I want to dive deeper into something that sits at the core of policing, training, and the human experience—but rarely gets the airtime it deserves: Emotional regulation is one of the most powerful forms of crime prevention we have. Not technology. Not policies. Not equipment. Human regulation. Human capacity. Human control. Because when you strip away all the noise, most of what law enforcement deals with is emotion without direction: People who never learned to pause. People who never learned to sit with discomfort. People who never learned to name a feeling before acting on it. People who were raised in environments where chaos was the norm and regulation didn’t exist. Every cop knows this pattern: Somebody can’t handle anger → becomes an assault Somebody can’t handle shame → becomes a lie, a cover-up, or avoidance Somebody can’t handle fear → becomes violence or self-destruction Somebody can’t handle stress → becomes addiction Somebody can’t handle grief → becomes isolation or suicide And this isn’t just individuals. This is generational. This is cultural. This is systemic. If we taught people how to regulate emotions early on: We would see fewer: • Domestic incidents • Fights • Road rage • Juvenile crimes • Relapses • Overdoses • Suicides • Mental health crises • Officer-involved uses of force • Broken relationships and broken families This isn’t hypothetical — it’s observable reality on every shift. Emotional regulation isn’t soft. It’s tactical. It’s the ability to: – Stay stable under pressure – Recognize the difference between a feeling and a fact – Think while the nervous system is screaming – Decelerate when everything inside wants to accelerate – Not weaponize emotion in conflict – Recognize when you’re escalating someone else without realizing it – Use calm as a strategy, not a luxury This is the same skill that makes elite operators effective in combat. It’s the same skill that makes high-level negotiators successful. It’s the same skill that keeps officers alive during critical incidents.

I wanted to share some of my thoughts that I have been thinking about lately. Life has a way of testing the edges of who we are. Not in the moments when the world is watching…but in the quiet hours when no one sees the fight inside you. Silence, rebellion of thought, shadows mistaken for truth, the weight of vice, fear, chains, and walking alone on the fog-covered road — they all point to the same truth: Personal development isn’t a hobby. It’s a battle. A long one. A lonely one. And most people never step into that arena. Over the years, in war, in policing, in leadership, and in the work I do with Project Sapient, I’ve learned something simple but uncomfortable: - When you decide to think for yourself, the world labels you a rebel. - When you choose the truth, you become a threat. - When you outgrow your cage, you become “difficult.” - When you walk ahead, you’re treated as if you’re beneath. But that’s the path! Growth requires silence in the face of those who don’t value your words. It requires the courage to trust your own mind in a world that rarely uses theirs. It requires standing in the light while also staying comfortable in the shadows. It requires owning your vices instead of hiding them behind the crowd. It requires releasing what controls you — even if it leaves you standing alone. And it requires the strength to walk the long road into the unknown… without applause, without validation, without a map. Here’s the truth I keep coming back to: A man is forged in the dark. Character is built where no one applauds. And the freedom you seek is always on the other side of the chains you fear letting go of. If you’re on that road — keep going. Most people won’t understand you. Some will doubt you. Others will mock the path you chose. But growth was never meant to be understood. It was meant to be earned. Stay disciplined. Stay awake. Stay dangerous. Stay sovereign over your own mind. Forward. Always.

This is a small corner of the books that shaped me. This is not my whole library… just a fraction of the work behind the work. People often ask how I balance being a cop, a leader, a student of human behavior, a father, and a man trying to stay self-aware in a chaotic world. The answer is simple: I read. Constantly. Relentlessly. Across disciplines. My shelves hold psychology, trauma science, criminal behavior, philosophy, warfare, leadership, mythology, Meditations, the stoics, neuroscience, negotiation, human performance… and yes, Shakespeare, Khalil Gibran, Edgar Allen Poe, The Quran and the Bible. Because understanding humans requires studying every edge of the human condition. Every book here feeds a different part of my life: 📘 My Job: Understanding behavior, stress physiology, decision-making under pressure, conflict, violence, communication, and the mind of both the offender and the protector. Knowledge saves seconds, and seconds save lives. 📗 My Leadership: Studying people makes you better at serving people. It sharpens judgment, strengthens empathy, and keeps ego in check. I’ve learned that leaders don’t rise because of rank, they rise because they understand humans. 📕 My Personal Life: Books force humility. They break you open, challenge your assumptions, and expose the gaps between who you are and who you could become. They teach you balance, discipline, and self-awareness — the foundations of being a good man, husband, father, friend. 📙 My Self-Awareness: Every book is a mirror. Some reflect your strengths. Most confront your blind spots. Growth doesn’t happen without friction, and these pages provide plenty of it. ✍️ My Writing: People ask where my writing style comes from, the tone, the imagery, the philosophy, the raw honesty. It comes from here. From learning how Shakespeare captured the soul of men… How trauma researchers capture the weight people carry…How warriors and philosophers capture courage, fear, chaos, and purpose. These books sharpen my voice.

