PeaceWalker Blog

  Happy Halloween!! . I have to admit, Halloween is my favorite! . I love the time of year and the feel of all of the mysterious, scary stuff. The costumes, intrigue and festivities! . Did you know its the second highest retailing holiday next to Christmas!? . Trick or Treat!! Wondering which you'll get is Good for Halloween... . Bad for Protecting Yourself! . Remember Halloween night when you were a kid!? . You prepared for weeks: . What you'd dress up as? . We'd map out our route to the houses that we knew handed out the best candy. . We'd pick up our Halloween flashlights. . Remember those things?! . They were these really cheaply made flashlights that had a pumpkin, ghost, skull or witch face made of plastic on the front end of it.  , We got them at Meijers (our local grocery store). They never survived the night w/o breaking or just not working. . Then we'd pick a bag for our candy... . Not too small... (You want to make sure you have enough room for all that l...

A man walked into a local business with an oddly shaped trash bag. Even though he's wasn't an employee, he slipped through the entrance and past the receptionist with ease.   No one really noticed or took the initiative to question him about the contents of that oddly shaped bag. No one even knew that concealed inside that thin black trash bag was a Glock 17 and an AR-15! What Happened Next Won't Shock You... But It Should! Who was the man?  Me. What about the guns in the bag?  Training weapons. Regardless...  They could very well have been real! No one ever stopped to question me. I would have been inside of this facility unchallenged with at least two weapons. No one would have been the wiser until the carnage, the tragedy.  The shocking part is that so few companies offer training, fewer yet have much of any effective parameter security.  Ounce of Prevention vs. a  Pound of Cure... This week and last I have been teaching several short workshops...

  Masters of Indirect Pressure . Kids know how to use “indirect pressure.” Indirect pressure is a way to follow up with authority, instead of apologetically. Here’s an example of kids applying indirect pressure: . “Daddy, remember when you said the next time we go to the store, I can definitely get a toy? You said that right? You remember you said it, right?” . Before Daddy has time to remember if he actually said that, he’s in the car, on the way to the store. . In a sales environment, this looks a little different, but the concept is the same. In this example, notice the difference between the novice salesperson and the expert salesperson. . If a prospect says they’ll be more available to talk next week, when you call them back don’t say,  “I just wanted to call you back,” or “I’m just checking in.” An expert salesman may say something like,  “Hey, John. You told me to follow up with you this week, so I’m calling to follow up. I’m excited to share with you what I have.”...

This story goes back to 1974. I was 3 or 4 years old. My mom took me shopping with her. (As strange as it may seem...) A bozo the clown doll caught my attention...  For some reason my four year old self NEEDED IT! “Mom! Can I get this?” “Not today, sweetie. Let’s put it back.” “I’ve been good all week, and you told me if I’m good all week, I can get a prize.” “It’s Tuesday.” “Can I just keep it while we’re in the store?” “Sure.” I never once gave up on getting that toy. I just switch tactics.  Just goes to show that kids make excellent teachers on how to persuade. They show us that influence is the foundation of relationships, especially when it comes to conflict. In conflict communications, we heavily rely on our ability to influence to avoid the situation from ramping up to an argument or physical encounter. . It seems like we are always getting others to buy into something, share something, give something, or experience something with us. When you start to see how often you...

  I'm always excited to work with new folks and help them with their evolution in being a better Protector! Speaking of that... I thought you'd like this (really) short story about leadership and fate... A Warrior's Destiny... A great Japanese warrior named Nobunaga was going to war with a fierce enemy with only one-tenth the number of men the opposition commanded. He knew that he could win the fight with a well planned strategy, but his soldiers were in doubt. . On the way the leader stopped at a Shinto shrine and told his men:  “After my visit to the shrine I will toss a coin. If the head comes, we will win; if tails, we will lose. Destiny holds us in her hand.” . Nobunaga entered the shrine and offered his prayers. Then he came forth and tossed a coin in front of his men. Heads appeared. The soldiers were filled with confident and were eager to win the battle. . “No one can change the hand of destiny,”  one of his attendants told him after the battle. . “Indeed not,”...

David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen and Ted Nugent sometime in the 70's or (very) early 80's What does Rock & Roll have to do with being a better Protector?! Stay with me because I have an cool story for you with a PeaceWalker lesson inside... Before anyone knew who they were, an obscure rock band named Van Halen opened for Ted Nugent. During Van Halen's sound check Ted couldn't believe his ears . . . He was staring in amazement at this unknown kid named Eddie. The sounds coming out of this kid's guitar!! Nugent was out of his mind. How was he doing it?? Guitarists everywhere are obsessed with creating just the right tone, and so Ted just HAD to know how the kid was pulling this off. He was convinced that Eddie was using some sort of secret gear. After a bit of arm twisting, Ted finally talked Eddie's guitar tech into letting him give Eddie's rig a test drive. But when Ted started playing through Eddie's gear, a funny thing happened . . . Ted Nugent stil...

  Flight 93 Memorial  I know 9/11 has passed, however I wanted to share one more story... . Flight 93 was the last plane to be hijacked, and some passengers on the plane were able to use cell phones to contact their loved ones. . (Remember this was 7 years before the iPhone 1, not everyone had a phone back then.) . They made the decision that if they were going down, they were going down fighting. . And they did. . The plane crashed in an empty field in Pennsylvania, rather than hit its intended target. . Why? . Because the passengers got wind of what was happening and fought back.   . Even when they knew they would have to pay the ultimate price. . These people were truly heroes . That dedication also reminds me that no matter how hopeless the situation seems, you too can still step up to the plate…  . Even when the chips are down… . And as we know, they really were on that fateful flight. . Right Now... I know you’re fighting for something too... We all are. ....