The Mess Before the Mastery

There’s a photo I want to show you. It’s of our second Max Academy location- EDGE in Antioch, still under construction. Dust and paint everywhere. boxes and equipment scattered. Plastic covering the lights and windows. Wires hanging. It’s not clean, it’s not polished, and it’s definitely not ready, but to me—it’s beautiful, because this is the part most people don’t see. The in-between. The uncomfortable, messy middle that has to happen before something becomes great. (Read more below —v )

Whether you’re building a business, learning martial arts, or growing as a person, the truth is the same: sometimes things have to get worse before they get better!

You have to tear out the old before you can build something strong.

You have to unlearn before you can master.

You have to fall down—over and over—before you can move with power and confidence.

The dojo in this photo? It doesn’t look like much now. But we know what it’s going to become: a place where members will grow, sweat, fail, and rise. Where discipline is forged. Where confidence is earned.

And that messy stage? It’s not something to avoid. It’s something to honor.

So if you're in a season of life that feels chaotic or unclear—don't quit, don’t panic. You might just be in the construction phase, and what comes next could be better than you ever imagined.