It all started when I saw “Battle Royale” at the age of 14. I thought it was a pretty spectacular movie. Not because of the violence, but because of the way the Japanese filmmakers expressed their message. Japanese Cinema is completely different from American Cinema in so many ways.

In Japan, society is much more “humble” than in the US, and it seems that being forced to be polite in all social situations can take a toll on the Japanese people. Thankfully, they can vent it through their movies.

I fell in love with the Japanese culture. I admired Japan from afar for a few years, until one day I stumbled upon Fluent in 3 Months. The site immediately struck a chord with me. There was something about the energy. Benny showed himself to be a completely normal dude, just like anyone else. Besides being fluent in 8 languages. He wasn’t some snobby polyglot who thought he was above everyone else because of the languages he knew. He was just a cool dude trying to help others, and he stressed that ANYONE could learn a language.

In this post, I’m going to talk more about the cultural and personal benefits that come from learning a language

1. Language is the Best Way to Connect With Culture

You can read all about Japanese History and Culture in a book. You can study behind your desk all you want. But the best way to experience the Japanese culture is to LIVE IT. Now, I’m not saying that you have to travel. There is a magical website that has helped me out: Sharedtalk.com. Every single day, there are a ton of helpful people from a variety of cultures, eager to learn YOUR language, and eager to help you learn THEIR language. When it comes to a win-win situation for language and culture exchange, I can’t think of a better place than Sharedtalk.

2. You learn more about your own Psychology when learning

What are your limits? Have you ever had an amazing workout at the gym where you just gave it your all? Learning a language is just as intense; except it’s a mental workout (which is much tougher). You feel competent at your current level until you speak to a native. I remember the first conversation I had on Shared Talk. It was a few months ago, and I thought I knew the Japanese language pretty well. I barely understood what the Native was saying, and I was reminded how little I knew.

This is when I realized that I haven’t been focusing on the right methods. Speaking is wonderful, writing is great, and so is listening. But you can get stuck and plateau on ANY of these strategies. The key is to continuously push yourself, like you’re in a language learning gym. It’s such a cheesy metaphor, but you do have to push yourself. It’s not easy, but it doesn’t have to be a struggle if you truly enjoy the language.

3. You Learn the Art of Reconnection

There have been so many times when I wanted to give up on Japanese altogether. I lost my passion for it along the way multiple times. I still studied every day because I was committed, but I was mechanical like a robot. How do you reconnect with your passion when you’ve lost it?

Simple: Reconnect with your passion. For me, this is definitely watching Japanese movies and JDrama. For some reason, I connect with it. When I go months at a time without watching these, I lose my passion for learning. But when I decide to take the time to sit down and treat myself to the gift of watching TV in my target language, I feel ALIVE again!

Main takeaway: When you feel frustrated, which you most likely will, reconnect with what made you passionate about the language in the first place (history, culture, movies, music, books, the people, etc..)

4. There are some very interesting things about every language

Did you know that the Japanese have a word called “Amaeru” that literally translates to: “To depend upon another’s benevolence”. In their culture, it is almost unheard of to be “Independent”. Quite different from the American culture, where “rugged individualism” reigns supreme.

Also, Japanese people say “Moshi Moshi” when they pick up the phone, but they never use it to greet eachother in person. One explanation is that foxes (who are usually enemies in Japanese folk tales) don’t know how to pronounce “moshi moshi”, so you will know if you’re being deceived in advance. Cool stuff!

There’s a great way to tell if what you’re doing in life is worth your time

I can tell you that when I look back, I do not regret a SINGLE SECOND that I spent learning Japanese.

It’s worth my time if ONLY for this reason. Not to mention the benefits that it can bring in the future. Imagine being able to give a public speech in your target language. Or being able to hit on a girl fluently in the language (ladies, vice-versa. People in relationships: Sorry). Imagine being able to read the literature completely fluently, or being able to watch a movie without subtitles.

I know for a fact that I haven’t even scratched the surface when it comes to talking about the benefits of learning a language. And that’s a wonderful thing.

Have you ever heard the phrase: “Put your best foot forward”? In this video, I talk about why I COMPLETELY disagree. Especially when it comes to personal/romantic relationships.

Brendon Burchard talks about setting a 60 Day Challenge to really accelerate progress in every area of your life. Watch this video to find out more.

Herei s a link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Charge-Activating-Human-Drives/dp/1451667531

What is the best way to watch Youtube Videos? Watch this video for a quick tip!

Is there any activity we can practice to become more spiritual? In this video, I talk about it. HINT: It’s not meditation!

‘The Real Story’ Interview Series isn’t just an interview. It’s an experience. Join me as I explore the lives and stories of influential people in many different industries. I believe that everyone has an amazing story to share; full of ups, downs, twists and turns. And I know that you will feel exactly the same way, after listening to these interviews!

 
Steve Kamb is, in a word: pragmatic. He puts a ton of effort into each of his articles (6-8 hours each, on average), and it shows. He is all about helping you live a better life through upgrading your diet/fitness routines. Nerd Fitness isn’t just a random fitness website (there are so many out there!). The reason that Nerd Fitness is succeeding for Steve is because he gives excellent advice, and he appeals to an audience who call themselves “nerds”. Oh yeah, nerds represent!

He records many videos on different fitness routines, and he recently shot a video of himself exercising around the world. It’s pretty brilliant.

