Warrior Week

This week’s episode is one you do not want to miss: The story of the soldier known as Isaiah Melendez. In the midst of Warrior Week 53, Coach Sam welcomes Isaiah aka Coach Mercenary to the show where they have a conversation about war, about honoring the innocent children who have fought and died in war, and how within each one of us is an innocent child. They launch their new project, CHILD OF WAR and describe its inception and purpose. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Parable #1: Military Life After eight years of military service where he experienced constant structure and discipline, Isaiah emerged into civilian life and realized he had lost his identity. Having been deployed at the age of 18, everything he knew about being a man was ingrained within him in the army. “There was something that was pulling me out of the army. It didn’t make fucking sense on paper, but I knew I had to get out; I knew there was something outside of the military for me.” QU

Coach Sam and Coach Kevin have a discussion about the shit that no one talks about. The societal taboo around topics such as miscarriage, sex, masturbation, death, and porn are stripped away in this week's important and candid conversation. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Parable #1: Pain, Shame, and Guilt Some of us don’t talk about something because it has happened to us and it’s painful, or we feel guilt and shame around it because it’s not “supposed” to happen. Then there are some of who don’t talk about it because it didn’t happen to us, we feel guilt and shame around that and feel that we’re not “worthy” to talk about it. We sometimes feel that talking about it will somehow bring it into our lives. QUESTION What stops you from talking about certain things?   Parable #2: Miscarriage Miscarriage is more common than one might think, occurring in more 30% of pregnancies, yet it’s one of those things that nobody talks about. Both Coach Sam and Coach K

Coach Sam welcomes Smiljan Mori to the podcast this week. When Smiljan knocked on the doors of Warrior Week, he was seeking tools and systems that would enable him to serve his family in the best possible way. What he found instead was the man he had always desired to be: himself. He has since moved forward with various challenges within Warrior and is on the path to becoming a Certified Trainer as of the date of this recording. ________________________________________________________ POINT 1: A Better Father As he held his newborn daughter in his arms, Smiljan promised himself he would be in her life more than his father had been in his. Smiljan’s memory of his father was that he was either away on business or arguing with his mother. Despite making that promise, it was seven years before Smiljan realized he never played with his children and wasn’t being the kind of father he wanted to be. Ask Yourself: What promises have you made to yourself that you're not following through with? _________________________

Coach Sam is joined by Coach Shahn, one of the main coaches of the KingsKit experience inside of Wake Up Warrior. He is essentially a blue collar guy who had gotten himself in a pretty sticky spot, which led him to search for something that would get his life to work. He ended up at the gates of Wake Up Warrior. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Parable #1: I Am Elite Shahn was participating in one of the training calls and feeling a little bit down on himself, sorely in need of a perspective shift around taking care of himself and in doing the daily work. There was a moment where he received a download, a flash of insight from the Voice that sunk deep into his heart: I don’t do the work to become elite, I do the work because I am elite. QUESTION What is a download you have received from the Voice that has altered the way you view yourself or the way you live your life?   Parable #2: Hustle and Grind As a blue-collar worker, Shahn showed up every day hus

Coach Sam and Coach Jesse engage in a conversation around a Pit that many men experience, the Pit of the need for money and how that need paralyzes and prevents them from moving forward. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Parable #1: Patterns of Behavior What is the real problem when a man says he needs money? Coaches naturally want to coach the problem instead of the man, but that’s not how solutions are found. You have to coach the person and the behavior. What is the actual behavior which causes men to believe they need money? In one man’s case, it was found that he had been sitting on a stack of leads and hadn’t called one of them; he hadn’t been putting in the work. QUESTION Where in your life are you expecting results without putting in the required work?   Parable #2: Moving or Not Moving? If you want energy, you must start moving. Someone in a place of need has stopped moving. When you say you need to make money or lose weight, it’s all the same;

Coach Sam and Coach Sabastian have a conversation about the cultures they were raised in, how they helped shape who they are today, and how they learned to take the best of their cultures and incorporate them into the raising of their own families. ________________________________________________________ Parable #1: Multi-Cultural Coach Sam hails from three different cultures: the Persian/Middle Eastern culture, the French Canadian culture, and the American culture. The orchestration of these three cultures has only recently been viewed as an asset to him. As a young man, Sam wanted to hide so he would blend in; whereas today, he sees his multi-cultural background as an asset that has weaponized his mind, weaponized the way he speaks and communicates, and has allowed him to see different perspectives. QUESTION What cultures have influenced you?   Parable #2: Individualistic vs Collective The difference between the Eastern and Western cultures is this: One is an individualistic mindset, and the other is a

Coach Sam and COO of Wake Up Warrior, Cullen Talley, have an impromptu conversation in this week’s episode where they uncover beautiful truths and insights as they discuss this concept of seeking. ________________________________________________________ Parable #1: Déjà Vu  During a recent meeting in his office with one of the brothers, Coach Sam had a distinct moment which many refer to as deja vu. While many refer to deja vu as if it is a normal, everyday phenomenon, Sam stopped and listened to the message he was receiving inside of the moment, instead of dismissing it. QUESTION How do you respond to Déjà Vu moments?   Parable #2: Brotherhood of Seekers Cullen: As men inside the Brotherhood, we are Seekers. In ways, it would be easier not to seek. Seeking sounds mystical and amazing, but it can also be painful and tiring. Even though we are very different, inside of that, we have a common interest. What drives that connection is that we are committed, as men, to continue to seek answers, truth, and rev

