life thoughts

 by Jon F. Merz

The Easy Way or The Right Way?

Today’s been a great day so far: I have a brand new nephew, Dylan James, who entered this world earlier this morning. I received a fantastic piece of fan mail from a Delta flight attendant who absolutely loves the Lawson series, which is always gratifying to get. And I also got an email from someone within the Ninjutsu organization asking me to come out and teach a seminar for them.

I was both honored and humbled by this request. It’s nice to get an email from someone who appreciates my perspective on this art to the point that they’d like me to come and put on a weekend seminar for them.

But I turned the request down.

And here’s why: if someone wants to hire me for a seminar, they shouldn’t: they should hire my teacher Mr. Mark Davis of the Boston Martial Arts Center. This is the man who has taught me virtually everything I know about this art; this is the man whose wisdom, experience, and guidance have enabled me to survive some horrifying encounters and emerge unscathed. It’s because of Mark that I am as far along the path as I am.

I enjoy teaching people and I’ve done it for a number of years now. I’m always honored to be asked to be a presenter at the annual New England Warrior Camp, I’ve taught many classes at Mark’s dojo, and I run my own informal training group most Sunday nights in my town. In the past, I’ve conducted training events for the State Department, Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, and other interesting places like that.

But I’m not studying this art to become recognized as a teacher or a guru or what have you. My motivation has always been to study what I consider to be one of the finest methods of self-protection available to anyone – and then be able to pass my knowledge down to my children so they, too, have the means and mindset to be able to survive any encounter they might find themselves in.

That’s it.

I know of people who would jump at any opportunity to teach a seminar – to try to prove that they have some sort of great insight into this art, or to earn a quick buck. But why would hire a student, when you can just as easily hire the teacher of that student? As I explained to the person who emailed me, I’m still learning to find my way in this art – even after more than two decades. This material isn’t easy; it’s complex stuff that demands constant study. And at advanced levels, this material gets even more challenging. It’s not about “put your foot here and do this” – it’s about a whole other realm of technique. And stuff that advanced can’t be taught over the phone or via the Internet or via Skype or by churning out silly notebooks filled with A+B=C type notes. People who do that are simply misleading others for the sake of ego or to make a quick dollar.

So as I wrote back to the sender, it’s important to get with my teacher and not me. Hire my teacher to come and show you this stuff – not me. If you hire me, you’re getting material that is removed from the source and therefore not likely to be as accurate and fulfilling as it could be. By hiring my teacher, you get to experience what I experience on a weekly basis. It’s better for everyone involved.

I’ve seen too many charlatans attempt to lead folks astray in some vain attempt to set themselves up as a “guru du jour” – people who think they can break things down into stupid catchphrases and marketing gimmicks. But the essence of this art – the essence of any real martial lineage – isn’t techniques written down in a notebook (or xeroxed and covertly handed out for that matter) – it’s experience.

Each student has their own experience. That’s the truth to this training that no one can ever take away from you.

But in order to get that experience, you need to get with someone as high up and experienced within this art as possible. That’s why I refused to teach this seminar and why I suggested hiring my teacher instead. He’s got oodles of more years in this art and his comprehension of the material dwarfs my own. How could I in good conscience pretend that I could be a better guide to this tradition than him? How could I claim to be an honorable representative of this art (knowing full well that my own comprehension of this material is far less than my teacher’s) by agreeing to teach?

I couldn’t.

It would have been easy to say yes. It would have been easy to go out-of-state and put on a show down south and then pretend that I’m some elevated teacher of this material. After all, I’ve got the license from Japan to do so, so it’s all good, right?

Wrong.

I’m fond of saying that ego is the number one killer of decent ninjutsu practitioners. It’s easy to drink the Kool Aid when people sing your praises. It’s easy to believe that you’re a gifted practitioner capable of leading others.

It’s easy.

But that’s the warning sign.

I’m not in this art for it to be easy. Come to think of it, I’m not in life for it to be easy. The warrior’s path is hard – and the difficulties we face are for a reason. It takes effort to see yourself objectively and to understand that you have so much to work on, that you have your own inner demons to cleanse, that you have many more steps to go even after walking so many already.

Too many get lost along the way. They believe their own hype. They pose and posture and pretend and they end up irresponsibly hurting the lives of others by depriving them of their own experiences and their own opportunities to discover the joys of this martial tradition.

