According to the great Arnold, there are 6 secrets to success and I think I'm following them nicely.
1. Trust yourself
Oh, I definitely trust myself and I totally trust Snickers. I am completely blessed to have found Snickers because though some things get lost in translation and we often see two different sides of something, we share the same passions and our dream has really evolved from the combining of our passions, our goals and our different perspectives on both. We both clearly love boxing but our approaches to this boxing club have been so very different. Snickers' passion behind opening up our boxing club is he wants to be able to financially support his family. Moreover, he really wants to help increase the quality of life of the foreigners here in Cheonan because he's seen just how much it's changed my life. I know he's been really trying his hardest, since day one when I first met him, to make me more comfortable living in Korea. And in doing so, he's learned that the more comfortable I am here, the happier I am,and how me being happier really seeps into other aspects of life. Happiness changes everything; it directly and indirectly increases the quality of life. Just yesterday, after heading out for lunch with my in-laws, Snickers' cell phone was flooded with texts, saying just how supposedly radiant I was. "She looked 120% happy to be here" one messaged. I always switch into 'shy-quite mode' around my in-laws but yesterday, while sharing ideas with them about our boxing club, I was so excited and hyper. I remember being so eager to tell them about one part but needing some water so I literally jumped out of my seat and ran to get it. Everyone laughed but I didn't care. I had too much in my head I wanted to share and discuss.
As for me, I am spurred by wanting to do something I love for a job. Isn't there a quote that says "If you do something you love you'll never work a day in your life"? Well, after this year of hard work getting the boxing club off the ground, I hope to never work a day in my life. I'm looking forward to pulling the long hours, sporting the aching bones and leaving the club to only hear that round bell continue on in my head, because I believe in what I'm doing and I love it.
I'm trusting in myself and in Snickers to really change Cheonan. It's no secret, our first priority behind this boxing club is our desire to really make a community here in Cheonan for it's foreigners. Our desire to make a community among the foreigners doesn't mean it's solely foreign-based, we want better unite our members -- all our members, Korean and foreigners. I hate that word actually, foreigner, and I hate that there's really only two groupings of people in Korea -- Koreans and foreigners. Perhaps my frowning at the word is fostered by me not really feeling a part of either group but I do hate that there's this separation here between "us" and "them". That was one of the beauties of UP Boxing Club though, there was no "us" and "them". We were just one big extended family and it's our hope that at our boxing club we too make a similar extended family among our members.
2. Break the rules
Question here, when did we NOT break the rules?! Hello scooter and no license, hello jumping in windows to check out buildings. You've heard of police escort, but have you ever heard of "gangscort"? (It's gang + escort, if you haven't clued into my fusion of words) Ya, I got gangscorted the other day on account that I wanted to head over to the building, it was well after midnight and Snickers wasn't home. I ran into one of his buddies while out walking Pyen Chi and he agreed to gangscort me. He and his "crew" have been really helping us with our dream. Stay tuned for some overly tattooed members. They're incredibly sweet and fun, though they're not quite good at bowling, as we found out last week... hahaha.
3. Don't be afraid to fail
Out of all honesty, I am not afraid to fail and this was something I thought perhaps I would be. I am more afraid of not being able to start, to have a pile of "would haves", "should haves" and "could haves". And honestly, if we do fail, is that really that the worst thing that could ever happen? No. I think it'd be worse to not even try. "We could be killed", noted Snickers, yes this is true. Our interest-free, no-time-limit loan comes with only one stipulation -- if we run off with the money, like leave the country, we'll be hunted down and killed. I laughed when I was told this but Snickers gave me an elbow to the ribs and frowned. Apparently this wasn't a threat, it was more of a promise. (I still think it's funny).
4. Ignore those who doubt you
Done, done and DONE. Truthfully speaking however, we haven't really had anyone throw any negative comments or vibes our way. My father just warned me to be extra careful and Junior Mint gave us a bit of a cold shoulder when we told him about our idea and initial desire to set up smack dab right downtown. I didn't regard it as doubt though. My father naturally worries about me, and as for Junior Mint, he's obviously knows we're fierce competition if it were to come to us against him. We're not against him though, it's never been like that. As for others in my life, I've been really blessed and am proud to say that I've received an excessive amount of support.
5. Work your ass off
Oh I am, both literally and figuratively speaking!!! It is boxing-boxing-boxing at my house. Snickers joked the other day about our business meetings, noting that we have more naked meetings than fully-clothed ones. Often we call official meetings at our house, "meeting at 11pm" Snickers texted me tonight, and they often get dragged out for hours. Tonight's 11pm meeting ended at 3am. In addition to this particular meeting, there is of course talk amongst us during the day and today I had 5 meetings to tend to and Snickers had 4. It's been very time consuming as well as very mentally and emotionally draining but you know what, I wouldn't change a thing. I am honestly really loving it. We're both very excited to get the boxing club up and running but we're also really trying our hardest to enjoy the ride. Sunday's late night news regarding the money was kind of an eye-opener to us, a reminder that at the flick of a switch things can change and you've really got to enjoy the ride because the struggle is part of the story.
6. Give something back
That's the plan. We really want to have this boxing club act as a kind of clubhouse, a place that will create an extended family and a community. For the most part, there is nothing really that is foreign-based here in Cheonan beyond Dolce and Banana Bar -- two bars that are clearly for the night time, but what about daytime?! Sure our focus in opening up a boxing club is health and fitness but I've always believed that health and fitness go way beyond just training. It's a lifestyle and if you look at the lifestyles and lifestyle options available for the foreign crowd here, it's not as positive as it could be or health-conscious for that matter. Health and fitness are mind, body and soul connected. You can't just have your body into it, your mind and soul also have to be invested into it for you to really be healthy and fit. We really want to help support this idea via making our boxing club not only a place to train but also a place to socialize, hang out and really feel like a part of a greater thing -- a community.
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