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• Message from the Editor
• Feature Article - "The Ultimate Self-Defense Success Formula"
• So What?
• Quotable Quotes
• Product/Site Review

In response to subscriber feedback, I recently launched a brand new web site and free newsletter exclusively for self-defense and martial arts instructors, merchants and enthusiasts.

In addition to valuable site content, the new newsletter contains Internet business strategies, success stories and special offers to help you get the most out of your Self-Defense business.

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Hello,

It's been a busy month since the last issue of the P.S. newsletter. I continue to receive excellent reader feedback and struggle to identify the kinds of information that you are looking for and will find most useful.

In this issue, I've written an article outlining the "Ultimate Self-Defense Success Formula," that will help you develop a personalized training program suited specifically to you.

The article concludes with an exercise that you can do to zero in on your self-defense goals and a plan to achieve them. It also includes a special offer for an exclusive self-defense report available nowhere else and what you can do to get your own copy of it for free.

Take care, train smart and stay safe...

Randy LaHaie
Protective Strategies

There's a ton of personal development literature out there. Much of it is hype and hogwash. Some it is valid, useful and can be applied to the intelligent study of self-defense. This article contains the latter.

Sitting in front of the mirror and affirming, "I am tough, I can fight, and gosh darn it people like me," won't help much when you're grabbed around the throat by a mugger. Reading a book or watching a self-defense video with your butt parked on the couch won't ensure your safety or competence. You need an action plan; you need a training system. This article will help you create one.

In his 1986 bestseller, "Unlimited Power," personal development guru Anthony Robins identified a simple formula that he gleaned from studying successful people. He found a consistent pattern of thinking and behavior that they all shared. He called it the "Ultimate Success Formula" and here's what it is.

1. Know Your Outcome
2. Take Consistent Action
3. Be Aware of the Results You Are Producing
4. Change Your Behavior If It's Not Working

Sounds simple doesn't it? Well, simple doesn't necessarily mean easy. How much you get out of something is proportional to how much you put in. Let's apply this simple formula to your self- defense training. I'll call it...

Many people pursue self-defense training for different reasons. Because of this, "one-size-fits-all" training advice won't work for everyone. You need to take an active role in designing a training program that's right for you; one that will provide you with the results you want. Here's how to get started.

1. Know Your Outcome:

Why are you reading this newsletter? What's causing you to seek out self-defense training advice? The first step in designing your program is to know clearly and specifically what you want to achieve and why.

How do you define "success" as it relates to your self-defense training? Get crystal clear on what you want to achieve and why. Remember that emotion motivates, logic only justifies. Get clear on how you'll "FEEL" if you achieve these things?

Are you training to resolve your fear of being assaulted or victimized? Do you want to lose weight and get into better shape? Do you want to earn your black belt or win a competition? Do you want to feel more confident, resilient and in control of your life? Get clear on exactly what you want and why.

---- sidebar ----
Learning self-defense exclusively to protect yourself seldom motivates people to train. The potential of being assaulted is usually perceived as remote. A self-defense success goal like this can't be measured because if you are successful, NOTHING HAPPENS! Look for more immediate and concrete benefits of self-defense training above-and- beyond the ability to protect yourself.
---- sidebar ----

2. Take Consistent Action

We become what we do on a consistent basis. If there's such a thing as a "secret" to self-defense, this is it! People waste years and limit their potential by searching for (or blindly following) an all-knowing guru or the "ultimate" fighting system. They want something quick, something easy, and something that will produce instant results. Good luck!

Knowledge is inert without action. Reading a diet book won't make you thin. Knowing how to do pushups won't make you stronger unless you actually do them. Anything worth while in life must be "purchased and paid for" with action. The self- defense action process is called TRAINING.

Training IS the "path" that is referred to in so many martial arts books and movies. Training is the process that brings about all of the positive benefits that the study of self- defense has to offer.

How can you integrate ongoing self-defense training into your life on a consistent basis?

3. Be Aware of the Results You Are Producing

Some people define insanity as, "doing what you've always done but expecting different results." How will you determine if the actions you are taking are bringing you closer to your goals or further away?

