WARRIOR WEEK

"Dustin Luce, and his wife, Emily, are Coach Sam’s special guests in this episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit." Parable #1: Intro to Warrior  Garrett’s provocative ads caught Dustin’s attention and introduced him to the world of Warrior. He purchased WarriorBook in the fall of 2017,  joined KingsKit in the summer of 2018, and attended WCON3 in December of that year. Upon attending WCON3, Dustin quickly realized this was not going to be a “normal” conference.  “It was an immersion that was scary and mesmerizing at the same time. I was thinking this is not normal AND I’m hungry for it!” As he received the invite to attend Warrior Week, Dustin felt he needed to do it, but at the same time was really nervous about stepping forward into it. “I’ve never spent that much money on myself – EVER – and I had never stepped out and made myself that uncomfortable.” What was your initial response to Garrett’s ads and presence? Parable #2: Warrior Week Dustin describes day one as an explosion of sorts. Amidst the chaos, he knew he needed to trust the process. “Walking into it, I was shaking, not knowing what to expect. There was fear as well as certainty as we were led into a place of not being able to hide. That day could’ve been a week.” Dustin received a personal message from the Voice on day two. “We were on the beach where we had just finished crawling a mile through the sand on legs that were bleeding. We huddled up as brothers, looking out on the ocean. As I leaned back into the arms of one of the coaches, with all the brothers’ hands on my heart, it was simply a realization that I AM ENOUGH.” What message have you received from the Voice recently? Parable #3: From Euphoria to Drifting Coming out of Warrior Week, Dustin experienced euphoria. Suddenly he was wide awake! It was as if he had never had there for his family, and then all of a sudden, he was. Emily explains, “There was a distinct change. He loved on his family; he wanted to know about all of us and wanted to have detailed conversations with us. He was so hungry to get to know us.” Many people believe that when they arrive at a place where life is good, they’ve essentially “arrived.” However, life will always be filled with challenges that lead to constant expansion. “That feeling [of euphoria] can drift away, and that’s where the daily work is necessary. If you don’t do that and are not plugged in, and are not part of a brotherhood to challenge you and call you out, it does go away.” What is your daily routine that keeps the fire within burning? Parable #4: Numb From the Hunt At church recently, the Voice shared a message with Dustin. “Men hunt for the bacon, but in the process, they lose the thing they were supposedly fighting for. They are numb from the hunt. We’re building this empire, but then we lose our family in the process. How does that make any sense? I am building the canister and filling it. I’ve been awoken, and now I must train and equip.” “Your children are arrows in your quiver. As parents, we can only go so far. Our goal is to shoot them as far as we possibly can. The question becomes, how can I train daily, not for me but for my kids? How can I equip them to go so much further than I can?” What are you doing to train your children? Parable #5: Isolation Coach Sam explains, “In a world filled with technology that connects us, we are actually very disconnected. When it comes to social media, so many are sucked into that vortex that creates doubt and fear in the game of constant comparison. And within a window of five seconds, you can receive a message from someone that can completely make you feel worse.” Many parents are sucked into the social media vortex and, as a result, avoid their children. “Your head is in this world [social media]. It’s today’s reality. On one side, it connects us; it’s beautiful. On the other side, it keeps us apart. COVID and all of the restrictions are reinforcing this isolation.” What can you do to create more connection vs. isolation? “Parables From The Pit” “There’s only one thing that is a cure for ‘numb from the hunt,’ which is awareness, aka, awaken and remember. Being aware of the fact that men are numb, they must remind themselves of their priorities, and realize they are constantly going to be going up and down. It’s in that up and down process that men actually move up.” –Sam Falsafi “I’m seeing a massive level of certainty and confidence moving forward. It’s a baseline that’s positioned where we have every opportunity in front of us. It’s not coming from a place of lack; it’s coming from a place of growth.” — Dustin Luce “We’re ending this year on a really positive note of growth. It’s very disturbing what’s going on in the world, but we’re not entering 2021 depressed; we’re already steamrolling forward.” –Emily Luce

"Matt Edmundson, Warrior Week 61graduate, and his sixteen-year-old son, Kade, join Coach Sam Falsafi in this special episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit." Parable #1: The Gates Of Warrior  In 2018, Matt found himself in a dark place, blaming everyone for everything that was going ‘wrong’ in his life. It was at that time he bought WarriorBook, read it cover to cover, and tried living the Warrior’s Way by himself. He was also listening to the Warrior On Fire podcast with his family, but when it was brought in-house only, Matt lost his fire and was back to square one. Whereas Matt was first turned off by Garrett’s message, he began identifying with Garrett’s life experience of trying to find a path, improve himself, constantly learning, and then bumping into walls. Matt found he was always trying to do things by himself, his pride and ego getting in the way of asking for help.  What was your first intro to Warrior? How did you respond? Parable #2: What Is Required? The Warrior Week experience came across to Matt as an intense boot camp experience.  He wasn’t in a good place physically at that time and was not interested in intentionally “beating myself up.”  Matt realized he was avoiding what was necessary to move forward. “I want what’s on the other side, but I’m not willing to do what’s required  to get there.” Where in your world do you avoid that which you know will help move you forward? Parable #3: Conditions to Conclusions  Coach Sam reminds us that we all have different current conditions, aka, one might be overweight, another might be lost or have an addiction, etc. Many people fall into a belief their current condition is the way things will ALWAYS be, not realizing that their current conditions do not define their entire life experience. “So many men just ‘conclude.’ This shit went wrong, so I must be an idiot, I must not be worth it, I must be evil. We are so quick to place labels on ourselves.“ The reality is, the stories we run in our minds create our circumstances, whether it be freedom or self-made prisons. What are the beliefs you hold onto around your current conditions? Parable #4: Before & After Warrior Week Balance was the reason Matt initially came to Warrior Week but he quickly discovered the real reason was that he was lacking a connection to God. “During my life, I had been leading with my brain and had been rewarded for that. It was during Warrior Week that I surrendered my brain, and connected to my heart.” After Warrior Week, Matt thought he would have all his shit figured out and have all the answers. But the first day back into his regular environment, he felt like he had never left. “Everything around me collapsed right back to who I was.” What was your experience after Warrior Week? Parable #5: The Sixteen-Year-Old World Kade shared what he views as the current 16 year-old-prison. “There’s a lot of pressure with social media and how everyone portrays their life as amazing, which causes us to question our own life.” Kade knows he must answer the questions: Who am I? What is my purpose in the world? What am I put here to do? What do I want to be? And inside of the current COVID restrictions, he must put himself in the right position to succeed and find his own way, rather than sedate all day.  What can you do to assist your teens inside of the current world conditions? “Parables From The Pit” “Our current condition doesn’t define the conclusion.” –Sam Falsafi “Without judgment, there is a level of acceptance that we all have our shit, and we’re all a bit crazy. But within Warrior, we can all envision a future self that is bigger and better, and are committed to trying to find the way forward to achieve what that is…and continue leveling up.” — Matt Edmundson “…as like a seed of doubt, right now, some kids will just go home and play video games all day, and not deal with the world. Or, a lot of other people just don’t talk about it and internalize it.” –Kade Edmundson, 16

Welcome to a very special episode of Warrior Week: Parables from the Pit with Coach Sam and Warrior Week 57 graduate Marc Beauchamp. Parable #1: Retire vs. The Next Challenge Marc’s first immersion into living the Warrior’s Way came via KingsKit 2 in 2018. At the time, life appeared successful from the outside looking in, yet Marc was bored and had no new challenges going on in his life. He wanted to get his fire back.  It was during WC3 where he felt the push to apply for Warrior Week. “I was 55 and running a large payment-processing company. One day my wife said, “We’ve got it made, we’ll retire and travel…” But Marc was far from that place and was ready to climb the next hill in front of him. Where in your world is the next hill you know you must climb? Parable #2: Release the Rage Marc remembers the first day of Warrior Week being “a long-ass day!” Having released and dealt with a lot of rage about his father, Marc was certain there was nothing left to process.  Late that night, he realized residual resentment remained as he let go of a “shit load of rage,’ afterward feeling liberated and free. Where are you still holding onto rage about something from the past? Parable #3: Pain, the Great Motivator September 15, 1990, is a significant date and turning point in Marc’s life. It’s the last day he had a drink. “30 years ago, I was literally close to death. The choice was to either quit drinking or die.”  Marc had hit rock bottom. His first wife left with their one-year-old daughter; he had no money, no car…nothing. “Pain was a great motivator for me.  While today l change proactively, back then I had to have something like pain to change me.” He credits everything he has in his life today to that pivotal decision to not take another drink. What message is the pain in your life telling you? Parable #4: Under the Influence Coach Sam experienced a life-changing moment twelve years ago in 2008 while on a business trip. This is the year he chose not to take another drink. For him, it wasn’t about the pain; it was more of a natural path.  He no longer associates drinking with having fun. Instead, he has found non-alcoholic beer to be a delicious and satisfying substitute. “When under the influence of alcohol, we were not ourselves,” remarked Coach Sam. It’s not that something is wrong with you if you drink or that those who don’t drink are better than those who do. However, they agree that with any drink or drug, you are no longer yourself; instead, you’re under the influence of whatever you’re drinking or ingesting. What is the message speaking to your heart? Parable #5: 30-Day Challenge Coach Sam is extending a challenge to you. “Listen to the Voice without being under the influence of alcohol for 30 days. Then evaluate your relationship with God, your wife, your kids, yourself…and life itself. Ask yourself how your life improved, evaluate the quality of your prayers/communication with God. While Marc and Coach Sam have challenges in other areas of their life, cutting out alcohol is one less thing they have to worry about.“ Marc also cut out smoking. “Once I started seeing these changes and effects in my life, it created momentum.” Are you ready to take the challenge? "Parables From The Pit" “Zero delay in transactions is the name of the game with Marc Beauchamp.” --Sam Falsafi “A lot of guys have no issue with alcohol. But for me, I had to figure out who I was without it.” -- Marc Beauchamp coachfinancing.com marc@coachfinancing.com

Parable #1: Veneers, Lambos, and Surfing Dr. Todd's first encounter with Warrior was through Garrett's wife, Danielle, who showed up in his dental clinic looking for veneers. Not long after that, he saw a Lamborghini in his parking lot one day, snapped a photo alongside it, and stepped into his office to find a tattooed man waiting for him.  After a couple of conversations and surfing sessions, coupled with a curiosity-driven visit to Garrett's online presence, Dr. Todd was all in with Warrior. "I was in a place at that point in time where his message resonated with me. I was burnt out in my career, I was stressed, and it cascaded over into my marriage and personal life, where everything felt stressed and overwhelming. I was going nowhere, and if anything, I was going backward and drowning." How did Warrior come into your life? Parable #2: Armor of Steel & Emotional Backpacks Coach Sam recognized Dr. Todd’s humility in their conversations. “You’re a doctor, you’re a healer, you’re a businessman. That, by itself, is a fuck combo, emotionally.” He understands why so many doctors, dentists, and surgeons feel alone because of the armor they have to constantly wear and never take off, in addition to the emotional backpack they carry around filled with things no one wants to talk about.  Dr. Todd explains that the majority of doctors and dentists are introverts and are not usually social, outgoing people. Over time, the artistry of building and fixing teeth becomes who you are. It’s common to take things personally or beat yourself up when something doesn’t work correctly or when a patient complains. This leads to burn-out and dentists wanting to throw the towel in after twenty years in. How has the reality of "we don't talk about it" affected your life? Parable #3: The Many Faces of Dr. Todd There’s the crazy soul that pushes things to the edge, the calculated doctor, the healer whose heart kicks in, and the artist extraordinaire that creates. At the end of the day, it’s his hands and fingers that are the agency of his art. As such, it creates a wide-open space for the plague of elf-sabotage to inch its way in. Dr. Todd thought that Warrior might be a way out for him. “I was definitely conflicted with all the different things I was doing. To drop everything and just start doing Warrior was interesting. After doing my own thing for so many years, and then instantly stopping and having someone telling me what to do was tough for me." The lead-up process to Warrior Week itself was not an easy process for Dr. Todd, nor was it an enjoyable one. It was actually brutal and exposed lies and stories he was unaware of. How many different hats are you wearing daily? Parable #4: Soul Searching With so many different personalities vying for his attention, Dr. Todd questioned who was it that he actually wanted to be? This entailed a lot of soul-searching and questioning on his part. He recognized that creation without follow-through or having too much creation, and too many battles to fight becomes a problem. He also came to recognize he lacked the necessary tools to handle the chaos he was experiencing and realized he needed to let go of the perfectionist in him. He began implementing 90-day challenges and creating weekly Doors to walk through. How do you currently handle the chaos of life? Parable #5: Legion Dr. Todd has the opportunity to speak throughout the year to dentists worldwide, teaching the how-tos of dentistry. However, what is lacking is the opportunity to talk about life, problems, and chaos present in every dentist’s life. Over time, there is a massive buildup of emotional weight they carry with nowhere to talk about it. He created LEGION, an online experience that teaches dentists about what’s most important and equips them with the tools they will need. “At some point, you will have a meltdown, you will have some problems, and what you don’t realize is the problem is you.” Dr. Todd teaches them the Warrior doctrine and how it can save their family and business and allow them to have a good life going forward…if they choose to play the game. What tools and weapons are in your arsenal to win the war? "Parables From The Pit" "There was a war that was brought upon our door. We’re in a transition to surviving 2020, but the goal is not to survive war; we’re here to win the fucking war. What we do now defines how we’re going to win in 2021.” --Sam Falsafi “My armor had holes in it, but I’ve built new armor…and I’m coming to help the rest of the dentists. My message? Let me show you what you could be doing so you’re working less, you’re making more, life is more fruitful, you have more time with your Maker, your family…and you’re passing it along to your children." -- Dr. Todd Snyder

No doubt, 2020 came out of nowhere, and, for a time, human potential and momentum were seemingly put on pause. Human beings were “forced” to take a step back and revisit their strategizes and plans for the year. At the end of the day, it all comes down to focusing on what matters. Welcome to the 100th episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit, with head coach, Sam Falsafi, in this very special father-son edition with guests Mike Hardy and his son, Jacob. warriorweeknow.com   Parable #1: Warrior Week 29 & 51 Before Mike entered the gates of Warrior Week 29, nearly five years ago, he was in a place where he knew he needed to change his thought process. Work was becoming all-consuming, and he was aware that he needed to reprioritize and realign his role as husband and father and his entire life. Warrior Week 29 was perfect timing for Mike because it helped him get centered, focused, and clear on the things that were really important to him. Why return to Warrior Week 51? Mike realized that if there’s no intention to grow with a healthy environment, it’s part of human nature to easily slip back. “Warrior Week 51 was almost a recommitment to “no compromise” in all areas of life. Things were moving in a good direction, but I think I needed to re-anchor the foundation, and get to a place where I had a higher level of certainty, and double-down on what worked.” QUESTION What caused you to enter the gates of Warrior? Parable #2:  Letting GoK Often we will stay in a place of comfort for years. However, in order to grow, it is imperative that we learn to let go and step out of that comfort zone – especially if it’s working for us – and have the courage to step into the new. The hardest part of getting to great is giving up good. Mike: “One of the things I’ve always struggled with is that I am a very calculated risk-taker. Through the Warrior training, I’ve learned to slow down long enough to take that quiet time (meditation) every morning to listen to that still, small voice, and then act on that, which is not always logical. There are windows in time, like a strong intuition, that open up worlds of opportunity that I would have completely missed out on had I not slowed down and listened.” QUESTION Where in your world do you know it’s time to let go and step outside your comfort zone? Parable #3: A Father’s Impact Coach Sam recalls something his father told him on his wedding day that has stayed with him throughout the years. “Living a life with someone is easy, but building a life with someone is difficult.” When things get heated between two people, he realizes that he could live with someone for a very long time, but to build something and have common projects is something entirely different. Mike’s son, Jacob, is currently nineteen years old. At the time of his father’s entry into Warrior Week 29, he was fourteen. He recounts several projects he and his father have worked on together throughout that time, notably fixing up his first car. “He let me just kind of figure it out, and then I worked through it.” Currently, they are working towards getting their pilot’s licenses. QUESTION What message from your father has remained with you throughout your life?   Parable #4: The Pit “There is a miserable process that takes place on day one of Warrior Week that’s long and goes into the night. It’s called the Pit. It makes us face things and feelings that we’ve kept inside, things that we regret, relationships that caused us harm, and the pain that resides deep inside. No matter what man you look at, all of us have this pain inside of us, but the majority of us are not willing to feel the pain. The first night is a transition into allowing a man to feel some of that pain.” Coach Sam “There’s a heightened learning experience that takes place when I’m pushed to my limit. There are things to let go of and lessons that can be absorbed that just wouldn’t happen otherwise. There’s a catharsis from being able to let go. My belief is that it’s almost impossible to really grow into who you’re supposed to be, and experience what’s possible for life if emotional baggage and anchors are holding one back.” Mike QUESTION What emotional baggage are you hanging onto? Parable #5: Exposed Mike recalled his experience during one of the evolutions, where a picture of his family was presented to him. “There’s something about when what you love most and have to fight for, a human being can make anything happen.” Knowing that intellectually, he experienced it firsthand during this evolution., “It was like a little microcosm for my capacity of what I can do for my family.” From the beginning of time, every generation faces a heavy crisis that they have to go through. Ours is COVID. Mike sees this as a gift, not a curse. “When there are challenges, people will fall to the level of their foundation or their base systems. Everyone is being exposed right now for who they really are. As Einstein said, within every challenge is an opportunity so great that it will literally dwarf the problem itself. Look for the gift and the opportunity.” QUESTION How has 2020 exposed you? “Parables From The Pit” “There is nothing more powerful in this world than to train your brain in gratitude. If your brain is trained in gratitude, it will be a weapon in this society.” –Sam Falsafi “When something is in front of you, and you feel it welling up, it’s there for a reason, and you’re supposed to act on it. When you feel it, you just GO!” –– Mike Hardy “While I’m working on my car, my dad walks in and asks me, “Are you winning, son?” –Jacob Hardy

In this week’s episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit, Coach Sam welcomes Warrior Week 58 graduate, Chad Hovermale to the podcast where they have a conversation that takes us into the mindset of men, how Chad discovered Warrior, and how persistence on his part led him into the gates of the experience that impacted and altered his life. Parable #1: Intro to the Warrior’s Way   A Facebook ad in the Spring/Summer 2017 brought the message of Warrior into Chad’s world. He found the message intriguing and was happy to discover there were people “out there” who understood him. Chad didn’t want to lose the energy and passion behind his anger but knew he needed to reign it in so as to not hurt his family. He felt that through Warrior, he might actually get his shit together. QUESTION What was it that brought Warrior into your life? Parable #2: Keep Knocking    Chad was consistent in knocking on the door of Warrior Week despite receiving the “no, you’re not ready yet” message several times over a two-year period. It was in 2019 that the opportunity finally became his. He had heard Garrett mention something about if you can’t solve a three hundred dollar problem, how are you going to be able to solve a three million problem? In the lead up to the Warrior Week experience, Chad actually became the guy who could solve bigger problems. QUESTION What has persistence brought into your life experience? Parable #3: I Got This Figured Out   That first night in the Pit, Chad felt a sense of control. He was confident he would handle anything that might come his way and was void of any intimidation. In all actuality, though, the biggest lie he was telling himself was that he had it all figured out. “I think all men need to come to a point where they are willing to say, “I don’t have this figured out, and it’s not always going to work out. Shit happens.” This was the beginning of Chad becoming comfortable with himself and his limitations. QUESTION Where are you pretending? Parable #4: Comfort vs. Discomfort   As men go throughout their lives, many do not wanting to leave their comfort zone. The desire to not experience any discomfort is so great that they refuse to want “more” in their lives, knowing full well it will thrust them into that zone. They remain in a state of denial to the detriment of themselves and their loved ones. Coach Sam explains, “They become a slave to their relationships, their business, and the world. They decide they’re going to self imprison in their own fucking pit of their making. And the QUESTION Where in your world do you know it’s time to get uncomfortable? Parable #5: Guilt & Shame null This process [Warrior Week] was created for a man to let go of shame. There is literally no power associated with shame, and yet we are all conditioned to shame ourselves. The expectations of others teach us how we’re “supposed” to be and what we’re “supposed” to become. “These are all parameters that the world has adopted. Therefore you operate within these parameters as a fucking slave. Yet, you think you’re in control, but the reality is all you control is the tiny solitary prison you have created for yourself.” QUESTION How does acting on the expectations of others really affect you? “Parables from the Pit” “When you come to Warrior Week, your reality to some extent is shaken, and you recognize that in order for you to even have the power, you have to first be comfortable with yourself by getting uncomfortable.” –Sam Falsafi “Warrior Week gave me the permission to ask for more.” –– Chad Hovermale

