Unleash the Warrior Within
A ten-year navy seal veteran, Richard “Mack” Machowicz was trained to complete every mission assigned to him, under any condition, because failure was not an option. Drawing from this experience, Unleash the Warrior Within (more than 25,000 copies since 2002, largely through word-of-mouth) offers Mack’s original program for mastering the arts of focus, discipline, and determination under any circumstances. In this newly revised edition, Mack shows readers how to use his seven principles of combat — such as Create an Action Mind-Set, The Critical Keys to Conquering Anything, and Guarantee the Win — in order to conquer fear and turn ambitions and dreams into reality.War is hell, but if you prepare properly for war, there’s not much about life that will take you by surprise. At least, that’s the premise of Unleashing the Warrior Within, in which author Richard Machowicz takes the lessons he learned as a Navy SEAL and applies them to real-life situations.
For example, in war you learn that there are three dynamic elements of combat: target, weapons, and movement. The target dictates the weapons, and the weapons dictate movement. In real life, your target is what you want; your weapons are your skills; and movement is whatever you need to get in position to use your skills.
But, since deciding upon a target is the step that’s most troubling to people, he adds another wartime analytical tool called the CARVER matrix. You lay out various targets you may have in life–a better job; getting in shape; buying a new house; and taking on a new business partner, say. Then you assess the criticality, accessibility, recognizability, and vulnerability of the target, plus its effect on your overall mission in life, and the potential return on your effort.
Machowicz calls his philosophy Bukido, and when you take his classes in Los Angeles, you learn self-defense along with these life-improvement skills. In this book, the object is to get you to choose a mission that is closest and most important to you, and then achieve your goals with military precision. By the time you’re through learning the seven principles of combat, what you’ve really learned is how to think critically and focus your efforts. Machowicz uses his students as examples of how the enemy in life is really a lack of action, allowing life to take you along for a ride. So if your current target is a solid self-improvement course, Unleashing the Warrior Within could be your most effective weapon. –Lou Schuler
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Add to your arsenal
Anyone who is on the self improvement path should read this book and place it in your library for future reference.
5 Stars Not Dead; Can’t Quit (NDCQ)
Unleash the Warrior Within by Richard “Mack” Machowicz is an excellent resource to help you achieve your goals by utilizing his simple yet effective strategies. The beauty of this book is in its simplicity. Mack has a way of taking complex ideas and breaking them down into basic usable elements that can then be applied to accomplishing your stated goal. He uses stories of his time as a Navy SEAL to get these ideas across. While your goals may not be as difficult as becoming a Navy SEAL the idea is to see how he applied his concepts to accomplish his goal. You can take the same concepts to reach your potential as well.
Some of the concepts discussed in the book are:
1. Three Dynamic Elements of Combat:
Targets dictate weapons. Weapons dictate movement.
2. Target Analysis Studies: CARVER -
-Criticality
-Accessibility
-Recognizability
-Vulnerability
-Effect on the overall mission
-Return on effort
3. Seven Keys to Minimizing Reaction Time
4. The Four Critical Keys to Conquering Anything
- Assess the situating
- Create a simple plan
- Take action
- Evaluate your progress
Yes, you have to read the book to understand what this all means, The key is that there is a method, it is simple but YOU have to make the effort and do the required work. There are no shortcuts…ever!
Some of the negative reviewers claim that there is nothing new presented in this book. Technically they are probably correct but I would ask them when have they ever really found some new profound concepts that changes anything. There are thousands of self help books to accomplish the same thing just utilizing a different format or structure. This book is simply Mack’s method and it has worked for him. It can work for you as well.
5 Stars A really great book!
There are so many self help Seal team commando books out there to which most are pretty boring same material type of books ” you can do anything blah blah blah ” but this book is different and impressive in so many ways. Firstly, this book is about getting through you day effectivly not building a massive pie in the sky unrealistic business empire none of us will ever do, but just surviving and getting through your day effectivly and in control rather than being controlled. This book for me was what I needed to help me get through the day in the brutal office environment most of us operate in. This book is very handy in how to be effective in day to day activities and actually to think about things rather than just to react, its all about being proactive and on the front foot. I love his quote “I believe there is a solution to every problem” but then he explains his decision making matrix of how to go about solving the problems effectivly and quick. Well done Richard in putting this book together five stars!
4 Stars Great self improvement book
One of the best self improvement books I have read. Mack gives you the tools to help you recognize what really matters to you so you can put more of your resources towards that goal. The only reason I’m giving this book 4 stars, rather than 5, is because this was written when he was trying to get the word out about Bukido - his self defense training. So many of his tools are trademarked and it became annoying reading through so many trademarks. There is also one lengthy chapter where he goes off on a tangent - that seemed like filler to me - and the chapter could have been reduced to 5 pages.
Overall, the tools really do come in handy, and I have already been able to utilize some of them. Certainly worth the read.
3 Stars Good stories….but not very helpful.
This book is easy to follow, and has some great stories from Mack’s experiences; however, it sorely lacks any really motivational or really helpful information. If you want to read all about his SEAL stories then this is the book for you. If you want to overcome fear, gain confidence, discipline and etc….keep looking.
Filed under: Personal Development Book Reviews