Courage, Convictions and Commitment

By Zig Ziglar

Those are the very words you could use to describe Georgia based business owner; Truett Cathy and the success of his Chick-fil-A restaurant chain. It took Truett 21 years from the time he opened his first Dwarf House Restaurant and perfected his Chick-fil-A sandwich to open his first Chick-fil-A restaurant in a shopping mall.

It was difficult for Truett Cathy to arrange his first shopping mall lease for his Chick-fil-A restaurant. Cathy, a man of strong religious convictions, was determined never to open one of his restaurants on Sunday. Most shopping malls would not make that kind of agreement. Finally, one did and Chick-fil-A was an almost-immediate hit. As of February, 2011, the chain has 1,539 locations in 39 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. In 2010 sales were $3.5 billion.

It took a considerable amount of courage, backed by convictions, to refuse to let his restaurants open on Sunday. Mr. Cathy's faith, however, was such that he never really considered the issue. He was determined to open six days a week and serve the best product he could possibly produce. He resolved to give good service and a genuine business opportunity to the people with whom he worked.

Sticking to his principles has benefitted not only Truett Cathy, but many others as well. He has awarded his college student employees over $26 million in scholarships. WinShape Foundation was founded more than 20 years ago by Jeannette and Truett Cathy. Under the WinShape Foundation umbrella, there are several programs, including WinShape Homes®, which currently operates 11 foster care homes in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. The WinShape College Program℠ at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, is a co-op program offering joint four-year scholarship funding to incoming freshmen of up to $32,000. WinShape Camps℠ offer boys and girls summer programs at the college, which will be attended by more than 13,000 campers in 2011.

That's the American way. That's the Truett Cathy way. Think about it and be inspired by Truett Cathy's story. Search your heart for something you can do for those who cannot do for themselves, and I'll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!


"An individual totally committed to their work must have the conviction and courage to act on their beliefs. It is not enough to advocate something you must act on it. ." ----- Susan Foley

Education Is Important
By Zig Ziglar

Surely no responsible person in today's society would deny the value of an education! The statistical data is overwhelming. There is a direct correlation between the amount of education you have and your income. While there are exceptions to that rule, by and large it holds true.

Suppose your formal education is over, what can you do to continue the growth and learning processes? I'm going to make three suggestions that will make a substantial difference in your growth. Number one, learn one new word every day. Georgetown Medical School conducted a comprehensive study and learned that in 100% of the cases, when the vocabulary went up, I.Q. also went up - no exceptions. Your understanding of what you read and hear is, to a very large degree, determined by your vocabulary, so improve your vocabulary daily. By doing so you improve your understanding of the world and your effectiveness expands. There are many resources available to increase your vocabulary. Here is one online resource: dictionary.com.

Number two, read something of significance every day. Not just novels or news or entertainment, but something related to your job, profession or personal growth. If you are an average reader of 220 words per minute, by reading just 20 minutes a day you will have read twenty 200-page books in a year's time. That gives you a considerable edge over most people in this country. The typical American reads only two books a year, so your advantage will be pronounced. Need a good book?

Number three, take advantage of all the information on podcasts and downloads during your driving time. Many educational programs are available online and you can learn anything from goal-setting to Chinese art and the Bible. You can take courses in vocabulary-building, financial management, sales training, leadership development and a host of other things.

Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. - - - Albert Einstein

4 RISK FACTORS FOR VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY!


Vitamin D helps your body use calcium for building strong bones, has benefits for heart health, helps keep your immune system in top form, and helps keep you in good spirits. The good news is that your body can actually manufacture Vitamin D if you get enough exposure to natural sunlight.

But there are a number of risk factors that could be keeping you from getting enough Vitamin D in your diet.

Vitamin D only occurs naturally in a certain foods like fish, fish oil, eggs, and some fortified foods. That means that if you are following a strict vegetarian diet you might not be getting enough from food alone.

