"A black belt is someone who got choked, swept and submitted thousands of times and kept coming back for more. Someone who turned those painful lessons into wisdom."
As Itamar gets ready to receive his second stripe on his BJJ black belt, he shares eight crucial lessons from martial arts that have helped him coach successful entrepreneurs. Covering how to apply these principles of high-performance to create breakthrough results in business and avoid ego traps.
Key topics:
- The perspective shift that can eliminate performance blocks
- The danger of "blue beltitus" in entrepreneurship and how to avoid it
- How to recognize truly high-caliber mentors in any field
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:17:09
Itamar Marani
A black belt is just a white belt who never quit. But that's only half the story. A black belt is someone who got choked, swept, and submitted thousands of times and kept coming back for more. One of the most disheartening lessons I learned was not to complain or expect the world to reward me for wasting energy on the wrong thing.
00:00:17:14 - 00:00:35:18
Itamar Marani
Even if you're extremely efficient at what you're doing, it might not be the effective way to create a great life. The breakthrough questions aren't "How can I do this faster," or "How can I do more?" But "Should I be doing this at all?"
00:00:35:20 - 00:00:58:12
Itamar Marani
Could somebody else with your exact skillset be achieving more than you currently are? If so, you're in the right place. I'm your host, Itamar Maroni, ex Israeli Special Forces, former undercover agent, Brazilian jiu jitsu, black belt and mindset and performance coach to over 106 to 9 figure entrepreneurs. Welcome to the Lead Performance podcast, where we are ambitious entrepreneurs with actionable mindset tactics.
00:00:58:14 - 00:01:25:21
Itamar Marani
They can stop playing small and win big in a couple of months. I'm set to receive my second stripe on the Black belt that I earned six years ago. But what's more valuable than this piece of fabric are the lessons it represents and that I got to learn by getting it. Today, I want to share the eight principles I wrote down when I earned my black belt six years ago and how I've watched these exact same lessons create breakthrough results for entrepreneurs that I coached.
00:01:25:23 - 00:01:46:07
Itamar Marani
As the saying goes, the math don't lie, and neither does business. So let's get to it. Lesson number one only focus on what you can control. Six years ago, I wrote a third of the outcome is it turned by us, a third by our opponents, and a third is down to chaos. Of course, myself, many opportunity is because I mistakenly focus on things outside of my control.
00:01:46:09 - 00:02:06:16
Itamar Marani
And the moment you focus on what you can't control is the moment you give less attention to what you can't. So in Brazilian jiu jitsu, I often ruin my success by worrying about my opponents rather than focusing on what I actually could control. Like getting a good breakfast, staying hydrated, warming up properly, and knowing what are the key focus points I want to have for each match.
00:02:06:18 - 00:02:31:01
Itamar Marani
Now, what I've learned in business is that the most successful entrepreneurs are the ones that are disciplined enough to not let their focus drift towards uncontrollable factors. So they distinguish sharply between what is within their control and what is not. When markets crash or competition intensifies, they don't waste energy on panic or chasing the next shiny object just hoping that possibly save them.
00:02:31:03 - 00:02:57:08
Itamar Marani
Instead, they get focused and they double down on the fundamentals that they can actually influence. For example, I work with a trader who achieved record returns once he actually focused solely on his process and his daily routine, rather than just looking at what happened every single day with the markets. Another entrepreneur basically doubled his business just by stopping his obsession with his competitors and just doing what he could actually do to improve his own company.
00:02:57:10 - 00:03:21:19
Itamar Marani
And this clarity about identifying what you can control and just executing on that is fundamental. Lesson number two, appreciate the now. I wrote six years ago that Confucius said, We have two lives and the second begins when we realize we only have one. Your younger self focused solely on the end goal when you were competing in Brazil. Winning was all that mattered when you were living in a training and a tropical island in Thailand.
00:03:21:21 - 00:03:49:00
Itamar Marani
You were more focused on training than on stopping to appreciate the rare lifestyle that you had back then. You believe that taking a moment to stop and smell the roses would kill your progress. Now your older self understands that progress and happiness are not mutually exclusive. They actually benefit each other. And denying yourself happiness is unnecessary. If you want to succeed in life, learn how to be happy with what you have while pursuing what you want.
