Within the Mind of a Warrior: Rich Hungerford, Former SAS Patrol Commander
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The world is full of legends, heroes… warriors.
While the word “warrior” might sound intimidating, there is a deeper meaning and philosophy behind this word than many realize. Being a warrior doesn’t mean that you have to be engaged in warfare as your profession.
Being a warrior is something you are. It originates within your spirit, not in your profession. There are warriors in all walks of life, and being one is not defined by your age, gender, how you look, or what you do.

You may be a businessman/businesswoman, a teacher, a doctor, or an electrician… and still be a warrior.
Warriors are those who step up and fight evil when they must. Being a warrior is who you are inside. It’s someone who has this protective tendency or mindset to serve and protect other people or other things—the environment, animals, etc.—for the greater good.
Our guest for this interview, Rich Hungerford, embodies these words and is a true example of what it means to be a warrior.
Rich is a former SAS Patrol Commander (the SAS is one of the toughest, most psychologically and physically demanding branch of special forces in the Australian Army).
Today, Rich is the senior instructor at Bush Lore Australia, the survival school he founded. He is also the founder of The Warrior’s Path Academy, an academy that assists, guides, and mentors men who are seeking to realign themselves with their ancestral sense of ‘place’ within their family, community, and work lives.
This is a diverse interview that covers some important and fascinating grounds with many lessons and takeaways about fear, mindset, nature, what it means to be a warrior, and so much more.
For the ones who feel called—yes, you who are reading this—you have come to the right place, the right interview. Take a look inside the mind of a warrior, Rich Hungerford, to learn some deep truths.
“We make ourselves into whatever we want to be in this world. We choose to be a warrior, or we choose to walk through life like the average person. But make no doubt about it – YOU make the choice.”
– Don Juan
If you want to read and learn more about the traits, mindset, and the deeper thought and philosophy behind what it means to be a warrior, here are three more great books:
Recommended Books on Being a Warrior:
EP 017 – Within the Mind of a Warrior: Rich Hungerford, Former SAS Patrol Commander

“We are not designed to live alone.”
- Rich Hungerford Tweet
Some of the Questions:
- Could you briefly tell us how the selection procedure looks like to become an SAS soldier? And why do 90% of candidates fail?
- What is something you’ve learned about fear, something about fear that you feel not many people understand?
- What do you feel many people in general get wrong about the word “warrior”?
What You Will Learn from this Episode:
- How important it is for humans to work together and spend time in nature
- The 90/10 Principle, a principle that can greatly benefit your life
- A survival breathing technique that lowers your heart rate
“99% of your battles are quiet.”
- Rich Hungerford Tweet
Resources Mentioned:
- – Udemy, Rich P Hungerford Survival, Tracking and Combatives Instuctor
- – The Warrior’s Path Academy – Website
- – The Warrior’s Path Academy – Facebook Page
- – Bush Lore Australia (This is the official YouTube channel for Bush Lore Australia, Australia’s leading survival, tracking and bushcraft school.)
- – Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging (We have a strong instinct to belong to small groups defined by clear purpose and understanding–“tribes.” This tribal connection has been largely lost in modern society, but regaining it may be the key to our psychological survival.)
- – Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior has become one of the most beloved spiritual sagas of our time. Shared among friends and families, this million-copy word-of-mouth bestseller has inspired men and women of all ages in twenty languages worldwide.)
- – The Art Of War by Sun Tzu (The Art of War is one of the oldest books on military strategy in the world. It is the first and one of the most successful works on strategy and has had a huge influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, and beyond.)
- – Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales (Laurence Gonzales’s bestselling Deep Survival has helped save lives from the deepest wildernesses, just as it has improved readers’ everyday lives.)
- – Hear the call of the wild | Rich Hungerford | TEDxDocklands

FOLLOW Rich Hungerford
You may also like these episodes:
- – EP 016 – “How to Have Better Conversations,” with Kalina Silverman, Founder of Big Talk
- – EP 014 – How Your Thoughts Create Your Life – The Power of Positive Psychology
- – EP 013 – Kristina Paltén, Ultra Runner – Alone Through Iran, 1144 Miles of Trust, Prejudice, and Human Kindness
Question about this episode: Which lesson from out of the interview struck you most and why?
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