OCD: My Secret Weapon for Success and Happiness

All my life I've been kind of OCD.​

What others might see as a disorder or limitation, I've come to recognize as my secret weapon—the very thing that has allowed me to achieve mastery in multiple domains and find both success and happiness on my own terms.

For me, OCD is a Godsend.

It helps me filter the wheat from the chaff, the critical from the trivial, and joy and happiness from entertainment and frivolity.

This isn't the clinical version of OCD that creates paralyzing rituals and anxiety.

This is the focused, obsessive passion that drives you to go deeper than anyone else, to persist when others quit, and to find the underlying principles that most people miss because they're too distracted by the surface-level techniques and "stuff."

The Reading Obsession: Where It All Began

As a kid, I was a voracious reader, always with a book in my hand no matter where I went.

At any moment, if there wasn't anything more pressing, I would be reading.

This wasn't casual reading.

This was obsessive consumption of knowledge.

While other kids were playing games or watching TV, I was lost in books, completely absorbed in whatever subject had captured my attention.

Looking back, this wasn't just about learning—it was about the deep satisfaction that comes from exploring the world beyond my geographic boundaries.

The First Lesson: Depth Over Breadth

Even as a child, I intuitively understood something that most adults struggle with:

Going deep into a few things is more rewarding and more valuable than being superficially familiar with many things.

While my peers were sampling everything, I was diving deep.

This pattern would repeat throughout my life, and each time it would lead to mastery, success, and profound satisfaction.

The key insight:

OCD isn't about perfectionism or control—it's about the profound joy that comes from deep exploration.

The Pool Hall Years: Discovering the Power of Focused Practice

In 1980, after a two-week summer road trip of the American Southwest, going from KOA campsite to KOA campsite, I kept seeing the same survey crew at the KOA game rooms.

I never saw anything like it before—one of the guys showed incredible ball control and was taking money from his coworkers on the table.

Watching that surveyor play pool was a revelation.

It wasn't just the skill—it was the confidence, the control, the way he could make the cue ball dance exactly where he wanted it to go.

I knew immediately that I had to have that level of mastery.

So as soon as I got home to Hawaii from the trip, I was immersed in 8-ball, then later 9-ball (especially $1/$1, 5-9 gambling), and 3-cushion billiards—every day, hours a day, for the next five years.

The Anatomy of Obsession

This wasn't casual hobby playing.

This was systematic, obsessive pursuit of mastery:

• Daily Practice: Hours every day, regardless of weather, social plans, or other obligations
• Technical Study: Reading books, watching instructional videos, analyzing professional play
• Mental Game: Developing focus, concentration, and pressure management
• Physical Conditioning: Understanding stance, stroke, and muscle memory
• Strategic Thinking: Learning pattern play, safety, and game management

By the end of those five years, I could run tables consistently and was taking money from the other players.

But more importantly, I had learned something profound about the relationship between obsession and mastery.

The Universal Principles of Excellence

Through pool, I discovered principles that would apply to every subsequent obsession:

• Fundamentals Matter: Perfect the basics before moving to advanced techniques
• Repetition Creates Magic: Muscle memory and instinctive responses come from thousands of repetitions
• Mental Game Is Everything: Technical skill is useless without mental control and focus
• Pressure Reveals Truth: Real ability is measured under pressure, not in practice
• Continuous Learning: There's always another level, always something to improve

The Martial Arts Immersion: From Physical to Philosophical

When I moved to Los Angeles and couldn't find a nearby pool hall to make my new home, I fell into Hapkido.​

Again, I immersed my life into that—at its peak, being there 6-7 days per week, 3-4 hours per day.

This transition illustrates something crucial about healthy OCD:

It's not attached to any specific activity but to the process of mastery itself.

When circumstances changed and pool was no longer available, the obsessive drive simply found a new outlet.

Going Deeper Than Technique

Hapkido became more than a martial art—it became a way of understanding life:

• Physical Mastery: Learning to control my body with precision and power
• Mental Discipline: Developing focus, patience, and emotional control
• Philosophical Understanding: Exploring concepts of balance, flow, and adaptation
• Social Dynamics: Learning hierarchy, respect, and the teacher-student relationship
• Character Development: Building confidence, humility, and inner strength

Once again, the obsessive approach led to insights that went far beyond the surface activity.

By going so deep into martial arts, I discovered universal principles about power, leverage, timing, and human psychology that would prove valuable in every area of life.

The Sacrifice and the Reward

Training 6-7 days a week for 3-4 hours per day required enormous sacrifice.

Social life, other hobbies, leisure activities—everything was subordinated to the pursuit of martial arts mastery.

