🌟 Why You Need to Stop Descending to Their Level

There’s a story I tell about a fighter pilot that changed how I think about handling criticism, doubt, and all the noise that comes at you when you’re trying to build something real.

It’s 1950-something. A test pilot climbs into the cockpit of the newest, most advanced fighter jet ever engineered, a plane designed to reach altitudes higher and faster than anything before it.

He takes off. Climbs through the clouds. Everything is perfect.

Until it’s not.

Red lights start flashing across the dashboard. Alerts are screaming. Something is catastrophically wrong with the plane.

He looks down and sees it: a rat. Chewing on a red wire. The wire that connects the jet’s steering to its engines.

If that wire gets severed, he’s going down.

His instinct? Descend immediately. Get back to the ground. Land the plane. Survive.

But then he has a realization.

This rat is a creature of the ground. It wasn’t made for high altitudes.

So instead of descending, he makes a bold decision: he pushes the throttle and climbs higher. He goes up as far as the jet can go, betting that the altitude will be too much for the rat to survive.

Sure enough, the wire stops moving.

When he lands, the mechanic finds a dead rat under the console.

Here’s What That Story Means for You

The rat represents every voice trying to pull you down.

The critics. The doubters. The people telling you to play it safe. The ones who think you’re crazy for wanting more. The old friends who stayed stuck. The family members who don’t get it. The competitors whispering about you. The former employees spreading lies.

And here’s what most people do when they hear those voices: they descend.

They engage. They argue. They try to defend themselves. They get dragged into negativity, into petty battles, into trying to convince people who will never be convinced.

But here’s the truth: descending does no good.

Those voices are just as loud down there. Why would you want to go down to where they’re living? Why would you want to live with the rats?

Instead, you need to make the decision to keep climbing higher, above the noise, above the doubts, because those opinions don’t belong at your altitude.

The people giving you those opinions? They were not made to live where you’re going.

The War You’re Actually Fighting

Let me ask you something.

Have you ever had a week where you felt unstoppable (clear vision, massive momentum, making moves) and then out of nowhere, something happens that makes you second-guess everything?

A parent complains. A competitor undercuts you. Someone leaves a bad review. A staff member quits. Your numbers dip for a month.

And suddenly, that voice in your head shows up: “Maybe this isn’t working. Maybe I’m not cut out for this. Maybe I should just play it safe.”

That’s your default mindset talking.

Your default mindset is the part of you wired for survival. It wants comfort. It wants to avoid risk. It tells you to retreat as soon as things get difficult.

It’s the voice that says: “You’re not good enough. Why bother? It’s just going to turn out the same way it did last time. Keep doing what you’ve been doing. It’s easier.”

Most people live their entire life in default mode. They never push themselves because it’s always too risky. What if they fail?

But there’s another voice inside you.

I call it the victory mindset.

It’s the part of you that’s wired for growth. For success. For risk. For greatness.

It’s the part that believes you were made for more. The part that pushes through when things get uncomfortable.

And here’s the battle: your victory mindset has to become louder than your default mindset.

Because if you’re not careful, your default mind will win. And you’ll stay stuck in the same place year after year, playing small because it’s comfortable.

Why Most School Owners Stay Stuck

Let me tell you what I see all the time.

A martial arts school owner comes into my world. They’re doing okay. Maybe $30K, $40K, $50K a month. Profitable. Respected in their community.

But they’re exhausted. They’re the bottleneck. They can’t step away. Growth feels slow and chaotic.

And when I start asking questions, here’s what I find: they’re surrounded by people in default mode.

Staff members who resist every new idea. “That won’t work here.” “Our community is different.” “I don’t have time for that.”

Friends and family who don’t understand why they’re pushing so hard. “You’re making good money. Why risk it?”

Old training partners stuck in the same place they were ten years ago, telling them to be more careful, play it safer, stop dreaming so big.

And here’s what happens: that default mindset is cancer.

I don’t say that lightly. It spreads. It infects your team. It infects your thinking. It pulls you down.

A lot of times as martial arts school owners, we hire a student we’ve been training for a long time because we have loyalty to them. They have that default mindset, and we think, “Well, we can fix them.”

But while you’re trying to fix them, that cancer is spreading through the rest of your team. And then suddenly, you have a whole team that needs to be fixed when you could have just cut off the cancer and been good to go.

You can’t fix people who are stuck in default mode. It’s not your job. It’s not your responsibility.

Your job is to climb higher.

The Moment Everything Changed for Me

2024 was the hardest year of my life.

I’ve talked openly about what happened: the theft, the accusations, the news stories, the death threats, losing 50% of my business in a couple months.