Matt Radmacher, Warrior Week 6o graduate, joins Coach Sam in this very moving and pivotal conversation where we are invited into their hearts and souls through the sharing of stories and experiences. We are also privy to Coach Sam’s brilliant mathematical skills as he unveils the meaning behind the 2M Club. Parable #1: Asleep An avid fan and student of personal development, Matt recalls a conversation with his brother, where he shared Garrett’s story and success with Matt. “I don’t think you’d be interested in him, though, because he cusses a lot.” Matt’s life wasn’t burning down at the time, but he describes himself as asleep. He golfed several days a week, lacked a sense of purpose in life, and built a business that provided residual income with minimal input. QUESTION Where were you when you were first introduced to the game of Warrior? Parable #2: The Warrior Journey Begins While driving to a golf tournament one afternoon, Matt’s YouTube search for Garrett brought up an interview where one line, especially, intrigued and resonated with him. “I expose wealthy businessmen all the time. You peel back one layer, and their life is a chaotic drift.” Matt’s first experience in Warrior was the Be the Man Challenge, where for sixty days, he absorbed all things, Warrior. QUESTION How does Warrior help peel back the layers in your life? Parable #3: Modern Idols SAM: Modern idols have become men. We idolize celebrities, gurus, politicians, and athletes to the point that we are willing to separate ourselves from our closest ones. Warrior connects men to the work, it connects men to the Voice, and once a man is connected to these, the need to put another man on a pedestal goes away. The result? Men become leaders in their realm. QUESTION What are the idols that you worship that separate you from your family? Parable #4: Shaken On the first night of Warrior Week, Matt felt exhausted but spiritually liberated. His decision to go all in and not hold anything back allowed him to purge and cleanse his soul. Coach Sam explains, “It’s in the Pit that first night where the temple of a man is shaken by physical exhaustion, where just like a salt shaker, all of the useless stories of guilt and shame are shaken out of men.” QUESTION What stories of guilt and shame is it time to let go of? Parable #5: The Hero Warrior Week isn’t about going through transformation, it’s about welcoming the hero. And as long as you do the work from that space, you remain the hero. Your work means being an example for your family and the leadership that you have. No matter your status in life, you have been given stewardship and how you reframe that inside of the work makes you who you are. QUESTION How are you handling your stewardhip? “Parables from the Pit” “We have become the modern prostitute of our miracles, and we call them coincidences.” –Sam Falsafi “With Warrior, you can’t hide behind a camera, you can’t hide behind the layers and walls that you build up for yourself, and the masks you try to wear. Warrior cuts to the heart of where you’re at.” –– Matt Radmacher

Dustin Goss danced on the sidelines of Warrior for about twelve months prior to taking the plunge into WC3. In this episode, we learn about Dustin’s Warrior journey, how his involvement in it coupled with the application of the Warrior tools has transformed his life, as well as the miraculous event that occurred during WW 61. We also get to meet his family as they reveal their book and project, “Quick Cents to a Buck.”  Parable #1: WC3 Dustin danced on the sidelines with Warrior for about twelve months before taking the plunge into WC3. Coming into this three-day event, his only previous exposure to Warrior was the videos he had watched online. “It was quite insane not knowing anyone or anything about Warrior as I sat in this room with 1200 individuals dressed in black. You could feel the power!” As he dove into the experience, it hit him like a ton of bricks, and within the first two hours, he knew he was meant to be there. QUESTION How long have you been watching Warrior from the sidelines? Parable #2: The Box Dustin was very strategic about his rock selection during a particular evolution. He was sent to the “box” where he positioned the rocks to look at him and had conversations with the people or experiences these rocks represented. “I had hours with myself and nothing else which I had never taken the time to do. It was the first time turning the microscope on me. The metaphors and gifts that were given to me were amazing.” QUESTION How often do you take time to pause and reflect? Parable #3: The Clouds Parted During day two at Warrior Week, in the midst of torrential rain and wind, on top of long periods of waiting, getting lost, and experiencing pure fucking misery, it was in that moment that the group surrendered to hope in the horizon. “We had no idea where we were standing, no idea,” recalls Coach Sam. “As the clouds went away, and the sun started shining on us, giving us heat, warming us up and making us comfortable, the final piece was the revelation of an island.” Dustin adds, “To experience that was one of life’s gems.” QUESTION Describe one of those “life gem” moments in your life. Parable #4: Post Warrior “Before Warrior, Core 4 (Body, Being, Balance, and Business) was not part of my thought process. Post Warrior, the man I’ve become, and the ability to enhance myself as a father, husband, and businessman have transformed beyond my wildest beliefs.” “I’ve become much more intentional with the time I spend with my seven-year-old son and one-year-old daughter. And the relationship with my wife has grown profoundly. I listen to her differently, talk to her differently, and think about her emotions and frustrations from her perspective more than I ever have in the past.” QUESTION How has your life transformed post Warrior? Parable #5: Bag of Tools Dustin: “The bag of tools that I obtained through Warrior are the pieces I value the most, along with the relationships. I’m having conversations with my Warrior bothers that I can’t have with my best friends or relatives. I can’t open up the same way with them.” Coach Sam: “When it comes to guys outside of Warrior, I compare the way I operate vs. how they operate. Yes, I can socialize with them, but that’s about it, which limits the time I want to spend with them.” QUESTION What was life prior to using the Warrior tools? “Parables from the Pit” “We sell “now” to the future of “I will be.” We don’t recognize that who we are right now is much bigger than who we were, and who we are about to become is completely dependent on who we accept ourselves to be today.” –Sam Falsafi “The bag of tools that I obtained through Warrior, along with the relationships, are the pieces I value the most.” –– Dustin Goss

While enjoying drinks on the Monarch Resort’s patio in Dana Point, Matt and his college buddies, who had gathered for their once-a-year guy’s weekend, were intrigued by the sight of a bunch of men dressed in black doing some sort of “clap and boom” not too far from them. Unbeknownst to Matt, this would mark the beginning of his Warrior journey. Welcome to this episode of Warrior Week: Parables from the Pit, with your host, Sam Falsafi, lead trainer, and his special guest, Matt Davenport, graduate of Warrior Week #60. Parable #1: Two-Clap BOOM! While enjoying drinks on the Monarch Resort’s patio in Dana Point, Matt and his college buddies, who had gathered for their once-a-year guy’s weekend, were intrigued by the sight of a bunch of men dressed in black doing some sort of “clap and boom.” Curious about them, Matt was told by their server that it was a secret business group called Wake Up Warrior. Upon returning home, his google search led him to watch video after video with messages that spoke directly to him. “I felt like someone had read my mind.” QUESTION How did you first encounter the message of Warrior?   Parable #2: From Denial to Awareness At the time of entering KingsKit 3, Matt’s life was in a pretty dark place, including his marriage. “The whole idea of telling the truth had me start looking in the mirror. It brought awareness of all the things I needed to change in my life, which was overwhelming at first.” It was through his association with men inside of Warrior that Matt felt he could be authentic and totally honest, and that the change he was witnessing in other men’s lives could be his experience as well. He was willing to do whatever it took to start making changes in his life, including attending Warrior Week. QUESTION Where in your world do you know you’re being authentic? Parable #3: Tell the Truth, Burn the Past It was that first night in the Pit where Matt realized he had been living his whole life seeking things that he thought would set him free and make him happy. He had tried everything except telling the truth. It was in the Pit that he discovered, “until you tell the truth, there is no way out.” Looking back on his life with regret and shame had become the go-to pattern for Matt. It was through writing down and burning a list all of the things he was going to let go of that put into motion the process of setting himself free. QUESTION What is something you know you need to burn from your past? Parable #4: Before & After Matt came out of Warrior Week renewed, reframed, and excited to leverage himself and his power. It definitely proved to be a pivotal point in his life. “Who I have been as a father to my girls has been life-altering.” Before Warrior, Matt explains, “I was always sedating. I was a workaholic, always watching TV, always distracted, never present, and always wanting to escape.” At the time, alcohol played a huge role in Matt’s life. Today he is alcohol-free which has profoundly affected how he shows up as a father. QUESTION Who are you today vs. the man you were before Warrior?   Parable #5: Warrior Week Plus Warrior Week has shifted into a virtual experience. “It’s amazing to see how we are able to create the same conditions and feelings virtually as we did in person, ” comments Coach Sam. He further explains that it’s the space and energy that the men allow themselves to experience that creates the conditions for their Warrior Week, whether in-person or virtually. QUESTION When will you experience Warrior Week Plus? “Parables from the Pit” “We are brought up with this condition where the only gear we know is the gear of the past, the grudge’s gear.” –Sam Falsafi “Going into Warrior Week, I felt like I was a prisoner of my past. Walking out of Warrior Week, I felt and believed that I was a new and different person; that I could create whatever life I wanted, and that the past no longer had power over me.” –– Matt Davenport

Brent Kocal is Coach Sam’s special guest in this week’s episode, where we discover it wasn’t Brent’s intention to attend Warrior Week, but the Universe had other plans for him. Sit back and enjoy this amazing episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit.  Parable #1: The Gate Brent entered the gates of Warrior through a marketing event in the summer of 2019, Big Money Marketer. Although he had been exposed to the message of Warrior a few months earlier, this is where he actually got his feet wet. At the end of a two-day intensive, Coach Sam did a presentation about Warrior Week, afterward asking the participants to text him either “yes” or “no” about attending. Brent texted, “No.” But the Universe had other plans for him. QUESTION What have you been led to do that initialy you had zero inentions of doing?   Parable #2: The Showman Brent considers himself a recovering asshole, someone who did things so he could be in the spotlight. “This has been going on since eighth grade, where I just wanted people to look at me.” “It was during Warrior Week that I realized I am a fucking asshole. And it was Warrior Week that opened the door for me to recognize how much work I needed to do on myself.” QUESTION Where in your world are you showing up as an ass-hole? Parable #3: Give vs. Get Post-Warrior Week, Brent did a lot of self-inquiry about how he spent his life and how he was spending his days. Stack after Stack revealed that he was the happiest when he was in service to others. “Rather than thinking about what I can get, I started thinking about what I can give. Ultimately, that’s what filled the space. When I interact with others, I’m thinking, “How can I make that person feel good about whatever it is they’re doing?” QUESTION What do your Stacks reveal about you? Parable #4: The Shift While attending the Big Money Marketer event, one of Garrett’s messages was, “It doesn’t matter if you’re solving the wrong problem, just pick a problem and then test it.” During meditation, Brent heard the message, “You should be a parenting coach.” So Brent tested it and tested it with zero response and zero results. It was during a Production Workshop at the beginning of 2020 where he was called out and challenged by Coach Sam, and within seconds, Brent blurted out the real problem he would solve. QUESTION How has collision with others impacted your life choices? Parable #5: What About Me? Brent’s involvement with Warrior has impacted his family relationships. His wife appreciates that he is better able to share his feelings with her, which has been hard for him in the past. Fatherhood, though, remains a rocky road for him, although he does have increased patience. The downside is, Brent’s wife feels a growing distance between them due to all of his Warrior work. “You came back, and you’re on this trajectory where you’re always doing things, and I feel like what I’m doing is making myself worse.” QUESTION What are you doing to support your wife as you take on the Warrior journey? “Parables from the Pit“ “We’ve proven with Virtual Warrior Week that you don’t need all the fucking shenanigans. The process itself works because a guy is supposed to be there at that time. It’s out of our hands.” –Sam Falsafi “I need to accept what the Universe is giving me in this moment; that this is exactly what I need right now.” –– Brent Kocal

Brian Q Davis, graduate of multiple Warrior Weeks, and neurosurgeon Dr. Omar Ibrahim providentially crossed paths a world away. Together they join Coach Sam in this critical episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit. The purpose of this conversation is to give voice to the children of war who did not get the chance to speak. Parable #1: COVID-19 COVID-19 has put a pause on human momentum everywhere around the world. With all the bad that has come with it, one of the good things is that it has allowed us to pause and reflect on what we are doing and who we have become. Coach Sam explains, “It is in times like this that it is important for us to become a voice for the children that died thirty years ago in the chemical war; for the children who put the Warrior of God bandanas around their heads and cleared the minefields.” QUESTION What are some of the things you have taken the time to pause and reflect upon during the COID-19 pause? Parable #2: Scars On Your Soul Living in a war area leaves scars on your soul, and you don’t have time for your soul to heal. Dr. Ibrahim has been a first-hand witness, as has Coach Sam, to the horrors of war and its far-reaching effect on men, women, and children. As a doctor on the frontlines, Dr. Ibrahim has witnessed unspeakable crimes against children., and amid all the chaos, he explains, “You have to stay calm. You have to hold yourself together and do your job as perfectly as needed.” QUESTION How have you gone about healing scars from your childhood?   Parable #3: Shining Light On Evil If we don’t learn the lessons from the past, then the children who have died in wars will have died in vain. For the most part, there’s no interest in sharing this kind of pain that ultimately brings awareness to the masses. “People are sharing absolute minor issues every two to three seconds on social media vs. sharing major human issues like unjustness and unfairness to the children. It’s not only the killing of children in war zones, but it’s also the raping, the pedophilia, and the sexual abuse of children across the world by a network of evil people,” shares Coach Sam. QUESTION What can you do to bring awareness to the pain and injustices of others? Parable #4: Civil War Horrors There’s a significant difference between soldiers fighting soldiers vs. civil wars. Civil wars include women and children. It includes rape, it violates and loots, burns people’s homes, and kills them in their sleep. “The images of the horror these children experienced remain in their minds for the rest of their fucking lives. Who will quench their thirst for revenge for the deaths of their brothers and sisters?” QUESTION What are your feelings about all of this?   Parable #5: Separation What’s happening today in the United States stems from hate, anger, and fear. Many of the actions and demands are filled with hypocrisy, and the complaints would not stack up against the unspeakable horrors that Dr. Ibrahim and Coach Sam witnessed first-hand. As the only neurosurgeon on-site, Dr. Ibrahim had to determine which of the many patients were most likely to survive. In many cases, he treated their wounds and injuries without all of the necessary tools, and at the same time, taking on the roles of many different types of doctors. QUESTION How are their stories and experiences speaking to and inspiring you? “Parables from the Pit“ “When you witness this as a child, it does not go away. The horrors of war remain as a scar in your soul.” –-Sam Falsafi “I would like the world to know that war is the most dangerous thing. It doesn’t affect one or two generations; it affects multiple generations.” –Dr. Omar Ibrahim, Neurosurgeon “When others picked up a gun, you picked up a doctor’s coat, a stethoscope, and bandages. You brought your knowledge to heal instead of bringing bombs and weapons like so many others.” –– Brian Q Davis

Matthew first heard the call of Warrior in 2013 and initially rejected it. But in 2015, when he hit what he calls his second rock bottom, it put him in enough pain to realize that his life wasn’t working. Thus began his personal journey of discovery. Welcome to Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit, with your host Coach Sam Falsafi and his special guest Matthew Lee. Parable #1: The Call of Warrior Matthew first heard the call of Warrior in 2013 and initially rejected it. But in 2015, when he hit what he calls his second rock bottom, it put him in enough pain to realize that his life wasn’t working. Thus began his personal journey of discovery. As he traveled to his first Warrior event, he knew that the man he left behind in Chicago was dead. He was ready for change, and from the moment he stepped into the room with the other guys, Matthew knew this was the place he was meant to be. QUESTION What was taking place in your life when you first heard the call of Warrior? Parable #2: The COVID-19 Pause COVID-19 has created a lot of emotion. When emotions are high, intelligence tends to be low. Coach Sam reflects, “Worldwide, we have put human momentum on pause because of fear of the unknown; because of the lack of faith to take a leap. We’ve decided to walk back and pause. And today, I have a huge appreciation for this pause.” This pause has given all of us the time to look at our reflection in the mirror at who we are today and what we’re becoming. The anger, blame, guilt, and shame that we feel is driving who we’re becoming rather than being driven by compassionate, unconditional love. QUESTION How are you using this time in history to reflect?   Parable #3: The Knock At the Door Matthew explains, “In life, we have these knocks at the door; times when we fall down. These are simply an opportunity. When I feel something, that’s a trigger, a sign, a knock at the door that I need to go discover. It’s the sound that someone or something wants to gain entry.” But oftentimes, we will use our “already always listening voices” to silence the knocks at our door. The gift is found in recognizing that things that happen in our lives happen FOR us, not to us. “I had to have all of that pain unleashed on me to be open and ready.” QUESTION How are you responding to the knocks at your door? Parable #4: Feel the Pain The genesis of any change comes down to daily decisions and defining decisions. A change in the way we perceive ourselves and others happens over time, not overnight. It’s a process and a commitment, dedication, and devotion to a cause. “If you truly don’t understand the “why” behind why you must change, then you’re just putting a bandage on the wound. Which means you’re no longer feeling the pain. But if you feel pain, you have begun the investigation into why this thing matters. You must feel the pain, and you must have tactical empathy.” QUESTION What are you doing to understand they “why” behind change?   Parable #5: Separation As human beings, we don’t all witness the same unfairness, which is why it is difficult to understand one another. Coach Sam is a child of war who unspeakable horrors while the rest of the world was in denial. “For over thirty years, I have kept this pain inside of me. How come nobody heard our cry? How the fuck do I purge that?” Most of us have been taught that there is me, there’s we, and there’s them. Matthew explains, “I’ve been taught to look across at “them” and pick apart everything they’re doing wrong. That’s a test. If I learn to love, I pass the test. I let go of what I’ve been hanging onto and try on a new perspective.” QUESTION Are you passing the test? “Parables from the Pit“ “One of the misconceptions about Warrior is that weak men go to become strong. But that’s not it. Powerful men come to Warrior and recognize the weak game they have been playing. It’s not the man that is weak; it’s the cheap games he’s been playing.” –-Sam Falsafi “How we show up in the world in one way is how we show up in all ways.” –– Matthew Lee

Internationally renowned CrossFit athlete Christian Lucero is Coach Sam’s special guest in this episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit. Parable #1: Born For Something Bigger Christian is a professional CrossFit athlete whose background is sports and martial arts. He always felt there was something bigger he was here to do; that he had something more to offer the world. From a very young age, he was mentored into this role as an athlete. At one point, it was football, which pivoted into mixed martial arts, and eventually, that pivoted into CrossFit, where he found great stride. “I started at the bottom and worked my way into worldwide recognition in CrossFit.” QUESTION Where in your world do you feel like you have more to offer the world? Parable #2: Heros to Emulate null In this journey of life, it’s important to have people you can look up to and admire; people who have traits you want to emulate in your own life that you’re going to remember when the going gets rough, and you feel you can’t go on. “It’s taking things that are important to you and doing them to the best of your ability across all areas of your life. It’s being obsessed with that drive of excellence and taking pride in everything you do.” QUESTION How are you showing up as a hero to your wife and children?   Parable #3: Willing to Die null There are going to be people who are willing to die for the win. If that’s not your goal, you’re going to get run over by those who have that as their goal. When you’re willing to die for something, you’re not going to suck ass for long. When you’re willing to die to prove someone wrong or avenge wrongdoing, that’s linked to a state of mind that goes beyond the pain. QUESTION What are you willing to die for? Parable #4: Ego The ego tries to make what others think or say about you, all-important. It puts traps and road-blocks in front of you to get you out of your own focus and your ability to be in a true zen state of mind, and instead move you into a state of questioning. “Ego=1/Knowledge. What this means is the more the knowledge, the lesser the ego,  the lesser the knowledge, the more the ego.” At the end of the day, the more knowledge you have, the smaller your ego becomes. QUESTION What do you do to shrink your ego?   Parable #5: Quest “It’s about enriching the lives of the people you see on a daily basis and helping them to be the best versions of themselves. I feel like that’s the biggest thing you can do with whatever gifts you’re given, to make other people’s lives better.” “When it comes to competitions, these people [spectators] have taken time out of their day to be here, so as competitors, we owe it to them to “die” here; to give all of ourselves to this event.” QUESTION How are you sharing your gifts with others?   “Parables from the Pit“ “It’s human nature to seek this feeling of significance.” –-Sam Falsafi “It’s about enriching the lives of the people you see on a daily basis and helping them to be the best versions of themselves. I feel like that’s the biggest thing you can do with whatever gifts you’re given, to make other people’s lives better.” –– Christian Lucero

