Posts

Knocked Down

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                           Tim looks like he's doing a little praying doing the 'Trust Fall' exercise at this year's                                                           PeaceWalker LIVE Camp / Conference Do you ever feel knocked down by Life? Maybe you're just feeling a little down (easy to do this time of year). Possibly something happened that got you down:  ~ Work ~ A Relationship  ~ Financial Woes ~ Someone Close to you dies ~ You get hurt or sick ~ You lose your job ~ You feel unfulfilled with your Life ~ You are fearful of the future ~ Something happens that you don't want ~ Something you wanted doesn't happen The list can go on and on and on... The fact that you're living means that some time Life is going to kick you down sometimes.  And when you're feeling down, you are more vulnerable.  Vulnerable to what?! Conflict? Yep. Being targeted by someone who means you harm? Yup, that too. Why? Because your mindset is off. You're not &quo

A Tangled Mess

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My music choice of the day is the soundtrack from the movie,   "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." As the new year draws ever so near, I think about those things that I always do... I'm already planning, scheming and strategizing about next year.  You want to know one of the biggest things I'm contemplating?! SIMPLIFING! How to Simplify my approach to... well, everything! I don't know about you, but my life is always going in a thousand directions. Just like those tangled Christmas lights... Before you know it one line turns into dozens and then those lines start getting crossed and knotted up. Before you know it it's a tangled mess.  It's No Different... Your approach to dealing with conflict, protecting yourself, and being successful in your world isn't any different.  The best weapon in the world does you no good if you can't access it when you need it. Same holds true for pretty much anything now-a-days.  It has to be simple.  However, as you

Getting Some

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  Well, now that I have your attention... Let's talk about getting some Inner Peace. You know, like the Peace part of PeaceWalker. I had a marketing 'expert' once ask me why I call what I do being a PeaceWalker, when I taught people how to protect themselves. I explained to him that the goal is to develop the skills to cultivate peace inside of and around you.  If you're not a peace, you continue to become the victim or the aggressor. Most people misunderstand what a Warrior really is... The warrior's goal should be to bring about peace. To protect. To serve. Yes, you must sometimes fight, but that isn't the goal. The goal of an enlightened warrior is to have the skills to bring peace to a violent conflict...  Hopefully, when possible, prevent war from happening in the first place.  Your journey in learning how to defend yourself (and others) is about developing the capacity to inspire Peace inside of and around you. Stirring sh*t up and making war is easy. Havi

One Simple Idea

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Jennifer Franson founder and executive director of iCI Nation - An organization that connects cops & community, building trust and relationships One Simple Idea Can Change Everything!  A Community... A City... A Nation... The World... But it all begins with changing a single Life... Yours! A Vision that Changed a City A couple days ago, I attended iCI Nation's Fundraising Gala. It was an incredible event raising awareness and resources for a movement started by one of our own PeaceWalker community members, Jennifer Franson.  It began with one simple idea of encouraging police officers in a time when they needed some community support. That sentiment grew into a full blown movement.  Now several years later, Jenn heads up a 501-3c non-profit organization that  connects police with community citizens and non-profit organizations who serve the community.  You'd think that these folks would all get along... But they don't! That's where Jenn's big idea came in... Wha

Where to Stand, What to Say...

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I received some more accolades from one of the court officers who attended my Integrated Response Training at the Midland Conference. Hi Craig, You did a great presentation for a limited time period. It was good to see the class actually up and moving. Fantastic message! Thanks Again! ~B.M. Southwest Legal Services & Deputy St. Joseph County, Mi.     One Important Lesson... Remaining Baseline while interacting with someone who's all rev'd up, can not only be challenging, if you don't stay calm, cool and collected during the situation, it can be dangerous too. Why!? Many reasons actually... One is because you will be less likely to respond approaperately to warning signs of the person becoming violent.  Another reason is that the more amped up you are, the less situationally aware you become. You get distracted. You may not see other things happening around you, such as other people approaching, a trip hazard or worse! When you lose your composure, you start becoming par

That's What She Said!

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I'm the one in the middle w/the big ole' cheesy smile between Ginger and Michael, Michigan Court Officers, Deputy Sheriff, Process Servers' Association board members.  Late last year I was brought in by the Michigan Court Officers, Deputy Sheriff, Process Servers' Association to do some training with them at their conference held in Midland, MI. Great group!  We covered some really important concepts and tactics to help them not only be safer at their job, but to Live more powerfully  (I know it may sound a bit corny... but it's true!). The feedback has been great... Ginger Z, one of the associations directors said: "Thank you again sooooo much. The feedback was awesome! I will say... the overall consensus is they would love to see you again... Might have to see about what it would take to set up a day long workshop with you." Why?! Why do I often hear feedback like Ginger's? I could say it's because I've been doing this a long time and it'

The Strategy of Laughter

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  Why So Serious?! Difficulty befalls us all. Our lives may be going along perfectly, and then out of the blue ...  WHAM!  ... life decides to test us. You are in the fast lane of life, cruising along at a pretty good clip, and lo and behold, a roadblock appears directly in your path. It wasn't there, and now it is. You have no time to react. Your previously wonderful life is suddenly not so wonderful. You might lose a loved one with no warning. The company you work for goes bankrupt, and overnight you are out of work, wondering what you will do. Or... Maybe your back goes out and you have to teach later that day...  The knee-jerk reaction is to get mad or begin panicking. That's especially the case if you have people who depend on you. This is a time you have to be strong for them and for yourself. The last thing you might be thinking is to embrace humor, but that could be a smart move for many reasons. Laughter Can Help You Manage Conflict Sometime long ago, someone said that