What if there was something inside of you that could
change everything outside of you?
That something was discovered, by an Australian Special
Forces Soldier, with 5 minutes left to live …
Tim Thomas, born in June 1973, father of two.
After losing his job in 2003, Tim became the oldest ‘recruit’
in the Australian Defence Force DRSF scheme (Direct
Recruiting into Special Forces). This scheme took
appropriately screened civilians into the mysterious world of Special Forces.
Having served his country in Afghanistan and East Timor as
a Commando, Tim left the Army in 2010.
Tim is also dyslexic. Tim’s dyslexia gives him a unique
insight into everyday experiences. For the past 8 years Tim
has worked very hard in the veteran recovery space, helping
other veterans on their journey of healing post-service.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments / Author’s Note vii / Introduction ix
1 – ENERGY BASICS …
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Andrew Farrell at eBook Alchemy and Gordon
Thompson of Clouds of Magellan Press. Also, to the many
people who helped in my journey of healing and recovery
post service. You know who you are. Without your help this
book could not have been written. For that you have my
eternal Gratitude.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The book’s intention is to make powerful information, easily accessible. Being dyslexic, I have struggled to read all my life. My eyes get lost when looking at a page of uniform print. This book has been structured for ‘ease of access’ (especially for the non-reading types like myself). Bold words and centred lines allow the eye to ‘lock onto’and hold the page structure.
I have also produced an audiobook.
There are more non-readers out there than readers. Is it any wonder that there are more dis-empowered people in this world, than Empowered people? We should do everything we can to make empowering information accessible to those who need it.
Sincerely,
Tim Thomas
INTRODUCTION
What if there was something inside of you, that could change everything outside of you?
It could have been the gravity of my own impending death in Afghanistan, but before I discovered ‘That something,’ my body and mind were shutting down.
I’ve since found that what I discovered has gone by a lot of different names throughout the centuries.
For myself, I simply call it energy.
Energy is real. It’s valuable, and it’s already inside you.
Don’t think ‘Energy’ like it’s mystical; I have a faith, but this feels different. This feels more like discovering a hidden human superpower; Real power and influence over any
situation.
Let’s begin the journey!
Chapter One
ENERGY BASICS
‘ENERGY can grow anything you want’
Tim Thomas
To understand energy, you first need to understand there are two VERY different types of people in this world,
and they’re both YOU…
True Story!
Allow me to explain.
Have you ever wondered why some days life is great, and everything is going your way? The kind of day that hours seem like seconds. Whilst on other days, life’s a struggle. Even small things seem hard. Seconds seem like hours.
Thoughts of ‘Why am I doing this? Seriously?? Urg, don’t talk to me till I’ve had
a coffee!’
This is more common than you think.
Simply put, the difference between good and bad days is the amount of ENERGY we have in our system.
ENERGY is real. It’s valuable, and it’s already inside you.
Energy can be increased or decreased depending on our
choices.
More Energy = More options and more hope.
Less Energy = Less options and no hope of change.
Consciously or not, it’s been happening your whole life … really, really.
Learn to manage it right, and it can solve any problem & change ANY situation.
This book will show you how to create real, feel-good energy! (more powerful and permanent than coffee or Red Bull.)
ENERGY BASICS
The best example of this real energy in action is an experience I mentioned in the Foreword.
Getting shot at and rocketed was very common in Afghanistan. We’d already lost men and had limbs blown off others.
Death was no stranger.
I’d actually made my peace with it. I got some real good life insurance and made my final video messages to my children, family and friends.
This may sound brutal, but I did believe in old fashioned service to my country. I couldn’t let it be ‘someone else’s’ father, husband or son. I was also a working-class man with no higher education. At that time, (before my higher thinking kicked in) risking my life was all I had to earn above minimum wage and give my family the life I wanted them to have.
However, this ambush had an annoying twist on death … (like death needed it.) See, tactically, the rear vehicle of the convoy is least defended. As a result, it’s the rear vehicle that generally gets attacked. As a result, the order came down to put all the heavily armoured vehicles, called ‘Bush Masters’ (that RPGs – Rocket-Propelled Grenades – couldn’t penetrate) to the rear of the convoy. Our vehicle had no armour. It was simply a 4WD with the roof cut off. This was very standard for Australian Special Forces.
However, in the confusion, a Bush Master pushed into the convoy ahead of us, cutting us off. We were now the rear vehicle in the convoy.
SH*T!
Everyone in that vehicle knew what was going to happen next…
My vehicle commander said (as he actioned up his machine gun), ‘Fella’s, if this goes the way I think it will; It’s been a pleasure serving with you.’
It’s funny, but in moments like that you notice the small things … Like hearing your own ‘Dinky Di’ Australian accent spoken back to you; but this was not a movie, and we didn’t have a pause button…
I knew I was going to die, and soon …
I had a wife and two young kids back in Australia.