Scott was initially introduced to Warrior in 2015 but couldn’t pull the trigger, which left him with all sorts of regrets. He thought he had missed his chance. But as fate would have it, he once again heard the Warrior call and jumped at the opportunity to be part of it. Like thousands of others, Garrett’s message resonated deeply with him. Welcome to the Warrior Week podcast with your host, Coach Sam Falsafi, and his special guest, Scott White, graduate of Warrior Week 55. Parable #1: The Warrior Call Scott was initially introduced to Warrior in 2015 but couldn’t pull the trigger, which left him with all sorts of regrets. He thought he had missed his chance. But as fate would have it, he once again heard the Warrior call and jumped at the opportunity to be part of it. Like thousands of others, Garrett’s message resonated deeply with him. “I felt Garrett was speaking to me and figured this was my last hope. I was in a bad place mentally and physically and was very much overweight. I felt terrible, and my wife was ready to leave me. Although I was making money, everything else in my life was horrible. I had hit rock bottom.” QUESTION Where were you when you heard the call of Warrior? Parable #2: Exposed Many men are wary of exposing details about problems they are experiencing inside their marriage relationships. They believe it’s a private matter, but they also fear being judged in the future, or that somehow others will take advantage of the information. As a result, they keep things inside and end up convincing themselves that things are “good.” “This is a fear of men because there’s a risk that comes with expressing, so we are very careful with what we share. As we start disconnecting ourselves from the false value that we give to the various circles of people we surround ourselves with, it is then that we realize that the thing that matters is our own expression, and with that comes the price of losing some of those associations.” Coach Sam QUESTION What fears to you carry when it comes to sharing your problems?   Parable #3: Connected Scott experienced a lot of success by participating in the KingsKit challenge and then felt he could continue doing it on his own. He started scaling back on his CORE 4 and found himself getting off track. However, a series of extraordinary experiences during WC3 changed all of that. Coach Sam shared the various encounters he’s experienced throughout the years that led him to the gates of Warrior, the unfolding of which was quite astounding “Everything is connected. There are all of these angels that come into our lives to show us a path.” QUESTION What are some of the extraordinary encounters you have experienced in your lifetime? Parable #4: Unlocking Buried Trauma Scott’s experience with the lead up to Warrior Week was very enlightening and tough. “It did a great job at blowing shit up. You never knew where that missile was coming in. It came in hot, and you had to deal with it. It definitely prepared me for a baseline of what to expect at Warrior Week.” During Warrior Week, Scott was continually wondering how and when he was going to be exposed. “It wasn’t just soul-bearing pain; it was physical pain. It brought me back to a place deep within me that I had locked away and exposed secrets and trauma from my childhood.” QUESTION What have you done to deal with childhood trauma you experienced?   Parable #5: Awaken & Remember A lot of people are reacting irrationally to situations that seem completely unfair. The animal inside is being triggered. It’s in those moments that we are reminded by the Voice to awaken and remember, which in turn slows down the reactions. Those who listen react differently to unfairness than the guy who carries rage. But many are not listening. “When I’m in situations where people are being triggered, I don’t match their level of rage. I try to figure out what’s going on and discover the real issue. When I’m operating at a high-frequency vibrational level, it allows me to see through all kinds of bullshit. This is what makes the Stack such a valuable tool.” QUESTION How do you handle the triggers that come your way?   “Parables from the Pit“ “My son is my experiment. I get to be the leader of that, I get to guide that. I get to protect him from the pain and position him to the possibilities.” –-Sam Falsafi “When you start tearing down the walls and the layers and layers of shit that have built up inside of you throughout the years, that is how you transform. That is what takes place at Warrior Week. But you’ve got to actually be vulnerable enough to go there and unlock that.” –– Scott White

Shawn was led to the gates of Warrior by nothing less than perfect timing and divine intervention. After searching for answers to his wife’s eighteen-year condition, it was during a month-long stay at the Mayo Clinic while waiting for his wife that Shawn randomly opened up Facebook. Enter Garrett J White promoting a 30-day challenge. Welcome to the Warrior Week podcast with your host, Coach Sam Falsafi, and his special guest, Shawn McDonald, Warrior Week 54 graduate. Parable #1: Divine Intervention null Shawn was led to the gates of Warrior by nothing less than perfect timing and divine intervention. After searching for answers to his wife’s eighteen-year condition, it was during a month-long stay at the Mayo Clinic while waiting for his wife that Shawn randomly opened up Facebook. Enter Garrett J White promoting a 30-day challenge. At the time, Shawn’s relationship with his wife had gotten to an all-time low, and they were moving closer to divorce. “I was financially very successful, career-wise very successful; I was an executive doing very, very well. Inside? I was literally dead. I was hopeless as to where my wife’s situation was and very hopeless where I was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. So… I took the challenge.” QUESTION Where were you when you were first introduced to the message of Wake Up Warrior? Parable #2: The Garage The first evolution in the Kings Kit Challenge takes place virtually in the guy’s garages. Previously organized because of his wife’s skills, his garage was now a complete mess, which was a vivid and glaring reflection of the shit taking place in his life, in his heart, and in the relationship with his wife.  “The whole process of bringing practical circumstances to the forefront of my perspective, and helping the other men and me literally walk through a journey of breaking things down piece by piece, helped me to completely get out of my pit and was the beginning of a revolution for me.” QUESTION What is your garage a reflection of in your life?   Parable #3: Exposed One challenge led to another until Shawn eventually found himself in the throes of the crucible, Warrior Week. During the Inquisition process, it felt like someone had peeled back the vale and had exposed where he had been for over 20 years of his life. Although he was ready to understand what was going on inside of him, admittedly, it was so much harder than he expected it to be. “When you finally get down to an understanding of things you have danced around forever, that awakening means everything.  The biggest thing for me was literally coming to a place of acknowledging that I hate myself and that I’ve never loved my wife.” QUESTION Where in your world is it time to shine a light to expose what you’ve been hiding? Parable #4: You’re Not Alone All around us, families are being crushed and shattered. Men are operating at the lowest version of themselves and have been conditioned to believe they have to go through this life alone. But that is simply not the case. “We underestimate the importance of men who have gone before us. In order to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with somebody, you have to have been tested by the fire yourself. You’ve had to have gone into your own pit, and trust another man to help you walk out of that pit.” QUESTION Who has your back in this world? Parable #5: Own Your Why On the second day of Warrior Week, Shawn experienced the next major step in opening his eyes to the work that lay ahead of him. He began identifying and imprinting into his soul the purpose for his existence, shouting to the world the names of his wife and children. “This is why I’m alive! This is my family that’s been entrusted to my care.”He realized it was his unwillingness to show up for himself and his family that led to a path of destruction for all of them. “It led me to five affairs, two bankruptcies, kids who didn’t want to have anything to do with me, a son who got on drugs, and a daughter that got raped.” QUESTION What is your why?   “Parables from the Pit“ “The majority of men don’t have the courage to admit their faults because they don’t want to remind themselves of their mistakes. And so they hide and hang with “positive” people who are also liars, and who will never have the fucking balls to remind them of their mistakes and lies.” –-Sam Falsafi “It’s one thing to point out another man’s lies; it’s a completely different thing to help lead him to the light.” –– Shawn McDonald

During the closing weeks of 2018, John found himself in a deep pit. Unbeknownst to him, his world was moments away from changing in a massive way as he ate lunch with a friend at a restaurant in San Diego. Welcome to this special episode of Warrior Week: Parables from the Pit with your host, Coach Sam Falsafi, and his special guest, John Estefanso, graduate of Warrior Week 56. Parable #1: Right Place, Right Time During the closing weeks of 2018, John found himself in a deep pit. Unbeknownst to him, his world was moments away from changing in a massive way as he ate lunch with a friend at a restaurant in San Diego. A group of guys donning black “Do More, Suck Less” t-shirts walked through the doors of that restaurant, and two days later, after devouring hours and hours of Warrior content, John found himself on a phone call with Coach Sam Falsafi preparing to attend Warrior Week. QUESTION When were you at the “right place, right time?” What happened? How did your life change? Parable #2: The Awakening Warrior Week 56 was captured in a movie and has since touched the hearts of thousands of people. Of the many highlights of that week, the surprising actions taken by one Warrior coach demonstrated the power of Warrior Week and how it filters all serpents and liars. Notorious for being both intense and powerful, the month-long build-up to Warrior Week 56 was an interesting awakening and journey of self-discovery for John. “I realized how full of shit and stories I really was.” QUESTION What has been exposed about your life on your journey of self-discovery?   Parable #3: Abandoned One of the common themes among the men of WW 56 was abandonment issues. For John, it was his father. “Having to face that, look at it, and really live with it showed me who I was. For me, I ended up loving my father a lot more because I realized throughout that abandonment, he helped make me who I am.” Coach Sam adds, “The common theme in WW 56 was the conflict that took place with our fathers. There were a lot of alphas, big mother-fuckers, big muscles, and rough guys.” The idea was to investigate the truth, rather than rely on one’s memory. QUESTION Do you have abandonment issues? What are they? Parable #4: The Pit As chaos settled in on day one, it channeled its way into the night into a place where every man was no longer going to hold anybody’s hand. It was all about what every man was going to have to face, what they would allow themselves to feel, and what they would ultimately surrender to while facing the fears of the past and the prisons of the present. John recounts, “The build-up to the pit experience was surreal. I was battling the thoughts of questioning why the fuck I was even there, and why I was putting myself through it. There were physical challenges as well, and it was an emotional roller-coaster ride. It was in the pit that I was able to let go of everything I had been hanging onto and replaying in my head my entire life.” QUESTION What is one story you know it’s time to let go of?   Parable #5: Hand of God The second day of Warrior Week takes place on the beach and is one of the most pivotal experiences for the majority of the guys. For John, that proved to be the case. “The Hand of God evolution was one of the deepest things I have felt in my entire life. The second I was perceiving that God was answering me, the clouds parted, and the rays of the sun literally and completely hit me. I felt that I was completely connecting with a higher source and power, something I tap into regularly to this day.” QUESTION When was the last time you opened yourself up to the higher power? “Parables from the Pit“ “Stop living in your fucking memories. Transcend from that place to the place of what is right now. Be willing to open up and investigate.” –Sam Falsafi “During my morning run as I looked at the sunrise, I found myself understanding that there IS something bigger than me out there that created all of this.” — John Estefanso

Parable #1: Rock Bottom Finding himself in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere, David prayed to God for the first time in ten years. “God, I’ll do anything you want me to do if you will help me; if you’ll help save my marriage. About a week later, a KingsKit video showed up on social media out of nowhere – David’s first exposure and introduction to this thing called Wake Up Warrior. Something in that video touched him on a deep level, which led him to take the plunge. QUESTION Where were you and what was your state of mind when you first heard the message of Warrior? Parable #2: The Garage Warrior created an opening for David to question his stories for the very first time in his life. It also gave him permission to start telling the truth about where he was in his life, what he had done, how he felt, and that it was ok to be open about the messes in his life. “The first time I saw Coach Sam speak with authenticity and certainty in his garage surrounded by all of his shit, I felt and knew that this guy wanted me to speak my pain; that he wanted to help me and others get out of our Pits.” QUESTION In what way has Warrior “given you permission” to do something for perhaps the first time in your life?   Parable #3: Physician, Heal Thyself David cheated on his wife, lied, and tore down everything he had built or wanted to build. During this time, he made the most money ever as a physician because he threw his entire life into his work. He believed his worth was determined by what he was doing. During Warrior Wealth, David felt so broken that he was ready to give up everything, even being a doctor. “During Warrior Week, I finally received the certainty that I am a fucking healer and that I didn’t default into this path.” But he knew he first had to heal himself mentally QUESTION What areas of your life are calling to you to heal? Parable #4: Mom David had a lot of rage and pain in the way his mother acted toward and treated him. That first night in the Pit opened up the floodgates of emotions and feelings towards her. David ultimately went to therapy and completed three to four hundred Stacks about his mother and his relationship with her. “It was so suffocating how I felt about myself, and as a result, everything else was fake. Once I allowed myself to feel anger, rage, pain, and joy – at myself – I could then be honest with other people.” QUESTION Describe your experience in the Pit. Parable #5: The Beach The second day of Warrior Week was David’s favorite day. In the Pit, he felt like God was talking to him, but it was on the beach where David had a back and forth conversation with him. A lot of what he was told is now coming pass, although, at the time, it didn’t make sense to him. One of the most significant messages he received from God was, “Why are you fighting the fucking waves? Let me take you. Trust my process. You trust Warrior, so trust the divine process. Just let go. Let go and let the waves carry you.” QUESTION Are you listening to God? What is he telling you? “Parables from the Pit“ “I want you to consider that what this is, is an opportunity for you to ask yourself, “What the fuck are you hearing? What do you need to hear today to guide you toward an action that you have been called to do?” —Sam Falsafi “Authenticity is currency no matter what you do for a living.” –Dr. David Fedor

Parable #1: “Who the Fuck Coaches You?” As a student and leader inside of many transformational trainings throughout his life, Demian had always been a seeker of growth and improvement at a fundamental level. However, once he found himself smack dab in the middle of the “trifecta of insanity,” aka a married businessman with children, it became apparent that what had been working was no longer working for him. Through the conversations, arguments, and collisions with his wife, it became clear to Demian that something needed to change and shift. Having been instrumental in the breakthroughs of hundreds if not thousands of others, one day, his wife asked him, “You coach everybody else, but who the fuck coaches you?”  QUESTION How do you open yourself up to coaching when you are the one usually doing the coaching? Parable #2: Rise & Remember When the conversation of Warrior entered Demian’s world, he had been dabbling in some old patterns and behaviors that weren’t at all serving him. On top of that, things were fizzling out sexually inside of his three-year marriage.  About this time, a video on Facebook caught Demian’s attention showing men in extreme conditions who were being called to “rise and remember that you are a king.” Over sushi one evening, he shared this with his wife – an intuitive – who blurted out, “That's it! Sign up right now!” What Demian experienced in the next 45 minutes was a foreshadowing of the wild, life-altering adventure yet to come. QUESTION Describe your intro to Warrior. Parable #3: Buried Alive It was during one of the evolutions at Warrior Week 49 that Demian came face to face with one of his greatest fears. After being blasted with water while reciting Invictus, Demian was immediately taken to a plot of ground where he was instructed to dig his own grave. His greatest fear? That of being buried alive. And yet, that is exactly what happened next as dirt began covering him, and men started piling on top of him, all the while a muzzled German Shepherd began barking ferociously in his face. At that moment, in order to survive, Demian disconnected from the chaos and panic. What happened next proved what would be a pivotal moment for him. QUESTION What is one of your greatest fears? Parable #4: That One Time in India… During his travels to India ten years ago, Coach Sam had a very unusual and memorable experience. As he sat on a park bench one morning, he suddenly heard all of this laughter and set out to find out where it was coming from. Imagine his surprise when he discovered a group of people being led in a laughter meditation! After joining in the contagious laughter, Sam asked the guru a question that had been burning inside of him for a while. The guru answered Sam’s question by sharing an unforgettable story. QUESTION What burning question do yoi have inside of you? Parable #5: Discover the Gift In 2011, Demian’s movie, “Discover the Gift,” screened at the Sundance Film Festival. During the Q&A that followed, Demian heard a loud noise followed by someone suddenly standing up and abruptly leaving the room. A few minutes later, as Demian stood outside the theater, a large, tall man wearing an intense expression on his face came barreling towards him. Demian instinctively raised his hands to protect himself. But as the man drew closer, he noticed tears running down the stranger’s cheeks as he asked Demian, “What did you do to me?” QUESTION How did you feel when you heard Demian recall this story? Parables from the Pit“ “You truly don’t know another man if you don’t know his pain.” —Sam Falsafi “…as your father, I will always love you. As your king, I command you to rise! Rise..and rise again!” –Demian Lichtenstein   warriorweeknow.com

Parable #1: The “Dream Life” Illusion At the time Daniel was first introduced to the conversation of Warrior, he had what most would consider a dream life. He had the beautiful home overlooking the pacific ocean, a successful law firm, not a lot of debt, a vacation home in Cabo, a wonderful wife & kids…he seemingly had it all. But he had reached the boredom stage and was starting to go crazy. And underneath the surface, he had some health and relationship issues and knew he had to make a shift. Enter Garrett’s infamous video in Vegas that completely resonated with Daniel. QUESTION What is the message that spoke to you when you were first introduced to Wake Up Warrior? Parable #2: Feelings Daniel grew up on the opposite spectrum of financial wealth. He was raised by a single dad who worked all the time, and as a result, Daniel took on the mentality of “go to work, do what I say, leave me alone, and let me drink when I want.” He had a fear of losing everything he built and knew how quickly it could all disappear. But the last thing he wanted to do was talk about it because it was like ripping off a scab, and he didn’t want to feel that pain. So he spent a lot of energy and time focusing on everything BUT that. QUESTION How do you feel about expressing your feelings and facing your fears? Parable #3: Fuck Date Night The first six months following Warrior Week, Date Night between Daniel and his wife, was anything but romantic. She had a “fuck you” attitude about it, but they continued to go, week after week, oftentimes dining or watching movies in complete silence. Over time, his wife began to trust the change she saw in Daniel, and Date Night became something she looked forward to. What Daniel never foresaw, however, was the feedback and response from others wanting to know their “secret” and asking for marital advice, which placed an unexpected expectation around Date Night and his wife. QUESTION What are you doing to keep Date Nights fresh, consistent, and sustainable, especially during this lockdown season? Parable #4:  Facts vs. Law As a lawyer, there are two ways Daniel presents arguments: 1- the facts and 2- the law. When it comes to the facts, you can’t argue them; facts are facts. The law, however, is gray and can be manipulated. Through Warrior, Daniel has learned to frame the conversation through the lens of certainty and spends more time wanting to focus on the facts than on the law. “When you have the facts on your side, it doesn’t matter what the law says.” QUESTION What has been one of the most significant shifts in your life since your Warrior journey began? Parable #5: Certainty & Value Your energy precedes you; therefore, if you are certain or uncertain, it is obvious the moment you step into a room. As such, Daniel trains his lawyers to over-prepare through role-playing every conceivable worst-case scenario his clients may face. The conversation of value goes hand-in-hand with the conversation of certainty. What are you willing to walk away from or stand up for because of the value you place in it? Do you place that value in yourself? At the end of the day, you must have certainty in your value; otherwise, you will be exposed. QUESTION What is one thing you can do today to demonstrate more certainty in your value? Parables from the Pit “We are sacrificing time that we can never get back for a fucking story that may or may not happen in the future.” —Sam Falsafi “You are not broken. You have to tell the truth, especially to yourself. Get clear about what you really want and what is important enough for you to let everything else go.” –Daniel Hitzke

