Fear and doubt often stop you from doing the things you really want to do in life. They are your biggest enemies, but it’s all in your mind. Had I come to America thinking, “Well, if I don’t succeed, I’ll go back to Brazil,” I would never have gotten as far as I did. The option of going back to Brazil, had I not succeeded, did not exist in my mind. I always believed, “It’s going to work.”

Of course, you have to have the training, the commitment and the dedication—all of the elements to put you on the verge of exploding—then on top of that, if you add the conviction that you can do it, envision your success with faith, that’s what makes it happen. That’s how history is made.

The jiu-jitsu I grew up with allowed me to have a certain level of confidence to believe that I could do anything. While training jiu-jitsu, you always have someone literally trying to choke or catch you in an armlock, so there’s a constant need to survive. That makes jiu-jitsu a good rehearsal for the kind of struggles one goes through in life.

Most people don’t have the opportunity to experience this feeling the way we did growing up in our family. For me it was a positive thing. My challenge was to share this kind of experience with my students; this kind of mental state in which you are continuously trying to improve yourself. I have to make sure they don’t feel discouraged by the process. Instead, they should feel motivated.

If a new student at the Gracie Academy was treated like fresh meat for everyone else, it could be very discouraging, because only the tough would survive and the weak would be turned away. Actually, it’s the weak that need it the most.

That’s why we have designed a system that’s so friendly everybody immediately becomes a part of the family. They are welcomed to the nourishing process of being educated in a caring, friendly and respectful way so the students feel they can grow into it.

If I can put you in a very scary position like having a guy is sitting on top of you (in the mount), potentially pounding your face away, you might think, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know how to escape!” But since we are in a controlled environment, I can step-by-step, inch-by-inch, show you how to successfully deal with it by showing you an easy way to escape, that will give you a very comforting feeling. You will walk away with an increased sense of confidence.

And that sensation leaves the student thinking, “Wow, I can get in a very bad spot and be able to walk out alive! This is wonderful, what’s next?” And it’s a growing process—right there.

Subconsciously, most students don’t even know how jiu-jitsu is affecting them until they find themselves confronted in some tough spot in their life often totally unrelated to a self-defense situation. But because they have learned to deal with it, knowing they can handle the stress and the fears, it transfers to their everyday lives in a positive way. And it is extremely rewarding to be in the position to be able to do for everybody. That is what makes teaching Gracie Jiu-jitsu a wonderful occupation for me.

They say that 98 percent of the people are not in their ultimate dream job. But I’m in the two percent for sure. I show up for work in a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. I wear a kimono all day, and work with my sons. The boys already can run the show 100 percent, which means I couldn’t be happier, because they are doing everything perfectly and are also passionate about the Gracie tradition.

Then there is also the Gracie Diet, which keeps everybody healthy, but that’s another story.