Today, I was reading a chapter from a book by MJ DeMarco, and one particular idea hit me harder than I expected. It was one of those concepts that seems incredibly simple on the surface, but the more you sit with it, the more you realize how deeply it applies to life.
The question was this: if you were investing your money somewhere and losing 70% of the time, would you continue investing in that thing?
Of course not.
Most rational people would immediately stop and reconsider what they were doing. We would recognize that continuing to pour time, energy, and resources into something that consistently produces losses makes no sense. We would look for a better opportunity, a better strategy, or a better direction entirely.
But then I started thinking about how many people are unknowingly doing exactly that with their lives.
Not with money, but with time.
And time is far more valuable.
For so many people, life becomes a cycle of surviving through the majority of the week while only truly living for a small fraction of it. Monday through Friday become something to endure. People wake up tired, fight traffic, work jobs they may not enjoy, deal with stress, pressure, and frustration, and then finally get to Saturday hoping to squeeze some happiness into a couple of days before starting the cycle all over again.
When you really look at it, that becomes a 70/30 split. Seventy percent of life feels spent waiting, surviving, worrying, or simply getting through the day, while only thirty percent feels genuinely enjoyable or meaningful.
Now, this is not meant to criticize hard work. Hard work matters. Discipline matters. Sacrifice matters. At Otomi Martial Arts, those are values we believe in deeply. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teaches people very quickly that growth requires effort and that meaningful progress does not happen overnight.
But there is a difference between working hard toward something meaningful and spending most of your life disconnected from the things that actually make you feel alive.
The longer I thought about this concept, the more I started connecting it to martial arts and to life in general. One of the saddest things we see sometimes is how long people wait before they finally decide to start something they’ve wanted to do for years.
We hear it all the time in our academy in Parker.
“I’ve been thinking about trying Jiu-Jitsu forever.”
“I almost started years ago.”
“I wish I would have done this sooner.”
And honestly, most people mean it.
They spent years talking themselves out of it. Years convincing themselves they were too busy, too old, too out of shape, too nervous, or simply not ready. They waited for the “perfect” time to begin, not realizing that life rarely slows down enough to hand us perfect conditions.
Then one day they finally walk through the doors, take a class, meet the people around them, and realize they could have been experiencing all of this much earlier.
They could have already built confidence.
They could have already built friendships.
They could have already improved their health.
They could have already become stronger mentally and physically.
Instead, they spent years waiting.
That is the real danger of the 70/30 principle in life. Sometimes we spend so much time thinking about whether we should do something that we never actually allow ourselves to experience what could come from doing it.
And the truth is, most worthwhile things in life are uncomfortable in the beginning, and sometimes the hardest place is exactly where you’re supposed to be.
Starting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can absolutely feel intimidating. Walking into a martial arts academy for the first time can make adults feel nervous again in the same way children sometimes feel nervous on the first day of school. You don’t know the terminology. You don’t know the techniques. You may not feel athletic. You may worry about looking silly or not fitting in.
But that discomfort is temporary.
Growth almost always begins with discomfort.
In fact, one of the most powerful lessons martial arts teaches is how to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Every class challenges you a little. Every training session forces you to learn patience, humility, discipline, and perseverance. Over time, those lessons start carrying over into every other area of life.
You begin realizing that confidence is not something people are born with. Confidence is built through action. It comes from showing up repeatedly, even when you feel uncertain.
That’s one of the reasons Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is so transformative for people. It’s not just about self-defense or learning submissions. It’s about learning how to trust yourself under pressure. It’s about proving to yourself that you are capable of more than you originally believed.
At Otomi Martial Arts, we’ve watched this happen over and over again. We’ve seen children who were once shy become leaders. We’ve watched adults rediscover confidence they thought they had lost years ago. We’ve seen complete strangers walk onto the mats and eventually become close friends who support one another inside and outside the academy.
None of that happens without taking the first step.
And maybe that’s the bigger lesson behind all of this.
Life is happening right now.
Not someday.
Not next year.
Not when things calm down.
Right now.
Too many people spend years waiting for permission to begin living the life they actually want. They convince themselves they’ll start focusing on their health later. They’ll make new friends later. They’ll chase their goals later. They’ll prioritize themselves later.
But “later” has a way of turning into years.
That’s why I think the urgency matters.
If we know we are investing most of our lives into stress, hesitation, fear, or routines that leave us unhappy, then maybe it’s time to flip the equation. Maybe it’s time to stop accepting a 70% loss in the areas of life that matter most.
Maybe it’s time to invest more into growth.
More into experiences.
More into relationships.
More into health.
More into community.
More into learning.
More into becoming the person you know you are capable of becoming.
That does not mean life suddenly becomes easy. Martial arts certainly are not easy. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be exhausting, frustrating, and humbling all at once. But there is a huge difference between struggling through something that drains your spirit and struggling through something that helps you grow stronger.
One takes from you.
The other builds you.
If you have been thinking about trying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, getting back into shape, finding a stronger community, or simply doing something positive for yourself or your family, maybe this is your reminder to stop waiting.
Flip the 70/30.
Take the chance on yourself.
At Otomi Martial Arts in Parker, we have built a welcoming, family-oriented environment where beginners can learn, grow, and challenge themselves alongside a supportive community. Whether your goal is confidence, fitness, self-defense, competition, or simply finding a positive place to belong, there is a spot for you here.
The hardest step is usually the first one.
After that, you may just discover that the thing you were afraid to start becomes one of the best decisions you ever made.
All the best,
Coach Gonzalez
