Good morning.   

I’m back from my weekend trip to Daytona Beach, Florida and the 2013 Gator National World Karate Championships. 

I had planned on returning home yesterday afternoon …but decided to enjoy the weekend as much as possible …and didn’t get home until very late last night.

I seem to have this “bad” habit of always extending my getaways.   😉   

Going on longer vacations is just one of the many things you can do when you have financial freedom. 

It’s really a great feeling when you’re on vacation and you can say to yourself  “think I’ll stay another day” 

…and, then, you do.

I want to help you be financially free so that you can do this too.   

Hey, in case you’re wondering what Daytona Beach looks like on a Friday, here it is…

…probably looks the same as it does on a weekend 

…but there’s just something about being at the beach on a Friday that makes it look even better!

As for the tournament, the competition was incredible …with hundreds of competitors in attendance.

Watching the kids in the youth divisions definitely showed what martial arts can do for raising successful children.

For me, the most amazing thing to see is the self-confidence that the children have …along with the willingness to try something new.

No matter how many times they may fall or drop their weapon, they keep practicing until they have learned the technique.

These are the strengths that are going to help them become successful adults.

And the key, for me, is that they really enjoy what they are doing …

they are happy kids!

And they’ve learned at a very young age that the competition is inside the ring  –  as soon as they finish their event and are outside the ring, they turn back into happy kids …having fun with friends.

Everyone is still uploading videos from the weekend – you’ll be able to find them on youtube by searching for 2013 Gator Nationals karate or by the individual competitor’s name.

In the meantime, here’s a video from one of the outstanding youth competitors, Kaelyn Whaley

This video is from the 2011 U S Open, where I had the pleasure of judging her division and seeing Kaelyn perform for the first time.  (did you see the good looking guy at the end?)

If you ever have the opportunity to take your kids to a martial arts tournament, take them.

Let your child see what other children are doing.

Show them what is possible in life. 

Let your children know that they can learn how to be successful in life

…all it takes is practice.

More tomorrow,

Doug