OK, this is going to be short and sweet. Here are 3 tips you can learn from the best martial artist/actor to come out of Belgium in recent times: the one and only Jean-Claude van Damme.

1. Know your limitations and be flexible.
A little guy, Jean-Claude quickly gave up on his body-building ambitions. He chose to supplement his karate classes with ballet, which gave him with more flexibility and grace than his heavily-muscled counterparts.

2. Know which limitations don’t matter.
Jean-Claude probably knows he’s a bad actor, but that’s never stopped him, and he’s starred in more movies than a great many talented actors. Never give up on your dreams!

3. Exploit your talents, find a niche.
Jean-Claude made up for poor acting skills by learning how to kick butt—and do splits. (It’s that flexibility thing again.) Not as big as Arnold? Be a better dancer than Arnold.

Hat tip: Slate