Figured I’d share my thanksgiving thoughts with y’all. It’s all about mindset.

Coolsys posted me in a We Fight Monsters "Be a Badass, Save a kid" shirt. The company I work for celebrates November as a month of giving. I submitted multiple pics of volunteer work but was pleasantly surprised when they picked the lower right hand pic to post throughout the company. I told Ben Owen once that I didnt feel comfortable wearing that shirt because it implies I am a badass, which I don't consider myself as such but I love the message so much that I now wear it often. It's all about spreading the message to support the mission and what a great mission it is!!

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.