They opt for the easy way out.

I made a vow a long time ago that I would never take the easy way out of anything. So as tough as it was to turn down the rather hefty paycheck, it was the right thing to do. And the people who end up hiring my teacher will have a better time and better experiences because of it.

I believe that’s what it means to be an asset to this art, instead of just another joke.

in common sense / life thoughts / martial arts / self protection / ninjutsu 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

Why Barnes & Noble Just Made a Big Mistake…

So, the latest news in the publishing world is that Barnes & Noble will not stock Amazon-published titles in its stores. (Amazon recently signed a distribution agreement with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s new imprint for just this purpose.) Social media is all abuzz right now with the majority of publishing people stating something along the lines of it’s great to see B&N standing up to the bullying ways of Amazon, and all the rest of the assorted statements about Amazon being the Big Bad Wolf, evil corporate empire, etc. etc. blah blah blah.

Me? I happen to think B&N just made a critical error. As admirable a job a William Lynch has done as the head of Barnes & Noble, he’s made a potentially disastrous mistake with this decision and here’s why:

He’s put Amazon on notice that B&N will not play with them in the sandbox.

There’s an old strategy that states you keep your friend close and your enemies closer. B&N would have done well to heed this advice – even if they simply faked it. Barnes & Noble is the only real major national retailer left after the Borders implosion. And indie booksellers only account for 10% of sales. Obviously, if Amazon is intent on market dominance, then that road takes them right through B&N. If B&N was truly interested in its survival – rather than appeasing the publishing world, which is itself a tired anachronism being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century – then they would have agreed to carry Amazon’s titles.

One reason B&N might have wanted to take this approach is to buy time while they strengthen their own shaky foundations. B&N had a strong fourth quarter, but overall, it pales in comparison to Amazon. B&N’s stock closed yesterday around $12 bucks with a market cap of $700 million. Some experts have recently valued the company at around $8 billion, but I think that’s being extremely kind.

Amazon, by comparison, has at least $6 billion in CASH. That’s not the valuation of the company and all its assets – that’s CASH. Jeff Bezos could easily stomp B&N into the ground and not lose a single night’s sleep over it.

So the question becomes: do you rush to war with such an incredibly powerful enemy as Amazon? Do you charge into battle knowing you have far less resources than your opponent?

Or do you bide your time, strengthen your own position, and search for other unorthodox ways to level the battlefield?

Barnes & Noble currently has something that Amazon does not: real estate. Even with the massive number of bookstores closing, B&N still has about 700 stores around the country. Amazon has no real retail presence. Perhaps they don’t want one, but what if they do? By agreeing to carry Amazon titles, B&N could then open up further talks with Amazon – what about a joint venture where the two companies partner and open up new retail fronts in the old Borders locations? Such a move would increase value for both companies, enabling B&N to better right its own ship during these turbulent economic times and potentially entice better buyout offers from interested parties. (Biding time would allow B&N to roll out that newer version of its Nook device that might help it capture more ebook market share than it currently has…)

If Amazon and B&N teamed up, they could then actually create real and lasting change in the publishing world. B&N has a very good relationship with the Big 6 publishers – again, something that Amazon does not have. B&N and Amazon could sit down with the publishers and suggest ways they could all benefit from making changes. This is a long-shot, of course. Knowing what a stubborn bunch the Big 6 are – and given the fact that they refuse to admit their own failings but instead seek to blame outside influences (like Amazon) for their faltering steps towards the future – it’s unlikely anything would come of that.

But instead, B&N has opted to draw a line in the sand.

“Hooray!” shout the masses of publishers and booksellers. “We’re not going to let Amazon bully us anymore!”

Except, they’ve all forgotten one thing: their customers.

Most customers don’t really care about this stuff. They know they can go to Amazon and get what they’re looking for at a cheap price and have it in-hand as quickly as tomorrow. Yes, there are bookstore aficionados – but the masses that make up the bottom line for B&N simply don’t care. And if B&N isn’t doing its best to service its customers, then what the hell are they doing in business in the first place?

Amazon has perfected customer service. My own experiences have never once been bad. When the UPS guy left my expensive hardcover out in the rain and I sent an email – I didn’t call, mind you, but sent an email – Amazon had the UPS driver return the next day with a brand new book and take back the old ruined one without it costing me a single penny. Amazon services its customers and treats them like gold. And that’s why customers love them.