But the rewards were proportional to the sacrifice:

• Physical Confidence: Knowing I could handle myself in virtually any situation
• Mental Toughness: Ability to stay calm and focused under extreme pressure
• Spiritual Growth: Understanding of deeper principles about life and human nature
• Community: Deep bonds with fellow students and instructors
• Identity: Becoming not just someone who practiced martial arts, but a martial artist

The Relationship Shift: Love Changes Everything

Then I met my wife. Life was no longer simple—"work and work out"—but it was much more full.

This transition required the most difficult adaptation of my life: learning to channel obsessive energy into relationship and shared goals.

The Challenge of Shared Obsession

For someone with OCD tendencies, intimate relationships present a unique challenge.

How do you maintain the focused intensity that has brought you success while also being present and available for another person?

The solution wasn't to eliminate the obsessive drive but to redirect it toward shared goals and mutual success.

Learning Entrepreneurship: OCD Meets Business

I shifted to being a good husband and learning entrepreneurship to help build my wife's business, eventually (and after many years of overcoming challenges!) getting her to the low-mid 6-figure income where, in less than 20 hours per week, she was making more than me as a union foreman working 40+ hours per week.

This represents perhaps the most sophisticated application of my OCD tendencies.

Instead of pursuing my own mastery in isolation, I learned to apply the same obsessive focus to building someone else's success.

The Entrepreneurship Deep Dive

• Marketing Mastery: Studying customer psychology, persuasion, and value communication
• Sales Systematization: Developing repeatable processes for customer acquisition and retention
• Business Strategy: Understanding leverage, automation, and scalability
• Financial Optimization: Learning to maximize revenue while minimizing time investment
• Personal Development: Helping my wife develop the confidence and skills needed for entrepreneurial success

The result was financial and personal success that exceeded anything either of us could have achieved individually.

But more importantly, it demonstrated that OCD energy could be channeled toward collaborative rather than individual mastery.

The Retirement Focus: Three Pillars of Purpose

Now as a retiree, my OCD is focused on just three things: working on building my business of teaching martial arts gyms customer conversion, engagement, and retention; training in BJJ; and enjoying life and traveling with my wife.

This current phase represents the most intentional and strategic application of OCD energy I've ever achieved.

Instead of allowing the obsessive drive to scatter across multiple random pursuits, I've deliberately chosen three areas that complement and reinforce each other.

The Strategic Convergence

These three focus areas aren't randomly chosen—they create synergistic value:

• Business Development: Using my understanding of martial arts culture and business principles to help gym owners succeed
• BJJ Training: Maintaining direct connection to the martial arts community while continuing my personal development
• Relationship and Life Enjoyment: Ensuring that professional success serves the larger purpose of a fulfilling life

The Filtering Effect

OCD helps me filter the wheat from the chaff, the critical from the trivial, and joy and happiness from entertainment and frivolity.

In a world full of distractions, the ability to focus obsessively on what truly matters is a superpower.

While others scatter their energy across dozens of casual interests, I can apply laser-focused attention to the few things that create the most value and satisfaction.

This isn't about missing out—it's about going so deep into what matters that you discover levels of meaning and satisfaction that casual participants never experience.

​The Generalist-Specialist Advantage​

By going deep into a variety (but few) endeavors, I've learned to get to the underlying principles and not get distracted by the myriad techniques and "stuff."

This helped me become a generalist/specialist, seeing how there are universal principles applicable across many different fields while also seeing the subtle nuances and differences that allow for different paradigms.

This is the ultimate gift of constructive OCD: the ability to see patterns and principles that span multiple domains.

Because I've gone so deep into reading, pool, martial arts, and business, I can see the connecting threads between them.

Universal Principles Across Domains

Mastery Requires Deliberate Practice: Whether it's reading comprehension, pool shots, martial arts techniques, or sales skills, improvement comes from focused, intentional practice

Fundamentals Are Everything: In every domain, the basics done excellently outperform advanced techniques done mediocrely

Mental Game Determines Outcome: Physical and technical skills are useless without proper mindset, focus, and emotional control

Consistency Beats Intensity: Daily modest effort over years produces far better results than sporadic intense efforts

Teaching Deepens Understanding: You don't truly understand something until you can teach it to someone else

The Nuanced Differences

While the principles remain constant, each domain has its unique characteristics:

• Reading: Pure intellectual absorption and pattern recognition
• Pool: Physical precision combined with strategic thinking
• Martial Arts: Integration of physical, mental, and spiritual development
• Business: Understanding human psychology and value creation

The ability to see both the universal patterns and the unique nuances has made me more effective in all areas.

I can apply lessons learned from pool to business strategy, use martial arts principles to improve focus while reading, and leverage business insights to accelerate martial arts development.

The Secret Formula: Why OCD Creates Success

If you do a search, you can probably find an example of someone somewhere who is very successful at the things that you love but are afraid to pursue.

How come?

Because they did it for the love of it and did it long enough to be so good at it that other people couldn't ignore or dismiss it.

