is key, and also...TAKE THE TIME TO JUST SIT DOWN DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...to recharge the batteries!!

[The Pred]

I manage them all...training...teaching...administrative duties...family; it's a full plate, but manageable...once it's fine tuned. Until then...crazy...comes to mind. My wife, Linda, hates this...

I treat them all the same; none more important than the other. My wife, accepts that part of me, and has stopped trying to change my thinking, but, 25 years later, all she can do is shrug her shoulders and shake her head side to side.

Truth be known...Family above all things!!

Training...I do that as often as I breath.

Teaching...I do that still, but not as often as I use to. I sold my dojo/retail last year February. I still do seminars often. I teach full time whenever I'm In-House at the Hombu.

Administrative Duties...I do that Monday - Saturday...up to 8 hours a day...from the comfort of my home. Plus the great many visits of our Hombu that I do, on and off the schedule calendar, as well as the network visits to the various Shindokan dojo's.

I've never learned how to juggle, but I do my share of juggling, if you get my meaning, and I do pretty good.

Prioritizing is key, and also...TAKE THE TIME TO JUST SIT DOWN DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...to recharge the batteries!!

When you were running your own dojo, how did you manage family dinner time? Would you go home and let a high ranking student run things for an hour or just have weekend family dinners.

[sensei8]

I manage them all...training...teaching...administrative duties...family; it's a full plate, but manageable...once it's fine tuned. Until then...crazy...comes to mind. My wife, Linda, hates this...

I treat them all the same; none more important than the other. My wife, accepts that part of me, and has stopped trying to change my thinking, but, 25 years later, all she can do is shrug her shoulders and shake her head side to side.

Truth be known...Family above all things!!

Training...I do that as often as I breath.

Teaching...I do that still, but not as often as I use to. I sold my dojo/retail last year February. I still do seminars often. I teach full time whenever I'm In-House at the Hombu.

Administrative Duties...I do that Monday - Saturday...up to 8 hours a day...from the comfort of my home. Plus the great many visits of our Hombu that I do, on and off the schedule calendar, as well as the network visits to the various Shindokan dojo's.

I've never learned how to juggle, but I do my share of juggling, if you get my meaning, and I do pretty good.

Prioritizing is key, and also...TAKE THE TIME TO JUST SIT DOWN DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...to recharge the batteries!!

When you were running your own dojo, how did you manage family dinner time? Would you go home and let a high ranking student run things for an hour or just have weekend family dinners.

It had its up and downs, that's for sure. A little bit of this and a little of that.