You Are A Warrior: God's Path To Unlocking Potential, Discovering Purpose And Experiencing Power

By George Wehby II

YOU ARE A WARRIOR is a manual for those individuals who long for more out of life. Those who sense a fire within them that needs direction and fuel. In this incredibly eye-opening guide, warrior coach and lifelong martial artist George Wehby leads you through 25 reality altering chapters packed with truth and insight to educate, equip, encourage

• Language: English
• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Release date: Feb 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781647536916

George Wehby II

George A. Wehby II is a 3rd degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is the owner of Lionheart Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Birmingham, Alabama. He is a former US Marine, Police Officer, Federal Air Marshal, Tactical Firearms Instructor and TV Show Host. George is a Chaplain with Brother Bryan Mission and leads the Lionheart Warrior Initiative, a Men's Ministry devoted to guiding men to discover God's plan and purpose for their lives. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife and four children.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Life Altering Discovery

It always seemed like something was missing. From an early age, I felt as though I was always right on the edge of discovering some revelation in my life. When the dust settled, I was always left disappointed. As humans, we are creatures in search of purpose. We are beings in need of deep meaning. Unfortunately, most of us wander around on this planet aimlessly trying to figure out if any of our effort is worth it or not. I cannot speak for everyone, but the frustration can be exhausting. For me, I started to get numb to it all. Do not get me wrong, there were some seasons of my life I found exciting and joyous, but those feelings always seemed to default back to that desperate longing for meaning and purpose. As I recall, the quest to satisfy that craving was at the center of everything I did. I woke up with it hanging over me and went to bed with a hint of dissatisfaction. To be honest, this search still kind of drives me today. The only difference now is I have discovered that purpose and the reasons why I was so desperate for it before. Understanding that true calling has been a complete game changer for me, and I am utterly convinced it will be for you too.

When undertaking to write a book like this, it is important to get the first chapter right. To be completely honest, this first chapter was by far the hardest to get right. Wanting to capture your attention early on and keeping it, I needed to do it right. This goal is vital, because it is my firm belief that the contents of this book has the power to radically alter your life. Not wanting to sound cliché or cheesy, but I know this to be absolute truth. It is my mission to give you the knowledge and tools to discover your purpose and satisfy that deep longing. I know what you may be thinking at this point, what makes this book any different than the tens of thousands written before? The short answer is nothing—and everything, at the same time. You see, I think you suffer from the same ailment as me. I think the issues we are going to discuss are inherent in all of us. For the most part, some of us either hide them better or compensate for them more. The great news is that there is a third group of individuals who are working a powerful game plan to overcome this issue and it is in this area where I want us to unpack.

As I mentioned earlier, I struggled with this deep longing for more out of life. It started in early childhood with me seeking validation and approval from my father. Not wanting to be viewed as a disappointment, I went out of my way to impress every adult in my life. My identity was wrapped up in earning praise and recognition. The hope was that word would reach my father’s ears and alter what I believed was his perception of me. My behavior was based in the fear of rejection. I would make every effort to avoid that.

This sense of identity would eventually spread throughout all my relationships. Never doing enough or failing to impress, these feeling evolved into perceptions of inadequacy and self-doubt that even ripple into today. At that time, there was not an interaction I found myself in where I felt as though I felt genuine. Deep down I felt like a fraud and an imposter. My sense of inadequacy manifested itself in schoolwork, friendships, romantic relationships and especially in my athletic pursuits. I was always one step from being exposed and rejected for who I really was.

Looking back, performance anxiety was always a real problem of mine. No matter how talented at a given sport, I always felt as if I was on the verge of catastrophic failure. My fear of failing caused me to avoid certain situations where the chance of losing was way too high. If my opponent and I were evenly matched, overwhelming thoughts of backing out, not giving my best effort or simply quitting altogether abounded. It was as if I was a poor performance time bomb waiting to explode. Most people that knew me had no idea this my internal struggle. Why would they? On average, I did quite well in most activities I pursued. It was a silent struggle I chose to deal with alone. Oddly enough while looking back, I am thankful for all the negative feelings, thoughts and issues I had to deal with growing up, because they pushed me in the directions my life took. My personal issues drove me to discover my true purpose and taught me to refuse to settle for less than my full potential.