Coach Sam and Coach Kevin have a conversation about how the recent addition of Warrior Woman has become a powerful part of the Wake Up Warrior empire and is empowering women to find their voices and own their worthiness. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Parable #1: Warrior Woman Movement For more than five years, Warrior has been delivering their message to thousands of men. Many women have desired to be part of this conversation but were excluded from playing the game of the ‘men only’ Warrior’s Way until recently after it became clear that it was time to invite women to have this experience. Garrett J White, found of Wake Up Warrior, thought he had created it to lead elite men, but what he found was a way to lead an elite human being. Warrior simply acts as the container for that creation to take place for men and women inside their families. QUESTION What is your experience with Warrior Woman? Parable #2: Sex and Collisions Coach Kevin Voisin, who ha

In this week’s episode of Parables from the Pit, Coach Sam and Coach Jesse have an open conversation about sex, orgasms, expectations, and connection. Jesse shares a recent experience with his wife which sends him to the pit, where he questions his worth and the state of their marriage. He shares the gift he received through Stacking this experience, which is a total game-changer for himself and the brotherhood. ________________________________________________________ Parable #1: Stack Inside the Warrior’s Way, there is something called a Stack which is basically a questionnaire surrounding the stories that we tell ourselves. It gives men an opportunity to re-evaluate those stories, and through this process, they are able to find new stories that better serve them. Inside of the one thousand plus members of the brotherhood, men are occasionally influenced by others’ stacks. Coach Jesse’s recent Stack is an example of one that has had a massive ripple effect inside the brotherhood. QUESTION How has using th

King Lerrod Smalls joins Coach Sam for an epic conversation in this week’s episode of Parables from The Pit: The story of a black man from the pit. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Parable #1: Dancing to the Same Beat Coach Sam: Let’s acknowledge the fucking truth: there’s an obvious separation of color – there is white and there is black. To think that they’re the same is to be fucking foolish. There’s a point of merging between all races when we realize our hearts are dancing to the same beat. We may be different on the outside, but the day we join our hearts, that’s the pivoting point between us and when we become one. QUESTION Where do you find yourself inside this conversation? Parable #2: It’s Not the Color, It’s the Man Lerrod: If you have a box of crayons and they’re all the same color, it would be boring. What makes a box of crayons so fucking awesome is the fact that there are so many different colors. Coach Sam: The crayon box isn’t the probl

Each week, Coach Sam and Coach Jesse delve into the pain of the modern man taken from the stories of the men who enter the gates of the crucible, Warrior Week. In today’s episode, they have a conversation around this principle: Truth is something that evolves – what is true today for you, may not necessarily be true for you tomorrow. It’s constantly changing. Fear between truth and ourselves causes men to lie. ________________________________________________________ Parable #1: The Man in the Mirror Coach Sam: We know of a brother who is living a lie in order to get what he wants. He’s pretending inside of his relationship that no longer serves him in order to be able to be close to his kids. Coach Jesse: Ultimately, he wants a relationship with his kids and in the process of doing this, he’s lying to them, he’s lying to two women in his life, and most importantly he’s lying to the man in the mirror every fucking day. QUESTION What lies are you telling others in order to get what you want? Parable #2: Th

Coach Sam and Coach Jesse are hours away from leading men in the crucible of Warrior Week 50 as they continue this conversation around pain, and inside of that, the pain of betrayal. ________________________________________________________ Parable #1: It Begins in the Mind Coach Sam: Of the over 1,000 men who have graduated from Warrior Week, at least 50% of them have come from a betrayal situation – either they have betrayed their wife, or their wife has betrayed them. Coach Jesse: Betrayal starts early in the relationship before something actually happens. If I feel that you have betrayed me, I create a story about it and then act that story out in energy. QUESTION What stories have you been creating in your mind about your spouse? Parable #2: Not Created Equal Coach Sam: There is a difference in the character of a man who has cheated on his wife and the man who has been cheated on by his wife. Coach Jesse: What we’ve experienced in Warrior is when a woman cheats on her husband, they rarely come back t

Welcome to the 32nd episode of Warrior Week, Parables from the Pit. The show has a new format where every week the conversations will be driven by three lead trainers inside the Warrior Movement: Sam Falsafi, Jesse Ewell, and Kevin Voisin, who combined have led and trained thousands of men inside the experience known as the Warrior’s Way. Each week they will have a real and raw conversation about a specific aspect of the pain of the modern man. Today is a powerful conversation about the overall pain of all men, which is feeling alone and lonely. ________________________________________________________ Parable #1: Pain that Men Resist Coach Jesse: The pain the men are resisting that comes up consistently is the pain from a father. It comes down to the pain we experienced as a child that we carried for many years, almost like a weight on our back that we never let go of, and never learned how to work past it. Coach Kevin: The one pain I see across the board is that men are unable to endure the pain of vulnerab

