Meet Eric Carr

We recently connected with Eric Carr and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?

Haters are a good indication that you’re doing something right. Don’t try to do anything. But especially don’t try to make everyone happy. Middle of the road boring, doesn’t trigger anyone but it doesn’t excite them either. Figure out what you do and what you stand for and why it’s valuable and stick to it. Ignore the noise. And ignore the people that are just looking for something wrong with what you do. You know, for some reason it’s like a sickness, but it’s become people’s missions to criticize others. My advice to them is to look at their own lives. Because the other hand you don’t see lebron james find social media commenting and criticizing other peoples basketball skills. You don’t see jon jones watching amateur fights on youtube, criticizing anyone. The people who are actually making things happen are either in front of the camera, or they’re off getting stuff done. The ones hating have nothing going on in their life and have no value to speak of.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

There are a few things that I love. My adopted dogs, working out, training, and real estate. I invest in real estate and other assets – no, not stocks. Stocks are great for others.
Training other people pays but real estate and other investment choices I’ve made are what pays. And that allows me to focus on the other things that I love. The way I teach JKD, is based on what Bruce taught, his intent – which we can clearly see in his writings and interviews, and my path in combative arts. I don’t teach choreography or theory. It’s not for everyone but i do enjoy teaching the people that come to me to learn exactly this. I do have a free newsletter that goes out weekly with combat and training tips and stories. And I am working on a comprehensive online class product that will be updated weekly.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Consistency – no matter how you feel on a given day, which is basically discipline, keep your head in the real world – avoid flashy objects and ignore the noise, and keep the beginners mindset – no ego.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

There are so many great questions, but this is another that stood out. When answering this question I think context is critical. If you’re talking about career or investing then you’ve got to calculate risk. And I mentioned staying grounded in reality earlier, so here’s another spot where you’ve got to be realistic. There are highly desirable and lucrative careers out there where only the top fractions of a percent makes it. I think it’s important to be realistic about your talents and your skills, and therefore your chances, when considering something like that. On the other hand if you’ve got an idea for a business or you are investing in something that you have belief in, maybe diversification is not the way to go. Jeff bezos went all in on amazon. I’m all in on real estate. I don’t need a plan b or distractions. Now when it comes to working out or training, absolutely work on the things that you’re not naturally good at. That’s how people get stuck relying on things that come easy to them. The avoid doing the work and will never rise to the top of any sport or any business. Put it this way, when I started lifting weights, when I was ten or eleven I discovered that one of my arms was stronger than the other. If I had ignored the other arm and went all in on the thing that came easy, I would have one buff arm and probably some physical pain and ailments.
Being well rounded, it’s important, but even in that there was a specific focus. If we are talking combat, well be well rounded with your hands and your feet and your takedowns and your groundwork. Be realistic about what really works and what your goals are. If your goal is to be flashy and when dance competitions, then focus on that. If your goal is to be able to handle yourself on the street, then get realistic and focus on what works in reality. And in mma, and in real fights, the reality is you’ve got to be able to do all of those things and fight proficiently in all of those ranges.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Ecjkd.com
• Instagram: ericcarrjkd
• Facebook: Eric Carr jeet kune do
• Youtube: @ericcarrjeetkunedo
• Yelp: Eric Carr jeet kune do

Image Credits

None