In my pursuit for purpose and meaning, I lived many lives. In my early twenties and thirties, I had opportunities to be a part of activities and professions Hollywood makes movies about. My many childhood inadequacies drove me to do and be a part of things I would not have been able to do otherwise. Things like; joining the Marine Corps, guarding the President of the United States, working as a police officer, becoming a Federal Air Marshal for the Department of Homeland Security, teaching Firearms and tactics for a State Department Private Military Contractor, hosting a TV show, and earning black belts in numerous martial arts. I do not mention all these activities to be boastful or to brag, but to share the fact that I have tried a great deal of different things to bring meaning to my life. Despite all my many efforts to fill that void, I was always left disappointed and looking to the next new shiny thing.

Like most little boys growing up, I always wanted to be a superhero I wanted a life of adventure defined by courage and danger. During those childhood times, my play was consumed with accomplishing missions, head to head competitions and games with some element of struggle. Typical of little boys, I found a way to turn every situation into battles to determine who was the biggest and baddest. Even my bedtime prayers were focused on asking God to grant me superpowers like all the cartoon characters I watched on Saturday morning TV. Wanting to be just like them, I would imagine and pretend to be in scenarios and fights against evil bad guys. To me, superheroes seemed to have it all and I wanted the same. These characters all had amazing abilities, skills and what seemed like rock solid confidence in themselves. They were the ideal and I wanted nothing more than to be like them.

As the years passed, my desire to be something more than myself did not go away, it only transitioned. I went from wanting to be like superheroes to be some sort of super soldier. During this new phase, I collected toy action figures. For added fun, I figured out how to take the action figures apart and change out their different body parts to make new and unique characters. My idea was to create one that better represented me. I was obsessed with being a special operative and acquiring all the skills that came with it. My dream was to grow up and become just like those warriors with their huge muscles, amazing combat skills and super confident tough guy attitudes. Then and only then would I be feared and respected.

Growing up in a suburb provided the perfect opportunity to put these fantasies to action. Not being satisfied with just simply playing with action figures in my house, I would dress up in army fatigues, boots and duty belt and head off into the woods to play war with all the neighborhood kids. We imagined all kinds of combat scenarios of fighting in mighty battles while crawling in the mud and wading through chest deep water in nearby creeks. Our battles were epic and would span over an entire weekend.

Like all young boys around that time, I eventually moved into puberty and realized all the problems associated with that. During that time, the feelings of insecurity and longing to be something really started to take shape. I wanted to just hurry up and be grown so all my fears would go away. I could not wait to become a man and develop into the characters I saw in action movies. Those Hollywood action heroes did not seem to be insecure at all. These guys were everything I wanted to be. My favorite characters were played by actors such as Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. These guys were incredible. Tough, fearless and confident. Their characters were unstoppable and prepared for any trouble that came their way. There was no bad guy big enough or strong enough which they could not handle. I wanted nothing more than to be just like them.

At the time, little did I know this internal desire to measure up, to be the man of action, would consume and haunt me all the way into my adult life. My quest for true significance, purpose and that burning desire to be the guy, would never go away. This drive to measure up consumed my every action no matter what I accomplished. It overshadowed everything. No matter what title I earned and no matter what challenge I conquered, it would not be silenced. From as far back as I can remember, I struggled with theses burning questions: Will I be strong enough? Will I be tough enough? Do I have what it takes to be a real man?

As the years passed and after some big milestones and accomplishment were made, my sense of inadequacy would temporarily fade. I would enjoy a brief sense of accomplishment, but my negative feeling would always return stronger than before. Those feelings of confidence and purposefulness would always depart leaving me with my old insecurities once again. Eventually, I grew tired of it all. I was burned out of chasing the ghost. I had enough. I wanted to be rid of these feelings once and for all. My search for significance became very intentional. I had to find a way to be free from this bondage of self-doubt and dissatisfaction. All those burning questions propelled me to find answers and sent me on my journey— a journey of self-discovery. Like a medieval knight of old, I was on a quest. A quest to understand the source of my problem and the resolution to my lifelong internal desire for meaning. A true warrior’s journey.

This search ultimately led to the discovery of what I call the path of the Lionheart Warrior.