Build It Now, Stay Steady When It Matters Most As we face the possibility of upcoming homeland plotting by terrorist groups, psychological readiness is your foundation. These skills help you stay calm, think clearly, and support each other in any crisis, whether it’s an attack, a natural disaster, or life suddenly going off the rails. If you’ve spent the past year building emergency plans, running drills, and practicing “what if” scenarios, you’re exactly where you need to be. Keep going. You’re not just preparing, you’re building real resilience for yourself, your family, and your community when it matters most. Here’s what we can do next to prepare and stay resilient. Educate Without Fear: When we talk to others about preparedness, the tone matters. The goal is not fear-based. The goal is to give them information, tools, and then most importantly, confidence. Within your family, for example, controlling the narrative means framing the conversation around what you can control, even during something as overwhelming as a terrorist attack. Replace fear-driven talk with practical direction. Use clear, strong language: “Here’s what we do if X happens,” or “We’re safe right now, let’s stick to our plan.” Walk each member of your family through actionable steps: getting to shelter, locking down a workspace, identifying exits, staying put until it’s safe to move. When people have rehearsed actions, their bodies and minds switch into those patterns automatically, even under extreme stress. Helping Children Cope: Children can and do process events very differently, and they depend heavily on the adults around them to set the emotional tone. Keep discussions age appropriate and grounded in the calmest way possible. Do not expose them to graphic news footage or frightening speculation. It overwhelms them and provides no useful information. Instead, focus on safety: who they stay with, where they go, how adults will protect them. Small gestures like holding a hand, offering a hug, sitting beside them all have a very real grounding effect. Use simple, straightforward language: “We have a plan. We know what to do. You’re safe with me.” That sense of predictable structure is what helps kids stay emotionally balanced during and after a crisis.

Active shooter events are chaotic, fast, and violent. They unfold in seconds, not minutes. And while civilians often hear the aftermath on the news, law enforcement lives inside the first moments — where every decision carries life-or-death weight. Here’s what people don’t always see from our side of the line: 1. Officers Are Trained to Move Toward the Threat The standard across the country is simple: Find the shooter. Stop the killing. Stop the dying. Gone are the days of waiting for SWAT. Patrol officers — the ones already on the street — form up and move in immediately. That means they enter the building while shots are being fired, knowing the suspect may be around any corner. 2. Speed Matters More Than Perfection In an active shooter, every second equals lives. Officers aren’t clearing rooms slowly and methodically like in the movies. They’re bypassing people, skipping hallways, stepping over chaos — all to get to the shooter as fast as humanly possible. It’s controlled aggression, not cinematic tactics. 3. Communication and Intelligence Are Broken, Messy, and Loud Inside these events: - Everyone is screaming - Fire alarms are blaring - Radios cut in and out - People are running in opposite directions - Officers may not know how many shooters there are It’s not organized. It’s not clean. It’s sensory overload — and cops have to make decisions anyway. 4. Officers Will Walk Past the Wounded This is one of the hardest realities for civilians to understand. The mission is: Stop the threat first. If the shooter is still active, officers may move past injured victims to prevent more victims. It’s not coldness. It’s triage under fire. Stopping the shooter ultimately saves more lives. 5. Once the Threat Is Down, the Mission Changes Immediately after neutralizing the shooter, officers switch roles: - Casualty care - Tourniquets - Evacuations - Securing medical routes - Guiding fire/EMS into the building Cops become the bridge between chaos and rescue.