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🧠 The Internal Operating System

Why Your Business Will Never Outperform Your Default Settings

Author

Adam Kifer
July 29, 2025

Hello, kickers!

🧠 The Kick is Here: Upgrade the System That Runs It All

This week’s edition is all about the internal game—the mindset, clarity, and standards that drive everything from your leadership to your lead flow. Our main article breaks down the Internal Operating System every school owner needs to upgrade if they want consistent performance without constant pressure.

We’re also spotlighting two RMA members who just slashed their CPLs by over 65%, highlighting a powerful new community for women in martial arts, and sharing the book that exposes why so many people lose wealth even after they earn it (Top 10 Reasons the Rich Go Broke).

Plus: mindset hits from Adam, Taylor Welch, and Dan Martell that’ll sharpen your mornings, protect your energy, and remind you that success always starts behind the scenes—with how you think, lead, and respond.

Let’s get into it.

👊 WOMEN IN MARTIAL ARTS — WHERE ARE YOU?

In schools across the country, women are the ones managing the books, organizing events, mentoring students, running the socials, cleaning the mats—and often holding the whole thing together.

But they’re not in the spotlight.
They’re not in the photos.
They’re not always invited into the leadership rooms they’ve already earned their place in.

This industry is powered by women.
And it’s time we start recognizing them as the leaders they are.

Whether you teach, train, lead behind the scenes, or support someone who does—you deserve a space to be seen, heard, and celebrated.

⚡ Join the free community:
Women in Martial Arts: The Unseen Leaders

Let’s change the narrative.
Let’s raise the volume.
Let’s lead—loudly.

👉 Know someone who needs to be in this group? Tag her. Invite her. Back her up.

🧠 The Internal Operating System: Why Your Business Will Never Outperform Your Default Settings

This week’s edition is a gut check—because your results don’t just come from your marketing, your team, or your calendar.
They come from you.

More specifically, they come from your Internal Operating System (IOS)—the mental framework that dictates how you process stress, manage pressure, make decisions, and lead others.

Think of your IOS like your software:
If it’s cluttered, outdated, or full of bugs, your external results will always lag—no matter how hard you push.

⚙ What Is Your Internal Operating System?

Your IOS is made up of three core components:

1. Your Identity

Who you believe you are.
Your standards. Your values. Your level of self-respect.
If you still see yourself as the overwhelmed operator, the micromanager, or the “just getting by” owner—you’ll subconsciously act like it.

2. Your Inputs

What you consume. Who you listen to. The rooms you're in.
Your IOS is shaped by what you allow in. That includes podcasts, conversations, content—and especially the voices you give weight to.

3. Your Habits

Not just what you do—but how you respond.
Stress response. Communication. Leadership. Energy management.
These small, repeated actions reveal the code you’re actually running.

💣 The Trap: Outworking a Broken System

Most school owners try to out-hustle a broken IOS.
They want to grow, scale, lead—but they’re still running their business through the mindset of someone trying to survive.

That leads to:

  • Overwhelm disguised as hustle

  • Burnout labeled as leadership

  • “More effort” used to cover up lack of clarity

It doesn’t work.
And eventually
 it breaks.

✅ The Upgrade Process

So how do you upgrade your Internal Operating System?

  1. Audit your beliefs.
    Where are you tolerating limitation?
    What stories are you repeating that no longer serve the level you're stepping into?

  2. Shift your inputs.
    Get in new rooms.
    Surround yourself with bigger thinkers, clearer communicators, and high-standard leaders.

  3. Redesign your defaults.
    Build new micro-responses.
    When stress hits, do you shrink or strategize?
    When conflict happens, do you avoid or confront?

You don’t need more tactics.
You need a system behind the tactics that doesn’t break under pressure.

Final Word:

Every business has an operating system.
But before you upgrade your school’s systems—make sure you’ve upgraded the one running you.

Because your growth won’t come from doing more.
It’ll come from becoming someone who sees, thinks, and leads at the next level—by default.

