![]() The phrase I coin in the book and when I talk to successful entrepreneurs is we become successfully miserable, John. Would you say that that’s been your experience? I think a lot of entrepreneurs kind of commit almost a bit of self-sabotage by not having this kind of foundational practice to lean on. I think we can get really caught up in all these things coming at us day in, day out, the stress of it. One of the things I love probably the most about being is no two days are the same, but that’s also one of the most challenging things. John Jantsch: I’ve been an entrepreneur for a long time. I was invited to speak to companies and organizations, and I’ve got some cool stories about being invited to speak and teach at the Central Intelligence Agency and some other cool places that I talk about in the book and use them for teaching and laying the foundation for many of the principals that I apply and teach in the book. There’s a direct analogy between what I teach people in the martial arts academy and to what they apply in their life. That’s sort of how I transitioned into the keynote speaking space is teaching many of Washington D.C.’s movers and shakers from politicians to business titans, to foreign diplomats. I run one of the largest Aikido academies on the East Coast in Washington D.C. John Jantsch: I think I read somewhere you actually opened a studio of your own. Two years later I was in Japan with the Marine Corps and was able to train with some really high level masters and ended up staying there for 10 years as a business consultant to feed my addiction to the martial arts. I didn’t know what I was seeing and watching, but I knew I wanted to do some of that. I was fascinated, John, by what I was seeing. When I got stationed out in California, which obviously has the larger Asian population, I stumbled across my first Aikido class in May of 1988. It’s a classical kick and punch art that you can find anywhere in the country. When I was California, I went to continue … I was doing karate at the time. I enlisted in the Marine Corps at the tender age of 17 and got stationed in California. I had fallen in love with all things Japanese, including the culture, the art, the martial arts, the language. Michael Veltri: I’ve been a lifelong martial artist growing up in Erie, Pennsylvania. John Jantsch: How did you personally come to Aikido? Throughout the book I focus on that and it’s a lot of work that people can do on themselves to impact their business and their personal life. It’s finding a balance with your own ego because our ego is what gets in the way of telling us we can’t do something or we have to do it this way or I’m going to give up doing something or things like that. If anything, the biggest challenge is with … I didn’t want to say defeat. ![]() With that, also in the art of Aikido, is that you’re not trying to defeat anyone. It’s a Japanese principle of constant improvement. One of the concepts we talked about in the book is and that many of your listeners might be familiar with is cold Kaizen. In some ways it’s a life practice, right? John Jantsch: Well, and like many martial arts, it’s not all fighting. It’s a Japanese grappling martial art based on blending and leverage versus raw strength to just muscle your way through any type of situation. ![]() In discussing marketing ideas for standing out amongst the crowd of deal to business books, we came up with the idea of introducing 10 elegant Aikido principles and how they can apply to business and life. It is basically a form of self-defense versus self-offense. I think it probably makes some sense to get your definition of what Aikido is. John Jantsch: The Mushin Way is built on the principles of Aikido. Thanks for doing a great introduction of me. ![]() Well, it can be a bit long, John, but focus on what the audience wants to hear. How do you get all of that in one bio, Michael? He is a keynote speaker, serial entrepreneurial, leadership expert, and author of the book “ The Mushin Way to Peak Performance: The Path to Productivity, Balance, and Success.” I might also add because it may come up in conversation, he is a professional athlete, two time cancer survivor, and US Marine veteran. This is John Jantsch and my guest today is Michael Veltri. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast.
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