I know what you may be thinking, what in the world is a Lionheart Warrior? On the surface, the term Lionheart Warrior seems comical, like something from fantasy or folklore. Maybe some sort of cartoon character or comic book hero I was talking about earlier—perhaps a medieval knight in a children’s story book or something. No matter what it is, it cannot be anything real or worth trying to emulate, right? Ultimately, I chose the term Lionheart Warrior, because it seemed to best encapsulate all that I discovered in my journey for meaning. In order to lay the foundational concept for the rest of this book, let us take a moment to unpack and break down this term Lionheart Warrior a little bit.

First, throughout history, the term Lionheart is a title most often associated with bravery and courage. For example, in the middle ages, the term Lionheart was given to King Richard I of England. During the crusades, he was nicknamed Richard, the Lionheart for his exploits as a great warrior and military leader. King Richard received this designation for displaying lion-like attributes while leading and fighting in the Holy land.

Just like with King Richard, fighting men throughout history have identified with attributes found inherent in predatory animals. Given the nature of combat and trying to win a war, possessing attributes often found in savage animals can be a positive. To the point, the lion is one of the more popular animals to emulate for warriors. Lions are well known for being courageous and ferocious beasts that possess very few natural predators. They are royal in stature, proud and lethal when locked in combat. Capable of becoming extremely dangerous in a blink of an eye, lions have a mystique about them of being cool, calm and collected under pressure until it is time for them to act. If they are focused in on a prey, there are very few creatures that will stand in their way. In the wild, the sight of a lion invokes instant terror for most sane individuals. Lions exude the perfect balance of strength and grace.

A lion, which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any;—Proverbs 30:30 NKJV

Throughout human history, the lion has fascinated and inspired mankind from all walks of life. Their ferocity and courageousness have captivated countless warriors in their preparation for battle. Fighters from all over the world have aspired to imitate the lion in the hopes of somehow tapping into their fearlessness. The goal being to overcome insecurity and that overwhelming fear of death associated with combat. In some cultures, as a rite of passage, aspiring young men were required to undergo a confrontation with the savage beast to be accepted in their tribe.

Unfortunately, my personal experience with an actual lion is rather limited to zoo encounters or television. A close friend of mine tells a story of a personal encounter he and his small daughter had with one while touring a wildlife exhibit many years ago. He tells of a time when he and his daughter made their way to the large cat display in the compound to check out animals. The area had numerous cages housing the cats. These caged enclosures allowed a few of the lions the freedom to move about unrestricted. In the center of this enclosure, about 30 yards away from where they were standing, some of the lions were lying down sunbathing. For added security, the compound provided double layer fencing which allowed visitors to get within about five feet of the animals. Being that the lions were resting and not really moving about, there was no real need to be alarmed.

While observing the big cats lying there, my friend’s small daughter stood with her hands on the outer fence commenting about how big they were. Since not much was going on in the cage, my friend became momentarily distracted by something else in the area. Before he could blink and suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a quick flash of movement from the center of the enclosure. In a blurred streak of tan, a lioness came tearing full speed toward his daughter. In what he describes as half a heartbeat, the lioness shot across the enclosure like she was fired out of a cannon. He recounts that the speed at which she covered the distance was unbelievable. Before he could even flinch, the animal came to a screeching halt dead in front of his daughter, gaze fixed and locked on her tiny frame. Quite naturally, he quickly snatched her into his arms realizing the gravity of what had just happened. Though nothing really happened, they had the pleasure of a truly life altering experience with a lion.

Stories like the one above is why warriors favor the lion as an inspirational animal to emulate. Lions act decisively and without fear, while knowing who they are and what they are about. The lion is an excellent example of courage, strength and power for us to follow.

To unpack these attributes more fully, I want you to imagine for a minute that you are a young man born into an African tribe hundreds of years ago. You have finally come of age and it is now time for you to take your place in the tribe. Your entire youth has been spent observing the hunter warriors who came before you. You have witnessed them walk the path you are now on. You have looked up to them and listened to all their glorious stories with excitement and wonder.

Growing up, you imagined yourself eventually walking in their footsteps. As an up-and-coming man in your tribe, you asked those same type questions I mentioned earlier.