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

What Would You Do If You Didn't Fear Fear? | Warrior Week | EP 060

I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. Words so many love to say, but very few know how to live. Only those that are truly dedicated and disciplined truly achieve the mastering of their fate and become the captain of their souls.


WARRIOR WEEK is the cornerstone experience of the WAKE UP WARRIOR EMPIRE. There is nothing on the planet like WARRIOR WEEK. Each week Sam Falsafi, the elite lead coach of WARRIOR WEEK, will bring you insights and tools to start your journey to living life in the WARRIOR’S way. It is time for you to be liberated from your darkness, from your PIT and brought into the light of life.

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"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

ARROWS In Your QUIVER | Warrior Week: Parables From The Pit | EP 104

"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

CURRENT CONDITIONS Do Not Define CONCLUSIONS | Warrior Week: Parables From The Pit | EP 103

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  

Get HELP or DIE | Warrior Week: Parables From the Pit | EP 102

  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 

LEGION | Ep 101 | Warrior Week: Parables From The Pit

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

What Would You Do If You Didn't Fear Fear? | Warrior Week | EP 060

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