Brian Holloway, Coach Sam’s guest in this episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit, was a self-proclaimed quitter for years. A break up with his first wife led to disconnection, guilt and shame, and a ruined relationship with his daughter. We discover how his commitment to living the Warrior’s Way and developing this one superpower changed everything for him. Parable #1: Intro to Warrior Brian’s first introduction to Warrior was the infamous Vegas video. At the time, Brian was struggling and didn’t know what direction his life should take, and everything Garrett was saying rang true for him. Shortly thereafter, Brian found himself in a conversation with Coach Sam, where he was able to fully open up and express himself while feeling absolutely zero judgment from him. Although Warrior Week was placed on the back burner for a time, Coach Sam shared relevant information that Brian could implement into his life immediately, which left a lasting impression. QUESTION What about Warrior’s message rang true for you the first time you heard it? Parable #2: WARRIOR X Three months later, Brian was immersed inside the wild two day Warrior X event, the most intense physical version of Warrior that was nonstop, unpredictable, included very little sleep and it was almost as if time was folded in half. “It was an ass-whooping experience spiritually, mentally, and physically. From the moment we showed up, I knew we were in for a ride! For me, the experience brought out exactly what I needed in order to refocus and shift.” QUESTION What impact do experiential events have on your life that a classroom-type setting doesn’t begin to have? Parable #3: DSYSYWGD Immediately following Warrior X, Brian enrolled in the 90-day one-on-one program with Coach Sam called, “Do the Shit You Said You Were Going to Do.” It was all about continuing to do the work and being held accountable for keeping your word. Brian recalls the time when he and his wife were driving in his truck during a call with Coach Sam. In an unexpected move, Brian was instructed to jump out of the truck and do pushups on the side of the road as a consequence of being unprepared for the call. QUESTION How do you hold yourself accountable for the things you say you’re going to do? Parable #4: The Shifts Brian had three significant shifts with the relationships that meant the most to him – his wife, his son, and his daughter. He had reached a point in his life where his patterns and routines were preventing him from connecting meaningfully with them. He began making a conscious and intentional effort to share, listen, pay attention, ask questions, pay attention, and be fully engaged with them rather than giving up and quitting, which was his previous pattern. Eventually, his relationships were healed. QUESTION What do you know you must do for healing to take place in one of your key relationships? Parable #5: Don’t Ever Quit One of the most powerful things Warrior has taught Brian – and something he considers to be his superpower – is that he just doesn’t quit. Having spent ten years of his life quitting, he embraced this new way of being, which has empowered him to lead his family and business. His advice? “Invest in yourself, and you will gain confidence, then teach what you learn, and don’t ever quit. The thing about obstacles… you can get around them.” QUESTION What is one of the most important things living the Warrior’s Way has taught you? Parables from the Pit “Children and wives are the backbone of our workforce.” —Sam Falsafi “The work I did then, created the environment we have now.” –Brian Holloway

Coach Sam’s guest in this special episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit is elite tattoo artist, Jasen Workman, who has created masterpieces for Coach Sam, Garrett, and many of the Warrior brothers. We find out how he was introduced to the conversation of Warrior, what caused him to take a healing journey of over 600 miles, and how an “out of the blue” phone call led Jasen to make a decision that changed the trajectory of not only his life but also the lives of hundreds of men. Parable #1: The Healing Journey While building a million-dollar company and team, at the young age of 34, Jasen’s body began to shut down from the incessant hustle and grind. After discovering a brain tumor, doctors suggested surgery, but Jasen was unwilling to take chances with potential consequences. Much to the chagrin of medical experts and family members, and after being told he would eventually go blind and ultimately die if he did nothing, Jasen took matters into his own hands and decided to go on a spiritual journey of healing. Most thought he was absolutely crazy, but Jasen felt called to go on a 635-mile healing walk from San Francisco to Portland within 32 days. QUESTION What have you been called to do in your life that didn’t make sense to anyone but you? What were the results? Parable #2: The Great Escape During his month-long walk, Jasen met many people, mostly businessmen who were trying to escape the hustle of their every day lives to gain clarity and to reinvent themselves.  It was in isolation where Jasen gained clarity for his life through journaling and by asking himself questions. He wanted real connection and authenticity with his family, both of which were lacking on his part, and that his kids “just needed their fucking dad.” QUESTION How are you showing up for your kids? Parable #3: More Than Art Jasen and Coach Sam describe the tattoo experience as two old souls meeting and coming together. It’s a pivotal life-changing moment in time, a transformational experience. “It’s an experience where I get to share a slice of life with another human being …where they have a piece of me on their body. There’s an energetic exchange, a footprint.” QUESTION What message or story does the art on your body describe? Parable #4: The Phone Call It was December 2018. Jasen was in the airport waiting to board his flight to Florida when he received an urgent call from Warrior headquarters. A series of events had transpired, causing Jasen to become disconnected from Warrior for a time, so this call was totally unexpected. What transpired next was like witnessing a slow-motion scene in an epic Hollywood movie where one is kept on the edge of their seat until the very last possible second. QUESTION Describe a turning point in your life that came out of left-field. Parable #5: The Hand of God As Jasen sat in the audience of WC3 with over nine hundred other brothers, he suddenly heard Coach Sam call out his name. Only moments before, he had a premonition he would be called to the stage. Although he had healed in many ways, Jasen felt that his heart hadn’t fully healed. Coach Sam recalls, “I was sitting there holding your heart, you turned the candle on, and I asked everyone to come forward. Nine hundred guys got up from their chairs, kneeled down, and all of their hands were on your heart. It was like a giant tree of arms with the healing coming through those 900 brothers and dads.” QUESTION What lasting impact has this experience had on your life? Parables from the Pit ” We both had pain, and in the midst of it we had this pure joy and connection. We laughed, we cried, we listened to music, we were eating… we were kids again.” —Sam Falsafi “Sam is a fucking healer. He takes men into a place they never thought they could be.” –Jasen Workman

Dr. Todd Wendell is Coach Sam’s special guest in this eye-opening, compelling, and fascinating episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit. Their conversation resonates at a high frequency and invites you to step up and connect in ways you may have never before considered. Parable #1: What’s Your Blueprint? The conversation of Warrior entered Todd’s realm when the conditions of his life could easily be described as “good.” Always one seeking more growth and information, Todd consumed the entire audio of WarriorBook during his six-hour drive to a hunt in Utah and afterward found himself in a pivotal conversation with Coach Sam. “Based on society’s standards, things are “good” for you. But is good going to be good enough in the future? What assurance do you have that as each of you change over the next several months, especially your children, that what you’re doing is going to be good enough? What is your blueprint? What’s your strategy?” QUESTION How does society’s definition of “good” show up in your life? Parable #2: Connection With God Todd entered Warrior Week 55 with a spiritual disconnect. He knew there was a God, and he believed in him, but he had spent years leaning on man for that connection. It was during that week that Todd was able to shed long-held beliefs and stories and begin to have a personal connection for himself with God, which was a significant turning point for him. QUESTION How has your connection with God opened up and improved? Parable #3: Healer’s Hand   Up until Warrior Week 53, Coach Sam saw the mechanical aspect of chiropractic but remained uneducated about the deeper scope and meaning of it, and became a slave to his stories. We tend to dismiss and make up stories about that which we do not understand. After suffering for over nine months with an injury, Coach Sam turned to Chiropractic, which ultimately shifted his beliefs through his personal experience. “It is biological and spiritual. That is where the alignment happens with the universe, which is this bigger connection.” QUESTION How do you feel about it? Have you had a personal experience? Parable #4: Remove Resistance The nervous system is a reaction to the environment we surround ourselves with. If we can remove some of these interferences, and improve and tighten that awareness, the body starts to thrive and resonate at a higher frequency. “What creates resistance inside of our bodies? Drama, trauma, psychological, and physical issues which are ofttimes a manifestation of our emotions. As we begin removing those blocks of resistance built up inside of us, the electrical currency has the ability to circulate at full capacity.” QUESTION As you look within yourself, what do you believe is holding you back and impeding your circulation capacity? Parable #5: Awareness In our modern era, the man who is aware is a man who sees life through the blended lens of science, spirituality, and his own philosophies. He is a man who exercises confidence and certainty as he leads his wife and children. Listening to the voice inside of you as you raise and lead your children is crucial in our day and age, especially when others are quick to tell you what to do. Remember, your children were given to you…not them. Trust your intuition. QUESTION What has been your experience with choosing the blended lens of beliefs? Parables from the Pit “I’d rather my kids get lack of sleep than lack of me. And…I’d rather spend a fucking hour with my son than read a book about raising sons.” —Sam Falsafi “Lose the shame and guilt, and step up to connection. It’s all around you. Stop sedating it, stop running away from it…step into it.” –Dr. Todd Wendell “Our bodies are nothing more than a television receptor for a frequency that’s beyond us.” —Bruce Lipton .

Coach Sam’s guest in this episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit is Jeff Oldroyd, graduate of Warrior Week 55, the week it never stopped raining! What did Jeff realize that first night in the Pit? What does he treasure most in this world? How does he show up for his kids and the kids in their small community? What simple but important message do Coach Sam and Jeff have for the fathers listening to this podcast? Parable #1: Precursor to Warrior About ten years prior to finding Warrior, Jeff created a symbol and statement of his life based upon a book his friend had written. “By having a balance between my belief in God, my family, my business, and my active, adventurous lifestyle, I will achieve my life’s goals and dreams.” When Warrior came into his life, Jeff was already heavily into the habit of Core 4 (Body, Balance, Being, and Business), but now had the tools to not only back it up but to also take it to the next level. [mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size[mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size="24" bg_color="#dd3333" txt_color="#ffffff"]QUESTION[/mks_pullquote] What were the conditions of your life when Warrior was introduced to you? Parable #2: The Pit Upon entering Warrior Week, Jeff had no clue why he was there, but he was committed to submitting to the process. During that first night in the Pit, what opened up for him was the love he had for his family. One of the most significant moments for Jeff was the introduction of the Dark and Light Warrior and the amount of power and love that he felt when they were both joined together. [mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size[mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size="24" bg_color="#dd3333" txt_color="#ffffff"]QUESTION[/mks_pullquote] What has been your experience with the Dark and Light Warrior? Parable #3: A Voice to Be Heard Pre Warrior, Jeff’s life was pretty much on an even keel. His relationship with his wife was more functional than passionate, and he had reached the point where he was sick of mediocrity. Post-Warrior, Jeff has opened up more with his children and has been able to have deeper conversations with them. As dads in today's world, you have to have massive amounts of influence and persuasion over your children, as there's an over-abundance of information available to them that will over-ride your voice if it’s not clear and cannot be heard by them. [mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size[mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size="24" bg_color="#dd3333" txt_color="#ffffff"]QUESTION[/mks_pullquote] How have your conversations with your children changed since taking on the Warrior lifestyle? Parable #4: The Land of Yes or No Once you label yourself as a Warrior inside this game of life you become someone who has been awakened, and there comes an understanding of and subscription to what Warrior is, which is found in the land of yes or no, but never in the land of maybe which leave things unresolved. “What is Wake Up Warrior? We wake up, and then we live in the land of yes or no. If I tell you I’m going to be there tomorrow by eight, I will be there by eight.” Ultimately, that is how you must operate with your children; otherwise, you leave things unresolved." [mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size[mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size="24" bg_color="#dd3333" txt_color="#ffffff"]QUESTION[/mks_pullquote] What can you do to strengthen your resolve to live in the land of yes or no more often?   Parable #5: Be Present As a martial arts instructor, Jeff teaches many kids whose dads aren’t around. As a result, he and his boys have become their role models, causing Jeff to wonder why dads aren't stepping up to take care of their kids. Both Jeff and Coach Sam advise fathers "to just show up and be present. That’s it. Just be there and let it happen. Put your phone down and be consumed by your child and the energy of their environment. Don’t delegate it to your wife, the nanny, or the big brother." [mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size[mks_pullquote align="left" width="300" size="24" bg_color="#dd3333" txt_color="#ffffff"]QUESTION[/mks_pullquote] How do you show up for your children? What is one thing you can do to improve that? Parables from the Pit "Believing is not enough. You can have a story that you believe, but if you don’t act on those beliefs, you’re a fucking liar." --Sam Falsafi "I didn’t realize how much I had to tear down in order to build myself back up." --Jeff Oldroyd   www.warriorweeknow.com

Joey Gindi is Coach Sam’s special guest in this episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit. What did he discover in his Pit? What was a pivotal point for him at Warrior Week? What does this mean, Comfort vs. Combat? How do we help our children face and triumph in their modern-world battles? Parable #1: Is This All There Is? Joey’s initial introduction to Warrior came through his physical trainer, who had found Warrior and had developed his own version of it. Eventually, Joey and his father attended WC3, where they both signed up for a Warrior Week interview with Coach Sam. At the time, Joey felt like he was searching for something outside of himself to give purpose to his life. He felt trapped, almost as if he were living someone else’s life. On the surface, all looked good and was working, but on the inside, there was a nagging question, “Is this all there is?” QUESTION Where in your world does evertything appear to be “good” on the outside, but in reality is far from it? Parable #2: The Pit Inside the Pit on that first night at Warrior Week, Joey couldn’t get angry or pissed off. He was going through the motions trying to find his Pit but felt out of place. He came to the realization that he had been coasting through life without any emotions. “I had blocked myself from feeling sadness and hurt, which stopped me from feeling joy.” QUESTION How do you relate to Joey? Parable #3: Pivotal Point On the beach during the Hand of God evolution, Joey finally got that God was with him. “In that moment, I felt that all I searched for, I had been searching in the wrong fucking places.” Throughout his life, Joey felt that the answers he was seeking were found outside of himself, when, in the end, he discovered they are all found within him. “I am no longer searching for a shiny object outside of myself.” QUESTION Describe a pivotal point has changed the trajectory of your life. Parable #4: Comfort vs Combat For years, men have been compliant inside this game of comfort. But the piece that has been forgotten among many modern men is combat. Combat is conflict; being able to collide for what you want, not physically but by telling the truth and not lying; by being honest about everything about your life. It’s the ability to go and create conflicts and handle them not so that you create problems, but so that you get what you want. QUESTION What domain do you find yourself avoiding collision?   Parable #5: Judgement null As Coach Sam began telling the truth, he found himself casting judgment on others and holding them to his newfound standard. As he started mastering the art and science of telling the truth, he accepted that he was going to be among people who may not be the same wavelength and that it wasn’t his job to identify the liars. QUESTION Where do you find yourself casting judgement and holding others accountable to your own standards? Parables from the Pit “I am not abandoning; I am upgrading. I am fighting for progress to get out of this comfort zone, and I am willing to accept the mission to the unknown” —Sam Falsafi “We get to teach our kids to believe in themselves and be their own fuckin gurus.” –Joey GindI

John Blackburn, graduate of Warrior Week 52, joins Coach Sam in today’s episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit. We learn about the very special person who loved John unconditionally, why that person was so important to him, and how he continues honoring their relationship inside of his life and business today. Parable #1: No More Secrets John was introduced to Warrior via one of his best friends who had been through Warrior Week himself and dubbed it as one of the most emotionally and physically difficult experiences of his life. The first thirty days into the build-up of Warrior Week was one of the most interesting, eye-opening, and liberating experiences for John. He was ultimately thrown into a pod with 16 other men where they shared their deepest, darkest secrets with coaches calling them out on their shit for not being completely truthful and honest. QUESTION Why are men uncomfortable telling the truth? Parable #2: Anchors The first night in the Pit was very emotional for John as he carried his sandbag filled with guilt, shame, and fear, dragging it along like an anchor. The weight he had been carrying was the guilt and shame around his marriage, his father, and his mother.  The heaviest pain he was carrying was the loss of his mother, who was John’s best friend. “She was in my corner all my life. I watched her suffer for ten years, as she wanted to be alive to watch me get married and have kids. I was her reason to live.” QUESTION What anchors are you carrying that are weighing you down?   Parable #3: Going to War For Your Wife Warrior Week was a game-changer for John. Not only did he find his power, but it was also a place to step up, shed the weight of guilt and shame, and get clear. One of the biggest shifts for John was the realization that he wanted to be married to his wife for the rest of his life. “I have 100% gone to war for this woman and have left it all on the field. It feels fucking fantastic not to hold anything back.” QUESTION What evidence do you have in your life that shows you have actually gone to war for your wife? Parable #4: Light on Earth John’s mother showed up in an unconditional manner day in and day out, no matter what he did or what was going on. “I always knew there was nothing I could do that would take her love and support away from me and what I was doing.” “Reflecting on the moments together, I can’t remember a time in our interaction when there wasn’t love present. She always had an open heart, and her ability to give and share love in any situation was her light on this earth.” QUESTION How does it feel to be around people who spread light wherever they go?   Parable #5: Unconditional Love Pam, John’s mother, delivered joy inside of her heart despite the horrible complexity of her situation. She was able to cultivate joy inside of John’s heart during her ten-year illness. The biggest git he received from her was that of unconditional love. The lessons John gleaned from his mother have immensely affected how he shows up in his marriage, particularly around unconditional love, where saying yes to your spouse means that no conditions are placed on the love that you give and show them. QUESTION What conditions do you place on your loved ones? How can you begin letting go of those conditions? Parables from the Pit “It’s a one-way deposit.” —Sam Falsafi “You married this person for who they are, not for who they are going to become in the future.” –John Blackburn

Coach Sam’s guest this week is Alan Daviduk, Jr., a graduate of Warrior Week 52 whose story is both fascinating and insightful. What was the biggest obstacle he faced pre-Warrior? What special message was whispered in his ear during Warrior Week that he still carries with him over 400 days later? What life-altering event completely changed his life? How was he able to cure himself in a three month period? Discover the answers to these questions – and more – in this exceptional episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit. www.warriorweeknow.com Parable #1: Searching For a Way Out Things were a mess for Alan before Warrior came into his world. Weighing in at 386 pounds – 116 pounds HEAVIER than he is today – Alan was searching for a way out. His involvement in the family Dunkin’ Donuts business was taking a toll on him. He was working seven days a week and barely had time for his seven kids. The walls were closing in on him, and the box he was living in was getting smaller and smaller. QUESTION What state was your life in before Warrior entered the picture?   Parable #2: Roller Coaster Alan was uncertain and self-conscious about his weight and felt like shit all the time. He found it hard to function, leading Alan to make some bad decisions.  He tried different fads and diets, most lasting for two weeks at best. His blood sugar levels were all over the place, and the constant roller coaster made things worse. He felt like he was dying from the inside out. QUESTION What’s one of the biggest obstacles you’ve tackled or are in the process of tackling? Parable #3: Turning Point From the outside looking in, Warrior Week appears to be an intense, physical journey, something Alan knew he most likely wouldn’t be able to accomplish. Still, something drew him to it, and he committed to the process 100%. During one of the evolutions, he was having trouble staying up with the group. Alan thought he was dying. As he sat down for a drink of water, a familiar voice whispered something in his ear that was a turning point for him, something he carries with him over 400 days later. QUESTION What has proved to be a turning point in your life? Parable #4: Key to Success By incorporating sustainable, consistent actions seven days a week, Alan’s life began transforming. Rain or snow, he stepped outside and walked. As a result, in the past nine months, his diabetes has nearly been eliminated. A doctor’s appointment for an infection in his foot led to the discovery of a 90% heart blockage. Further investigation revealed that the damage had occurred within a five year period from age 40 to 45. This led Alan down a path of massive lifestyle changes that ultimately led to his healing QUESTION What sustainable actions are you incorporating in your life that are leading you to the results you’re after?   Parable #5: The Gift of Collision Alan cracked the code inside their family business and is packaging this system into a program called “The Smart Plan,” showing others in his industry how he was able to do it. Inside another business, he saw things he didn’t agree with but didn’t speak up, but instead hid. The moment he came coming out of his shell and began colliding with his partners, Alan began knocking down walls and cleaning things up. “Collision teaches you to take a stand. I want this, and I’m going to fucking get it. If you’re in my way, I’m going to run you over, just like a full-back does in football.” QUESTION Where do you know you need to have a collision today?   Parables from the Pit “The one thing that started the spark was courage. You chose to show up. And, in that decision, everything changed.” —Sam Falsafi “It really comes down to what you want and the choices that you make. You’ve got to be diligent, you’ve got to do it every day, and you’ve got to be willing to do what it takes to get there.” –Alan Daviduk

