from

Mastering Fear: The Ultimate Challenge

by Steven Bisyak & Michael McDermott

pg  104-107

The firewalk has been a major tool in most of the dramatic transforrnations I've seen. One example that comes to mind is a young single woman who was living on welfare with her two toddlers. Her first firewalk was a jaunt across a 50-foot-long cinder bed of fiery embers. That's pretty unusual for a first-time firewalk. Most firewalks are no longer than 12 feet-20 feet at the most. When I saw this lady walk over 50 feet of hot coals on her very first walk, I was impressed. "This is a pretty gutsy lady," I thought.

As the months rolled by, she joined us for a number of other firewalks. She even attended the one in 1987 where we set the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's hottest firewalk. That was her last firewalk. I recall her saying she intended to take the principles of the firewalk and apply those principles to all areas of her life.

She went back to school and graduated from college with a 4.0 grade point average! She's no longer living on welfare. She's now happily married. She and her husband have three kids. Her transformation was remarkable. She went from being on welfare to graduating from college with honors. She didn't let fear limit her. She had the courage not only to think about walking on fire, she actually did it. Then she applied the principles she used to walk on fire to create the life of her dreams. She put more to life and she got more out of life.

With long-term exposure to the firewalk, you realize that the firewalk is only a metaphor. A metaphor is an analogy in which one idea or activity represents another, something that stands for something else. Firewalking represents your life. We "firewalk" every day of our lives by facing fear and meeting the challenges life has to offer.

I've heard people say, "No, I don't want to do that." Later they change their minds and attend a firewalking seminar. Sometimes you hear people say, "I have no desire to do that. You won't get me to do that in a million years." In a firewalking workshop, people learn how to master their states of mind. When the mind is conquered, the emotions are in check and you can walk on fire. You can use the same techniques to achieve anything you want
to achieve in life.

One of the biggest challenges I face is getting past people's fears and prejudices. Firewalking produces RESULTS in people's lives. Most people are so conditioned to fear the fire that they react when you bring up "firewalking." They aren't really listening because they're reacting emotionally out of fear and old programming. The key to the whole thing is an open mind, allowing for the possibilities. Techniques that allow people to walk on fire directly apply to achievement in all areas of people's lives. This book is an attempt to turn people on to the world of possibilities waiting for them at the firewalk.

The Fire of Transformation

The Same Fire That Burns the Wood

Hardens the Steel

… Step Into the Fire