00:03:49:01 - 00:04:13:14
Itamar Marani
So this is a really big point and I want to share what I've seen from working with a lot of entrepreneurs around this. One of the easiest ways to lose is to simply stop playing. And I've seen so many people this their company basically die out or just stop growing. When the person who was running the company, they're founder, the CEO, just didn't enjoy the game anymore.
00:04:13:15 - 00:04:34:00
Itamar Marani
He didn't want to play it. And it goes all the way from the six figure people, of course, all the way to the nine figure during a recent coaching call I had with one of the nine figure guys I work with. He realized that a part of him wasn't really wanting to grow this all the way in the way that he was doing it and was always going to hold him back because it was just too painful.
00:04:34:01 - 00:04:57:22
Itamar Marani
The path to $1,000,000,000 company. If he kept going about the way he was going about it. Now, subconscious. Sadly, he realized that he doesn't want to live that life. And this is a really big thing. And the big lesson here is if you don't enjoy the life you're living, you'll eventually want to escape it. And if your businesses are something that you're trying to grow into a unicorn in four years and exit, that's one thing.
00:04:58:00 - 00:05:24:20
Itamar Marani
But if it's meant to be something that's going to last longer, but it's not sustainable and you don't see yourself in it for the long run, there's a problem there. And I've expressed this myself as well. Obviously, I wrote those lessons to myself six years ago and I still haven't fully learned them. But this is why I now purposely schedule things into my calendar, preemptively, things like surf safaris or trips with my family, certain commitments that are blocked out that ensure that I regularly stop.
00:05:24:23 - 00:05:44:10
Itamar Marani
Step back and appreciate that now and honestly, just like fill my sails with a lot of wind so that I can keep going. Lesson three Set Audacious Goals. Six years ago, I wrote when I was a blue belt, I decided my goal was to become a black belt world champion. And I told everybody I ended up competing at the Worlds three times but never reached that podium.
00:05:44:12 - 00:06:04:00
Itamar Marani
But that audacious high anchor left the mark. I never reached the height of black belt world champion, but because I set that incredibly high anchor, getting to the black belt was simply inevitable. So here's what I've learned from coaching entrepreneurs that it comes down to that old saying of he who thinks he can and he thinks he can't are both usually right.
00:06:04:02 - 00:06:25:23
Itamar Marani
I have yet to see anyone achieve more than what they set out to do. Like, sure, some people get lucky or have their personal crypto portfolio soar. But the entrepreneurs who have experienced the biggest growth are the ones who boldly set high targets, like we share a lot of case studies in the company. And truthfully, a lot of it is not up to us.
00:06:25:23 - 00:06:47:18
Itamar Marani
It's up to the size of the goals of the clients that we can help them get there. But if somebody just wants to do a little bit more and not really go for it, they're just going to get a little bit more. You're not going to get more than what you bargained for, so to speak. And for these entrepreneurs that had the big goals, even if they haven't fully reached those targets yet, they are still far ahead of those who set lower goals.
00:06:47:20 - 00:07:08:15
Itamar Marani
And basically, again, there's an old saying, an old quote that I love by Kanye West personality aside, that it says Reach for the Stars. So if you fall, you still land on a cloud. And I think it's a big thing. Set a day's goals and accept that even if you don't hit those goals by you setting those audacious goals, you can still achieve a lot.
00:07:08:17 - 00:07:29:06
Itamar Marani
Lesson number four Be effective, not efficient. Six years ago, I wrote one of the most disheartening lessons I learned was not to complain or expect the world to reward me for wasting energy on the wrong thing. There's no weakness in admitting you've made a mistake and start from scratch. Now, at that time, I didn't realize I was referring to my own path to becoming a black belt.
00:07:29:08 - 00:07:49:14
Itamar Marani
When I began training in Brazilian jiu jitsu, I really wanted to make a career out of it. I thought I would want to open up an academy and it'd be an amazing life. Or if I could just keep competing. And it wasn't until Midway that I recognized that even people who are ranked in the top 15 in the world often still have to drive Ubers to support themselves financially.
