Entrepreneurs
It’s Not About Breaking the Board: What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Martial Arts

We’ve all seen the videos…a person wearing a white uniform and a black belt stares down their opponent; a stack of boards six inches high. They take a breath in, and — wham! — their bare hand whips down and breaks the stack cleanly in half. The broken boards tumble to the ground, and the breaker walks away triumphant.
I know what you’re thinking. “I’m not powerful enough to do that, forget it! I’ll just watch. Why would I need to break a board, anyway?” You want to laugh it off, to walk away. But have you thought about why you refuse so quickly? Do you ever feel that inkling feeling of curiosity? You know the, “could’ve, should’ve, would’ve” kind of feeling that you instantly shrug off? You’re afraid of pain. You’re worried that people will see you fail. You don’t want to try, because you believe in your heart that you can’t succeed.
That’s the stupidest excuse out there. Stop making excuses in your life! Let me tell you something — I don’t teach students how to break a “board” or “cement block”. I train students to focus beyond the board or block to a goal they want to achieve or a weakness they want to overcome. The board is just an obstacle between you and your goal. Your goal is BEYOND that obstacle.
However, sometimes, our biggest obstacle isn’t a tangible object like a board or block, but rather, it is our MIND that stops us from achieving our goals. Everyone has a “board” in life. It’s the business we want to launch, the career change we wish to explore, the self-expression we desperately want to pursue but haven’t. Pay attention to the negative inner dialogue that stops you from pursuing that goal, and you’ll probably find that it sounds a lot like the voice you hear when you see someone else breaking a physical board.
“I can’t.”
“I’m scared.”
“I’m not strong enough to do what they do.”
I’ve taught Jung SuWon for years now, practiced it for decades, and I’ve heard every excuse. But the truth is that physical training and career achievement are both more mental battles than physical ones. It’s not about breaking one board, or launching a business, or achieving some personal goal — it’s about being determined enough to face adversity head-on, overcome your inner doubts, and accomplish the impossible. It takes a laser focus to break through a stack of boards or cement blocks. Not everyone does it on the first or second try. It takes the same laser focus to start a company or change your career.
This is what I do with my students and people that I coach and mentor all around the world. When I give them a board to break, I always ask them to write their goals. This is important because again, it’s not about breaking the board, it’s about the entire process of channeling your energy with a laser beam focus by joining body, mind and spirit that will enable you to break the board. Know what you want to accomplish and learn to believe in it 110%. That’s the main focus not just breaking the physical board itself.
Instead of looking at the person breaking the board — or the business founders you admire — and saying, “No, I can’t,” you must think, “He Can Do, She Can Do, Why Not Me!”
I say this because I have experienced firsthand how life-changing this mantra can be. I grew up in a small village in South Korea where I was hated, cursed for being a girl in a culture that prized firstborn boys. Worse, I had no interest in the path that was laid out for me. I had no wish to learn to cook and sew or to get married and have twelve sons as tradition dictated.
I fell in love with martial arts, instead. I remember, as a child, peeking outside to see my uncles practicing in the morning fog, their movements graceful and mesmerizing. I wanted to learn — but they laughed in my face. I was a girl, they said, not allowed to learn such things.
And yet, I did. I insisted and begged until one uncle agreed to teach me. Then, I bore the abuse and blows that rained down on me for doing so. I endured my family’s abuse, my village’s hate. Eventually, I met a teacher who changed my life — a Buddhist monk who agreed to break 5000 years of tradition and teach me the skills I so desperately wanted. After years of dedication, I became the first female grandmaster in Korea’s history.
Since then, I have pursued my dreams wherever they have taken me, overcome poverty, discrimination, and nay-sayers. I moved to America, founded a tech company, and continued to teach martial arts.
All of this, I was able to do by following the teachings of Jung SuWon and this one mantra: “He Can Do, She Can Do, Why Not Me!”
Here are a few martial arts tips that all entrepreneurs should embrace — even if they never plan to put on a martial art uniform:
1. Learn to Fall
There is no such thing as no-fail learning. Many martial arts disciplines begin with teaching students how to fall safely so that they could get up and start fighting again. I never see my mistakes as a negative. instead, I see them as a learning experience and use them to motivate me to be more creative and thoughtful in my approach.
2. Success is a Mental Battle, Not a Physical One
Stop focusing on what you can’t do. The moment you start believing in negative self-talk is the moment you ruin your chances for success. Like a martial arts student facing a wooden block, you need to think that you can do whatever you set your mind to — otherwise, you’ll only fail and hurt yourself.
3. Don’t Mimic Someone Else’s Pattern
Excellent fighters adapt their knowledge of form to their needs. Your expression must be your own — you need to be responsive, to go according to your own direction, and not confine yourself to mirroring someone else’s movements or style. If I had remained in my village as my parents wanted, I would never have accomplished what I did. Similarly, if you follow the path someone else wants for you, you will never be able to achieve your potential.
4. Let Your Opponents Motivate You
Fear can be paralyzing. When you’re staring down an opponent, you fear the pain they could inflict upon you — but the only way to succeed in combat and avoid that pain is to confront it and win. In life, there will be countless people who try to put you down and tell you “NO.” When I established my first martial art studio, arsonists who hated me for my differences, burned it to the ground. I was afraid, but I refused to give in to that fear. Let your fear motivate you — use it as a device that allows you to prove every nay-sayer wrong.
You have the power to overcome every obstacle in your path. That power is already IN you. What you do in your life is your personal choice. Have you realized it yet? What are you waiting for? You, too, can break through to awesome, but you have to take action in your life.
Entrepreneurs
The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025
Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”
While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.
Why This Gap Exists
Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.
What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.
Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap
Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.
1. Practice Mutual Empathy
Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.
2. Maintain Professional Boundaries
Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.
3. Follow the Golden Rule
Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.
4. Avoid Micromanagement
Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.
5. Empower Employees to Grow
Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.
6. Communicate in All Directions
Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.
7. Overcome Insecurities
Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.
8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship
True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.
9. Eliminate Favoritism
Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.
10. Recognize Efforts Promptly
Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.
11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews
When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.
12. Provide Leadership Development
Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.
13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles
Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.
The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role
Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:
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Build diverse talent pipelines
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Embrace flexible work models
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Design compelling career paths
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Simplify HR processes
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Redefine the value HR brings
The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.
Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff
When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.
Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.
Entrepreneurs
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Learn essential lessons, success strategies, and mindset shifts every aspiring entrepreneur needs to overcome challenges and build a thriving business.

Back in July 2017, I attended a business seminar on entrepreneurship in India. With my appetite for learning and meeting new people, I wanted to explore the latest developments in the entrepreneurial world. (more…)
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History shows us that the greatest minds, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, Stephen King, and countless others, faced failure early on. Yet, instead of seeing failure as the end, they treated it as a comma in their story, not a full stop. (more…)
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