It's Friday, so today we're going to wrap this email series up with the #5 deadly false belief that will kill your dojo...

And I have to admit, I find this one to be a bit humorous, every single time I run into it. Usually it pops up in the comments on a Facebook post, or in a forum thread somewhere in the martial arts online community.

Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a hint - it rhymes with "McJojo".

Yes, the fifth deadly belief that will absolutely tank your dojo is:

ONLY MCDOJOS ARE CONCERNED WITH TURNING A PROFIT!

Again, I have to laugh when people say this. And unsurprisingly, the people who usually make this claim are martial artists who have never run a dojo in their lives... or any other business, for that matter.

I can only think of one phrase that sums these folks up; "rebel without a clue." They're like those hipsters who rail against corporate America, all while wearing their American Apparel clothing, Tweeting #occupy hashtags on their iPhones, and showing off their latest Sailor Jerry tattoos (© William Grant & Sons Limited - drink responsibly).

The hypocrisy, it burns.

And there's the rub. These people say they want to preserve "real" martial arts, and they want to keep it "pure". Then they say that instructors who are concerned with turning a profit are merely in it for the money, and that anyone who is focused on the business side of things is running a McDojo.

It is the very weakest of minds that presents a position as an either-or argument. This, my friends, is what is known as a false dichotomy. "Either you're a real martial artist and you're not focused on money at all, or you're concerned with turning a profit and you're a McDojo."

Pfffft. Don't make me laugh. First off, that school you train at wouldn't exist if they didn't turn a profit. 

What, you think money to pay for rent, utilities, mats, equipment, and staff comes from magic jelly bean trees and unicorn farts? You think the school owner is supposed to pay for those expenses out of their own pocket, "for the love of the art"?

I got news for you - that guy or gal has bills to pay and a family to feed, just like everyone else. So, don't expect them to live on beans and rice just to support your martial arts habit, any more than you'd expect your mechanic or doctor or dentist to live like a pauper, just so you can get their services at a cut rate.

And besides that, just because an instructor has better business and marketing skills than another, that makes him or her a phony? Tell me, in what other profession would that standard apply and fly with the general public?

By that measure, any successful surgeon, entertainer, chef, artist, therapist, craftsman, dentist, attorney, accountant, or small business owner would be a phony. And we know this notion is patently ridiculous on its face.

So, now that we've pointed out the sheer stupidity displayed by people who make this claim, then how does this false belief tank a dojo? 

I think it's obvious. If a school owner maintains this belief, then they are constantly going to self-sabotage when it comes to doing what's necessary to have a financially stable school.

But you want to know what the real kicker is?

In my experience, most martial artists who are members of the "all profitable martial art schools are McDojos" camp change their tune really fast once they start running their own schools.

Once the hard cold reality of being in business slaps them in the face, they wake up from that fantasy they were living before they had to pay the bills on a full-time studio.

And suddenly, they start talking about how "all successful schools aren't bad" and "you have to make money if you want to keep your doors open for your students."

Whatever. The best thing you can do is just ignore these morons when they pop up. Just pretend like you didn't see them and go right back to making an honest living teaching quality martial arts and helping people reach their goals.

And then, remember this:

“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” ~Aristotle