Now, if you think of your life up until this point; There are probably large portions of it dedicated to pursuing what you thought at the time were very important agendas. They could be School grades, career choices, work priorities, making money etc.
Now, I’m not a highly educated man, but I discovered something powerful; Death sorts out what is really important to you, really quickly. In Afghanistan with less than 5 minutes left to live, I discovered something about myself …
JUST HOW PISSED OFF I COULD GET!!
We’re all about to die because THAT F*%KING ASSHOLE CUT US OFF!!
(It’s funny when I look back on my own reactions. I hope you see the humour in this also.)
I thought, ‘They’re going to return our flag-covered bodies to Australia. They’re going to carry us down the ramp of the aeroplane with all this BULLSHIT ceremony, all because some ASSHOLE Bush Master driver, cut us off!!’
So what does this have to do with ENERGY?
Energy not properly managed creates fear.
You’d think that as a soldier I’d get used to fear. Fact was I never did, but there’s something helpful about being exposed to fear so often. You do get a very clear understanding of how fear actually works, and it’s fascinating!
I found that Fear has a goal, and it’s not to scare you.
Fear’s ultimate goal is to immobilise you. To stop you from even trying. Your head might say, ‘I know I should be doing this …’ However, fear stops your body from even attempting it.
Once you understand that, you realise that you don’t overcome fear with love.
You overcome fear, with ACTION.
Taking ACTION dispels FEAR.
Conversely, IN-ACTION, not doing what you know you should, grows FEAR. I then took a course of action that has sculpted the rest of my life.
I said to myself, ‘Tim, do you know anyone who has done this before?How did they get through it?!’ Fact was that I didn’t know anyone… Australia seemed so far away. The night somehow got darker, and I began to feel very alone…
Until I began to think ‘outside’ my own timeline…
I realised then that I did know some men who had done exactly this. I knew that on a night as dark as this, the original ANZACs came face-to-face with a foe that was waiting for them on their home ground. What did the ANZACs do? They kept moving forward without letting their fear control them. They kept moving forward without letting their fear control them! Despite hardships, despite a bad situation, despite an enemy intent on killing them.
The outside world could not stop them, from seeing the power inside them.
On ANZAC day we often say, ‘Lest we forget …’ But it was like those ANZAC diggers were poking me in the chest saying, ‘Lest YOU forget! Lest you forget the power inside
you! Lest you forget the power of looking after your mates!’
Even though the beach landing was almost 100 yrs ago, and their stories are told through history books; The ANZACs were right there with me in that moment, and I was no longer alone!
It was like the sun coming up at midnight. My whole body felt illuminated!
The ANZAC’s 1915 ‘actions’, dispelled my ‘fear’ in 2009.
My actions, then became fearless. I could act and think without fear.
What happened next was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. I literally saw my circulatory system jump out in front of me like a roadmap. I watched my heart pumping blood around my limbs and up to my brain. I thought, ‘Really, it’s only my brain that needs to keep functioning. If I lose a limb, that’s fine, I’ll just ‘hose clamp it’ with a Tourniquet. I can lose a litre of blood no biggie; My brain function will still be solid. It’s not like I have to worry about an infection killing me out here.’
So I put two tourniquets on my chest in case I lost more than one limb.
Now that my body was sorted; Energy started flowing back into my mind. It was like the ‘Fear tourniquet’ had come off my intelligence. With fear turned OFF, my intelligence was turned back ON. It told me: ‘Tim, on this rough road we are travelling at 20- 35kms per hour. RPGs usually self-detonate at 1500m. SO! The ambush will probably start shooting rockets at us from between 800m-1.2km away; this means (if we don’t stop) we’ll be in the ‘kill box’ for between 2-4 minutes.’
Now that I was connected ‘Internally’, I started connecting ‘Externally’; To my teammates who were in the vehicle. ‘Even if I bleed out and die, ‘I said to myself, ‘my body is very fit and healthy. I’ll have 5 minutes before everything shuts down permanently. By that time my teammates will revive me with a blood substitute. Obviously, I need to be ready to do the same for them also.’
There was a lot of trust in that vehicle.
We’ve all probably done the ‘trust exercise’ where you fall backwards and someone catches you? Now, imagine you’re standing at the top of a big cliff with jagged rocks at the bottom. Could you fall backwards, trusting only the arms of your colleges to catch you? In this scenario, I trusted that I could fall into death and my brothers would hold me back from the gates of oblivion. This is where the years of training pays off.
I got my medical kit ready.
With connection restored to my body, mind and my team; I had an abundance of energy! Enough to give me perspective ‘above’ my current circumstances. When we were just about to enter the ‘Kill Box’ (and to what I thought was my certain death); This empowered attitude told me, ‘They might find my body in 5 minutes time, but you
know what they’re not going to find? Magazines full of bullets!
