Values are powerful.

However, most people don't understand them. Heck, many people don't even know what their values are...

Even so, shared values create strong bonds in tribes. That's why it's so critical that you know what your values are, and what values your dojo stands for and teaches.

When I started my first dojo, I knew that I wanted to have a positive impact on my community. So, I created my own character education lessons, and began teaching them in my mat chats, and also integrating them in each and every martial arts class.

What I didn't know was how powerfully my choice would influence my clients, or what a tremendous impact it would have on my school's growth and enrollment.

Of course, the first results I saw were in the students. They were more focused, more polite, and parents started telling me about how much they'd changed (for the better) since they started attending my classes.

In addition, as word spread about the positive results students were seeing in my classes, my reputation grew. Within a few years, I became known as a sort of "child whisperer" in my community. If your kid was having issues with behavior, grades, or bullying, I was known as the guy to see.

Eventually, I developed a strong core of parents who became raving fans of my programs. Even when their families would move on to other activities and pastimes, I'd still get referrals from these people.

And what it all boiled down to was shared values. What I was teaching made sense to those parents, and they saw how it was something they also wanted their children to learn.

Moreover, since those values were part of our school's culture, observing and upholding those values became a part of what it meant to belong to our tribe.

This is a great example of how values can build your tribe. So, my advice to every school owner I work with is to know what positive character values you stand for, and to teach those values and integrate them into the culture of your dojo.

Doing so can have a tremendous impact - not just on your bottom line (because I know the trend is to add these programs as a way to build revenue), but first and foremost on the lives of your students.

And if there's a single lesson I want you to take away from today's email, it's this...

Take care of your clients' needs first, and focus on providing more than just a service. Once you do, financial success will follow.