Unleashing the Warrior Within: Using the 7 Principles of Combat to Achieve Your Goals

by Richard J. Machowicz

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

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

194 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2000

Reviews

[Jim Archambeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on mindset to accomplish anything told through a Navy SEAL and his experiences of never giving up. He has a few great experiences everyone should go through to validate what you are focusing on gets you to your next goal and how to manage through the mental struggles of getting there. Is it the greatest book in the history of the world...no. If you are looking for a good mindset book with intriguing stories of a Navy SEAL it is five stars and why I rated it as such. Practical and engaging throughout.

[Alec · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is a former Navy Seal and has various other accomplishments under his belt. What I love about this book is how concrete and actionable it it. I really admire the warrior mentality, and I find insights from these types of guys far more useful than books like '7 Habits'. Books by guys like Steven Covey can tend to really drift into the abstract, and are very very wordy. Great buzzwords, but what can I do to put your wonderful ideas into action?

That's where books like this one are far superior in my opinion. Machowicz makes motivation and goal pursuit actionable. Instead of just spouting off a bunch of trendy buzzwords, he gives you a method to advance. This is coming from a guy that has been tested both physically and mentally - and he shows you the thought process that lead him to success. I'm a marathoner, and I remember the days leading up to my first marathon being very daunting. I used the principles in this book to help me prepare both physically and mentally. After reading this book I sat down and wrote up my plan of attack one year before running my first race. This book was instrumental in giving me the mindset and psychology to succeed and keep going.

If you want deep, thought provoking, long litanies filled with buzzwords - then read books like Stephen Covey's. If you want simple direct language with a concrete way to get results, go for this one.