đŸ”„ What’s Kickin’ on Social

The Kick’s pick of the hottest headlines in social this week

This week’s feed served up a fresh dose of clarity, energy, and perspective. From early mornings to late-night battles, these five posts hit home:

Adam Kifer
Everyone says to wake up early to be productive. But it’s not about output—it’s about power.
There’s clarity in the silence. Discipline in the decision.
👉 Watch it here

Dan Martell
Your performance isn’t just about effort—it’s about recovery.
Make quality sleep non-negotiable. No dream is worth chasing if you’re too fried to enjoy it.
👉 Watch it here

Taylor Welch
A visceral, fire-breathing reminder:
Hell should be nervous when you're awake.
You’re not your past. You don’t need to be contained. Wake up, take ground, and lead like you were built for it.
👉 Watch it here

Mike Walker
Sweat, blood, and tears are the price of admission—so make sure you’re spending them on something that lights you up.
Your energy is your equity.
👉 Watch it here

Shelly Debin Toland
One sentence. Total shift:
“Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.”
Perspective turns pressure into purpose.
👉 Watch it here

🧠 Whether you’re navigating challenge, burnout, or the next breakthrough—this week’s takeaway is simple:
Master your mornings. Guard your energy. And attack the day like it owes you something.

😂 Martial Memes

These memes hit home for all of us martial artists and gave us a good chuckle. Click on the image to view the original account that posted each meme. Enjoy!

Have a MEME that you want featured? Send them to us at [email protected] or tag our instagram account @thekicknewsletter.

📚 What We’re Reading: Top 10 Reasons the Rich Go Broke by Patrick W. Tucker

Making money is one thing.
Keeping it? Whole different game.

In Top 10 Reasons the Rich Go Broke, Patrick Tucker flips the usual financial advice on its head. Instead of obsessing over how to get rich, this book breaks down why people lose it all—even after they make it.

Real stories. Real patterns. Real warnings for anyone building wealth and legacy.

💡 Key Takeaways for School Owners:
✅ Money doesn’t fix poor decisions—it magnifies them.
✅ Most financial collapse isn’t external—it’s personal habits, ego, and lack of structure.
✅ The same principles that grow your school also protect your wealth: discipline, clarity, and systems.

If you’re scaling fast but want to build something that lasts, this book is a wake-up call worth reading.

📖 Grab your copy here: Top 10 Reasons the Rich Go Broke on Amazon

📈 Relentless Results: Success Stories from RMA

This week we’re shouting out two RMA members who didn’t just lower their CPL—they crushed it with creative strategy and consistent follow-up.

🎯 Theresa Anderson: 76% Drop in CPL!

Theresa’s campaign just took a major leap. In the past 7 days, her Cost Per Lead dropped from $66 to just $16—a 76% decrease! đŸ”„
This win came from tight collaboration, sharp ad strategy, and Theresa’s relentless follow-up game.
When leads come in and get called fast—they show up.
And Theresa’s proving it.

đŸ’„ Nick Perdunn: 67% CPL Drop + Leads Converting Like Crazy

Nick’s campaign is on đŸ”„ right now. After testing new cartoon-style ad creatives, his CPL dropped from $45 to just $15—a 67% improvement in one week.
But it didn’t stop at clicks. The leads are not just opting in—they’re booking and enrolling.
Creative testing + strong follow-up = serious momentum.

These wins aren’t just about ads.
They’re about action.
Want results like this?

👉 Book your RMA Discovery Call here.
Let’s build a strategy that works and converts.

📬 Have Something That Is Kick Worthy?

We know our readers have great ideas, insights, and stories to share! If you’ve got something that’s "kick-worthy"—whether it’s a success story, a marketing tip, or something that’s helping your school thrive—submit it to us at [email protected]. Your content could be featured in an upcoming edition of The Kick and shared with martial arts school owners around the world!

đŸ”„ That’s a Wrap for This Week!

This issue was a reminder that your external growth will never outpace your internal system.
The way you think.
The way you respond.
The habits you default to under pressure.

Whether it’s tightening your follow-up, shifting your mindset, building wealth that lasts, or finally stepping into the leadership you’ve been delaying—it all starts with the operating system behind the action.

Upgrade that
 and everything changes.

Stay focused. Stay intentional.
And as always—stay sharp, stay relentless, and keep kicking forward. đŸ‘ŠđŸ”„ #TheKick