One of the most enduring Native American traditions in our tribal communities is that of the warrior and the warrior spirit

In his book

Discovering Your Warrior Spirit,  D.J. Eagle Bear  Vanas (Ottawa) teaches us to tap into the power of our warrior spirit and outlines how service is the most fulfilling human endeavour.  

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According to Eagle Bear:

 Warriors made a commitment to use their Creator-given talents, abilities and power to serve their tribe, to lead by example and fight for something bigger than self. 

The warrior role has always been firmly rooted in service to others. The warrior spirit transcends race, gender and age and is available to every one of us. 

It is a mighty archetype to follow and emulate when it comes to serving at our best and achieving more in life, career and business.

The warrior spirit at work is an unstoppable force we can access that goes beyond motivation. It is a pre-determined decision to serve and succeed in the task at hand, somehow, someway, and a staunch refusal to quit. 

“In my experience, it is so often the missing piece in creating successful communities, organizations and associations”, Vanus states. 

“We can have all the resources in the world when it comes to budget, time, personnel, etc., but if the warrior spirit at work is missing, it won’t translate into success. Because, the greatest obstacle to delivering great service to others is usually not a lack of resources” 

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The greatest obstacle is apathy.

Harnessing a warrior spirit at work unleashes our internal drive, grit and passionate commitment to serve and solve problems despite obstacles, limits and setbacks. Sometimes it appears when we’re pushed against a wall and go through a loss, hard challenge or dramatic change. 

It makes us re-examine the question, who and what am I willing to fight for? When we activate this core power, we’re now willing to overcome any barrier, including our fear, pride and ego. We’re willing to sacrifice the time and energy required and push the limits of creativity, teamwork and innovation.

In 2008, when the economy fell apart, the first thing to go for organizations were training, travel and conferences. As a professional speaker who earned income by delivering my expertise to the people in those organizations, I was concerned. Concern turned to worry as suddenly one, two and then six programs were postponed or cancelled.

Ministry of Health TT Facebook

 Worry turned to fear. I entertained dark thoughts of not being able to take care of my family, of my business going under, of no longer being able to serve the clients to whom I was dedicated. I had to decide what to do.  In desperation, fear and frustration, I mumbled the wrong question, “what do I do?”

 As I concentrated on accessing my warrior spirit, a better question appeared, “What CAN I do?” I quickly assessed my readily available resources – my knowledge, experience and the phone – and started calling every client I’d ever worked with, not asking for work, but just to get back on their radar and remind them of how I could serve them.

 That year was one of the best and most successful years I’d had up to that point in my career. That lesson was not lost on me and continuing to use that warrior spirit at work is the reason my programs and business continue to grow and improve each year.

Loop Trinidad and Tobago

When the 2011 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, vast fields of strawberries were flooded and destroyed. The fruit was too ravaged and unappealing to sell. The farmers were devastated and depressed but refused to quit. After all, they had families and workers to take care of, so they recruited help from a pastry chef to see if there were any creative ways to salvage the crop. 

The chef had an idea to liquefy the strawberries into a dessert topping but found it would solidify cream instantly, so he considered it a failure. In his frustration, he turned to a pharmacy professor at Kanazawa University whose team found that it did make a terrible topping, but a compound found in the liquid from strawberries, polyphenol, was a perfect binding agent.

 From this, Kanazawa ice cream pops were created. They stay frozen for over an hour at room temperature! These resilient people utilized the warrior spirit at work, refused to quit, and instead found a way through force of will to act, be creative, use outside resources and find a way to make success from a tsunami.

Just like a muscle, we can practice and strengthen our warrior spirit when we fully complete our goals, do what we say we’ll do, recover after setbacks, brainstorm ways to improve and get help and outside answers when needed. 

Brittanica

Remember the warrior spirit is not about stoking our ego, it’s about getting things done and continuing to serve well, regardless of circumstances! When we tap into our warrior spirit at work each day, it’s our force multiplier, our secret weapon for overcoming challenges. 

In the months ahead, we’ll explore how to apply our warrior spirit at work and, like the example above, create some sweet results in return.

