I was arrogant. I was selfish. I was the kid that felt that I knew it all. Worse, I didn’t even listen to anyone as I thought I was the smartest kid in town. However, as I met Aba, I realized that I was living a loser life where everything was so uncertain and full of fear.I made my parents disappointed. I was overweight (238 lbs). I ruined my health by sleeping late. I didn’t exercise. I almost became blind. I was a taker and a user in my personal and a professional life.
You see… Aba and Zu Shi were not just my spiritual mentors in my life, they are the light I was searching for in 20 years. When I met Aba, he taught me the art of discipline, the art of self-reliant, the art of humility, and the art of living my life with honesty,integrity, and dedication on improving myself every single day.
For more than a year, I would drive back and forth from Boston to New York (It took 9 hours roundtrip) 2 to 3 times a month to learn from Aba and Zu Shi. I would help out from burning papers, cut the grass, swept the floors, and much more. During the snowstorm, I would plow the backyard for hours. Sometime, I would spend 10 to 12 hours per day to do this volunteer work almost every weekend.
In the surface, it is the most ridiculous things to do. In reality, it helped me with a discipline life that I didn’t have before. In the past, I didn’t have any patience on completing one task. After I learned the art of discipline from Aba and Zu Shi, I started to put more effort into my business. Instead of releasing one project every 2 1/2 months, I release one project every two weeks. Instead of making my place look like a shit hole, I prefer to have an organized home.
Instead of ruining my health, I go to Kickboxing classes three times a week in which I have lost more than 60 lbs. I started to eat healthier than before. I removed coffee, Red Bull, and soda that could potentially ruin my health. Plus, I’ve slowly changed my sleeping habit from the usual 3 AM or 4 AM to 11 PM.
When Aba taught me that I will need to understand there are different types of human being I need to deal with, instead of being vocal with my voice like I used to be as if what I know what was better for them, I decided to keep my mouth shut and let them be themselves.
When Aba taught me to finish up what I started, I told myself that my words mean everything. This is how I gained a lot of trust from my partners where they know that when I say things, the work will be done and the deadline will be met. I didn’t realize that this discipline Aba taught me made me gained more business then I could handle.
When Aba and Zu Shi told me that I needed to sleep earlier which I did listen. Suddenly, I am able to double my productivity on my work. When Aba told me “The more you are kind to others, the higher your chances to become successful”. I decided to do just that. All of sudden, my neighbor gave me a cool T-shirt. I had one guy told me
that he could tell me all the secrets that he had because he doesn’t treat me as a competitor. Instead, he looked at me as a friend.
In fact, in the past few months, I have so many friends that I can barely keep up. Before I met Aba and Chin Chueh Gung Zu Shi, I didn’t have any friends at all. Right now, it will take me hours or daye\s before I can get back to my friends. — As I wrote this article, a long lost friend that I haven’t kept in touch for 11 years decided to catch up with me as well.
For me, Aba and Zu Shi is the ONLY light out of the darkness. In the past, I had so many questions. Right now, I didn’t even ask questions at all as I know Aba and Zu Shi have given so many things I couldn’t even pay back with my life. From now, I just want to focus on being a better human being to show others the discipline and the compassion Aba and Zu Shi have taught me in my life. So, Thank you.
