PeaceWalker Blog

  Two of the 'Nuggets' & me playing on the trampoline a few years back Lia on top, Ella squished in the middle & yours truly on bottom.  When I was off on my run, I was thinking about something that happened to me a few weeks ago... My significant other's daughter was being bullied at school and it was really upsetting her. You see, I don't have any kids of my own, but as mentioned, my significant other does. Over the years, her four girls have become like my own. So, when they hurt, so do, and when someone tries to harm them, that person will have to deal with me and my wrath.  Luckily, I have learned to control my emotions and focus them in a more healthy, productive and often more peaceful ways.  This has saved me countless times from regrets, ranging from simply making a fool of myself, to keeping me out of jail from a homicide, assault or excessive force charges.  (I'm only half kidding...=) Any of you parents out there know exactly what I'm talking...

  I was going to title this email ' Make Life Your B*tch'  But I decided for the more eloquent title!  ...You're welcome! =) As a PeaceWalker... I am the master of my life. . I have control over the outcomes in my life. I am the captain of my ship. I limit the power of others to determine the course of my life. . Respect is something that can only be given, never demanded. . I may not always have the ability to control what happens, but... . I choose my thoughts. I have the choice to select thoughts that serve me or sabotage me. I choose thoughts that propel me into the future with certainty and confidence. By controlling my thoughts, I have control over my actions and results. . I choose what I focus on. I choose to focus on those things that help me. I choose to focus on the people that bring me happiness and fulfillment. . My focus determines what I accomplish and what is left undone. I choose the objects of my focus carefully and intelligently. I choose my friends and...

  An old story... A giant ship's engine broke down in the middle of nowhere and no one could repair it. They hired a Mechanical Engineer with over 40 years of experience. . He inspected the engine very carefully, from top to bottom. . After seeing everything, the engineer unloaded his small bag and pulled out a small hammer. . He knocked something gently for a few seconds. The engine came back to life again. The engine got fixed! . 7 days later the engineer mentioned that the total cost of repairing the giant ship was $20,000 to the ship owner. . "What?!" said the owner. . "You did almost nothing. Give us a detailed bill." . The answer was simple: (1) Tap with a hammer: $2 (2) Know where and how much to hit: $19,998 . That's the importance of appreciating one's expertise and experience...because those are the results of struggles, experiments, sweat & tears. . So, if you don't have the direct experience, learn from someone who does. This will sav...

Going from: "I don't have the time for it." TO "That's Not a Priority." That's a powerful switch!  A critical mindset shift when it comes to everything from your training to your relationships.  Teaching and training martial arts for as long as I have, I have a deep knowledge with the difference of these two perspectives. Heck, if I had a dollar for every time I heard a student say, "I'd love to train, but I just don't have the time..." When someone says that, it doesn't phase me anymore (hasn't for decades). I just think, "quit BSing yourself, because your not BSing me." Being Honest w/Yourself Try being brutally honest with yourself. Just say,  "That's Not a Priority." Or... "That's not a priority right now" When you do that enough times that it becomes a habit, you will be surprised how much it changes you.  When you start to be honest with yourself & others, you start to change at a ...

  You know I'm getting ready to release my Essential Pistol Disarm Course, so I've been sharing some stories with my Private PeaceWalker Members. Most are personal stories from my Life. Some of them I haven't told anyone let alone written down. From stories of my mentors to run ins that I've survived over the years. Many of those experiences taught me principles and lessons that I continue to Live and teach today.  . Those experiences have really made my training more impactful. It's one thing hearing some concepts and practice in a safe gym environment, it's another thing all together, applying those principles in real time, when the stakes are much higher. . Experience is the hardest teacher. As an old parable says, Life gives you the test first and the lessons after. However, if you survive it, and learned what you needed to, then you have something to share. . And when it comes to most of the things taught in the PeaceWalker Private Membership, it's smar...

 Laird Hamilton doing what he does best Say What You Want... They're just watching what you DO! I was listening to a podcast with big wave surfing legend Laird Hamilton the other day. I am inspired by Laird, he's a 56 year old surfer who has a lot of insight and inspiration for people like us. Not surfing, but who are aging, but live an active life, full life.  On the episode I was listening to he said something that was profound for life and significant for conflict management. "Say what you want, they're just watching you." Now, when he said this, he was talking about raising kids. Meaning you can say what you want, but kids will mimic your actions.  This is significant on many levels regarding child rearing, in Life and believe it or not during conflict management. Matter of a fact, I wish I had more time to unpack this with you, but I don't really, so here's a shortened version. If you keep an eye (or ear) out for my podcast, this will be a topic on an...

I Got Into a Little Trouble... Last night I got into a little tift w/my significant other. Because I was gone since Friday, we hadn't spent any quality time together.  I was a little late getting over to her place yesterday and that ended up causing some static between the two of us... Uh oh! We ended up sorting things out and everything ended well, but things could have easily taken another direction. This is why the PeaceWalker Approach is so important. Yes, protecting yourself (and others) physically is important, however, to deal with the spectrum of conflict, you'll need more tools than that. In this case verbally and emotionally. In this case, we were both mad and off baseline. We had to dial things in and get to a spot where we could talk.  As we know, a verbal conflict can escalate. Most types of conflicts and threats we run into start out as a conversation, or at least have a verbal component to it. Which is why you need to have some emotional and verbal skills. ...