Welcome to a very special edition of Parables from the Pit as the amazing story of Kahea and his boys is shared with Coach Sam Falsafi. It’s a story of courage, darkness, heartbreak, and turning points, where Kahea and his sons, seemingly against all odds, come out victorious. Kahea also shares his involvement with Operation Underground Railroad as a special operative traveling throughout the world rescuing children and taking out traffickers. _________________________________________________________ Parable #1: I Wanted to Be Happy Kahea: I married young and was excited to have a family. After the first year, we realized we weren’t even great friends, we were more like roommates. We were different in the way we viewed the world and we just wanted different things. A month after the birth of our youngest son, we ended up having a conversation where we decided to get divorced. She moved out shortly thereafter, leaving me with our baby and our almost three-year-old to raise. In my culture and religion, marriag

Coach Sam Falsafi welcomes two powerful leaders to the show today, Dr. Ed and Karen Osburn. They share stories of the unexpected twists and turns in their life, and demonstrate how they have chosen to rise and lead through their challenges. ______________________________________________ Parable #1: Intro to Warrior Ed: I had started following Garrett on Facebook and got sucked into the matrix of his message for men. I felt he was speaking to me. I had a podcast for chiropractors at the time and reached out to Garrett to bring his message to the men because I felt they really needed it. That interview was transformational and indoctrinated us into the Warrior’s way. Karen:  After the episode came out, Ed told me that he just did an interview with a guy in the Christian market. I wasn’t impressed until I listened to it. I remember being riveted by what Garrett was saying. What was this about having it all? There was something I couldn’t explain, a feeling in my heart. QUESTION What was your introduction to W

Coach Sam Falsafi welcomes Warrior Week 36 graduate, Navin Thukkaram, to the show today. Navim is a very successful entrepreneur and a man that has completely transformed his life in the past year by simply believing in the concept of becoming this greater version of himself. "It’s what the journey makes you become, it’s not getting to a finish line," says Navim. "The finish line does not exist." Parable #1: Commitment Navim is from Chicago, his parents are from India. He had a traditional upbringing with a strong emphasis on education. He loved playing golf and was really quite good, so he chose a University that had its own golf course - Princeton - and boasts that he got to play golf and do math all through college. Navim: I feel like when I was growing up, I was cranking non-stop at school from ages 5 to 18 to try to get into an Ivy League school. It was the contract of 'this is what you do.' I always had targets and outcomes I was working towards - go to college, get a lot of money, get respected. I ha

Coach Sam Falsafi welcomes Natalie Martin to this week’s episode of Parables from the Pit. Natalie has been a big part of the Warrior movement over the past three years. She not only put Garrett’s WarriorBook into written form but has witnessed the growth of hundreds of men inside the Warrior moment, including that of her own husband, Chris, and has been instrumental in helping change the lives of thousands of men through her writing. This is a rare and unique opportunity for us to get a glance inside of a woman’s Pit by exploring Natalie’s. Parable #1: Losing Yourself In Service Natalie was raised in an environment and culture where the women were told they needed to take care of the men in their lives. At the age of 10, after refusing to be at the beck and call of her father, she was labeled a feminist by him, a term that young Natalie wasn’t familiar with. This planted seeds of worthlessness inside of her where she felt that because she wasn’t male, that she was somehow “less than.” She had this constant

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

Coach Sam Falsafi and Marine Corps Vet Deric Keller have an amazing conversation in this week's episode, where they share stories of war, anger, decisions, turning points, and liberation. Parable #1: Anger Suppression Sam: When we’re kids, we're given this checklist of what to do and what not to do, and part of that checklist is how we're not supposed to be angry at our parents. As children, there are emotional events and incidents that take place where we involuntarily adopt certain patterns and behaviors that are associated with that event or situation, which patterns unconsciously stay with us for years. If anger is a feeling that takes place as a result of that event or situation, since I'm not "supposed' to show my anger towards my parents, I begin sedating and suppressing it. Eventually, at some point later in life, that anger will show up because I'm never been given the frame of collision. QUESTION: What emotional event took place when you were a child that you have been suppressing for years? Para

 Coach Sam Falsafi has a powerful conversation with Warrior Week 37 graduate, Matt Skinner. Parable #1: Warrior Week 37 Matt: When I signed up for Warrior Week, I thought it was going to be something very physical like SEALFIT. Yes, the physical aspect is part of it, but it’s so much deeper than that. It’s a mental endurance test, an emotional deep dive into the Pit and back. Getting into a program where I had to be somewhere every day at the same time, do certain tasks, follow assignments and listen to people tell me what to do – all of which I knew was benefiting me – my immediate knee-jerk reaction was fuck you. It was so difficult for me to get into that pattern, and I initially rejected the structure of it. QUESTION: How do your knee-jerk reactions play out in your life? Parable #2: Fat Matt Matt had a very traditional upbringing. He looked up to his father and aspired to be manly like him, yet he totally rebelled against his father’s definition of being manly. Matt wanted power and respect and found