Coach Sam Falsafi has a conversation with Warrior Week 37 graduate Chad Ulmer.
Parable #1: The Pit
- Chad grew up in a small town in Iowa where he lived a pretty sheltered life. He joined the Marines to get out of that situation and served for four years. Once he left the Marines, he married rather quickly. Eight years later, he got divorced and eventually remarried. With every step, he was burying himself deeper and deeper into his pit.
- "I was in a very bad place and my marriage was falling apart. I felt dismissed and rejected on a daily basis with my wife. This all came to a head before our six year anniversary where I imploded and nearly ended everything in my life in just one hour. At this point, Garrett popped into my head, and that night I contacted Coach Sam."
QUESTION: What's coming up for you as you listen to Chad's story?
Parable #2: The Gap
- Chad: It's one dimensional in the military: to kill or not to kill. You learn to listen and obey, you give 110%, and then they say "good luck" when you get out. You're in a pit, you're lost, and without a support system, you start drifting and can't get out.
- Coach Sam: You were trained and guided in a system to attack, kill, and kill your fucking emotions. The missing piece of the puzzle is the re-education of the transition back to civilian life, how to deal with your feelings, and how to lead your wife and children.
QUESTION: What has been your experience with transitioning out of the Military?
Parable #3: Power, Praise, and Purpose
- Chad: I have never felt such a powerful shift than when I joined the Brotherhood. When I do the work, I feel the power, and I feel there is such capacity for possibility. The availability of success snowballs and is almost exhausting. How great would it be if Wake Up Warrior could be integrated into the military?
Coach Sam: Warrior Week awakens you to new patterns and habits.
When you live the Warriors Way, you belong to something. Most men want to belong. They want two things: praise and purpose. When we are praised and have a purpose, life becomes meaningful. You can have a purpose but if you're not praised for it, it dies.
QUESTION: What was your awakening at Warrior Week?
Parable #4: Chaos to Panic
- After four years of hearing Sam say he was going to organize his closet, his wife decided to hire a personal organizer to do the job for him. All of his Warrior t-shirts, along with other t-shirts that held with special meaning for him, were taken out and given away. Needless to say, this did not go well with Sam.
"Most of our modern men live in a chaotic world between work, business, family, and home. I spent five hours with my mind being hijacked in a state of panic for no fucking reason. I cursed my wife, our babysitter, and my son. I drove like a maniac cutting people off, projecting my anger into my driving. For what? Some gdamn fucking t-shirts."
QUESTION: How does Sam's experience resonate with you?
Parable #5: Awaken and Remember
- Chad: The Warrior wristband is what keeps me safe and helps me remember my awakening at Warrior Week when I fall into a drift of guilt and shame from not doing the work and Stacking.
- Coach Sam: When you wear a symbol of Warrior, it's a reminder of the work you have done and a remembrance of how you awakened. When you begin to shift, it acts as an awakening.
QUESTION: What token do you wear that reminds you of an awakening or turning point in your life?
Parables from the Pit:
"You are not alone."
-- Coach Sam Falsafi
""I came out of Warrior feeling young and excited, like I was just out of high school. Things that used to worry and panic me, I don't even think about anymore.""
--Chad Ulmer