Truly a beacon of Warrior for the past seven years, Mike Isom, Warrior’s first client, joins Coach Sam in this historic episode of Warrior Week: Parables from the Pit. What business did Mike create as a result of an Impossible Game? What unusual event occurred at Warrior Week 40 that nearly drove Mike away from Warrior, but instead turned out to be one of the most important experiences of his life? Why does Mike keep showing up? Why do Legacy and preparation matter?   Parable #1: Speaking to Me Mike and Garrett go back to 2004 when Garrett was in the mortgage industry. For about two years, Mike drove from his home in southern Utah to Vegas, where Garrett was living at the time, doing financial planning for Garrett’s clients. They lost contact for a few years, each going through their own transitions and pits. In 2012, Garrett’s first Warrior video caught Mike’s attention, and feeling that Garrett was speaking directly to him, Mike signed up for the first Warrior Week. QUESTION What was it about Garrett and his message that initially spoke to you?   Parable #2: I’m Not Alone Warrior Week initially started out as a weekly call, and it was during these calls that Mike, for the first time, felt like he was not alone. This was a HUGE revelation for him. “I thought I was the only man experiencing what I was experiencing, so when I found out that I wasn’t, it was a huge relief. It gave me this comfort, and it gave me permission to talk about, examine, and take action on things going on in his life.” QUESTION As a married businessman with children, what conversations were you unable to have with anyone before Warrior? Parable #3: Keep Showing Up As part of the Certified Trainer program and with a desire to dive deep into the Warrior doctrine, and to be able to live it to a greater degree in his own life, Mike attended a required second Warrior Week, WW #40 in Sept 2017. Having assisted in Warrior Weeks 33 and 35, Mike knew what was coming experientially, yet ultimately didn’t know what he would personally experience from these evolutions. QUESTION In what ways do you keep showing up in your life? Parable #4: Why Did You Leave Us? During Warrior Week 40, as Mike was entering his pit, unbeknownst to him, his son Kayden stood behind the camera, filming him in this highly intense environment. In the evolution, Mike was waist-deep in the water with Coach Sam telling him to go deeper and deeper.  All at once, Mike found himself face-to-face with his son, Kayden, Coach Sam and Coach Jesse. What happened next led Mike and Kayden on a father and son journey that brought a bond and trust back into their relationship. QUESTION How deep do you allow yourself to go in your daily pits?   Parable #5: Five-Second Rule “The enjoyment comes in the pursuit of going after something. Do I stop, celebrate, and appreciate along the way? Yes. But, I’m constantly moving towards something that challenges me because it fulfills me the most and creates the most for those around me. That’s why I live a challenge-based lifestyle that Warrior has taught me.” Mike “In that moment of joy is when you’re truly receiving the gift. If you receive it, you can give it away. But if you block yourself from receiving it, you have nothing to give away. Give yourself permission to receive and feel the gifts.” Coach Sam QUESTION What have you noticed about yourself and how you feel when you give yourself permission to receive the gifts?   Parables from the Pit “We’re all on this pursuit of happiness, but our paralyzing stories can prevent us from actually being in proximately of that happiness.” —Sam Falsafi “The science of Warrior, when applied, allows us to connect with the truth.” –Mike Isom

Parable #1: Invest in Yourself Dr. Jeff has been one who has desired continuous growth and expansion throughout his life. No stranger to self-help and improvement programs, Jeff has invested over $600K in himself over the last 25 years. When he discovered Warrior, physically and relationship-wise things were not that great. He felt something was missing in his life and was looking for something to push him harder than he had been pushed before. QUESTION What were the conditions of your life when Warrior entered the picture?   Parable #2: The Pit Jeff’s experience in the Pit at Warrior Week was deep and dark, “almost like being alone but I wasn’t.” Out of that came a hunger and a knowing that everything was going to be ok What has changed in Jeff’s life since Warrior Week? Through the use of the CORE 4 tool, he is now spending time in all four domains of his life where before that wasn’t the case. Connection with his parents and sons has increased exponentially. QUESTION What changes have you experienced post-Warrior Week? Parable #3: The Frontlines As an ER physician, Jeff has healed and assisted over 190,000 men, women, & children throughout his career. One of the hardest challenges he faces in his work is delivering the news of death to loved ones. Surprisingly, 60-85% of the people he sees have a significant psychological component, often anxiety or stress, which greatly magnifies the physical ailment or injury. QUESTION What is one of the challenges you face in your line of work? Parable #4: Bedside Manners Coach Sam shared a story where the presence of the ER doctor made a massive difference when their son broke his arm in Vegas a year ago. The doctor’s knowledge, confidence, and certainty poured into them and helped them come away with a feeling of happiness and certainty. If a doctor comes into a situation with anxiety or a closed  & fatigued mind, it has a huge negative impact on the patients and their families.  Knowing this to be the case, Dr. Jeff makes it a point to enter any situation with calmness and certainty QUESTION How does your attitude affect those around you, as in your family and teams at work?   Parable #5: Healer In addition to being an ER physician, Dr. Jeff also does energy healing which is a taboo subject in hospitals. He has found the results in those open to this sort of healing to be phenomenal. The desire to heal has been with Jeff from the time he was about three years old. He explored various types of healing before deciding upon becoming a medical doctor. QUESTION What about yourself did you instinctively know as a child that you have since become or explored as an adult?   Parables from the Pit “The practice of a healer is you who are; not what you do.” —Sam Falsafi“ “We all know more than we think we know. Listen; pay attention to that inner voice.” –Dr. Jeff Audibert

Parable #1: Discovering the World of Warrior Tony initially discovered Warrior on Facebook back in March of 2014, when a friend posted photos of a recently attended Warrior Week. This piqued Tony’s interest in Garrett, whom he googled. As he watched Garrett’s videos, it was the first time Tony felt “someone knew me better than I knew myself and was speaking directly to me.” QUESTION What situation did you find yourself in when you first discovered the world of Warrior?   Parable #2: Something Better At the time, Tony was in a painful place, newly separated, and looking for a new place to live. Self-development was new to him, and he had never invested financially in himself. Garrett’s call to actions “led me to think about things from a different perspective, and I was willing to do anything to get into a better place.” QUESTION What was in that caused you to invest in Warrior? Parable #3: Warrior Week x2 “The first Warrior Week Tony attended in 2014 helped him survive the separation from his wife and armed him with tools that he eventually let go of.  The prep alone leading up to Tony’s second Warrior Week experience in 2019 was life-changing. It brought up abandonment issues and uncovered patterns from his childhood that surprised him. QUESTION What showed up for you during Warrior Week that surprised you and rocked your world? Parable #4: The CODE Warrior’s CODE is simple: Stop Fucking Lying, and Start Telling the Truth. Coach Sam explains the Yin and Yang of the CODE, and how he “dont’s & do’s” are each a necessary component. Focusing on the do’s of the CODE prevents you from visiting the parts of our life that can be scary to visit; the places most men don’t want to go mostly because they don’t know how to go there. QUESTION How has life changed for you since living by the CODE?   Parable #5: Like Father, Like Son Coach Sam and Tony have sons about the same age, and both men share similar feelings towards them. When they look at their sons, they see themselves at their age. Tony, regarding his son, “Every movement, every mannerism brings me back to my childhood.” Both men agree it’s almost as if they’re trying to relive their childhood through their sons. QUESTION How have you seen your relationship with your children change since Warrior? * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parables from the Pit“ “Seven years ago, before Warrior, I didn’t see my son. Since Warrior, I have been planting the seed of trust inside of him. I feel like he’s guiding me.” —Sam Falsafi “I know you want to be a better father.” –Kayden LeBlanc, Tony’s eight-year-old son.

Parable #1: Change of Plans Stephen was striving to reach his goal of collecting $1M in a year. He hired chiropractic consultants along the way and figured with his track record of collecting $960k in 2017, he would easily reach that $1M figure in 2018. 2018 turned out to be a year of struggle for him, however, where he was running out of cash. He had reached the point where he was ready to pull money out of his savings, sell his dream home, and move closer to his office in order to meet payroll and dig himself out of the pit. QUESTION Looking back, when have you experienced something similar to Stephen’s experience? What happened?   Parable #2: Kings Kit 3 As he searched for other options, he ran across an ad on Facebook featuring Garrett. As he watched the hour-long video, he felt that he was viewing the story of his own life. That night, Steven invited his wife to watch the video, both agreeing they were watching their story. Stephen pulled the trigger, bought the book, and enrolled in Kings Kit 3. “This is what I have been searching for my whole life!” QUESTION What was your initial impression or reaction of Warrior? Parable #3: Warrior Week null While attending WarriorCon3 in December of 2018, Stephen met other chiropractors. After the first of three days, he felt the call to do Warrior Week, no matter the cost. However, during the weeks leading up to Warrior Week, he had a change of heart and mind due to the stress of his financial situation. As he resultantly spoke with Coach Sam on the phone, Sam reminded him he was living in a story and that, yes, he would refund his money. But then he said something that caused Stephen to have another change of heart and opt to go all-in with Warrior Week. QUESTION What resistance did you experience leading up to Warrior Week? Parable #4: The Bridge Between Darkness & Light null The story of the White Warrior and the Dark Warrior was by far one of the biggest takeaways from Warrior Week for Stephen. “I knew I had the dark side, but I never wanted to let that beast out of the cage. It was a HUGE realization that it was ok to utilize that power to make everything work. The Stack is the tool that allows that to happen. It is a series of questions where you express your feelings and how those relate to what you truly want. Inside of that, that there is a Voice giving you instruction. This channels the darkness, blame, anger, and turns it into a gift. QUESTION What is your experience using the Stack? Parable #5: A Calling at Eleven Years Old When eleven years old, Stephen knew he was going to be a doctor. He had this fascination with the brain and believed he would be a neurosurgeon. His little sister was born premature and struggled for six months with ear infections. The doctors wanted to put tubes in her ears, but his parents didn’t want her to go through surgery. They took his sister to a chiropractor who did an exam and an adjustment and told them her body would heal itself. That night, her ears drained. Stephen was blown away from this experience and had four words imprinted forever in his mind: THE BODY HEALS ITSELF. QUESTION What did you feel called to do at an early age? Are you doing it today?   * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parables from the Pit“ “We all have that level of darkness. We can take all of that and generate light out of it, but the majority of us don’t know how to do that. At Warrior, the tool of the Stack becomes the bridge between the darkness and the light.” —Sam Falsafi “The Stack is a powerful tool that has helped me access the dark Warrior in me and use it to create production in my life. I live to find moments I can go deeper with so that I can Stack it. I also use it to journal and to express gratittude & love.” –Stephen Vincent

Brandon Lemuel, a graduate of Warrior Week #54 is Coach Sam’s special guest in this week’s amazing podcast filled with stories of awakenings and unexpected encounters with the highest power. * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. Parable #1: Empty Two years ago, after attending a gathering with other chiropractors where Garrett’s name was brought up in conversations, Brandon googled him and began listening to the Warrior on Fire podcast. “It literally felt like he had unscrewed the top of my head, looked inside to my brain, and could read every single fucking thought I was having at that moment. On the outside looking in, it seemed like I “had it all.” I was married to a beautiful wife, had two healthy kids, a thriving business, and seemingly had everything anyone would ever want. But on the inside, I was feeling empty. QUESTION What was your introduction to Warrior?   Parable #2: The Unexpected Messenger While crushing it in all areas of his life, Brandon recently experienced a disconnect following a disappointing Friday evening with his wife. He awoke the next morning, knowing he was descending into a drift and told the queen he was going to grab some coffee at the coffee shop.”I’ll be back after lunch.” He then grabbed his journal and headed out the door. While at the coffee shop, Brandon bought two cups of coffee, sat down at a table away from everyone else, placed his black hoodie over his head, put on his dark glasses, and began the evolution, “Meeting With God.” It was at this moment in time when a most unexpected encounter with a stranger, also dressed in a black hoodie, took place. This unexpected messenger of God was about to teach Brandon a very powerful lesson. QUESTION As you look back in your life, how have messages from God been delivered to you? Parable #3: Meeting With God What is this “Meeting With God?” How does it work? You go to a coffee shop first thing in the morning, journal in tow, and buy two cups of coffee: one for you and one for God. And then you begin the conversation with the words, “Dear God, I know you can, but will you?” This is an evolution created by Warrior Brian Q Davis, initially called “Meeting With the CEO.” Brian found himself meeting with all kinds of people every week, but not with the man upstairs. So he began meeting with God every week (it’s been years now) asking God about things in his business. Month after month, the things he has asked for show up in the things he’s grateful for. QUESTION When are you going to schedule your first or next “Meeting With God?” What might be possible if this became part of your weekly routine? Parable #4: Dear God, Please Help Me Find the Key Coach Sam’s first spiritual awakening experience was when he was ten years old. It was raining, and there was a lot of snow on the ground. His mom told him she was not coming home until later that evening and gave him the key to the apartment. “But then I lost the key and began panicking and crying. I retraced my steps in the dark, all the while praying, “Dear God, please let me find the key.” “At that point, I had traced my steps to the intersection and sill no key. It was was a dark night, the snow was knee-deep, the cars in the street were creating all of that dirty, slushy snow. It was a fucking mess. And what was an impossible fucking task was to find the keys with my eyes. I turned around to walk back, and guess what? I stepped on the fucking key! It was not a fucking coincidence. That was my first awakening and encounter with God.” QUESTION How were you led out of an otherwise impossible situation?   Parable #5: Work Hard, Party Harder There was a point in time where alcohol played a part in Brandon’s life. He was attending chiropractic school, where the slogan was, “Work hard, party harder!” He was brought in to be one of the speakers at a leadership conference and was out partying the night before the event. At one point, he blacked out and didn’t know where he was. He awakened the next morning underneath a bush in a residential neighborhood. Having lost his phone at some point, at 4 am he began walking along the interstate through a construction zone. It was at this moment he felt the arm of God around him, saying, “Brandon, you’re done with the drinking. I have other plans for you, and those plans do not involve you drinking. Everything is going to be OK.” QUESTION Recall a moment in your life when you felt the arm of God around you. What were the circumstances? What was His message to you?   * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parables from the Pit “Invest in your spiritualithy and continually vibrate at a higher level. There is no other enter investment that will create the prosperity in your life that you’re seeking and wanting, or put you in the place of healing, service, and generosity than that of investing in your spirituality. As you give more, be open to receiving more. Why? So that you can give even more.” —Sam Falsafi “Hear what the Voice is saying, trust the process, and then move without hesitation. My experience has shown me that when I ignore the whispers, eventually, the screams are going to show up.” –Brandon Lemuel

In This Week’s Episode… Those of you who attended WC3 in December 2018 will no doubt remember Dan Cerrillo, Coach Sam’s special guest on today’s show. Dan, aka Taco is not only a brother and a mentor, but he is also a friend to the Warrior community. In this very special episode, Dan shares stories of heartbreak, triumph, sadness, betrayal, grief, and happiness. We learn what ultimately saved his life and what he is so passionate about doing for the rest of his life. * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parable #1: WC3 During WC3, Dan went on stage to raise money for the Navy Seals Fund. It was in front of that room filled with hundreds of men that he admitted to having a problem and that he was seeking the help he needed. “I have spent my whole life teaching others, but I was slowly losing what I had gained. I had been experiencing a lot of success and failure, but at that time, things were falling apart in my business and personal life. On top of that, I had gone from being a weekend drinker to an everyday drinker, barely able to hold down a job.” QUESTION Where in your world do you know it’s time to seek help?   Parable #2:  The Pit Through tragedy and betrayal, Dan found himself trying to climb his way out of a pit. There were warning signs all around him, yet he didn’t heed or listen to them. News of his wife’s illness sent him over the edge. He had always been a weekend drinker, but now he started drinking every day of the week. “I become angry and depressed. Everything I was telling others NOT to do, I was doing. I had created this persona that I was better than everyone. Yet, I wasn’t doing anything I was preaching. For the first time, I understood why others commit suicide. I felt my family would be better off without me.” QUESTION What are the signs and messages you’re ignoring in your life? Parable #3: I Am a Drunk Once Dan admitted to the doctors that he had a problem, they concurred. “Your eyes are dead, and you’re bloated. You got turned on in the military, but nobody turned you off.” Dan found himself in a rented van on his way to Mexico to receive therapy & treatment, feeling so ashamed. He wondered how in the world he had gotten to this place in life. “In the military, the plan is simple and straight forward: we’re going to mess people up, we’re going to be the aggressor, and we’re going to win. Once it’s over, you then try to assimilate back into civilian life to be the ‘normal’ dude who isn’t talking about killing people. In 36 hours of treatment, I went from “why me” to “ok, this is the way it is,” to “thank you,” and then the final phase of forgiveness. For the first time, my brain was free.” QUESTION For help and more information, click on this link. Parable #4: Trauma & Emotions Dan used to believe he had PTSD from the war and scoffed at the idea of “mommy and daddy issues.” He now knows those are real issues; that childhood trauma is real. He experienced trauma as a child and as an adult, and then found himself inflicting trauma on his own family. “When you go to war and do horrible things, if you don’t get that out of your soul, it will crush you. We’re told to suck it up and push all the emotions down. But men NEED to express their emotions. If you suck it up too long and push it down too deep, you will drink it away, rage it away, and snort it away. “ QUESTION What are the patterns & behaviors you tend to repeat that aren’t serving you or your loved ones? What are you doing to change them?   Parable #5: Life Sans Drama Dan lives by a phrase he was once taught: make seven people smile each day. “I used to be known as ‘Taco,’ the guy who would throw and smash things, the guy with a constant frown on his face, and the road rage guy who would follow people home. Taco is now the character I bring out during training sessions, but I used to be him ALL the time.” “Today, at 46, my life is so peaceful & calm. I listen to classical music while I’m driving, and if someone cuts me off, I don’t care. If I only live for 20 more years, who am I going to be? I’m going to be the dude I have always wanted to be: the guy who takes care of everybody around me; the guy who wants happiness throughout life.” QUESTION What adjective best describes your current attitude toward people and life?   * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parables from the Pit “3 1/2 years ago, Garrett asked you to come train with us. There was an instant connection. Out of all the training from you, what impresses me are the thousands of lives you have impacted, including mine." —Sam Falsafi “Simplify your life to what really matters." –Dan Cerrillo 

In This Week’s Episode…   Brenden King, Warrior Week #52 graduate, is Coach Sam’s special guest in this Warrior Week episode of Parables From the Pit. We learn about Brenden’s introduction to the game of Warrior, what impact his military and swat experiences have had on his life, how he created his successful business, and how learning to let go has been one of the biggest blessings & choices he has ever made.     Parable #1: What’s The Point?   At the time Brenden was introduced to Warrior, his business and marriage were not in a great place. As he watched the Las Vegas video, Garrett’s words deeply resonated with him. “I was feeling hopeless, wondering what’s the point? I was doing ok financially yet sucking across so many areas of my life.”   It was inside the Kings Kit challenge, where the former Marine experienced a measurable difference at a deeper level. After completing that, he immediately felt the calling of growth, knowing there was a breaking down and building back up that needed to take place within him. Enter the crucible of Warrior Week.       QUESTION   What is calling you forth to further growth within yourself? What actions are you taking toward that calling?     Parable #2:  Liberated King   Most are used to hearing stories about the broken marriages that are lit on fire as a result of attending Warrior Week. Brenden’s situation did not play out that way.   Sam: “We are not talking about a guy who came in and fixed his marriage. Brenden found himself and worked on himself, he stood by his words, and was willing to go to war for this woman.” Adds Brenden, “Luckily for me, the king I became in Warrior Week prepared me for what was to come.”       QUESTION   How have you dealt with life experiences that may not have turned out the way you wanted them to?       Parable #3: Crisis Consulting   When Brenden came back from war, he used the 90 days given to him to put together his future business plan. Day in and day out, he would retire to his walk-in closet in his pajamas, where he worked, wrote, and detoxed, ultimately birthing his successful business, Crisis Consulting.   “There was this burning question inside of me: WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? I knew it was helping and teaching with my skills, but I had no idea what it was going to be, or where it would lead me as I sat & worked in my closet day after day after day."   QUESTION    Have you asked and answered the question, “What am I supposed to do?”     Parable #4: The Art of Letting Go   When Brenden separated from his wife, he bought a house for his mom and began moving his shit there. “I was throwing away a lot of plaques, certificates, and pictures which alarmed my mom. She asked me what I was doing, reminding me that one day, I was going to want to have my own “love me” wall to see my accomplishments.   “While acknowledging my past, I also told her it was time to make room for the next chapter of my life.” Adds Coach Sam, “The art of letting go is literally the hardest fucking thing. As you work on the new thing, knowing that at some point you will also let IT go, sometimes you wonder if you should go ALL IN on it? But, in the end, we always do.”       QUESTION   Where in your world would practicing the art of letting go make room for the new?     Parable #5: Awareness   Coach Sam: You and I now have this awareness that wasn’t present back in the day. But today, we swim in a world of conversation and development, which is why 40 years from now, we can talk about the moments & memories with our loved ones, moments that matter and that they will remember.   “We want to talk about how we helped our kids or how present we were, not how many baseball games we went to. Let’s talk about some real shit – my experiences at war, or when my son made the choice to cut his hair for the first time, or when we watched something together and laughed and laughed. These don’t take enormous amounts of time but are very concentrated memories of being present and living in the moment.”       QUESTION    What memories are you making with your loved ones?     * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com     Parables from the Pit     “The tool is awareness. Invest in the man you want to become in 40 years.” —Sam Falsafi “You have to recognize and trust the process; you must be willing to accept and let go.” –Brenden King

