Shashank Kamdar

“Make no mistake, you earn a white belt. The belt is a physical representation of a commitment to the beginner's mind. It is a vulnerability and a willingness to learn that shines through.”
― Chris Matakas, The Tao of Jiu Jitsu

“Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can't exist without the other.”
― William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

“Relativity is a beautiful, irrifutable truth. We must acknowledge that wearing a black belt in jiu jitsu does not make you a black belt in life. In the home, there are black belts who are white belt fathers, and there are white belts who are black belt fathers. This holds true for all areas of life. A black belt does not mean you are successful in life. It does mean that you have mastered this art to an enormous degree, and that the skills you have acquired can be transmuted to a plethora of other activities. It does not mean, however, that you have done this.”
― Chris Matakas, My Mastery: Learning to Live through Jiu Jitsu

“The ordinary man places his life’s happiness in things external to him, in property, rank, wife and children, friends, society, and the like, so that when he loses them or finds them disappointing, the foundation of his happiness is destroyed.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer