The Warrior Creed
by Robert L. Humphrey
“Wherever I go,
everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.
Wherever I am,
anyone in need has a friend.
Whenever I return home,
everyone is happy I am there.”
————-
Before I got into Pick Up, when I was a firearms and tactical instructor, I put the Warrior Creed on the first page of every training manual I wrote. It resonated with me then, and even more so now.
The first part is what originally clicked. I was teaching survival skills, skills that people would hopefully NEVER need to use, but if they did need them, they would be prepared.
The 2nd part made sense because…..well anyone who knows me in real life, knows how I treat others, and also how I like to keep my good deeds private.
The last part, that was always the one that I felt I connected with the least. I wasn’t really close to my family, had a few close friends, but for the most part did my own thing. I could leave town for a week, and nobody would even know I was gone. I can remember thinking, if I died, how many people would even notice or miss me?
After I started my self improvement journey and then got into Pick Up, I learned how to connect with others on a deeper level. For the first time in my life, I actually started to think that people WOULD miss me, and that they would actually be excited to see me when I return.
Now I don’t just think that, I KNOW that!
Such a short and simple adage, which means so much
If each section doesn’t resonate with you-
- why not?
- what are you doing to change that?
- what goals have you set in your life, and are you actively working on reaching them?
One of my recent goals was to eat sushi and drink sake in Japan, and as I prepare to fly there next week, I know that like always, everyone around me is safer, because I am there. No matter where I go, even if I can’t speak the language, I will make friends and have fun.
Lastly, I know that I will be missed and when I return, those I care about will be happy to see me.
-If I don’t fall in love with a Geisha girl or go to war with the Yakuza (sucks for THEM!), I should be back around the middle of the month. I will be checking my email and will get back to any customers as soon as I can throughout, but for much of this trip I will not have access to the internet. Which is exactly what I need 😀
I love that creed. It is powerful stuff!
I posted it on my Facebook, and I will be incorporating it into my life from now on. It is one of the most powerful things I have read in a while!
I had an opportunity to meet and hang out with Robert Humphrey in the early 90’s during a martial arts seminar. The guy was a true Warrior Philosopher and his Warrior’s Creed was born from his experience in actual life and death situations. I remember his right hand was mangled, almost like a claw because when he was in Iwo Jima, he was holding his rifle with both hands and a Japanese soldier popped out of the bush right in front of him with a gun and he instinctively punched the soldier in the head so hard he broke most of the bones in his hand.
Robert Humphrey was a child of the Great Depression. Those were the days when life’s lessons were learned in the school of hard knocks. He earned money as a semi-professional boxer. He rode freight trains, worked in the Citizens Conservation Corps (the CCCs), and finally joined the Merchant Marines. Those experiences got him through his youth, worldly-wise but morally sound. He transferred into the US Marines during World War II. There, as a rifle-platoon leader on Iwo Jima, he passed the ultimate course in life-and-death values
Below is a link to his institute with some cool stories.
http://www.lifevalues.com/
Warrior Creed
By Robert L. Humphrey (1923 – 1997)
Wherever I go, everyone is a little safer.
Wherever I am, anyone in need has a friend.
When I return home, everyone is happy I am there.
“It’s a better life”
– Professor Humphrey was a Marine Rifle Platoon Leader on Iwo Jima;
he received an Honorary 10th Dan Bujinkan from Soke Masaaki Hatsumi.
thanks for the comment w/ the added insight on Robert Humphrey!
I read up on him back when I first found this, and again when I posted, but didnt even think to link to LifeValues
very cool that you got to meet him!