00:07:49:16 - 00:08:17:19
Itamar Marani
And even if you're extremely efficient at what you're doing, it might not be that effective way to create a great life. And that was a very hard pill for me to swallow. And what I've learned from coaching entrepreneurs are this is that this is the lesson that often separates good entrepreneurs from the great ones. I've seen brilliant founders spend a month optimizing the wrong systems, refining the wrong products, or pursuing the wrong markets with relentless efficiency.
00:08:17:21 - 00:08:43:02
Itamar Marani
So, for example, we had one client who worked 60 hour weeks on a fundamentally flawed business model, and no amount of efficiency could fix it. The reason was that he was trapped in a sunk cost bias. Basically, he was sticking with what he knew and felt competent at. But once he overcame that fear and pivoted to a different model with just the knowledge that already accrued, he achieved basically more in three months that he had in three years.
00:08:43:04 - 00:09:15:11
Itamar Marani
Now, the breakthrough questions aren't how can I do this faster or how can I do more? But the people that I've seen really make big jumps. They've been always willing to ask the uncomfortable question of should I be doing this at all? And is this the most direct path to the goal? Now, this is a trap that is especially sunk by is especially difficult for the go harder guys to get out of the entrepreneurs who optimize every minute, but never stop to question if they're directing their efforts in the wrong way.
00:09:15:13 - 00:09:39:02
Itamar Marani
They just learned in a lot of instances in life that through sheer force they can achieve their goals. And while that may be true, it just it really limits their ability to actually see the whole picture and find the most effective path of least resistance to what they truly want. So remember, effectiveness comes first, efficiency second, even though being efficient and going harder can feel really exciting.
00:09:39:04 - 00:10:01:20
Itamar Marani
Lesson number five Your opponent is your greatest teacher. Six years ago I wrote Every time someone caused me to have an emotional reaction on the mats, it was because there was something within me I wasn't comfortable with. When I decided to stop pursuing BDD full time and started losing at tournaments, it messed with my head. I couldn't accept that part of my identity that I valued could no longer exist.
00:10:01:22 - 00:10:25:20
Itamar Marani
So what I've learned from coaching entrepreneurs, then this may be one of the more profound lessons I've observed that the things that trigger you reveal where your internal work is needed. Business challenges serve as mirrors. They reflect areas for personal growth, and the entrepreneurs who grow fastest aren't those who avoid triggers. They're the ones who use those triggers as precise guidance for personal development.
00:10:25:22 - 00:10:49:05
Itamar Marani
So basically, when a business setback stirs a very strong emotional reaction, don't look outward anger, even though that's your instinct, even though that's easier to do, even though that's our default at times. Instead, try to ask yourself why you're feeling this way and whether that reaction actually serves you. Your competition, your challenges, and even your failures aren't your enemies.
00:10:49:07 - 00:11:15:21
Itamar Marani
They're your most valuable teachers. Now, the biggest trick to overcoming frustration and setbacks and actually wanting to learn from our failures from what I've seen, is all about the perspective you choose to adopt. So when you view a situation with a short term mindset only caring about immediate success in the current project or the current month. Anything that gets in the way of that goal can feel like a disappointment and it's just a pain in your ass.
00:11:15:23 - 00:11:42:15
Itamar Marani
However, if you adopt a long term perspective and see entrepreneurship as what they call the ultimate vehicle for self-development, you can begin to view these challenges as opportunities, as gifts that help you grow into that exceptional person you want to become. And I remember seeing this in Brazilian jiu jitsu. The ones who came to class with their main focus being, I want to win this round of sparring or this training session were the ones who didn't do well.
00:11:42:17 - 00:12:01:23
Itamar Marani
They would either avoid the actual tough opponents that could teach them valuable lessons and help expose holes in their game or they would just get very frustrated when they wouldn't win. And again, they would be the ones that either would grow on a very, very slow trajectory or would just quit because they would plateau and they would get frustrated from that plateau.
00:12:02:01 - 00:12:27:12
Itamar Marani
Now, contrast to that, the individuals in the fastest growth trajectory, they were less worried with their immediate outcome in that training as they won or lost, but rather did they improve so they would actively seek out the best people on the mats and train with them, get their mistakes in their inefficiency, then their technique exposed, and then actually ask them, Hey, how could I do better here?