In his ideapod headed

”11 signs you’re a spiritual warrior (and nothing holds you back)”, Lalchan Brown points out:

“We are bound to face challenges in our journey through life. There are going to be heartaches, personal relationship problems, loss, and anxieties that are going to be difficult to overcome”

All these hurdles are no match for a spiritual warrior, however.

While they still might feel the struggles and pain, spiritual warriors know how to endure.

They don’t allow negative experiences to affect them; the bunker of their spirit is strong enough to withstand anything life throws at them.

Brown asks: “Have you found yourself constantly overcoming challenge after challenge?”

Here are 11 signs that you might actually be a spiritual warrior.

1. Love Is At The Core Of Your Actions

Love is the language of the universe. Without love, there would only be chaos.

Relationships would collapse and only disorder would be left.

Love is what’s allowed us to work together to recover from natural calamities, financial struggles, mental and physical health concerns.

As a spiritual warrior, love is at the center of everything that you do.

You’re patient and understanding with people that you may not even like talking to.

You act in accordance with the virtues of honesty and charity because you’ve come to understand that everyone deserves respect.

Behind each smile is a personal struggle that the world will never see — so you treat others with kindness to brighten their day, not to make it worse.

Thrillist

2. You Are Concerned Only With The Truth

Endless streams of new content posted every hour of every day can be addictive.

Marketing companies are masters of human attention; they know how to capture it, direct it, and hold it for as long as they need to sell their next product or service.

What this does to our minds is that it obscures us from the truth, from the real world.

As a spiritual warrior, you’re concerned only with the truth.

When you speak with others, you want to get to know them on a deeper level, one that isn’t shown online.

By encouraging authenticity, you’re able to build deep and meaningful relationships with people.

You also look for truth within yourself, always trying to get to know yourself better.

3. You Can Face Your Fears

Fear is a natural feeling that’s been there since the time of cavemen, and hunter-gatherer tribes.

It’s a signal of the body telling your mind that danger is imminent, that a predatory lion has us within its sights.

It’s a natural response, then, to run away for the sake of self-preservation.

But in the modern world, lions are replaced with overbearing bosses.

The imminent danger now looks like a potentially bad review of our passion project.

The body can’t distinguish a lion from a yelling boss — but you can.

While your body responds in primal ways, the spiritual warrior within you understands that such fears are not so paralyzing.

Although you can still feel the sweat on your palms and the tremble of your knees, you stand firm.

You don’t let anything hold you back because you’re spiritually gifted.

Now you might be wondering what’s the best way to face your fears and free your mind from irrational thoughts.

Well, personally something that helped me face all of my fears and realize how to embrace my present self was watching this eye-opening video from the shaman Rudá Iandé. 

It turns out that there are tons of toxic habits we have you unknowingly picked up. And that’s why we fear of things we shouldn’t be scared of.

The reason why I trust Ruda is that he has 30 years of experience in the field. In fact, he went through a similar experience himself at the start of his spiritual journey.

So, if you’re ready to face your fears, you need to start by freeing your mind from toxic thoughts.

4. You Are Resilient When Life Knocks You Down

In life, there’s going to be the crucible of financial struggle and unforeseen accidents and injuries that puts us on the bench for longer than we’d like.

While any other person might stay down and wallow in sadness, you know you’re stronger than that.

You don’t allow external circumstances to shake your spirit.

You have immense willpower to handle such unfortunate events.

Failures are formative experiences that will shape your character moving forward, and you choose to grow from them instead of shrink because of them.

5. Nothing Stops You, Even When Times Get Hard

There’s a difference between resting and quitting.

In times of rest, you recover your body and replenish your energy for the next day’s trials, whether it be pursuing a lifelong dream or just trying to make it to the end of a difficult work week.

Quitting, on the other hand, is when someone wants out. They no longer believe that they’re capable of moving forward.

Passion isn’t about chasing what’s fulfilling — it’s about putting up with the struggles of the chase.

You have your dreams of success and you’re passionate about it.

No matter how difficult it gets, you’re still willing to persevere because you know that there’s something bigger than a little discomfort.

6. You Follow Your Heart

Knowing oneself can be a way to give direction in one’s life. Spiritual warriors are in tune with their hearts and souls.