Here is an excellent quote from Steve’s article:

I may be doing what I can to help you lose weight and feel better about yourself, but really I’m just removing any barriers that prevent you from living a life you can look back on with pride. I hope to look back on my life at the age of 88 and say “I did it right.” If I don’t make it that long, that’s okay: as long as each day is lived with conviction and purpose, I can leave this world happy.

Here are a couple of Steve’s Posts that Will Help You Along Your Journey:

The Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet

How to Level Up in the Game of Life

Here are some of the things that Steve shared in our interview:

*How Steve’s Motto: “Level Up Your Life” Helped Him with Strength Training (3:26)

*Proper Eating is 80% of the Battle (3:53)

*How Steve Came Up with the Idea for “Nerd Fitness” (4:30)

*An Ode to Hard Work: Steve Spends HOURS working on each blog post (5:44)

*Why Steve Loved Superman Growing up, and How We All Tend to Connect with Video Game Characters (6:27)

*How Steve Gave Back to his Community by Volunteering at a Children’s Hospital, and the Impact it had on his Life (8:17)

*Steve’s Epic Quest of Awesome, and Some Reasons to Start Your Own (It’s as cool as it Sounds!) (10:45)

*”Nobody Believes your Excuses Except for You” (14:09)

*How Getting Rid of Excuses Helped Steve Live like James Bond for a Day (15:25)

*Steve’s Ultimate Focus for Nerd Fitness, and How it Became Successful (19:30)

*And much more!

In this video, I talk about how things we don’t understand can become very familiar to us with diligent study. There’s an example in Japanese, too!

How do you know when you’re on the right path? When the Universe tests you! Watch this video for more.

Brendon Burchard of High Performance Academy asked:

What are 3 success principles that I put into play that allow me to achieve more in my life?

Asking me to boil down everything I’ve learned in my life into 3 simple principles is a very tough order. But I’m gonna do it anyway.

1. Habit

Learning to harness the power of habit is the #1 principle that I’ve learned to propel my success in life. Habits come in all shapes and sizes, and in ALL aspects of your life. Let’s do a quick habit check right now: What’s your physical posture as you’re reading this blog post? That’s a habit. What are you thinking right now? That’s a habit. What are you doing to do after you read this post? It’s all habit.

Habits are like a magical stairway that will eventually lead you to your own heaven or hell.

They can make you, and they can break you. I credit habit for helping me achieve an insane level of physical flexibility. My daily stretching routine is a simple 10 minute habit that has constantly been pushing my limits for the past 2+ years (nearly every day). The more I become physically the flexible, the better my life gets (or so it seems).

Here are some habits that I have been working on lately:
-Good Physical Posture
-Proper Breathing (check out the Buteyko method)
-Daily Exercise
-Daily Reading
-Mindfulness/Loving Attitude

I will continue to harness the power of habit for the rest of my life. I sure don’t have the willpower to achieve these results on my own.

2. Information

One of my favorite phrases: “Awareness is the first step”. I could not agree more. Awareness is the first step; from then on it’s all about what you do with it. If I didn’t originally read info about developing habits, I probably would have never consciously harnessed them to create a more ideal life for myself.

If I didn’t read empowering books by people like Dale Carnegie and The Dalai Lama, I would never have been exposed to some of these powerful success principles. I wouldn’t have been guided in the right direction.

This is why I’m always reading more positive and practical books, because the information we consume has a TREMENDOUS impact on our life.

For example, I stumbled upon a powerful routine in Louise Hay’s “You Can Heal Your Life,” and it’s led me to make some incredible internal changes in my life. The habit is this: Say to yourself (with conviction): “I love and approve of myself” 300-400 times a day, or as much as you remember to.

I would have never have taken some of these strange yet powerful actions if it weren’t for the information that I gained through reading.

3. Persistence

I had difficulty pinpointing a third success principle, but I have to give it up for persistence. Allow me to share with you one of my favorite quotes:

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. – Calvin Coolidge

If you don’t have persistence, the previous two habits (habit + information) will fall by the wayside. How ironically lucky it is that you can apply habits of persistence and read information about it? Success is a synergy of these factors (and many more). They’re all interconnected, and it’s a wonderful thing.

In my life, one phrase has been showing up time and time again:

Shit happens

That’s right. It does. It happened in the grand scheme of things when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. It happens in daily life, when I have to deal with MASSIVE paper jams. It happens when some unexpected event happens that throws off my schedule.

I can let these things disrupt me, or I can ‘Press On’. Remember this, though: The so-called “little things” have more power to disrupt our lives and make our existence miserable than the huge things. That’s just the way life works (at least in my experience).

We will fall. We will get back up. If you’re reading this, I know you can relate. I used to fall and get back up a week later. As time went on, I fell and got back up the next day.

Right now, I’m at the point in my life where I can fall and get back up about five hours later.

I’m still not where I want to be in terms of getting back on the horse quickly, but I’m always working on it.

If I can leave you with one last insight about persistence, it would be this:

How you do one thing, is how you do EVERYTHING. Your daily actions seep through into every area of your life.

Do you get frustrated when your computer crashes, or do you calmly fix the problem (or turn to someone else who can fix it)? The way you deal with problems like that is revealing of your destiny.

It sounds like a huge statement, because it is: When I can handle the little things with a calm mind, the big things are a PIECE OF CAKE!

Habit. Information. Persistence. These principles cover a lot of ground.

If you master all three, you WILL succeed in whatever it is you choose.

Success is a beautiful synergy.

How can we practice the magical force of “love” in our lives every day? It’s a tough order, but in this video I give one quick tip for communicating with others in a loving way.