Life on De Mars

What a long, strange trip it’s been

As long as I can remember, I have said, “Yes” to every opportunity to make my life better. I was attending college full time while working full time while running the mile, two-mile and two-mile relay on my college track team and winning the collegiate national judo championships, senior national judo championships and U.S. Open. Then, I went to graduate school full-time, worked full-time and won another national judo championships. After graduate school, I worked full-time, had a baby and won a world judo championships. Then, I went back to graduate school, while working full-time and had two more babies. This was all before I turned 30.

Are we detecting a pattern here?

Fast-forward 34 years. I have earned a Ph.D., founded multiple companies, raised four daughters, written grant proposals funded for tens of millions of dollars, been the first American woman elected president of a national judo organization, written a book on judo, published academic articles on everything from factor analysis to the needs of rural schools on American Indian reservations.

Would it really have made a difference in your life if you didn’t work on that grant for that one day? Or if you didn’t do one more grant at all? — Ronda Rousey (my little pumpkin)

What prompted Ronda to say this was that she was getting an Espy — an award from ESPN for best fighter of the year, having beat out Floyd Mayweather, and while she was…