Marks Blog: Sheepdog Strong

This is the final installment of the Sheepdog series. We began with a look at the outrageous situation on the San Francisco BART train. There, a violent man pulled a gun out and waved it around with impunity because all the passengers were buried deep into their mobile phones. The clear social studies question follows: what happened to people being aware of their surroundings, paying attention and interacting with their fellow planetary inhabitants?

It appears that the diffusion of mobile technology combined with persistent internet texting, gaming and email has led the human race into new and uncharted territory. Anytime society goes through radical change, then the wolves are emboldened to take their hunt out into the open. The wolf often takes advantage of the citizenry who may act as if nothing is wrong, as they cling to the status quo and pay scant attention.

This led us to witness interplay between society’s sheep who are operating in the “white zone” of indifference and flat out ignorance to the world and it’s threats; the wolves who are the violent criminals or terrorists operating in the “orange zone” of heightened alertness and searching for their next victim; and the sheepdogs who take responsibility for maintaining a “yellow zone” awareness, and will never be a victim while also stepping up to take responsibility to protect others.

Next we took a look at how you – if you don’t classify yourself as a sheepdog and are concerned about this issue – can step up to be “Sheepdog Strong.” This requires that you begin to operate in the “yellow zone” of passive alertness and begin to train yourself to see the threats before they escalate. I gave you some practical and philosophical ideas on how to step up to become Sheepdog Strong.

Dog Training

Many of you are on a path to self-mastery, which is what inspires you to follow my SEALFIT and Unbeatable Mind training philosophy. So the challenge for you is to now orient your training from the “Self” sphere of personal mastery to the “Team” sphere of team mastery where sheepdog strong is found. No sheepdog operates alone, you see. A team is required to tip the balance against the violent elements. Sure all team members are individual strong, aware and effective, but teams of like-minded individuals change worlds. So this set of recommendations is focused on how to grow your sheepdog strong team and never live in fear again.

Sheepdog Team Training Tip #1: Build a Sheepdog Family by starting immediately to make your family sheepdog strong. Have the Color system discussion, and practice awareness drills such as the KIM game, travel mind games and sensory awareness drills. Have fun with it but ensure that they understand the importance of the training to the tribe. If you don’t have an immediate family then this extends to your closest friends.

Sheepdog Team Training Tip #2: Build a Sheepdog Network. At SEALFIT HQ we have a network of sheepdogs who I would alert and rally in the event of a crisis situation. Further we talk about being sheepdog strong and train for it daily. No doubt we feel lucky we have this community here in Encinitas, but you need to know you are also part of our extended tribe so we are here for you if you need help.

Sheepdog Team Training Tip #3: Become a Sheepdog Communicator. If you observe someone who is obviously a potential threat, take note and communicate it to your family and other sheepdogs in your network. Don’t be overly paranoid, but err on the side of caution and report things that your network believes to be a clear and present danger to the authorities. Don’t expect them to do anything though, just keep watching and be prepared to act if necessary.

Sheepdog Team Training Tip #4: Prepare more than others. Garret, our SA friend, tells us that when he travels he takes these actions:
1. Review the travel route on a map (Google maps) and commit it to memory.
2. Print it out just in case (iPhones are fantastic, until your data signal disappears).
3. Pick some gas stops / eating stops along the way ahead of time.
4. Fill your tank.
5. Check tire pressure on all 5 tires (don’t forget the spare).
6. Have a just in case bag (snacks, tools, LED flashlight, rags, and med kit).

Sheepdog Team Training Tip #5: Be an Undesirable Target! This is a no-brainer but will require you to be and act differently in public. This can include carrying yourself more confidently, avoiding areas that are not lit well, are desolate (like large parking structures) or that just make you feel uncomfortable. Carry a bat and a high power LED flashlight in your car. The flashlight should be able to blast about 1000 lumen and if someone approaches at night that you don’t recognize, you can blind them with the light and use it as a weapon if necessary. The light will ward off 99% of wolves and give you time to escape as their night vision will be shot for a good five minutes.

Sheepdog Team Training Tip #6: Mentally Prepare to do things you previously thought unthinkable. This is tough for some people and you don’t have to go crazy with it. Simply visualize yourself dominating a fight by kicking the groin, gouging eyes and thumping the evil-doer in the neck with your pipe arm. If you want some training then come to SEALFIT Academy or HQ and ask for it. When you can see yourself winning the fight, then you will be more likely to respond offensively and not freeze if attacked. A very real but extreme example is from our South African friends where car hijackers would stop people then just shoot them and take off with their cars. In that environment you would not wait for the thug to come to your car – but you would use your car as a weapon and get out of dodge. This is one of those extreme cases that we hope won’t happen in the States. Once I was in Kenya and my team and I passed a bus laying on its side, with a fire burning and passengers inside. Our first instinct was to stop and render help. But our Kenyan Special Forces driver just skirted around it and told us this was a bait trap and they were looking for sympathetic foreigners to entrap and kidnap or mug!

Afterward

Sheepdog strong requires that you don’t worry about what others think of you. Many may think your training and preparation are extreme. Don’t make a big deal of it because those same people will be running toward your home if something goes south. At the same time, be very discreet and have fun with this. As I said at the beginning of this series my intent is to offer you ideas and a strong dose of motivation to step up to be a sheepdog. It is not to turn you into an outlier. Quite the opposite – you should be a leader and seen as the one who is willing to train and prepare his or her body, mind, spirit and team for some serious kick-ass if you are stalked or attacked by a wolf. This is admirable and, quite frankly, necessary if we are going to maintain order in a world going slightly mad.

Train hard, stay safe and have fun. Hooyah!

Mark Divine, SEALFIT & Unbeatable Mind