So when B&N draws its line in the sand – they haven’t really done much except angered a juggernaut and told their customers they’re not interested in providing them with exceptional service.

That’s not smart.

Amazon now knows exactly where B&N stands and can take its next steps accordingly. Such steps might be drastic, or they might not. Either way, Amazon wins again. With $6 BILLION in CASH, Bezos can open up tons of retail storefronts and drive B&N right out of business.

Here’s the thing: ever since the Kindle appeared, the publishing world has only been reacting to Amazon’s moves. Not one publishing world entity has taken that initiative away from Amazon because all they can do is react and try to deal with it. In a fight, if you spend all your time reacting to your attacker, you will eventually (sometimes quicker than others) lose. At some point during the fight, you have absolutely got to take the initiative and win. Whether you do this by launching a sudden blitz counter-attack, or by setting a trap that your attacker falls into, or by some other technique, it doesn’t matter. What matters is you stop reacting and start doing something.

B&N’s move here might be seen by some as taking the initiative, but it’s not. It’s reaction. And the wrong reaction at that. As Amazon jabs and jabs and the publishing world tries to slip and bob and weave out of the way of each successive jab – thinking they’re doing great for avoiding those – they fail to see that Amazon – just as a good prize fighter does – is merely lulling them into a rhythm, ranging them, and getting ready to deliver a final knockout blow so severe that the publishing world won’t see it coming until it’s far too late. Bezos has already demonstrated his far-reaching view, putting things into motion now that will bear fruit in later years.

I have no doubt that Bezos knows exactly how to take down B&N now, thanks to the poor decision B&N has made in refusing to stock their titles.

in common sense / ebooks / life thoughts / publishing / Uncategorized 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

Training & Learning

Several years ago, I found myself in a position of having to deal with some distinctly unpleasant “stuff.” Dealing properly with this stuff necessitated me being away from my teacher, Mark Davis of the Boston Martial Arts Center, for an extended amount of time. This was the first time I’d ever been away from training with my teacher for such a long time, and it was unusual for me, to say the least. There was nothing formalized about my absence; my teacher and friends didn’t even know what was going on – just that I was no longer at the dojo; and for all intents and purposes, I was pretty much gone from everything.

I was determined, however, that I would keep training. Even though I was away from my teacher, I resolved to continue my training at any opportunity. I consoled myself with this resolution, thinking that I would be able to return to the dojo and pick up where I left off. So as I dealt with the situations in my life that mandated my absence from routine and normalcy, I found opportunities to apply a lot of what I had learned. I also found opportunities to visit several other dojo associated with the art I study. I thought that was a good thing. And again, I told myself that even though I wasn’t with my teacher, I was still training. And that would help my skills continue to grow and improve. I had, by this time, already earned my 5th degree black belt and felt pretty confident that I could uncover new things to learn and practice.

So I kept training as much as was possible. I honed certain skills, I had my own techniques tested in a variety of ways, and I kept trying to continue the practices that I’d learned under my teacher’s guidance.

Eventually, as do all things pleasant and unpleasant – my time away ended and I returned to the dojo. I still remember vividly the first night back, climbing those steps and smelling the familiar tang of sweat in the air as I approached. I was home. At last.

And I was ready to pick up where I’d left off.

Instead, I got a serious wake-up call.

Foolishly, I’d expected that my time away wouldn’t decrease my skill. That despite being away from my teacher, my skills would at least remain at the level they’d been when I left. And that I’d be able to pick up anything new that had been taught during my absence.

But time didn’t stand still just because I wasn’t there. My teacher had kept on teaching; my friends had kept on learning and evolving as practitioners; and flow of the art itself had never ceased moving through the universe.

I’d been training, yes. I’d learned some rather unique lessons as well.

And yet, I’d been left behind. Far behind.

I was angry with the forces over which I’d had no control for depriving me of the time that I could have spent training with my teacher. I was upset that despite my attempts to retain my training schedule, to retain my level of ability, it hadn’t seemed to matter all that much. I’d been out of the flow; I’d been away from the learning. And I was upset with myself because my ego had once again sabotaged me. I’d conned myself into imagining that as a 5th degree black belt, I was astute enough and accomplished enough to be able to teach myself what I needed to know in order to continue to evolve as a practitioner.