In This Week’s Episode… You’re in for a treat as Coach Sam welcomes special guest Dr. Derek Price to the show. They exchange stories of how & where they first met, the tragedy that struck early on in Derek’s life, the story of his college & NFL days, how Derek overcame significant setbacks, how he met his soulmate, and how mentors have played an essential role in his life. We also discover the one voice he has always listened to and trusted… and how that one voice has led Derek to live an extraordinary life.  * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parable #1: Tragedy Strikes Early When Dr. Price was seven years old, life as he knew it changed drastically after the death of his father. At his young age, he stepped into the role of the man of the house and instantly becoming a father figure to his two younger brothers. Day-old bakeries, dented can sales, and tortillas & butter for breakfast were the norms. However, he had no idea they didn’t have a lot of money. During Coach Sam’s childhood, he and his family escaped from Iran to Canada, where they declared refugee status. Life changed in a moment for them. They found themselves driving around the neighborhood a couple of times a week picking out items from other people’s garbage. Most of the time, they ate cornflakes with sugar and water. QUESTION What did you experience early in your life that has helped shape who you are today?   Parable #2:  NFL At the age of nineteen, Derek felt he was at the right place at the right time. He had earned a scholarship, was excelling at football, and was presented with a very tempting offer. Following his intuition and the advice of one of his mentors, he made a decision that turned out to be a big pivotal moment in his life. In his first year as an NFL player in Detroit, with four games left, Derek was running off on a kick-off and dove into a pile of guys. What happened next would ultimately change the course of his life. “I was 22, I was living in the moment, I had a one year contract, and I had to keep it under wraps.” QUESTION Where in your world are you following & trusting your intuition and/or the advice of a trusted mentor?  Parable #3: Soulmates It was on a blind date right out of high school that Derek met the love of his life. It was on that first date that he remarked to her, “Wouldn’t it be funny if we ended up getting married?!” “I was a football player, she was a cheerleader with dreams of her own, and she chose to throw in the towel and say, “I’m on your team. Let’s do this together!” Today, they are happily married, have three daughters, and live a life that they absolutely love. QUESTION Where and when did you meet your wife? Did you know right away that she was the “one” for you? Parable #4: Three-Legged Stool In Dr. Price’s practice, he has developed his personal executive program – The Three-Legged Stool – which represents how he looks at humanity. All three of the legs must be balanced. The platform of the stool represents you, your total life experience, and your personal growth. The three legs represent the following: 1- Health & Wellness, 2- Relationships, and 3- the Pursuit of Happiness, the leg that often gets overlooked. QUESTION How do you pursue happiness? What does that really mean to you?   Parable #5: Habits Derek: You have to create habits, and habits develop in baby steps. Baby step habits done over a long period of time become a reality that ultimately shapes you. In the process of building small habits over a long period of time, you have a sustainable, life long change. When someone wants to make a change in their life, they already know their desired destination, but that just don’t know how to get to that destination from where they are today. I believe you shouldn’t talk about something unless you’ve been about something, and I take that to heart inside of my “Walk in Your Shoes” program where I mentor you, it becomes your life, and where there is ultimately a completion. QUESTION As you look across all areas of your life, what are you doing to create those baby step habits?   * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parables from the Pit:“ “What if you gave yourself permission to pursue happiness which means bringing harmony into your existing life?” —Sam Falsafi “In my discussions with thousands of patients, the reality is, I have discovered that brilliance comes from simplicity.” –Dr. Derek Price

In This Week’s Episode… Just over five years ago, Coach Sam Falsafi and Brandon James Duncan met at the gates of Warrior for the very first time and experienced the life-changing crucible, Warrior Week. What was going on in their lives when they first heard Garrett’s message? What was Warrior Week #5 like for them? How have their lives changed in the last five years? You’re bound to enjoy and resonate with the stories and experiences in this extraordinary episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit.   Parable #1: Origins: Brandon “I was coming out of a really dark place. My father had passed away in 2011, and eight months before that, I became a dad. I was going through the journey of addiction, which sent me on a dark, depressing path for the next two years.” Navigating all of these obstacles, Brandon was lost and confused. “I had no friendships with men that I could talk to about what I was experiencing. Sometimes I would stay up all night searching for answers online.” It was during that process when Brandon saw an ad on Facebook featuring Garrett, who was wearing an orange shirt and a surfer hat. “The message back then was still pretty much the same; it was just packaged differently. This was in 2013. This was the first time since my dad had passed away that I felt connected to another man in a way that was almost like a father figure.” QUESTION As you look back over the dark times in your life, who or what drew you out of the darkness and into the light?   Parable #2:  Origins: Coach Sam Sam: It’s very similar to how my mind was cracked open to receive the idea and concept of going to such an event. I didn’t know anything about coaching or that such a thing even existed. I didn’t know that you could even talk with other men about the relationship you have with your wife. I was raised with the mentality of, “It’s my wife, so it’s super private. I’m supposed to handle this because if I don’t, I’m not a man.” Sam was new to CrossFit at the time and he had delved into the Tony Robbins community. And then, Garrett came into the mix. “I started respecting his message because it linked to the work I was doing, which was CrossFit. He would come out of the CrossFit gym all sweaty, still on fire, and turn on his phone to deliver a message about what he learned and how it applied to his life. It started opening a space in my head, and I knew that what this guy was saying was absolutely true.” QUESTION When you were introduced to Warrior, what was the message from Garrett that resonated the most with you at the time?   Parable #3: Co-Parenting “The gates of Warrior will always fucking expose you. There’s no hiding unless you choose to hide.” Recently, Sam came to the realization that his co-parenting has aways been random and lacking any real strategy. His thoughts have been, “Mom is giving them enough quality time, so it’s okay for me to back off. If I’m there or not, they’re not going to notice.” Brandon: When parenting our kids, meet them where they are. What worked when my daughter was six, is not going to be useful now that she’s nine. I believe that as a dad if you can be present and patient, your relationship with your kids will be amazing. When you’re present, you’ll notice things you’ve never noticed before. Kids are present – that’s all they know. As they seek our attention, they are simply seeking connection with us. QUESTION As you take a step back and look at your relationships, what can you do to be more present with the people that matter most to you? Parable #4: Awareness & Alignment Brandon: As men, a lot of the time, we tend to judge, label, and shame ourselves, which is not useful. Instead, acknowledge to yourself how you’ve been showing up and how, moving forward, this is how you intend to show up, which is more in alignment of who you are. Sam explains that it begins by being brutally honest with yourself. “It is when we are in that space, that we actually have a chance – and that’s exciting.” Brandon adds, “When you’re showing up as your absolute best self with your wife, what’s that like for her? She’s going to reflect that back to you and be a version of her best self. And from there, everything gets better.” QUESTION How are you showing up in your life?   Parable #5: Connection  When it comes to connection, Brandon believes that when we are inside an environment where we feel the connection and energy of everyone around us, that energy begins to rise because we are all contributing to that experience. “I believe we are all connected, and that we come from the same source, the same light, and the same energy. If more people could pause to truly bring some attention to this possibility, it would heal a lot of the trauma and soften a lot of the stress we are experiencing as a global society.” QUESTION What do you do to contribute to the energy of others around you that uplifts and strengthens?   * Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parables from the Pit:“ “When you see God in others, game fucking over.” —Sam Falsafi “That which you seek is seeking you. If you can pause long enough to get really honest with yourself and ask yourself what you are truly seeking, you will see that the path to discovering that is already within your reach. Your willingness to go down that path is also your opportunity to discover that which you seek.” –Brandon James Duncan

  In This Week’s Episode… Dan Nagy, Warrior Week #49 graduate, is Coach Sam Falsafi's guest in this special episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit. We learn about Dan's first miraculous encounter with the message of Warrior, how he was truly forged in fire, and his unexpected & beautiful "gift from the sky" that came into his life once he completely loved himself. *Coming Soon: Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parable #1: Act of God Dan describes his introduction to Warrior as a “total act of God.” At the close of a conference he was attending in Toronto, Canada, everyone had cleared out of the building with the exception of “one dude who was sitting at his computer. I have no idea why, but I sat down next to him and said, “Hey man, what’s up?” A conversation ensued which led to grabbing supper together. It was during their meal that Tony Leblanc introduced Dan to “a psychopath named Garrett White” and Warrior. Dan went home and immediately listened to the Warrior On Fire podcast and describes it as if “Garrett had reached in the back of my head, took every single one of my thoughts out, and was displaying them to the world.” QUESTION How were you introduced to the message of Warrior?   Parable #2: WarriorX At this point in time, there was pressure and angst building inside of Dan to do something crazy and really big with his life. His seven-year marriage was coming to an end, which fucked him up and crushed his power. Enter WarriorX which was calling to him, and which seemed to fit the bill for what he was seeking at the time. After WarriorX, Dan found himself in the best place he had been in over fifteen years. “To come in and get slapped in the face physically, emotionally and spiritually… I was in a place where I was finally able to look at myself for the first time with clear lenses. I could see where I had dug a deep hole for myself, seemingly with no way out of it…except for telling the truth.” QUESTION What path did you take when you felt called to do something big with your life? How did your life shift?   Parable #3: Warrior Week 49  “WarriorX was a patching up of the hemorrhaging and making sure I didn’t die. It took about a year, but I was put back together and could see me for the first time – where I wanted to go and who I wanted to be.”  It was Warrior Week where I was ready to have the jet fuel poured on; where I could really get to the root of all this shit. It let me truly find God again, and let me truly connect to something bigger than myself.” QUESTION What was one of the gifts you received from Warrior Week? Parable #4: Blessing From the Sky Dan became clear about he truly wanted. He had arrived at a place of loving himself completely and was truly happy spending time alone and with his son. It was at this point in time that a woman walked into his life who was everything he had ever wanted.  “I wasn’t looking for it; I was looking to heal myself and become a better man.” Coach Sam: It’s amazing how God creates these miracles once the way is clear and the fog has been removed. It’s a blessing from the sky; it’s truly the power of the miracle. QUESTION Has something like this happened in your world? What was it?   Parable #5: Copy/Paste World  Coach Sam: It seems like nobody’s asking the important questions but are instead doing the shit that they’ve always done. We have become slaves to the old procedures and the old processes.  As men, we have given too much fucking power to “time” and “supposed to’s.” Most men are living in a copy/paste world rather than an innovative and customized world. Nobody deals with the re-work. No one wants to innovate, and no one wants to re-do the work that serves the timeline of now . QUESTION How does it feel to do what you’re “supposed to do” vs what you truly feel called to do?   *Coming soon: Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way. betheman.com Parables from the Pit:“ “Clarity truly collapses time. When we’re unclear, we fuck around and time owns us. When we’re clear, there’s no fucking doubt.” —Sam Falsafi “There’s more than fire fighting, there’s more than a shitty marriage, there’s more than buying an RV and going camping every weekend and drinking with your buddies. Believe the voice that’s telling you there’s more than your current situation.” –Dan Nagy  

Blake Sloan, Warrior Week graduate #16 & #46, is in the house as Coach Sam’s special guest in this episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit where underlying stories are uncovered and several “a-ha” moments are revealed. We find out what happens to a young man who, at the young age of seventeen, loses his father to the feminine influence of a woman other than his mother, and how he creates and lives inside of a story that he will carry and run with for the next 15 years until he enters the gates of Warrior Week. Parable #1: The Missing Pieces Coach Sam: As you look back, what was it that was missing from your life? You had money, you had your significant other, you had status, so what the fuck was missing? Was it other dudes that were missing? Did you have guys with whom you could really share the things that were going on in your life? Blake: I think it was the lack of anyone that understood me or the pain that I was feeling on the inside, and ultimately the sacrifice it takes to actually be able to own and grow a business as I had. QUESTION Who do you surround yourself with that truly understands what you are experiencing in life and with whom you can share?   Parable #2: Embracing the Dark & the Light There were two massive takeaways from Blake’s experience in Warrior Week 16. “The biggest one by far was that I gave myself permission to finally be all of me – the dark side AND the light side. I used to be ashamed of the dark side because by the time I would let it out, there was so much rage and anger that I would nuke everybody around me.” “I would bottle it up and bottle it up… and then I would explode. Then I would try to be the nice guy. But it’s hard to be a good businessman while you’re trying to hold that back. It was during some evolutions that I had this big aha moment: I’m going to be ALL of me, the good and the bad. And from that day on, I feel like my entire life has been different.” QUESTION What have you been afraid to embrace about your dark side?   Parable #3: Inside the Pit of #46 In the midst of an evolution inside the Pit during WW 46, Blake closed his eyes and saw his father (who had been dead for a few years) staring back at him, something that really surprised him. “There was a whole history there. My dad cheated on my mom, he wasn’t showing up as a husband and father, and the next day he was gone. At the age of seventeen, that fucked me up a little. And that’s when I had to grow up.” In the end, his father chose to go with the woman with whom he had the affair, who incidentally didn’t like Blake. This resulted in a tumultuous relationship between Blake and his father, ultimately leaving Blake with this feeling of abandonment. “That was the person I looked up to the most who literally abandoned me.” QUESTION What did you face inside the Pit at Warrior Week that took you by surprise but in looking back made perfect sense? Parable #4: Connecting the Dots Another huge a-ha moment came to Blake after colliding with Coach Sam as they peeled back layer after layer regarding his failed engagement. The story he had been running with was that he was over it and that everything was ok…but it wasn’t. “Once we went through that process where I wrote it all down on paper, and then burned it, that was one of the most liberating things I’ve ever done in my entire life.” Coach Sam helped Blake see the connection between this and the abandonment of his father, who was under the feminine influence of a woman other than his wife. He realized his father had no tools to work through this and no one to actually have a conversation with about it. “There was no awakening that was brought to him; no one to collide with him and tell him, “Dude, you are fucking up right now!” QUESTION How have the tools of Warrior coupled with the association inside the Warrior Brotherhood served you?   Parable #5: Guilt & Shame Blake came into the game of WW #48 as a Certified Trainer serving and guiding men on their journeys going into and coming out of the Pit. He was a witness to the guilt and shame that adult men were carrying, just like his own father had. “In observing all of that guilt and shame, I had a huge a-ha moment where I could see how much everyone’s issues of guilt and shame came from their fathers.” Blake was a witness to the journey of one man who ultimately decided to leave Warrior Week. “He didn’t want to address the one issue that ultimately could have freed him.” QUESTION What are you hearing from this conversation? How does it resonate with you?     *Coming soon: Be the Man Challenge, an adventure that will take you through six weeks of self-discovery and introduce you to some of the conversations and belief systems inside of the Warrior’s Way.  Parables from the Pit: “When you look at this big puzzle called life, you realize that each piece of the puzzle needed to happen in order to be able to put the puzzle together. I want you to visualize the last piece of the puzzle being a piece of metal that is burning like fucking lava. And you had the balls to pick it up knowing it was going to hurt.” —Sam Falsafi“ “Looking back at the hundreds of books, coach after coach and all of the high-level mastermind events with top leaders such as Tony Robbins, Dan Kennedy, and others – all of those together could not touch the transformation that I had through my Warrior Weeks.” -Blake Sloan

As this week’s episode with Coach Sam and special guest, Luke Kayyem unfolds, it is sure to have you on the edge of your seat. It confirms the existence of miracles and a higher power, that each of us has a divine purpose, and that in the depths of our darkest pit there is a light shining on the life we are meant to live and the person we are meant to become. Parable #1: Phantom Dad Luke is an only child, was born to his mother when she was 43 years old and grew up without a father. “My dad was a phantom.” When Luke was old enough to speak, he asked his mother where his father was. “He’s got some problems & issues.” While in the seventh grade, Luke’s father actually reached out to him from prison and began writing him letters, promising Luke that when he got out on January 1st, he would return and become the father he was missing in his life. That day came and went until finally his mother told Luke, “He’s not coming.” QUESTION Did you have a phantom dad? Are you that phantom dad?   Parable #2: Burning It All Down After receiving that news, Luke began burning his young life down. He partied, stole, joined a gang, and sold drugs. “Thank goodness the other side of the coin was sports and a mom who did give a shit and who was there for me.” But the damage that he did during grades 8-12 was irreversible. “I did some really dumb, dark shit.” And from the ages of 20-25, Luke did whatever he could to try to forget it all. At that point in his life, Luke questioned if there was even a purpose to his life, other than his mother. He had no real goals or aspirations aside from “make some money, spend some money, party and drink.” One Saturday afternoon in June 2015, Luke went to see his mom. Life would take a sharp left turn that day which become one of the darkest moments in his life. “The one person in the world that’s ever believed in me is gone…” QUESTION How have you burned down your life?   Parable #3: The Dark Years Two hours after losing his mom, Luke bought all the alcohol he could find. Drinking became a way for him to forget everything. “I got so fucked up during the funeral that I can’t even tell you what I said.” Business-wise, things were going really well for Luke. But he looked like he was 50 years old because he was drinking, eating like shit, and making terrible choices. At this point, Luke decided that a move to Hawaii with his 20 person entourage would solve all of his problems. A year later, after being told ‘fuck you, I never want to talk to you again’ from his girlfriend, Luke returned to California. QUESTION What form of sedation to you consistently turn to? Parable #4: Twist of Fate Here he was, back where he started as a trainer when he was 19. One of his buddies had invited him to Lake Tahoe for New Year’s and within an hour of his arrival, he ran into his ex-girlfriend. “The one person who believed in me and still does to this day more than anybody was this queen whom I had not treated well for a very long time.” They didn’t leave the hotel for three days. “At 24, she’s a high-level executive in real estate, she’s crushing it in San Francisco, and wants nothing to do with this ass-hole.” Two weeks later while sitting at a bar, he gets a phone call, “I’m pregnant.” In her eyes, Luke is “an alcoholic, you’ve slept with all my friends, you’re a piece of shit.” He promised her if she would trust and believe in him, he would never make another “shitty fucking decision” again. As the story continues, time would tell if Luke was able to keep that promise and how life would unfold for them. QUESTION How are you seeing yourself in Luke’s story?   Parable #5: Letting Go During his life, Luke had turned his back on religion. It wasn’t until he entered the gates of Warrior Week where he was introduced to this idea of Meditation as being something beyond an app on his phone. “Finding that reconnection to this power or this third eye was the biggest thing I was missing.” His big a-hah moment during the interview with Sam revealed to Luke that he had been using fitness a tool of sedation. “Just nine months ago, I was running away from my missing father and the death of my mom. Those two weights were like carrying around 100 lb sandbags on each shoulder.” It took the power of the brotherhood, the coaches and Warrior Week to allow Luke to express the demons he had been carrying around his whole life. QUESTION How have you felt as you’ve let go of the heavy weights you’ve been shouldering your entire life?   Parables from the Pit: “Men don’t come to Warrior Week for transformation; they come to Warrior Week to find themselves; to find who they’ve always been and who they’ve always known themselves to be.” —Sam Falsafi “My gap is not my client’s gap, and it’s not my son’s gap.” -Luke Kayyem

