Comedian, actor and UFC commentator Joe Rogan comes from a long tradition of Boston stand-ups. But that doesn’t diminish his love affair with martial arts. He first tried taekwondo but as he gears to turn 50 interview with his supplement company Onnit reveals:

 “Jiu-jitsu was the ultimate revelation. It all happened again—I got owned,” he says, describing how he was rag dolled on the mat. “You have an idea in your head of who you are and what you can do, and then someone comes along and exposes it as bulls*it. Now you have to do one of two things—run away from it, or learn the solution.”

“Don’t believe anyone who says they’re happy doing nothing all day. People who say they just want to smoke a joint at home aren’t happy. They just say they are.”

Of course he first tried taekwondo:

“I think I’ve always been a person who was seeking for the truth in things because I grew up disillusioned,” says Rogan, whose parents divorced when he was five. He was a victim of Catholic school, and lost his faith early thanks to the nuns (“this is not the work of God, whatever or whoever that is!,” he says, looking back at their cruelty.) “I had a lot of people in my life who didn’t turn out to be who I hoped they were. Because of that, I think I really valued honesty, truth, character—and reality.”

Other guidelines he shared as he prepares to turn 50 are:

• Allow Yourself To Learn

• Do Things The Hard Way

• Stay Curious

• Obsession fueled discipline and discipline manages that obsession

• Let Obsession Be Your Discipline

“When I found something I was interested in, I didn’t have to be disciplined because I was obsessed,” he says. “Obsession fueled discipline and discipline manages that obsession.” Prior to his discovery of martial arts and comedy, Rogan couldn’t focus on anything he wasn’t deeply interested in, and it’s still a challenge for him today. “So I just filled my life up with stuff I like,” Rogan concluded explaining perhaps both his success in life and in bjj.