We caught up with the brilliant and insightful RJ LoPresti a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
RJ, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
My mission is to change the world! People often hear this and roll their eyes. What can one person teaching martial arts do to change the world? I feel very strongly that every single person has the power to change the world each and every day! People often think changing the world means doing something that will directly affect 7 billion individual people. But here is my take on it: If you change the world for even just one person you have changed the entire world FOR THAT PERSON! And changing the world for even just one person is powerful beyond imagination. And imagine if you positively change the world for 5 people, and they each change the world for 5 more people who each change the world for 5 more people…….well you get the point. So stop thinking you cannot change the world, you have the power to be the change!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My name is RJ LoPresti, and I have been in love with Martial Arts my whole life. I started as a kid when I was 6 years old because I wanted to be a ninja turtle and I loved the Power Rangers. I stuck with it growing up, and in my teen years I decided that HapKiDo (the type of Martial Art I teach) was what I wanted to do with my life as a career. What I love about teaching Martial Arts and fitness is the positive impact it can have on a community and the people in it! At our schools we help people improve their lives. Whether it is by living healthier lives through fitness, gaining confidence in themselves. improving their focus and concentration, or teaching people how to respect themselves and others, we give people the tools they can use to make a real impact in their lives and the world.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
In my opinion, the best thing you can do to keep a great team with high morale around you is to live and be authentic to your purpose. The way you as the owner serves that purpose will change as the business grows and enters different phases, but your purpose and the purpose of the company has to be clear not only in your head but also in the hearts of your team. Is your purpose and mission clear to your team? Do they feel like they are a part of something greater than themselves and not just there to complete day to day tasks with no purpose? Show them often the impact of their hard work and how it is helping people.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
One of the biggest things, if not the biggest thing I have done to build my reputation is demonstrating authenticity of purpose through hard work, passion and results! A good reputation is a funny thing, it can take years to develop and can disappear in a heartbeat. But if you are authentic and act according to your purpose with hard work and passion your reputation will grow. People can tolerate an occasional mistake, and it wont destroy your reputation if it is handled promptly and genuinely, as long as they believe you are authentic in your approach. Slow and steady is the key!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.KarateMartialArtsCumming.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instructor_lopresti
- Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/MrKarateGa
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rj-lopresti
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/InstructorRJLoPresti
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/choes-hapkido-martial-arts-cumming-cumming
- Other: http://www.ShapeUpKickboxing.com http://www.KarateGA.com https://g.page/choeshapkidocumming?share