Coach Tim Stinson found jiu-jitsu as his college baseball career ended, then had to choose: two weeks after his MMA fight he was hired as a full-time firefighter-paramedic, and his chief made clear there was no sick time to cover a fight injury. He stepped back, finished paramedic school, met his wife and spent five years away from the mats, until a New Year's dream about the gym's late owner, who had once told him he was a martial artist, brought him back. Returning at 30 as a blue belt, he says he finally learned real jiu-jitsu, and he earned his brown belt at 33.

Tim talks about the "false summits" of chasing belts, what he would tell his younger self about results and anxiety, and why comparison is the thief of joy. He names the values he wants to pass on as a coach: loyalty, honesty and integrity, and enthusiasm, which is why he arrives wide awake for his early-morning class. He tells how a nervous kickboxer was tapped by the blue belt who worked as the Chuck E. Cheese mascot and has never left the gym, explains the tribe many men are missing, and lays out how daily goals add up to a good year.

In this episode

• 0:00 Welcome
• 1:04 From baseball to jiu-jitsu
• 2:08 Choosing the fire department over MMA
• 3:11 Five years away and a dream
• 4:13 Coming back at 30
• 5:13 The false summits of rank
• 8:23 Advice to his younger self
• 10:29 Comparison is the thief of joy
• 13:46 Being a steward of the game
• 16:57 Loyalty, honesty and enthusiasm
• 21:11 Leading with enthusiasm
• 24:23 The tribe men are missing
• 32:49 Setting goals for the year

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