Vitamin D is naturally produced by your body through exposure to sunlight, but during the long winter months and short days, it's unlikely you are getting enough sun to manufacture the D you need. This is especially true if you live in the northern latitudes or work all day indoors.

Fat cells absorb Vitamin D out of the blood stream and studies show that having a Body Mass Index of over 30 increases your risk of having low levels of Vitamin D in the blood.

The pigment melanin reduces the bodies ability to convert natural sunlight to Vitamin D. The darker your skin the more melanin you have, and therefor the longer you need to be exposed to sunlight to produce enough Vitamin D.

On top of all these risk factors, is the fact that the USDA guidelines appear to woefully underestimate the quantity of Vitamin D that we actually do need in our diets. So make sure you are getting enough D in your diet, and try to get some regular exposure to the sun, and consider adding supplements to your diet.

--------------------------------------------------------

We will be holding our February
Belt Presentations during our SPECIAL
FUN FRIDAY split schedule;

Children: Lil Dragons & Goshin Juniors will test on
Friday 25 March 2011

Adult Martial Arts & Jiu Jitsu will test on
Saturday 26 March 2011

Please review the testing schedule, check the exam roster at the school, and ask about upcoming events. To get more information and see how it may affect you,
visit our website

MARCH BBC DATES !!

FRIDAY 4 MARCH 11

FRIDAY 11 MARCH 11


DON'T MISS IT !!!

MARCH
KID'S DEMO TEAM DATES !!

FRIDAY 11 MARCH 11

PARENTS as COACHES

FRIDAY 18 MARCH 11

American Black Belt Academy will once again be featuring one of your favorite programs.

To help parents ensure their children's success through the benefits of martial arts we'll be offerring a special workshop to demonstrate techniques that will allow parents to help thier promising martial artist practice at home and develop techniques for working together with other tasks like homework and chores while providing an avenue to connect and spend more quality time together.

Two Sessions Available Session #1 --- 4:30 PM

Session #2 --- 5:30 PM

COST $20.00

PRO-SHOP FEATURED ITEM

GAMENESS AIR
JIU-JITSU GIs

This stylish new Gameness Gi --- The Air may be the lightest Jiu-jitsu Gi in the world. The comb weave is made from preshrunk cotton and has ripstop pants.

Comes complete with custom AMERICAN BLACK BELT ACADEMY Jiu-Jitsu Logo back & lapel patches.

The NEWEST top-of-the-line uniform with the lowest price.

LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE

Retail Price: $119.00
A-B-B-A Special Price: $114.99

Mini-Seminar Night

Muay Thai Seminar

My friend and Jiu-jitsu training partner Kenny Kim will be teaching a Muay Thai Mini-Seminar on Wednesday March 2nd from 6:30-7:30 pm

Recognized as one of the most fit and complete martial artists, Kenny Kim is an awesome Muay Thai instructor with 25 years of Martial Arts experience and currently directs one of the most successful Muay Thai programs in Georgia.

Kenny Kim will be covering the basics Mae Mai Muay Thai (this is the mastery of Muay Thai technique)

The seminar will be open to all American Black Belt Academy students and is only $35

To reserve your spot today sign up at the front desk or call 706-549-1671.

GRACIE
JIU-JITSU Workshop with Kenny Kim

My friend and Jiu-jitsu training partner Kenny Kim will be teaching a Mini-Seminar on Wednesday March 2nd from 7:30-8:30 pm

Kenny Kim is a GRACIE JIU-JITSU Brown Belt under world reknown instructor Sifu Eddie Camden. He has had the priveledge to train with members of the Gracie family including Grand Master Helio Gracie, Rorion Gracie, Rickson Gracie,Royce Gracie, Royler Gracie, Ryron Gracie, Renner Gracie, and Ralek Gracie.

Kenny Kim is recognized as an extremely technical instructor of GRACIE JIU-JITSU.

The seminar will be open to all American Black Belt Academy students and is only $35

To reserve your spot today sign up at the front desk or call 706-549-1671.

with Kenny Kim