This is the secret that most people miss:

Success isn't about talent or luck—it's about obsessive devotion to something you genuinely love.

The Love-Obsession Connection

True OCD isn't about compulsion or anxiety—it's about love so deep that you can't stop yourself from pursuing it.

When you find something you genuinely love, the obsessive focus doesn't feel like sacrifice. It feels like the most natural thing in the world.

The progression is predictable:

1. Discovery: You encounter something that captures your imagination
2. Fascination: You can't stop thinking about it
3. Immersion: You begin spending increasingly large amounts of time on it
4. Obsession: It becomes the organizing principle of your life
5. Mastery: You reach levels of skill that others can't ignore
6. Sharing: You begin teaching and inspiring others

Stop Chasing, Start Pursuing

Stop chasing money, accolades, or attention, and instead have single-minded focus on pursuing what you love.

This shift in motivation is crucial.

When you chase external rewards, your motivation fluctuates based on circumstances outside your control.

When you pursue what you love, the activity itself becomes the reward.

External Motivation (Chasing):

• Success depends on other people's recognition
• Motivation decreases when progress is slow
• Focus shifts to shortcuts and hacks
• Satisfaction is always conditional and temporary
• Burnout is inevitable because the well runs dry

Internal Motivation (Pursuing):

• Success is measured by personal growth and mastery
• Motivation increases with deeper understanding
• Focus remains on fundamentals and continuous improvement
• Satisfaction comes from the process itself
• Energy is renewable because love feeds itself

Practical Applications: How to Harness Your OCD

Identify Your Natural Obsessions

• What do you find yourself thinking about when your mind wanders?
• What activities make you lose track of time?
• What subjects do you read about or research without being assigned or paid to do so?
• What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail and money wasn't a factor?

Create Focused Immersion Periods

• Daily Commitment: Set aside specific time each day for your obsession
• Weekly Intensives: Dedicate longer blocks of time for deep dive sessions
• Monthly Challenges: Set specific goals and measure progress
• Annual Themes: Choose one major focus area per year

Build Your Support System

• Find Your Tribe: Connect with others who share your obsession
• Seek Mentors: Find people who have achieved mastery in your area of interest
• Become a Teacher: Share your knowledge with beginners
• Document Your Journey: Keep track of your progress and insights and share them (if you are so inclined)

Protect Your Energy

• Eliminate Distractions: Ruthlessly cut activities that don't serve your main obsessions
• Set Boundaries: Learn to say no to good opportunities that aren't great opportunities
• Schedule Recovery: Build in rest and reflection time to prevent burnout
• Optimize Your Environment: Create spaces that support focused work

The Dark Side: When OCD Goes Wrong

It's important to acknowledge that obsessive tendencies can become destructive if not managed properly:

Warning Signs

• Isolation: When obsession leads to complete withdrawal from relationships
• Addiction: When the activity becomes a compulsion rather than a choice
• Stagnation: When you stop growing and just repeat the same patterns
• Health Problems: When obsession leads to physical or mental health issues
• Financial Ruin: When pursuit of obsession ignores basic financial responsibilities

Healthy Boundaries

• Time Limits: Even healthy obsessions need boundaries to prevent life imbalance
• Relationship Maintenance: Regular check-ins with loved ones to ensure you're not neglecting important relationships
• Health Monitoring: Regular assessment of physical and mental well-being
• Financial Responsibility: Ensuring that obsessive pursuits don't compromise financial security
• Flexibility: Willingness to adjust or change course when circumstances require it

Conclusion: Embracing Your Obsessive Nature

My journey through multiple obsessions—reading, pool, martial arts, entrepreneurship—has taught me that OCD, when properly channeled, isn't a disorder to be cured but a gift to be cultivated.

In a world of endless distractions and superficial engagement, the ability to focus obsessively on what truly matters is a rare and valuable capacity.

The secret isn't to fight your obsessive nature but to choose your obsessions wisely.

When you align your OCD tendencies with activities you genuinely love and that create value for others, what seems like a limitation becomes your greatest strength.

The key insights from my journey:

1. Depth beats breadth when it comes to mastery and satisfaction
2. Love is the only sustainable fuel for long-term obsessive pursuit
3. Universal principles emerge when you go deep enough into any domain
4. Obsession can be collaborative and serve others as well as yourself
5. Strategic focus on a few things produces better results than scattered attention on many things

In our modern world of infinite options and constant distractions, those who can maintain obsessive focus on what truly matters will be the ones who achieve mastery, create value, and find deep satisfaction.

Your OCD isn't a bug—it's a feature.

The question isn't whether you should embrace it, but what you should become obsessed with.

Choose wisely, pursue relentlessly, and watch as what others see as a limitation becomes your secret weapon for success and happiness.

The world needs people who care enough about something to become obsessed with doing it excellently.

The question is: will that person be you?