There was one day I remember vividly. I went down the Reddit rabbit hole. All the comments, all the hate, all the lies.

I got home and told my wife: “I’m done. Let’s sell it all. Let’s move. Let’s get out of here. We don’t need to subject our kids to this.”

My default mindset had fully kicked in. Adam, just give up. Get out of this. Why are you subjecting yourself to this?

But my wife (who has the victory mindset) looked at me and said: “Shut up. We’re not doing that. You’ve spent so much time building all of this. You can’t quit now.”

That’s why we need the right people around us.

When you’re in default mode, you need people with the victory mindset to override it. You need people who will slap you in the face and reset your brain.

Because here’s what I realized in that moment: I had a choice.

I could descend. I could engage with the noise. I could try to convince the trolls and the doubters and the haters.

Or I could climb higher.

So I climbed.

What Climbing Higher Actually Looks Like

Climbing higher doesn’t mean ignoring problems or pretending everything’s fine.

It means staying focused on your character, your purpose, and your vision.

It means refusing to let other people’s opinions have power over your thoughts and actions.

Here’s what that looked like for me:

I stopped reading the comments. I stopped checking Reddit. I stopped trying to defend myself to people who had already made up their minds.

Instead, I focused internally. On my relationship with God. On my family. On my business. On the people who believed in me. On the mission.

And you know what happened?

The voices didn’t stop. We still get emails calling me terrible things. We still get accusations. But when I’m focused on my character and my vision and where I’m leading the company, those voices don’t have the same impact anymore.

The higher you go, the less likely those voices can reach you.

Not because they stop talking. But because you’re operating at an altitude they can’t survive at.

Your Challenge: Choose Your Altitude

Here’s what I want you to do this week.

Look around at the five people you spend the most time with. Are they in default mode or victory mode?

Are they constantly saying things like:

“You should be more careful.”
“Don’t do that. What if you fail?”
“That won’t work in your area.”
“Just be happy with what you have.”

If so, you need to make a hard decision. Because those people are rats chewing on the wire that’s keeping your plane in the air.

You can’t fix them. You can’t convince them. You can’t bring them with you.

You have to climb higher.

Find people who are where you want to be. Get in rooms with them. Listen to their podcasts. Read their books. Join their masterminds. Ask them questions.

Surround yourself with people who have the victory mindset. People who believe you were made for more, who push you when you want to quit, who remind you of your calling when you’re sinking into doubt.

And when the noise starts (when the critics show up, when the doubters get loud, when your default mindset kicks in), don’t descend.

Climb higher.

Focus on your character. Focus on your vision. Focus on where you’re going.

Because those opinions? They don’t belong at your altitude.

Let me leave you with this.

Every single day, you’re fighting a war within yourself. Default mindset versus victory mindset.

The default mind tells you to stay comfortable, avoid risk, play it safe.

The victory mind tells you that you were made for more.

And here’s the thing: that battle never goes away. I still fight it. Every successful person I know still fights it.

The difference is this: the people who win that war are the ones who intentionally choose discomfort over comfort. They put themselves in situations that force growth. They climb higher when their instinct is to descend.

Because growth doesn’t happen in the comfort zone.

So the question is: which voice are you going to listen to?

The one that tells you to descend and live with the rats?

Or the one that tells you to keep climbing, higher and higher, until you’re so far above the noise that it can’t touch you anymore?

I know which one I’m choosing.

—Adam
(Now go climb.)

This week's lineup hits on discipline, clarity, emotional control, and leadership that actually creates results. These are the posts worth your attention:

🔥 Matthew Brenner – Discipline Reveals the Truth
Matthew cuts through the excuses and makes it simple: your results are a reflection of your discipline. Whether it's running a school, developing instructors, or leading a team, consistency is the separator.
👉 Check it out

🔥 Mike Massie – Standards Build Strong Instructor Teams
Mike breaks down why most instructor issues come from unclear expectations. When standards are solid, your team stops guessing — and starts leading.
👉 Watch here

🔥 Ben Meer – Calm Leaders Build Strong Teams
Ben challenges the myth that intensity equals leadership. The strongest leaders bring clarity, steadiness, and emotional control — especially when things get chaotic.
👉 Read here

🔥 Dave Kovar – Set Your Day
Dave reminds us how much power there is in taking control early. A set day becomes a productive day — and ultimately a productive life.
👉 Read here

🔥 Simon Sinek – Communication Isn’t a Race
Simon brings a needed reminder: leadership isn’t about rushing through conversations. It’s about clarity, patience, and making sure your message actually lands.
👉 Check it out

😂 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.