Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a sport that requires tremendous focus, self-discipline, and perseverance– all of which World Champion Paul Schon, has mastered and applied to building a significant real estate portfolio. His firm, the Schon Tepler Group, Inc., handles everything from construction, real estate development, property management, and brokerage.

Paul Schon
Paul Schon Paul Schon

When he’s not working at the firm, Paul spends time training and competing in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. He is a contender for this year’s Mundials in the black belt division and has already won the tournament’s brown belt division. From his experiences in both spaces, Paul says Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and business have a lot in common and require similar qualities. As an immigrant entrepreneur he was gracious enough to come speak as a guest lecturer at USC’s Ross Minority Program and answer questions for aspiring entrepreneurs.

#1 Confidence: As an elite BJJ fighter and entrepreneur, Paul has discovered throughout his career that confidence is contagious. If you truly believe in your skills or product, you’ll infuse the same confidence into the people around you and opportunities will gravitate in your direction.

#2 Teamwork: You are only as good as your team and trainers. Although there are indeed “self-made” people, you need an objective voice to point out your weaknesses and help you improve. Paul’s success is a byproduct of the support he gets from his friends and family who’ve been his staunchest supporters and most honest critics over the years. He pointed out the axiom “iron sharpens iron” and credits his business partner Artem Tepler for helping keep him sharp. One tip he learned from his business partner of 12 years is the value of reading and expanding the mind. Paul reads at least one book every month and makes a note of the wisdom he gained for future reference.

#3 Strong Foundation: Whether it is BJJ, entrepreneurship, or quite literally building an apartment complex, Paul says “without a rock solid foundation, you will eventually crumble.” He cites many examples of this with athletics, language, and business. As a non-native English speaker, immigrating from Mexico, Paul learned this lesson the hard way as his English needed to have a new foundation laid as a middle school student in ESL classes struggling to comprehend his lessons. Paul advises in and out of the mats to focus on a few moves and mastering them instead of learning too many moves and not be effective at them.

#4 Consistency: Consistent hard work will outperform talent eventually. Regardless of your level of talent, Paul says you will lose if you don’t train consistently. Despite his advanced skills, he still trains in Jiu-Jitsu 4-5 times every week as well as attending real estate conferences regularly all over the country. These small habits have resulted in winning tournaments and building a quarter billion dollar real estate portfolio in under 10 years.

#5 Health: Good health is the primary foundation for success in anything, which is achieved only through consistency. Paul knows first-hand the importance of living a healthy lifestyle by staying hydrated and getting proper rest to succeed in the ring or boardroom. He ensures that he stays under 10% body fat year-round through a healthy diet and regular exercise 5 days a week.

#6 Fail Forward: According to Paul, success comes when you are willing to make mistakes and keep pushing forward. Overanalyzing the risks will overwhelm you while failing forward will equip you to face loss and improve. Having great awareness of your limitations will help you become a better business owner or Jiu-Jitsu fighter.

#7 Law of Attraction: Learn it and live it daily. Always endeavor to add value to other people’s lives because it will come back full circle. “The more doors you open for other people, the less doors you will need opened.”