This week’s guest is a very old friend of the Warrior’s Way, Joel Portman, a graduate of Warrior Week 17 and Warrior Week 41. Together, Coach Sam and Joel share a very special story that includes tragedy, obstacles, miracles, and angels. Parable #1: Uncovering Lies Joel’s first encounter with Warrior was a video where Garrett looked straight into the camera and asked, “Why do you lie?” It was a ‘deer in the headlights’ moment for Joel which activated a sense of awareness of his unspoken lies. This pivotal encounter led him to attend Warrior Week #17. Joel had been lying inside of his relationships which was hurting the people he genuinely loved. This was uncovered during Warrior Week and Garrett helped him discover the lie under the lie under the lie: Joel is afraid to get close to someone. QUESTION What lies have you recently uncovered? What has changed?   Parable #2: Going All In At the time of entering Warrior #17, Joel was involved in two relationships: one actual relationship and another that he let people believe he was in, even though he wasn’t. After Warrior, he was able to clean that up, make a commitment to go all in with his actual relationship which caused it to flourish. And then the unexpected suddenly happened. Before this time, a woman with whom he had been in a relationship passed away from brain cancer. As she neared the end of her life and was in an unconscious state, Joel was able to experience some divine moments with her, filled with a lot of emotions, some regrets, and commitments which he has since kept. QUESTION Describe a pivotal moment in your life.   Parable #3: Obstacles & Tragedy Years passed, things started falling apart, and Joel found himself knocking at the doors of Warrior Week 41. The pain that was uncovered was the guilt Joel felt about not going all in sooner than he did with the one who passed away suddenly. He eventually came to a place where he felt like she went home and he was still here to finish the work they had started. Joel has encountered and felt her presence numerous times, which has turned him into an entirely different man than he was during Warrior Week 17, and the man who continues to evolve through obstacles and tragedy. QUESTION What keeps you going in the face of obstacles and tragedy in your life/? Parable #4: Hannah Years ago, when Joel and his former wife began having children, their two daughters were born with cystic fibrosis. The girls were treated and taken care of, and everyone was very optimistic about their future. Somewhere down the road, due to the nature of the disease, the possibility of a lung transplant loomed in the future. Fast forward to the Fall of 2018. Joel’s daughter, Hannah, is in the hospital awaiting treatment and her husband texts Joel out of the blue informing him that things have suddenly gone south and that if he wants to say his last good-bye’s, he’s got to come immediately. QUESTION What do you do when you’re faced with unexpected news?   Parable #5: Miracles & Angels Hannah was stabilized and put into a medical coma. As Joel was having a conversation with her, he saw a tear form in the corner of her eye and was so happy they had made a connection. But when her oxygen levels started to go down, it became an “oh shit” moment as the alarms went off and doctors scrambled to get her stable. Through a series of determining factors, Hannah was placed at the top of the list for a lung transplant, something that had been on Joel’s radar since her childhood. But time was of the essence and what they needed now, more than ever, were some miracles. QUESTION Describe the moments when you have experienced miracles and angels.   Parables from the Pit: “When you feel chosen, certainty kicks in and your mission becomes very clear; your logic goes away and your emotion cannot fight it.” —Sam Falsafi “Make your spouse and children feel special. Skip the books, skip the to-do list and have a heart-to-heart using your language.” -Joel Portman

Welcome to today’s episode of Parables from the Pit with your host and head Warrior coach, Sam Falsafi, and Warrior Week 51 graduate, Daniel Giordano. In this revealing conversation, they uncover the new language of man, unveil the modern currency, and discuss the reality that in a world of connection through technology, disconnection and the feeling of being alone is at an alarming all-time high. Parable #1: F-Bombs About five years ago, Daniel saw his first Warrior video featuring Garrett J White. He thought it was actually someone at the church he attended and wondered why the guy suddenly had a “potty mouth.” Keeping his language in check was important to Daniel at the time, so the Warrior videos became an instant ‘no view’ due to all of the F-bombs Garrett was dropping. With the passing of time, however, circumstances changed and Daniel was re-introduced to Warrior via Kings Kit. He knew it was time to make some changes in his life and figured since Garrett was still going strong, he must have something figured out. QUESTION Where in your life do you let your judgments about a person dismiss the actual message?   Parable #2: Just Like Dad From the firsts moments of the initial Kings Kit webinar, Coach Sam reminded Daniel of his dad because he was “screaming all the time,” which triggered the hell out of Daniel to the point where he had no desire to talk to Coach Sam for the Warrior Week interview. At the time, Daniel felt unworthy as a father and felt he had fucked up a lot of shit in his life. Deep inside, he knew it was time to do something different. The strong pull towards Warrior Week was completely undeniable. QUESTION Describe an experience or situation where you felt the undeniable pull to move forward with something.   Parable #3: A Time of Uncertainty A few years back, Daniel awakened one morning and said ‘fuck you’ to everything. He was tired and found himself falling asleep in the middle of the day. After getting tested, it was determined that Daniel had low levels of Testosterone. He began a regime that would ultimately bring those levels back up within the normal range. During this time, Daniel’s marriage nearly ended. “Things started to get ugly and I got to the point where I slept at my office for three months. To make matters worse, when we started to work on our marriage, we’d go out to dinner, have too many drinks, and things would get even uglier.” QUESTION How do you resonate with Daniel’s experiences? Parable #4: Daniel’s Pit Inside the Pit on the first day of Warrior Week, Daniel faced something that had taken place years before when he and his wife first got together. “We made some poor choices and she decided to have an abortion. It just killed me. We knew it wasn’t the right thing to do, but we did it because of what other people would think at the time.” His experience of facing this in the Pit “was freeing because I didn’t realize it was the big barrier between me and my wife.” Daniel was able to let go of the guilt and shame and turn his focus to his wife to see how he could help her deal with her feelings about it. QUESTION What have you been able to face and let go of?   Parable #5: Silence: The New Language Coach Sam: In a world of technology that enables us to be so connected, we are so fucking disconnected and so alone. How is that possible? If we’re all connected and have the technology to leverage that, how is it that we are more disconnected than ever before? As men, we’re alone, we’re afraid and constantly hiding what we feel. The new language has become silence where we don’t have the energy to put into others or into ourselves. Somewhere inside of our lives, we have forgotten ourselves and have been forsaken. QUESTION What is one thing you can do today begin opening up yourself to share another’s pain and joy?   Parables from the Pit: “You awaken to a new reality of what is and what you want it to be… and you remember what was, in order to continue to become.” —Sam Falsafi “If you’re struggling inside of your relationships and feel spiritually lost, get plugged into Warrior with a group of guys who genuinely want you to have it all. Show up, step up, be willing to fight for what you want, and start doing things differently.” -Daniel Giordano.

Warrior Week 52 graduate, Mick Olinik, is Sam’s special guest in this episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit. Today’s conversation reveals their spiritual journeys and how mathematics plays a part in one’s spiritual connection. We also discover how it is possible for a man to be excommunicated before he is even born, and the significance of Pink Floyd in Mick’s life. Parable #1: Warrior Wealth Mick’s intro to Warrior came via one of Garrett White’s podcasts, which at the time he was discontinuing but Mick found them so interesting that he continued playing past episodes. Mick eventually stepped through the gates of Warrior in early June of 2018 through one of the live events, Warrior Wealth, with the belief he would come away with some tax strategies. “The experience of Warrior Wealth was like a wet fish-slap in the face. It was insane.” The two pivotal messages Mick received centered around the evolution of the man’s role in society throughout history, as well as the conversation of the Core 4 (BODY, BEING, BALANCE, BUSINESS), specifically in the area of BEING through a powerful mediation led by Coach Sam. QUESTION Where in your world have you been drawn to a certain conversation or message that resulted in making what you now recognize as a life-altering decision?   Parable #2: Excommunication Mick was essentially excommunicated (twice) from his religion before he was even born due to the actions of his grandfather in the 1940s, and his parents’ actions before his birth. Mick was told by church leaders that because he was excommunicated, he was going to hell. “This made the acceptance of spirituality and God really hard for me as a kid. Essentially, it wouldn’t matter what I did; according to the leaders, I was fucked.” While preparing for his Holy Communion in the second grade, and after many conversations with the priests, Mick said fuck it to religion and turned to atheism. QUESTION How have the religious beliefs and practices of your childhood shaped your current beliefs?   Parable #3: The Marriage of Science and Spirituality Through the years, Mick’s desire to rectify this whole BEING conversation led him to delve deep into the study of many different philosophies. By the time he walked into Warrior Wealth at the age of 41, he basically had a fuck-you attitude toward anything remotely associated with the spiritual realm. Coach Sam: “There is a science behind spirituality. What happened in that room at Warrior Wealth during that Meditation was a mathematical formula that I can fucking explain, that created that moment of stillness. Where we were IN that moment of stillness, I cannot tell you…that’s where faith comes in.” QUESTION What has been your spiritual journey throughout your life? Parable #4: I’m Not Worthy There are so many man-made rules inside of all religions that have men and women believing that in order to be deemed worthy, they must complete a check-list. Even then, many are in a constant state of questioning their worthiness. Coach Sam: “The truth is, we are all worthy when it comes to BEING as long as we are clear about the relationship we have with ourselves and the higher source we are seeking. The problems begin when a man starts to come in between you and God… and when we start idolizing men.” QUESTION Where are you in this conversation of worthiness?   Parable #5: Wandering Generality vs Certainty Coach Sam: When you are certain, you’re a fucking lion, not a sheepdog. You’re not waiting to protect; you’re a fucking lion and are going to go in the hallway and eat that mother fucker. Mick: Where I was a year ago is almost laughable. Today, I am fucking certain about who I am and where the fuck I’m going. When you talk about being a wandering generality vs being certain… I was trying to be certain, but I was a wandering dumpster fire of a fucking generality. QUESTION How has life itself shifted for you as you have become more certain?   Parables from the Pit: “It took years for me to move away from information ABOUT God to an actual encounter WITH God where I feel this one-to-one, direct relationship & communication that “I” believe vs what it is “supposed” to be based on some information.” —Sam Falsafi “For the first time, I’ve been able to have a connection with the Voice that doesn’t follow anybody’s opinion of what it’s “supposed” to be. -Mick Olinik

Coach Sam Falsafi welcomes Warrior Week graduate #52, Branden Orr, to today’s show. “When you have a good business, a healthy family, and a beautiful wife – and yet you’re not happy – you begin questioning why that is. I have a great life and should be excited about that. But instead, I’m filled with the feelings of guilt and shame and there’s nobody to share that with.” Enter Warrior and the association one finds with the other guys, knowing they are going through the same things you are…and there’s no dollar value you can put on that. Parable #1: Knocking At Warrior’s Door Branden initially learned about Warrior in the first quarter of 2015 via a video. Although he wasn’t sure what it was at the time, it intrigued him and he thought it looked like fun, so he filled out the application…but never turned it in. “At that point, I wasn’t in the right mindset for it. Something in the Universe prevented it from happening and allowed Warrior to come into my life when I actually needed it the most.” Fast forward to July of 2018 where things inside every area of Branden’s life seemed to be falling apart. “I felt a general disconnect from everything in my life. After a huge fight with my wife, I told her it was time for us to divorce…and this time I actually meant it.” Later that evening, something from Warrior came across his computer screen and with one click of the mouse, there was Garrett asking a question that resonated deeply with Branden, “Why does that even matter?” QUESTION How did you get introduced to Warrior? What has your journey looked like?   Parable #2: Going to War For Your Wife In a world where the threat of divorce is used as leverage by couples who are in the throes of ugly arguments, Coach Sam truly believes there could be a reframing of this entire game of marriage by eliminating the option of the “easy” way out, aka divorce. After a divorce, the question becomes, “Did you ever really go to war and fight to keep her?” In an imaginary world where divorce would not be an option, Brenden believes couples world work together more and learn to embrace each other’s differences. “The more I come to accept my wife’s differences, the more I actually appreciate them and can see how they complement me, rather than seeing them as a threat against me.” QUESTION How would life itself change for you if instead of going to war against your wife and children, you went to war for them?   Parable #3: The Pit Inside of his Pit at Warrior Week, Branden came face-to-face with his upbringing and all of the resentment he had been holding onto from the past, namely his father leaving him when he was seven, and the unhealthy example of his mom and stepdad’s volatile marriage. “The door that started opening up for me after the life-changing experience of Warrior Week was a deeper love than I had ever experienced for my wife and my children, and an immense appreciation for them. Up until then, I felt like I was living somebody else’s life where I never felt completely connected.” QUESTION What are you hanging onto that you know you it’s time to come face-to-face with? Parable #4: Before & After Before Warrior Week, Branden felt that just showing up and being there for his family was enough. But he learned that wasn’t the case. “What’s different now is our communication. I’m actually listening to and being attentive to my wife and children, and I’m actually showing them how I feel about them.” Inside of the business realm, the idea of expansion did not appeal to his business partner, which caused Branden to feel stuck. “At the end of the day, regardless of the dollar figure, if I’m not growing and the business isn’t expanding, then what am I even doing this for?” At the time of this recording, they are days away from selling the business and embarking on a new journey of expansion. QUESTION What are some “before and after” moments of your own?   Parable #5: From Private School to Home School About a month after Warrior Week, Branden and his wife decided to pull their children out of the private school they were attending and to home school them instead.“We’re so excited about it! We love that we get to teach our children and that they get to see what we do day in and day out. And it’s amazing seeing my eight-year-old come up with business plans that might actually work!” Coach Sam: Years ago if you were to talk to me about that, I would have said no, that’s insane. Weird people do that! Today…I’m in a totally different place. QUESTION How can you take more of a hands-on approach with your children’s education no matter where they attend school?   Parables from the Pit: “If I’m not happy, there’s a source of this unhappiness that is fueling this unhappiness that I have to seek and hunt down, whatever that is. And that’s what Warrior does: it brings you to the source and asks you if you’re willing to find out why.” —Sam Falsafi “I was buying stuff I didn’t want, to impress people I didn’t like.” -Branden Orr

This week’s powerful podcast is filled with amazing stories from your host, Coach Sam, and his special guest, Drew Hooper, graduate of Warrior Week #52. Stay tuned as we discover what Drew faced inside his Pit at Warrior Week, the revelation Coach Sam received during a recent chaotic experience at a local restaurant, pivotal Stack revelations, the story behind The Shovel, and much, much more in this week’s episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit. Parable #1: Seeking Connection Drew’s journey into the Warrior’s Way began in March 2016 when he received a link from one of his buddies leading to a video of Garrett, the content of which resonated on a deep level with him. His entry point was WarriorBook 500. About 45 days into the process, Drew’s wife revealed to him, “If you hadn’t of done this, I was ready to leave.” At the time, Drew was oblivious to the signs. QUESTION What was your entry point into Warrior? Parable #2: Feeling Lost At the time of applying to Warrior Week, Drew felt frustrated, unchallenged, and alone. He felt like he didn’t have anyone in his circle with whom he could connect. Warrior Week, for him, meant finding a group of men to connect with, learn from and relate to.  By this time, Drew and his wife had created a safe space for communication in their marriage and things were looking up in all areas of his life. Still, he felt lost. He was ready to burn it all down and was afraid that he was going to lose it all. QUESTION How does this resonate for you? Parable #3: Leader or Dictator? For a time, Drew’s wife had lacked direction and ultimately didn’t know what she wanted. “Since I lived a very regimented life, she looked to me as her leader and her rock. As she became more comfortable with herself, I never pulled back from that leadership or dictatorship. I was leading in a way that was out of disregard to what she wanted.” Coach Sam had become a bully inside of his marriage, even though he thought he was just leading. “Today, I realize I was bullying, dictating, and not listening in my marriage, I had been controlling… but with a good heart and a good purpose. I had labeled it as security and protection but as I look back, I ask myself, what was I actually protecting?” QUESTION Where in your world are you dictating and bullying rather than leading? Parable #4: Turning Points The Stack is a powerful tool inside of Warrior that takes you through a series of questions and ultimately leads you to view things from a different perspective. Inside of that, you get to create a new story surrounding an event, a person, or situation. “One of the Stacks I did, I was so pissed off at my wife. I felt she was flighty and non-committal on ANYTHING. When I had to walk the block and turn that trigger statement on me, I broke down in tears. The revelation I received was that I was the one who was being and doing everything I had been blaming her for.” QUESTION Where inside of your world are you projecting blame onto another person? Parable #5: Dig Your Way Out In May of 2018, Drew had been called into the Brotherhood Boardroom during a live training where he revealed to Coach Sam that he had been struggling to lose weight. Sam instructed Drew to grab a shovel hanging on the wall behind him – a shovel that had been used for the groundbreaking of a new hospital – and essentially told Drew he was going to “dig his way out of this.” Sam had Drew write down targets on the back of the shovel and instructed him to carry it with him wherever went, with the idea that he was to bring it with him at the end of the year to WarriorCon3. “I took that fuckin’ token of a shovel with me everywhere I went!” QUESTION What would be a meaningful token and anchor for you as you move toward your desired outcome? Parables from the Pit: “It wasn’t that these people were doing anything to piss me off; it was because I was already sequenced to be fucking triggered and I was just waiting for the final victim to blame, which was the old guy with the fucking mustache.” —Sam Falsafi “I start to realize that the only reason why I’m pissed off is because there’s something about it that’s a reflection of myself. And that awareness is a little bit fucked up because it makes it difficult to stay mad.” --Drew Hooper

What causes a man to want to go to Warrior Week when his business is the most successful it’s ever been, and life is good? Welcome to this week’s episode of Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit with Coach Sam and his guest, Mike Cottmeyer, where we discover the answer to that question and learn why Mike chose to walk through the gates of Warrior Week #52 even after learning about his wife’s life-threatening diagnosis a mere two days before. Parable #1: Feeling Isolated In the summer of 2018, it was the viewing of one video that caused Mike to step into the world of Warrior via the Kings Kit Challenge, which proved to be a poignant turning point in his life. Although he had more monetary success than ever before, he was feeling disconnected on every level and was feeling completely isolated. The message from the video that resonated with Mike the most was this idea that guys who are really successful in business are bored. “I know people have problems paying their electric bill; I had a problem making my million and a half payroll every month. Who do you share that kind of pressure with?” QUESTION How is having an association of men to share life with making a difference in your life? Parable #2: Taking a Leap When Mike took the leap out of corporate America to start his company, he gave away the security and promise of the paycheck for the uncertainty of doing his own thing. “What I found was, that was just the first of many leaps.” Pre-Warrior, Mike felt that he had reached the ceiling on what he could accomplish as a leader, as a husband, and as a father. He was feeling overwhelmed. Two days before he entered the doors of Warrior Week, his wife was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. QUESTION Where have you been taking leaps in your life? How has your life changed because of those leaps? Parable #3: The Cemetery When Mike was 23, his mother passed away from cancer, which was the most painful thing he had experienced up to that point in his life. Fast forward two decades to Warrior Week where the group is in a van traveling to visit a cemetery. When asked by one of the coaches what his reaction would be if his wife were to die from her illness, the best response Mike could muster in that moment was, “I would be sad.” “With my mother’s death, that was a pivotal time in my life which turned off a range of emotions for me. If it doesn’t crack that level, fuck it. It is what it is. You want to trigger an emotion in me? Put me in a cemetery thinking about my mom and writing letters to my kids about what would happen if I were to die. I can get to that emotion, but I’m not comfortable living there.” QUESTION When was the last time you gave yourself permission to experience deep emotion? Parable #4: Modeling Behavior Mike’s involvement in Warrior has allowed him to create space for conversations with his sons Zach, Daniel, and Noah. What he’s trying to model for them is “just because things get fucked up or go a little sideways, doesn’t mean it’s over. Don’t give up.” “Basically, it’s modeling behavior. They’re seeing me get into better shape, pray & meditate, emotionally connect with their mom & them every day. They’re seeing what’s going on in the business, that we’re going to continue to collide, and that I’m not giving up.” QUESTION What behavior are you modeling for your children? Parable #5: Letting Go to Lead Post-Warrior, Mike has chosen to spend more time with his wife which has meant letting go and whittling down the hours he works on his business. “In my little niche of the world, I’m the Garrett White of my industry. I’m the speaker, I’m the rain-maker, I’m the one who’s out there. When I take a step back, there’s a real risk for it to slow down.” “When you have strong leaders, you’ve got to give them space to lead. And when you’re a control freak like me, it’s hard to know which pieces you can let go of and which pieces you can’t. It’s a tough balance.” QUESTION Whether in your home or business, what can you let go of in order to create space for others to lead? Parables from the Pit: “It doesn’t matter what the fuck you say – whether it’s wrong or right – as long as you’re certain, people will follow.” —Sam Falsafi “Warrior Week for me was the beginning of a journey. It was like having a veil lifted and realizing there was a whole different way of looking at the world that I hadn’t been paying attention to.” -Mike Cottmeyer