Many people fall down in this area. They blindly follow someone else's program, train haphazardly, or base their progress on the opinions of others. They either continue their unproductive efforts, often getting injured or burned out in the process, or they give up out of boredom or frustration. In self-defense training we call that "not good!"

You need a "feedback mechanism" of some kind. How will you measure, as quickly as possible, whether you are producing the kind of results you are looking for? Regardless of what you are trying to achieve, devise some way to keep track of your results or the lack of them.

This could be dedicating a certain amount of time to your training every week, losing 5 pounds, lifting a bit more, performing a few more repetitions, or whatever else you decide on. Try to make it concrete. Make it something that you can check off or write down. Find a reward system to reinforce your steps along the way.

4. Change Your Behavior If It's Not Working

Don't get stuck on the "hamster wheel" of unproductive repetition. If what you are doing isn't working, do something else! If that doesn't work, then do something else! Keep experimenting and fine tuning your efforts to keep moving in the right direction.

Martial arts literature is full of metaphors about remaining flexible, adaptable and able to change course. Why do you think that is?

Be careful, however, not to mistake training plateaus or slow progress as "no progress." Don't flip around from program to program, plan to plan, giving up on your training before it has a chance to produce results.

By this point I hope you're asking yourself, "So what? How does this relate to MY self-defense training and how can I use it?" Good questions! As with most of my newsletters, it's time for you to do some work and squeeze some benefit out of reading this. Let's do it NOW.

Get a pen and paper or fire up your word processor and spend some time answering the following questions.

Know your outcome:

• What do I want to achieve through my self-defense training?

• Why do I want to achieve this outcome?

• How will I FEEL if I succeed at achieving this?

• How will I FEEL if I don't?

Take Consistent Action

• What can I do, on a consistent basis, to produce the results that I'm after?

• What can I learn, do or stop doing that will move me toward my desired outcome?

Be Aware of the Results You Are Producing

• How can I measure my progress or the lack of it?

• What is the shortest, reasonable time frame that will allow me to assess the effectiveness of my efforts?

• How can I reward myself for attaining small, incremental successes?

Change Your Behavior If It's Not Working

• If what I'm doing isn't producing the results I want, what can I change or do differently?

That's it. If you've done this exercise, (which I highly recommend) you should now know what you want and why; what you have to do to get it; how to know if what you're doing is working and whether to keep doing it or try something else. The results you achieve are up to you.

What if I could read your mind? How would you like it if this newsletter contained the "exact" advice you were looking for? What if every issue contained specific, concrete information that would answer the questions you have, clear up your confusion, or be easily integrated into your own training? Here's my plan.

Do the exercise above and send me the results! Tell me what you want to achieve and I'll help you get there.

That's about it for this issue.

Take care, train smart and stay safe...

Randy LaHaie
Protective Strategies

"At the core of inner training is the commitment to use our chosen field of endeavor as a model for developing a balanced approach to life."

Dan Millman
The Inner Athlete

"... mentally picturing the desired result, literally forces you to use 'positive thinking.' You are not relieved thereafter from effort and work, but your efforts are used to carry you toward your goal, rather than mental conflict which results when you 'want' and 'try' to do one thing, but picture to yourself something else."

Maxwell Maltz
Psycho-Cybernetics

I'm cautious about recommending specific self-defense resoruces to subscribers. I need to be totally convinced about the value and validity of a product before I do.

I recently came across some excellent self-defense videos that I recommend without reservation. These tapes are targeted predominantly to women and rape prevention but the concepts are sound and functional regardless of your gender.

The tapes depict a number of realistic scenarios, full-force demonstrations on a padded attacker and easy-to-follow instructions with advice about how to practice.

To find out more about the tapes and the author, Melissa Soalt, check out her author-of-the-month article and detailed info about her video's at: http://www.paladinpress.com/

Your feedback, opinions, questions and comments are important and impact the content and direction of this newsletter. Let me know what you thought of the article and what you are looking for. Send me email or go to my site and use the contact form at: