Coach Sam Falsafi and Warrior Week graduate Brian Davis have a beautiful conversation about meetings with God, gifts on the mountain, unlocking masks, and discovering light in the darkest of Pits in this special edition of Parables from the Pit.
Parable #1: Knocking on Warrior's Door
- Before entering the crucible of Warrior Week, Brian had come knocking on Warrior's door on two separate occasions. During his first encounter, he ended up having a brief conversation with Coach Sam.
- A year later, the doors of Warrior swung wide open as Coach Sam brought fire and passion in a video that was part of the package of WarriorBook 600 that Brian had just purchased. Although he wondered what he was getting himself into, it was very clear to Brian that he was exactly where he needed to be.
QUESTION: How and when did Warrior show up in your life?
Parable #2: Overflowing Buckets
- It was the birth of Brian's second baby that served as the catalyst for his entrance into Warrior Week. Tensions ran high as correctional casts were placed on the feet of his ten-day-old baby girl. After 48 hours of constant crying, and in the midst of a whirlwind of emotions, Brian snapped at his wife. He immediately felt guilt shame for his actions and was left wondering what kind of a man he was for not being able to hold space for his wife and newborn baby.
- Coach Sam: The kind of man you were showing up as is exactly the kind of man I am, and that most men are. There were just too many buckets of problems that you were carrying. At some point, you're going to spill the fucking buckets because there aren't enough hands holding them. Now you have another bucket which is supposed to be a bucket of happiness, but instead, it's a bucket of sadness because of the unknown.
QUESTION: What happens when your buckets are overflowing?
Parable #3: You're a Locked Dude
- Brian: In my journal from my initial brief interview with Sam, I wrote the words he spoke to me: You're a locked dude. It was the beginning of the process of unlocking for me. In that place of darkness that first night in the Pit of Warrior Week, I uncovered things I had buried for years. It was in that place that Coach Jesse became a transformer and said to me, Hey man. Why don't you just be yourself?
- Coach Sam: As you looked at yourself in the mirror in the darkness of the Pit that first night, you saw a man wearing a mask. And on that mask, there was a lock. Unbeknownst to you, most of your life you had been searching for the key that would unlock that mask. As you heard the voice of Coach Jesse, you realized the key to the lock had always been inside of you, and that by just being yourself, the lock was opened and the mask fell to the ground.
QUESTION: What masks are you wearing?
Parable #4: Gifts Atop the Mountain
- Brian: The gift I received on the mountain was very clear: My family is a divine gift. God doesn't need us to take care of our families, He takes care of them. God gives us families to increase our capacity to hear Him. How might we treat our families differently if we thought of them as a gift vs a responsibility?
- I would never have been able to go on the journey that I'm on without my daughter providing the challenge and the pain to force movement. I now see that as God talking to me. God speaks to men through their families and through the challenges that they are facing. Walking off the mountain, I knew that my family was all the power source I needed in order to dominate everywhere else in my life.
QUESTION: What changes do your experience when you treat your family as a gift rather than as a responsibility?
Parable #5: Meeting With God
- Brian: Before Warrior, I started scheduling meetings with God every Monday morning. I would go to a cafe and in my journal, I would write, "Thank You, God," and proceeded to write down everything I was grateful for. On the next page, I wrote," God, I know you can, but will you...help me with this sale, help ignite my marriage on fire, protect my family, etc. I was very specific. After doing this for six months, I looked back and was astonished by the results.
- I realized how honored I felt when my 2-year-old came to me and asked, "Poppa, will you read me this book?" God gives us these relationships with our children to provide an analogy of what it is like for Him with us. We are honored when our children come to us and talk to us, just as God is honored when we go to him and converse with him.
QUESTION: What messages have you received from God recently?
Parables from the Pit:
"I challenge you to set up a meeting with God tomorrow morning and see what he has to say to you. Whatever he has to say, that's what you need to hear and believe."
-- Coach Sam Falsafi
"I'm looking for caves to go into because now I've been trained, and I know there is always light in there. I'm going to go find a bigger Pit because I know I'll come out with light."
--Brian Davis