Coach Sam’s special guest in this week’s epic episode of Warrior Week: Parables from the Pit, is Coach Tony Blauer, creator of the SPEAR system that focuses on how to Detect, De-fuse, and Defend against violent encounters, and where students are trained to use the physiology of the startle-flinch response to deal with ambush attacks. Get ready to experience a fascinating and mind-opening conversation in this special episode. Parable #1: Confidence & Certainty In 2012, when Coach Sam moved to Laguna Beach from Houston, he stepped into the CrossFit world. However, after about a year, he discovered he simply wasn’t good at it and felt as if he was always at the bottom of the board. As he was searching the internet one day, Sam found Tony Blauer who was teaching self-defense using CrossFit. This fascinated Sam. As he immersed himself in it, it appealed to him because it enabled him to tap into his primal side. Not only had Sam found something he could be good at, but it was also a way for him to access confidence and certainty. QUESTION How do you access confidence and certainty in your life?   Parable #2: Tony’s Light Bulb Moment Tony, who has been teaching, studying, and researching violence for the past five decades, had his big light bulb moment in 1980 after a fifteen-year-old he had been training lost a fight to a bully. Tony suddenly realized the way self-defense was being taught was all wrong. “In a vacuum, we break boards, we spar, we do katas, but nobody was doing research and putting people in a dynamic situation where it was scenario based. We were teaching Block Training instead of the desired Brain-Based Training. I wanted to create a self-defense system that worked in the real world” QUESTION Describe a light bulb moment you have experienced. Parable #3: The Perfect Marriage Circumstances brought Tony to a place where he had this perspective of how to marry CrossFit with self-defense. For example, a push up could be the same genetic chain as a palm strike. “When I go for a run, part of what I include in my running is sprinting away from danger AND sprinting to save somebody. QUESTION What are your experiences with Crossfit and self-defense? Parable #4: Startle-Flinch We teach people that the startle-flinch is going to happen naturally; it’s part of your physiology. What we want to do is change our relationship with it and re-educate ourselves. The difference between stimulus and response is the gap time or your holy shit moment where you have to figure shit out. We don’t want to be reactive, we want to be responsive. QUESTION As a man, what have you been taught to believe about flinching?   Parable #5: Bells Palsy Coach Tony opens up about his experience with Bells Palsy where he awakened one day to find the left side of his face numb and drooping. He laughed when the emergency room Doc asked him if he had ever been hit in the head. “Yes, for about 30 years!” As a public speaker with events to show up to, Tony was embarrassed about the way he looked and his inability to communicate as he usually did. When given the option for his team to handle things, his response was, “I’m a fucking leader.” QUESTION What is one lesson you have learned as a result of unexpected circumstances or events showing up in your life? Parables from the Pit: “Often, those that fear the most, in a hidden way, make others fear them.” —Sam Falsafi “You can’t write your next chapter or make your next move unless you accept what’s going on, and then get strategic. It is what it is.” -Tony Blauer

Coach Sam welcomes Christian Davidson to the show today where their in-depth conversation leads them to share stories & experiences that uncover destructive patterns and behaviors of men in today’s society. Parable #1: Turning Points Christian was initially introduced to Warrior when he received a text from his friend that read, “You’ve got to check out this video! This guy’s crazy!” Christian found Garrett’s message riveting & compelling and wanted to feel the certainty and fire that Garrett was displaying. His buddy suggested they do Warrior Week together but in the end, it was Christian who ultimately reached out to Coach Sam, forever altering the trajectory of his life. ASK YOURSELF Describe a significant turning point in your life.   Parable #2: Freedom & Fire In the years leading up to his immersion into Warrior, there were areas of Christan’s life that he felt had slipped and fallen; where he experienced subtle change and erosion over time due to his choices and stories. This brought with it heaviness, disappointment, and guilt that built up and clogged his energy. After Warrior, Christian experienced freedom and fire as he used the tools of Warrior, coupled with the accountability he found within the brotherhood. ASK YOURSELF Where in your world have you awakened to and noticed subtle erosion over time?   Parable #3: Stacking Obstacles As a teen, Christian had established a strong foundation in certain areas of his life through his choices and daily disciplines which continued through his 20s. In his 30s, as he took on more responsibility with marriage, children, and business, those disciplines shifted. Like many men, Christian began feeling shame and guilt as he started moving away from those disciplines and moved deeper into a pit. How does this happen? How do we find ourselves suddenly out of a routine that has been working so well for us for many years?   ASK YOURSELF What daily routines & disciplines did you change or give up once you entered into your marriage? Why?   Parable #4: Define Your Outcomes When men get married, most begin focusing on their business and body at the expense of their relationships and spirituality. Why? Because the hustle of business and body can be easily measured, while results in the areas of relationships and spiritually are built around assumptions and comparisons. In the 90 days post-Warrior, Christian was able to define for himself what successful outcomes looked like in all four areas of his life, including the oft-times difficult to define areas of relationships and spirituality, a practice he continues to find life-altering. ASK YOURSELF How do you define success in all areas of your life? What are those definitions based on?   Parable #5: Isolation Twenty years into his marriage, Christian experienced a divorce. His feelings of self-worth had dropped, and looking back, he felt he didn’t handle circumstances well at the time. “When I should have been communicating more, I communicated less.” When things inside of his business began crashing, instead of slowing things down and opening up to his wife about their circumstances, he doubled down on work and kept it all inside to try to protect her and their four children from the stress of it all. ASK YOURSELF What do you keep from your spouse in order to “protect” them? Parables from the Pit: “You’re uncomfortable in the presence of truth because you’re a fucking liar. What if you began to practice the art of telling the truth?“ —Sam Falsafi “Wake Up Warrior is a unique tribe of powerful men, unlike anything we normally associate with in our day-to-day associations & connections; a tribe of truth hunters who are seeking expansion in every area of their life.“  -Christian Davidson

In this week’s special episode, Coach Sam and Coach Maximilian Mormont have a riveting conversation about Max’s myriad adventures & world travels, poignant turning points, mastery & family, and… Coach Sam makes an important announcement and commitment to Max. Parable #1: Blood Money In 1996, an accident that claimed the lives of two of his college friends became a turning point for Max where he began playing the ‘fuck you’ game. “God, you saved me…but, why?” He began putting himself in harm’s way after receiving settlement money from the accident and poured this ‘blood money’ into drugs. For a time, he traveled the U.S. dealing drugs and spending time with high-level athletes until deciding to return home to his mother. QUESTION How does this resonate with experiences in your life?   Parable #2: Turning It Around Max’s choices after returning home led him from the possibility of facing involuntary manslaughter charges to probation and ultimately to be in the position of wanting to turn his life around. He became a bartender, went back to school, got into bodybuilding, personal training, coaching, managing major gyms, helped develop CrossFit football, and found his way into Olympic weight lifting. QUESTION What has been a turning point in your life?   Parable #3: Mastery Sam: “It’s four years of your fucking life dedicated to two fucking movements day and night: clean and snatch. That’s mastery!” Max: “It’s 10,000 hours. And if you really look into the mastery of 10,000 hours of something, the reality is, you actually have to put time into something. QUESTION Where in your world are you devoting time to becoming a master at something? Parable #4: Train For Something Sam had an experience with Max’s wife, also a coach, where she instilled in him the necessity to train for something vs going to the gym or working out without having a target in mind. Max: Training for something doesn’t necessarily have to be training for fitness or health, it could just be discovering and understanding how your body works and taking ownership of it. QUESTION What are you currently training for?   Parable #5: Cyclops As Max entered Warrior, he began wondering, “What the fuck am I doing here? Everything’s pretty good in my life; what do I need to fix?” What Max discovered was a spiritual path, unlike anything he had experienced up to this point in his life. After the men had been directed to draw Light & Dark Warrior in their journals, Max drew a picture of Cyclops to represent his Dark Warrior. At first, he wanted to erase it until he realized that his drawing was the perfect representation of himself with the one eye mirroring his laser focus once he hooks onto something. QUESTION What does your Dark Warrior look like? Parables from the Pit: “When I first met Max several years ago, I was a sedated mother fucker who traveled the world with my Blackberry and suitcase and had a feeling of significance.” —Sam Falsafi “People want to get strong until the weight gets heavy.”  — Coach Maximilian Mormont  

Warrior Week 52 graduate, Jason Kehler, and Coach Sam have a conversation about Jason’s journey over the past ten years, and how his introduction into Warrior through a message that pierced his heart ultimately opened the door to massive change inside his life and his marriage. Parable #1: Lack of Connection What Jason was experiencing at the time he was first introduced to the message of Warrior was a lack of connection with God, a lack of connection with his wife, a lack of purpose inside his business, and a feeling of shame for his nearly 300-pound body. Over time, he had filled his life with victim stories, particularly one involving his wife that caused him to drift away from her for ten years. During this period of time, he felt that none of the issues he was facing mattered or took priority. QUESTION Where in your world are you experiencing a complete lack of connection with a significant person or relationship?   Parable #2: Cracking the Shell Jason began delving deeper into Warrior via the various podcasts and books, which eventually led him to Kings Kit. It was through a protocol involving his family that ultimately prove to be a poignant turning point in his marriage. It was in the sharing of his feelings with his family that cracked open the hardened shell around him. This propelled him into the reality that his involvement inside of Warrior could actually be life-changing. QUESTION What was the turning point in your life that began to turn things around for you? Parable #3: Before & After After having experienced zero date nights with his wife for the past six to eight years – and perhaps only two to three sexual connections a year – Jason and his wife are now experiencing regular date nights and regular sex. Their discussions and collisions are enabling them to take a look at the things that have been impeding their growth and are now clearing them off the table. Their conversations have turned from ‘what do I want’ into ‘what do we want?’ QUESTION What does your ‘Before & After’ look like? What are the decisions and actions that created it? Parable #4: Two Sides of the Coin Coach Sam: There’s how you felt and what you experienced, and there’s also how your wife felt and what she experienced. Where is her pain? Where is her pit? Who took her into her pit? Who is guiding her? Jason: I didn’t show up for her. I had no empathy for her, and I left all the responsibility to those who were caring for her. These past six months have been about recognizing this, stepping up, claiming responsibility, and expressing to her my need to have her at the core of my life. QUESTION When you take a step back, how have you been showing up inside your relationship? Parable #5: Faith & Focus When Jason looks back at who he used to be – a ‘man’ who was not showing up for his wife nor his children – he is blown away that she never left him. “I can only imagine that her faith in God is what kept her here.” Waking up every day with a focus on his wife and making deposits into her has allowed them to compress time and rebuild the connection & the spark between them. QUESTION What has kept you or your spouse inside a marriage that is seemingly ‘over?’ Parables from the Pit: “The puzzle that you have in front of you doesn’t tell you that you lost ten years; what you have is a blueprint for the next forty years.” —Sam Falsafi “When you get to the place of knowing that you’re enough, that’s an incredibly epic place to be after you have spent decades not feeling that.”   -Jason Kehler

Coach Sam and Warrior Week #52 graduate, Don Burris, have an in-depth conversation about important & relevant topics not often discussed with men and share significant insights in this week’s special episode of Warrior Week: Parables from the Pit. Parable #1: Obligation or Love? As men, at what point are we transitioning from being boys & teenagers into men? As fathers, how are you showing up for your children – as a supportive dad or like a fucking teenager? If you do show up as a dad, is it out of obligation and expectation, or is it from a space of love and wanting to empower your kids & your family? QUESTION How are you showing up for your children?   Parable #2: A Matter of Time Bedtime routines are unique to every family, yet inside of that, there’s this common belief that children should be in bed by 6:30pm, something Coach Sam vehemently disagrees with and questions. When men arrive home at night and the kids are already in bed, that’s a problem that needs to be addressed. If men don’t speak up about this to their wives, the future will surely hold regrets in the hearts of the men for the time they lost with their children. QUESTION What is the bedtime routine at your home? Are both you and your wife in agreement with it? Parable #3: The Forgotten Ones Children and their feelings are oft times the overlooked commodity when it comes to divorce. Many fathers, in an attempt to ‘find happiness’ again, begin spending less and less time with their children and more and more time searching for happiness in the arms of other women. Who really knows the struggles of children as they are thrust into this new situation? Do they struggle with darkness or being bullied? Significance or popularity? Before they drift off to sleep, what are their thoughts? What are they feeling? QUESTION What can you do to open up the lines of communication with your children about their feelings? Parable #4: Let it Flow The valve of the male heart gets shut down pretty early, where we don’t know where to pour all of this pure love & energy we feel as a kid. As a result, we begin restricting the flow of love. This ultimately leads to kids shutting down their hearts and lying during the time of their lives when they should actually be opening it wide open QUESTION What do you remember about this when you were a kid? Do you see the same thing happening with your children? Parable #5: Awareness Don: Inside the pit at Warrior Week, my heart was on fire again. I was aware of all these things I had suppressed, all the demons and lies I had created. Coach Sam: Our imagination is the source of that creation; the source of our fucking lies. When something happens, we imagine, we assume, and then as alpha males, we justify in order to back that fucking imagination. Awareness eliminates imagination. QUESTION What was your experience inside the Pit at Warrior Week? Parables from the Pit: “There’s one fucking time, and that time says, love.” —Sam Falsafi “I used to think my heart was my enemy; now my heart is my sword and my shield.”   –Don Burris  

Warrior Week 43 graduate, Franco Cabral, is Coach Sam’s special guest in this week’s episode of Warrior Week: Parables from the Pit. Franco’s fascinating story is one filled with twists and turns of the miraculous kind and is certain to ignite the fire of inspiration & change within you. Parable #1: Painful Reality A graduate of Warrior Week 43, Franco was initially introduced to Warrior at the beginning of 2016 by a friend with whom he hadn’t connected for nine years. WarriorCon1 was the first event he attended and it was there that he discovered the painful reality of the facts of his life. It was during a special meditation that Franco was able to take a step back and look at where he really was in life, asking himself the questions: Is this what I really want? Do I really want to continue being ‘that’ guy? Would I share these facts with my daughter? QUESTION Do you really want to continue being ‘that’ guy, the man who runs from the facts of his life?   Parable #2: The Mirror After Franco’s wake-up call, he decided to go ‘all in’ with Warrior and began using the tools. Although he began seeing gains in his life and started feeling good about himself, the foundation he was creating was a foundation of lies. It was after the birth of his son a few months later that Franco had the realization that his infant son was a mirror for him; that he was the only one who truly saw him. Aware of the darkness that was gathering around him, Franco knew that his son and daughter deserved better. QUESTION Who and what do you see when you look in the mirror? Parable #3: Maybe I’m Not Alone Although in great financial deficit, Franco reached out to Coach Sam and committed to Warrior Week, not knowing how the fuck he was going to pull it off financially. He was tired, and unbeknownst to him at the time, his marriage was headed down a dark path. During the two weeks Coach Sam had given Franco to put the money together for Warrior Week, Franco received a call out of the blue from a man with whom he had made an investment seven years before; an investment Franco had all but forgotten about. That afternoon, the man handed Franco a check for $19,500. QUESTION How has a path miraculously opened up for you that didn’t previously exist?   Parable #4: Turning Points The pivotal moment for Franco at Warrior Week came when he was face down in freezing cold water, his entire body was shivering, and the question was being asked of him, “What will happen if you do nothing?” Time stopped at that moment for Franco as the thought of another man raising his children entered his mind. Since that day, much has changed for Franco. His family life is unrecognizable, he recently re-proposed to his wife, his spirituality has been rekindled, he listens to the Voice who’s existence he used to question, he’s in the best shape of his life, he’s experiencing certainty & clarity, he is having powerful collisions, and he has rekindled his relationship with his father. QUESTION What has been a pivotal moment for you in your life? What happened? How has your life shifted because of it? Parable #5: Impact In January of 2019, the man who handed the investment check to Franco showed up at his door, a broken man in a very dark place. Many months before that, he had asked a question of Franco to which Franco responded in complete honesty and unleashed exactly where he was in all areas of his life at the time. Franco listened and shared his pain; he held space for this man who had enabled Franco to enter Warrior Week. He chose for himself to go ‘all in’ and now Franco is a witness to this man’s journey and transformation, which “fills me in a way that’s indescribable.” QUESTION Who in your world have you shared space for? How did it feel? Parables from the Pit: “It is the structure of the CEO of the Universe to open the doors.” —Sam Falsafi “One thing I’ve learned at Warrior is that every time I truly have been ‘all in’ in my heart, God has helped me find the path.”   -Franco Cabral    

Coach Kevin Voisin and his wife, Whitney, are Coach Sam’s special guests in this week’s episode where they talk about their recent adventure of swimming the Alcatraz event and share the lessons they learned. Parable #1: Childhood Sweethearts Kevin describes his wife as the ultimate diamond in the rough. They met on a church trip when they were twelve, and her hand was the first hand he ever held. But they lost contact after Whitney moved away. Twenty-five years and two marriages later, Whitney happened to see Kevin’s face on a billboard while she driving through town one day. She reached out to him via Facebook, and the rest is history. QUESTION How did you and your spouse meet? Parable #2: Witnessing Growth In the past three years, Whitney has witnessed the growth and rise of her husband, Kevin. “Inside of being an amazing father, and wanting to please me, he had lost Kevin. I feel like Wake Up Warrior has been the process of discovering who he is.” During this same time, Whitney saw herself as happy and content, not feeling like anything needed to change until she began witnessing Kevin training and leading men. She then began feeling like she was remaining stagnant while he continued to grow. QUESTION What growth have you witnessed in your spouse? In yourself? Parable #3: Overcoming Fears Whitney’s decision to enter the Alcatraz event stemmed from a fire that has been lit inside of her where she is “tired of living inside this little box I’ve created for myself.” “I jumped off the boat into the water because this was something I was doing for myself, not for anybody else.” Up until this point, Whitney was convinced she was meant to decorate the outskirts of the water, not jump in it. QUESTION What huge leap have you taken recently? Parable #4: Life Lessons From Alcatraz One of the take-a-ways for Whitney from her experience was that she wants to do the things in life that make her strong, surrounded by others who are also going to make her strong. “There was comfort and safety swimming in a pack.” Whitney observed a lesson she felt Kevin had learned by not completing the race because he began assisting others who were having troubles in the water. “The fact is, he straps others to his back all the time, which prevents him from completing something he wants to do.” QUESTION What are some of the lessons you have learned about yourself as you have competed in events? Parable #5: Creating Wins After coaching both men and women over the course of the past three years, Sam and Kevin have witnessed a huge disconnection between husbands and wives. Coach Sam: There may not be any drama or trauma inside a marriage, but there’s a huge gap between the husband and the wife. What you two have co-created by doing this event together is the Voisin standard of connection and winning.” QUESTION What are you committed to creating together with your partner or spouse? Parables from the Pit: “In a world today that is so connected using technology, we are actually in the worst era of disconnection, specifically between husbands and wives.” —Sam Falsafi “I am not alone is a powerful feeling, and when it leaves, it underlines just how important it is in your life.” –Kevin Voisin “I am the only one who gets in my way.” –Whitney Voisin