I suddenly learned there’s a HUGE difference between “training” and “learning.”

It’s possible, after all, to go out and punch trees for a few hours and then congratulate yourself afterward for all the hard training you just did. But despite the training, you didn’t learn anything (except perhaps how utterly stupid it is to punch trees). You can, after all, go to different dojo and work out with other individuals and different body types and practice techniques. But that doesn’t mean you learned anything (except perhaps that your technique either works or doesn’t work as well as you thought.) And you can, after all, spend your time away creating excuses and allowing your ego to convince you that you’re still training.

But you’re not.

Throughout the course of the history of this particular martial art system, there have been instances where a practitioner was forced to be their own teacher. The 34th Grandmaster found himself alone when his teacher passed on. He had to spend years trying to find his way through the maze of notes and scrolls and letters that he’d amassed. Eventually, he did. And some would say he is perhaps an even better practitioner for having to pass such a trial.

Not everyone is like the Grandmaster, however. And I wonder if given the chance, would the Grandmaster have preferred to continue to learn under his teacher’s guidance instead of being forced to go it alone?

The path of this particular budo is strewn with traps at every turn. Some of those traps are obvious. But some are so carefully concealed within the very essence of ourselves that only those who have carefully and painstakingly cleaned out every last bit of untruth and mastered their ego will even see them.

For me, coming back from being away was a profound lesson. Despite the amount of training I was able to continue during my absence, despite the things I actually did learn during my time away, I hadn’t evolved as a practitioner. I returned to my home dojo to find that my skills were no longer at the level that I expected them to be because I hadn’t been continually exposed to new training and new challenges from my teacher. I had to acquire a lot of new knowledge in a short span of time to get back to the level of expectation I set for myself.

It’s easy to imagine that after a certain duration in studying this art that we no longer require the guidance of a teacher. There’s something inherently romantic about the notion of going it alone, or being some pioneer out on the edge of exploration. I know. I’ve been there.

But the reality is this: why do you want to go it alone if you don’t have to?

My absence from my teacher was mandated by things in my life I couldn’t control at the time. I had to take that time and be away from him not out of choice, but of necessity.

What’s keeping you from being with your teacher? What’s holding you back from “learning” instead of just “training?”

in common sense / life thoughts / martial arts / self protection / ninjutsu / Uncategorized 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

My Christmas List

Interestingly enough this year, a number of fans have written to ask what I’ve got on my Christmas list – that is, the things I’m hoping to receive. It’s a pretty short list, so I thought I’d share it with you. Pay attention to number 7. The fat guy with the reindeer fetish and red suit always seems to forget that one.

Without further ado, I hereby present things I’d like to get for Christmas 2011…

  1. More reviews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com from fans of my writing. The more, the better!
  2. More interaction on my Facebook Fan Page. Got a question? Ask away!
  3. More fans telling their friends and family about my work. Expand my audience, people. Become a prophet!
  4. More interviews on blogs, podcasts, radio, and TV. Keeping my name and work in front of people is critical!
  5. More subscribers to my free newsletter. I love my subscribers!
  6. More ebook sales, more print book sales, more deals!
  7. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tia Carrere, and Kelly Hu. Not necessarily in that order. And yes, all three.

Thanks Santa! 🙂

in boston nocturne / ebooks / general / gifts / life thoughts / promotion & publicity / publishing / silly stuff / Uncategorized / writing 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

Amazon: Evil Demonic Corporation or Convenient Scapegoat?

A lot of people have a LOT to say about Amazon.com lately. Most of the pitchfork and torch burning attitude seems to be coming from brick-and-mortar booksellers, publishers, and authors who still put their loyalty behind traditional publishing models. Amazon has made waves in recent weeks by encouraging people to go to bookstores and price check merchandise (thereby potentially leaving said store and ordering online at Amazon if they offer a better price) as well as its new Kindle Select program, which asks for a 90-day exclusivity for those authors that wish to opt-in.

Judging by the war cries on my Facebook news feed, as well as the infuriated tweets I’ve seen, one would be inclined to think that Amazon is some evil corporation hell-bent on gaining a monopoly.

Maybe.

