I'm not a philosopher, and I'm not religious by any means. I follow my own path in this life, but I do take interest in some of the philosophies of some of the great minds of the past. Here is a quote that I apply to my jiu jitsu as much as possible. Written in "The Art of War, by Sun Tzu"
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the
result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory
gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will
succumb in every battle."
So, I train my ass off, learn my own strengths and weaknesses, then study my opponents, their tactics, their strengths and weaknesses. Then I apply all that I have learned, and I apply it with a healthy dose of woop ass.