00:12:27:18 - 00:12:47:22
Itamar Marani
And when they kept doing that, the rate of improvement just grew dramatically. And also they would enjoy it. All of a sudden, they recognized that their ego wasn't on the line every single time they rolled, but instead it wasn't about them losing. It was about them getting a part of their technique exposed. And by being able to separate that because they didn't care about this round of sparring, but just about really getting better.
00:12:48:04 - 00:13:10:20
Itamar Marani
They had amazing growth trajectories. And with that comes the lesson number six Despise being the smartest person in the room. Six years ago I wrote If you want to feel good about yourself, be in a room or you're the smartest. If you want to improve. Find a room where everyone's smarter than you. When you got smashed in Brazil, it was disheartening at times, but your best competition results always came after months of being smashed.
00:13:10:22 - 00:13:31:05
Itamar Marani
Basically, I remember that I would go to Brazil when I was a blue belt and purple belt a lot and all the black belt in the class would just destroy me. And a lot of time there's just one or two myself. Am I even getting better at this thing? But after those training sessions, when I go into competitions against other blue belts and purple belts, all of a sudden I do really well.
00:13:31:07 - 00:13:54:22
Itamar Marani
And when I was training in other places in the world where I was one of the better, if not the better ones on the mats, all of a sudden, my results in competition simply weren't as good. For example, when I'm coaching someone and we figure out that they have a deficiency in a specific area, one of the first things we ask is how can we get you into a room full of black belts in that domain and can really go an amazingly long way?
00:13:55:00 - 00:14:22:05
Itamar Marani
Joining the right mastermind or going to the right community, or just reaching out to specific other people and making sure you meet with them regularly, it can make a giant breakthrough. And too many entrepreneurs because the entrepreneurship itself, it feels very challenging. We sometimes just want to feel comfortable in a certain way. So we surround ourselves with people that are on our level or below, and it feels good to be the expert, but it stunts growth.
00:14:22:06 - 00:14:51:18
Itamar Marani
And true innovation happens when you're consistently exposed challenging ideas, and basically if you're always finding yourself in the role of the teacher rather than the student, it means that it's time for you to find a new room. And on a personal note. That's why me and my family are moving to Austin, Texas. There, I know I'm going to meet people who are much further along in their business journeys than I am, and I am very eager to be that student among them so that I can grow and expose myself to people who are just doing much better than me right now.
00:14:51:20 - 00:15:12:18
Itamar Marani
And lesson number seven Be terrified of BlueBell Tightest. So six years ago, I wrote when I was a blue belt, I acted like a jackass. I had no idea how much I didn't know people who are just past the beginning stage think they, quote unquote, get it. They don't recognize that obtaining a wide perspective is just a first step.
00:15:12:19 - 00:15:32:08
Itamar Marani
The real magic comes from being able to go deep. So in Brazil, you get through the belt, progression goes from white belt to blue, belt to purple belt to brown and black. And it's not like karate where you get your black belt after two months. Like most people takes, they get their black belt ten years and above. For me, it took just under eight and white belts.
00:15:32:08 - 00:15:50:22
Itamar Marani
A blue belt usually just takes two years. So you do gain a certain amount of knowledge. And what happens is that often when people receive their blue belt, they think they understand jujitsu, just like I did, when in reality they barely scratched the surface. And what I know now, this is called the Dunning Kruger effect, and it affects all of us.
00:15:51:00 - 00:16:13:18
Itamar Marani
Now what I've learned from coaching entrepreneurs is that often the most dangerous point in the business is that first taste of success. It gives us just enough knowledge to succeed, but not enough to see the depth of what we're missing and where the possible pitfalls are. It's basically that you know enough to go on offense, but you could be very reckless.
00:16:13:20 - 00:16:40:00
Itamar Marani
Something that always takes me back is when I work with the really, really successful guys they have the really, really big businesses is just how humble they are. They keep embracing a white belt mentality and are just so eager to learn and have that beginner's mind. And it's something that which each of these kids who are with them on their performance, seeing their example of how humble they are and how eager they are to learn.