Before I put my own perspective on display, I should mention that I love bookstores. And given my choice, I’ll shop at one rather than go online. In my town, we have an amazing indie store called Park Street Books and the owner, Jim, is one of the greatest dudes I’ve met in the bookselling business. Jim’s got over 500,000 books in-stock. New, used, toys, games, and more. My family drops a good amount of coin in his place. I’m a firm supporter of indie bookstores and always have been.

That said, I personally feel that the hostility toward Amazon is misplaced.

Sure, Amazon engages in business practices that I don’t always agree with. And certainly, its agenda might well be suspect.

But consider the real cause of the problem: traditional publishing. This is the elephant standing in the room that people would rather pretend isn’t there. From my perspective as an author who has published with a number of the largest houses, the problem isn’t Amazon at all – it’s outdated, woefully archaic business practices employed by traditional “Big 6” publishers who desperately cling to obsolescence like it’s a life preserver.

Consider this: if traditional publishers offered a better e-royalty rate instead of the laughable 25% that is currently the norm, would we be seeing the mass defection for indie publishing that we currently see? Or would the numbers be far less as more authors strove to get a traditional deal rather than strike out on their own?

Further, if traditional publishers changed their accounting systems to more frequent reporting rather than twice a year, it would go a long way toward proving they were serious about adapting instead of clinging to the “old ways.” Or how about the notion that an editor is hardly that any longer? Editors pitch/beg for the projects they like and then watch as accountants and higher-ups make final decisions. Usually, it’s a pitched battle to get a project acquired and then – and only then – the advance is routinely about $5,000.

That’s five thousand bucks, people.

Think you can quit the day job on that? It’s laughable. In fact, despite the logic that dictates that without writers, your business has no product, publishers have routinely and methodically tried to carve more and more away from their very reason for existence.

Is it any wonder why there are so many authors opting for the indie route?

But instead of viewing these problems logically, the biggest rally cries for Jeff Bezos’ head on a pike come from the publishers and booksellers who refuse to admit the real problem is with traditional publishing. Last week, the Hachette Book Group – arguably one of the largest – had an internal memo leaked that argued the company’s own relevancy in the 21st century world, but came across more like some whiny loser in a corner begging for someone to play with them. Corporatese lines like “we nurture authors” and related crap plagued the memo from start to finish and only underscored the point that publishers have failed to change the way they do business.

And instead of admitting their mistakes, making corrections, and moving on as a viable 21st century corporation, they’ve done the easier thing: blame Amazon.

As I said earlier, I don’t agree with everything Amazon does. But neither do I fault it for doing what it does.

Think about it: if you owned a corporation like Amazon and saw the massive mistakes your competition was making, wouldn’t you in all likelihood take some or all of the same steps Amazon has taken? You want a larger market share, you want less competition, you want to be able to offer your customers more exclusive products. Of course you do: you’re a publicly traded company and you owe it to your shareholders to grow your business as profitably as you can.

And if you think back and chart the various moves Amazon has made, the company has, in fact, given its competitors (be they stores or publishers) time to adapt. But traditional publishers have proven the most stubborn of the bunch. And so Amazon has simply said, “well, if you’re too stupid to change, screw you guys, we’ll just cut your legs out from under you.”

It would be easy to rally around the whole “Amazon sucks” cry. But in doing so, people inevitably miss the point that if traditional publishing could have managed to actually fix itself and its archaic business models, then Amazon wouldn’t be attracting indie authors and old veteran authors like sharks on a chum line. Instead of rectifying their mistakes, traditional publishers have price-gouged consumers on ebooks through stupid pricing models (and claims that ebook costs are still high, when, in fact, they are not); they’ve resisted the march toward digital by failing to adopt a standard ebook file format or a standard e-reader; they’ve refused to adjust their royalty structure to accommodate a better share for the very people who keep them supplied with product in the first place; and many more mistakes besides these.

If I’m fighting someone and they make the mistake of dropping their guard, you can bet your ass I’m going to jab them in the face and then follow up hard until they’re down and gone. If I see an opening, I’ll exploit it for everything I can.

It’s easy to imagine a world where companies act ethically, but that’s not the reality we live in. Amazon has simply take advantage of the ego-burdened idiocy rampant in traditional publishing and exploited it. We might not like how it does business, but at the end of the day, hostility toward Amazon might be better directed at where the real problems are, rather than at the opportunistic company that has capitalized on those problems.

in common sense / ebooks / life thoughts / Uncategorized 0 comments