I am expending all ammunition on this one …’
‘Actually,’ I said to myself,’ that’s not a bad way to live. Whether I die in five minutes or fifty years’ time; I am expending all ammunition. My magazines are full of bullets,
but my mind is full of ideas, hopes and dreams.’
‘If I survive this and die in 50 years’ time, my body’s gonna be just as dead. And it won’t show that I ‘expended all the bullets’ of my hopes & dreams; However, dying with a smile, I will!’
Time to start living!
Impossible became possible with energy through
connection.
High five!
It was at this point that I learnt another valuable lesson.. but before we get to that, let’s lighten the mood, take a breath and talk book tactics.
This book is short, but content-rich. I recommend you read and re-read this book. Having a pencil or highlighter to mark the points that stand out to you is very handy. Even better (ebook) write them down in your own words to be owned then read again in your own time. A small suggestion; Movement creates energy. One scenario for the reader would be to read this book while doing some safe, slow exercise; ie Treadmill, stationary bike, or listening to the audiobook when out walking in the fresh air.
Observing certain Universal Truths, I didn’t just survive dangerous situations, I lived well by them afterwards. It’s not something I can say I own or created. It existed well before I discovered it. This was simple observation, in a simple life story. However, this book isn’t an autobiography. I don’t like the term ‘Self-Help’ but that’s exactly how I got through tough situations. I consider myself a regular guy, who discovered some
incredible things. These ‘things’ were always there; I was just lucky enough to ‘trip over them’. I feel ‘discovering the obvious’ is my story. As a nine year old kid (see below pic), I didn’t know I was dyslexic. I only ever saw what was blatantly obvious. To me it was blatantly obvious that I wasn’t smart like everyone else. So I thought, ‘If I can’t be smart, I may as well be funny!’ Like the label ‘Dyslexia.’ Why the heck would you give a hard to spell ‘label’ to people that couldn’t spell?!
This attitude led to a lot of classroom antics. When we were taught that our country (Australia) was ‘discovered’ by Captain Cook in 1770, I thought ‘Australia DISCOVERED!?!? Like something that big never existed before they stuck a flag in it?!’ To the amusement of my classmates, I asked the teacher, ‘Australia is such a big block
of dirt. How hard was it discovering that?!? Surely, if a boat sailed south long enough they’d hit us!? I dunno, maybe Captain Cook just lost his anchor!?’ My classmates cracked up, but the teacher put me in the corner.
In all seriousness, I’m not sharing my story to give a sense that I’m gifted, quite the opposite. I share because sometimes it’s easier to learn from mistakes when ‘other people’ are making them.
If you’re connecting quickly to what’s being said, there’s a good reason!
The fact is your head already has most of this information. The only new thing is how this information is linked together and the pattern revealed. A bit like a ‘Dot to Dot’ puzzle before the dots are joined. Once the dots are joined everyone then says, ‘Oh Look! Now I see the pattern!’ The pattern was always there, it just needed to be pointed out.
So it is with universal truths; all they need is to be pointed out.
Remember, ‘Energy’ comes from ‘connection.’ Once the dots of information in your head are connected; empowering (feel-good) energy is created. Once your eyes are opened to these things, there’s no closing them again. However, I encourage you to read this book fully, so you can master and own it first, before sharing it with others. In fact, if you do this right, you won’t have to search out others to tell.
Here’s another truth:
Your life is bigger than a billboard.
Other people notice what’s going on in your life, (even the stuff you don’t want them to see), true story. If you start creating real connections in your own life; energy, power and influence will increase.
This will be noticed. Other people (and opportunities) will often naturally gravitate and want to ‘Connect’ with you. I’ll talk about how others will react to your self-empowerment a little later. As it’s something you will need to be aware of.
Getting back to the most valuable lesson learned; It’s simple but powerful and Chapter Two covers it.
End Chapter One.
Hi, Tim Thomas here.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed the first chapter of ‘Fight, Flight or Feel…’. If you have any questions or feedback please email me on tim.thomas@yourcommando.com;
To purchase the full book please click you choice of the following stores;
Amazon AU – https://www.amazon.com.au/Fight-Flight-Feel-Something-Everything/dp/0648460428
Booktopia – https://www.booktopia.com.au/fight-flight-feel-tim-thomas/book/9780648460428.html
**AUDIO BOOK**
Includes bonus interview of the Author Tim Thomas. https://audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/fight-flight-or-feel.aspx
For more inspiration, please visit and support my YouTube Channel ‘Commando in Your Corner.’ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVgmfMUWAK7fR0E03pijUSQ
Cheers,
Tim Thomas
‘Fight, Flight or Feel…’ © 2019 Tim Thomas
First published 2019
ISBN (paperback): 978-0-6484604-2-8
ISBN (eBook): 978-0-6484604-3-5
Published by Commando in Your Corner
Address PO Box 99, Morningside Brisbane 4171.
w | https://yourcommando.com
e | tim.thomas@yourcommando.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
without the permission of the publisher.