00:16:40:01 - 00:17:00:21
Itamar Marani
Constantly reminds me that I need to do that even more. So every time you enter a new phase in business, remind yourself that even if you feel relatively successful, you'll be better served to keep that white belt mentality. Be curious, ask questions, and always assume there are things you don't know. Now finally, there's a bonus and how to recognize high caliber people.
00:17:00:21 - 00:17:19:15
Itamar Marani
This was a big thing. So I was very fortunate in jujitsu to be able to train in a lot of places around the world. I want to say I've trained probably over 40 or 50 different gyms as I was traveling, meeting people and so on. And what I wrote six years ago was that an easy way to recognize if someone is a high caliber is through the question filter.
00:17:19:17 - 00:17:39:03
Itamar Marani
High level people appreciate you respectfully challenging their thought process. If someone is bugged by you, respectfully asking questions, recognize them for what they are, someone who is not that competent and is a bit insecure because they're probably a bit incompetent. So this is something I would see a lot. When I was traveling. I was always trying to make an effort to be that hungry student, that humble student.
00:17:39:05 - 00:18:00:06
Itamar Marani
And I would ask a lot of questions. When people show technique and with a lot of teachers, I would ask them, Why do you do this or why do you do that? And you could tell they didn't like it. They either because they felt on a personal level that their authority was getting threatened or because also a lot of times they just didn't really know why they weren't able to explain it and that would frustrate them.
00:18:00:08 - 00:18:16:13
Itamar Marani
Now, some of those people that didn't know why they wouldn't get frustrated by it, they would actually answer, you know, this is a really interesting question. Let's actually figure that out. And they would kind of play with something for 2 minutes, drill it, kind of move through the technique and they think, oh, okay, this is why because if you don't do this, then what's going to happen?
00:18:16:18 - 00:18:30:22
Itamar Marani
And it was a great learning moment. And also there were just some teacher that you would ask them why, like my actual teacher, they gave me all my belts, who was a nine time world champion, and he would be able to immediately tell me this is why because of this, this and that. It's a great question. Now you understand it.
00:18:31:00 - 00:18:58:02
Itamar Marani
Now, with regards to entrepreneurs, this method has really been a valuable filter for me in the business world. Basically elite minds, they welcome challenges because they value truth or simply being right or feeling right. And I've had the privilege of coaching some really brilliant founders who all share those trait, their so-called effort and in themselves as people that they're ready to admit when they don't know something and are eager to have their thinking challenged.
00:18:58:04 - 00:19:17:00
Itamar Marani
And I've also thought out coaching myself for the business and I've noticed some people that are quote unquote experts become very defensive at the slightest question. And it really showcases that this is someone who's not a true expert or someone with a giant ego that's not going to be enjoyable to work with. And basically this filter also works both ways.
00:19:17:00 - 00:19:38:21
Itamar Marani
The quality of questions you ask reveals your caliber as well, and it's why lazy questions don't get people excited. But the best entrepreneurs ask the most penetrating questions to get to the root of the issue rather than just settling for surface level answers. And they have this kind of tenacity about them where they keep drilling into why. And they're like, I don't understand this.
00:19:38:21 - 00:20:14:06
Itamar Marani
Why? Why help me figure this out? Why? So basically, when you're looking for guidance yourself and whatever it may be, seek out people who never shy away from having the thought process challenged and also be someone who welcomes that challenge yourself. So in conclusion, six years after earning my Black Belt, which was a big milestone for me, and after coaching hundreds of entrepreneurs through their own performance journeys, I've seen the overlap of how these principles from jiu jitsu and mastery are pretty much universal, and whether you're on the mats or in the boardroom, success often comes down to similar fundamentals.
00:20:14:08 - 00:20:35:12
Itamar Marani
Clear focus, the right mentors, audacious goals, and the wisdom to know what you can and cannot control and not let your emotions or your ego get in the way. So I'd love to hear which of these lessons that resonate with you guys the most, or what principles have guided your own journey in business or martial arts or any other hobby that you've really tried to take the effort to master.
00:20:35:14 - 00:20:44:18
Itamar Marani
So either drop a comment below or should be a message to let me know. I would really love to hear it. Thanks again for listening guys, and I'll see you on the mat or at a business event till next time.