They know what they truly want, what truly matters in life, and they’re not afraid to cut the fat: the unnecessary activities and even people.

What people might tell you to do might not be what you’re meant to be doing.

There’s discomfort and internal misalignment in taking the path that others have set out for us, rather than following what the heart truly wants.

Instead of succumbing to what others expect of you, you choose to follow the voice in your heart that says to chase after your dream, no matter how silly or unqualified people might think that you are.

You follow your intuition, in your career, investments, and in each decision that you face.

7. You Constantly Try To Understand Yourself More

Greek philosophy has an enduring maxim that goes, “Know thyself”.

We aren’t born with a complete understanding of our identity, values, personalities, and beliefs. It’s an ongoing process that many seem to forget about as they grow older.

They become so swept by daily life that they no longer have time for alone time and self-reflection.

One of the most important tools that a spiritual warrior must possess is a sense of self-awareness.

It’s the ability to view oneself as unbiased as possible. The ego tends to alter what we think of ourselves.

It says that we are perfect products that need no more improvements in a voice as tempting as the siren’s song.

We become deluded when we entertain the voice of our own egos.

As a spiritual warrior yourself, you are able to keep that dangerous voice in check.

You plant your feet on the ground, and you get to know yourself and improve upon weaknesses and shortcomings.

8. You Are Kind And Considerate Of Others

Much like every warrior, spiritual warriors believe that they are part of a larger clan, a group.

They not only think of themselves but of the well-being of others well: giving without counting the cost or expecting rewards.

Respect and kindness aren’t feelings — they’re actions.

Ones that you often practice when in your encounters with other people.

You feel great empathy for others, so you’re always there to lend a helping hand.

9. You Take Care Of Your Mind And Body

They say that one trains in peacetime to bleed less in wartime.

In being a source of strength for others, as a spiritual warrior, your health and well-being are paramount to fulfilling your personal, professional, and even spiritual duties.

Without eating nutritious food, getting enough rest, and finding space to still our messy minds, peace will never be achieved.

Working out and eating healthy aren’t merely some fashionable trend — it’s about becoming strong enough to handle whatever life throws at you and taking care of those in need of help and support.

10. You Carefully Manage Your Energy

We only have so much energy in our daily life.

There are always going to be people, commercials, products, food, activities calling out for us to enjoy them.

In exchange for our energy, they’ll provide a shallow and fleeting satisfaction.

If one isn’t economical in choosing where to spend their time and energy, it will be a guaranteed route towards burnout and dissatisfaction.

As a spiritual warrior, you cultivate not only your spirit but your mind and body too.

If your body has depleted its energy reserves, you wouldn’t be able to pursue the most meaningful things in life.

You’re selective and adhere to a strict code: your personal values and morals

While others might be hesitant to say “No” to invitations for a good time, you know yourself enough to distinguish what’s worth the energy and what isn’t.

11. You Feel That You Have A Larger Purpose To Fulfill

German philosopher Nietzsche once said, “He who has a why to live can bear any how.”

When you believe that there is something larger in store for you, you don’t let petty arguments and problems get in the way of your purpose in life.

You understand what’s worth stressing and striving for — the intangibles, such as friendship and love, not money and power.

Your purpose nourishes your body and mind more than anything else.

Trinidad Hives

As a spiritual warrior, you’ve been sculpted by the struggles and hardships that you’ve had to go through.

As stressful as those might have been, you’ve come out of them stronger than before.

As you look ahead, you stop expecting problems to be easy.

The world, unfortunately, doesn’t work like that. Instead, you develop the strength to overcome whatever obstacle that is.

Email: williamsrudolph72@gmail.com

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 Communications Masters Course Content

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Business and Industry – Knowing the Business and what it strives on; its principles and protocols, the Law; Owning and operating a Media House – the hazards of  possible ligation and threats to one’s life and safety; its vital  role in  helping  people shape images of themselves and their behaviour patterns; their collective goals and ambitions in terms of their identification with those whom they have put in power.

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Overseas exposure and further education – Writing stories for overseas networks; Improving professional skills by enrolment in courses and membership in international associations; Pursuing personal development courses and other endeavors such as Yoga and Martial Arts.