Maybe you know the feeling: you did something small — bought lemonade from a kid's stand, shot hoops for ten minutes with neighborhood kids, gave a scared kid in the back seat of a car a sticker instead of a lecture — and it felt like it barely counted. Like it disappeared the second you drove away.

Retired police chief Neil Cervenka and current Blaine, Washington Police Chief Rodger Funk know it counted more than almost anything else they did in their careers.

In this episode of The Blah, Blah, Blah…Something Wellness Podcast, Tami Sharp and Chris Zamora sit down with Neil (32 years in uniform, from Air Force Police to Central Valley, California, to commanding the Mendocino Coast department in Northern California) and Rodger (30 years, 28 of them with the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office before becoming chief in Blaine) to talk about what actually rebuilds trust between police and the people they serve. It isn't the press conference. It isn't the planned event. It's the two-minute conversation nobody was watching.

Rodger tells the story of the rural Washington deputy who trained him — Tami's own late father — who covered a 72-mile radius of mountain pass alone, and who once let a carload of speeding parents off the hook on one condition: drive straight to the only store in town and buy their kids anything they wanted. Neil talks about the moment a twelve-year-old, mid-brawl, turned a hostile crowd around with one sentence: "No, he's cool, he plays basketball with us."

In this episode, you'll learn:

➡️ Why the community you invest in before you need them is the one that shows up when you do

➡️ The real difference between "coffee with a cop" and the interactions that actually build trust

➡️ Where LEC's "Cross the Line" exercise came from — an MTV Challenge Day experience that still brings Tami to tears

➡️ Why departments removing D.A.R.E. and school resource officers got the criticism backwards

➡️ What to say to a high performer before burnout catches up with them, not after

➡️ Why "there is no routine traffic stop" — and what that means for how officers and community members should treat each other on the side of the road

We spend a lot of energy trying to fix community trust with programs, task forces, and photo ops. This conversation is a reminder that it's actually rebuilt in the ten seconds nobody's filming for social media — one traffic stop, one lemonade stand, one honest conversation at a time.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

0:00 — Intro & Meet the Chiefs

2:56 — Rodger's Story: Riding with Tami's Dad

7:47 — What Proactive Policing Actually Means

11:38 — The Danger Behind "Routine" Traffic Stops

13:04 — Chris & Ernie: The Old Salty Cop Who Taught Community Policing

19:57 — Why "Coffee With a Cop" Isn't Enough

25:40 — The Basketball Hoop That Stopped a Fight

27:54 — The DARE Program Debate

35:20 — Gun Safety & Teaching Kids Younger

39:36 — Cross the Line: The MTV Challenge Day Origin Story

44:53 — Dealing With Toxic Departments & the "Robocop" Persona

47:35 — Burnout Self-Awareness & Peer Accountability

49:12 — Why High Performers Burn Out Fastest

55:40 — "Thank You for Your Service": What It Really Means

59:46 — Tami's Speeding Ticket Story

1:02:29 — Tami's Dad's Newhalem Traffic Stop Trade

1:11:10 — Teaching Compliance: The MMA Gym Scenario

1:15:12 — Rodger's "Army of Advocates" Story

1:17:54 — Final Mic-Drop Takeaways

Ready to bring wellness training or community-trust coaching to your department? Learn more or connect with a coach at https://lawenforcementcoaching.com

???? SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN New episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts and the National Police Podcast Network (https://nppn.live). Subscribe so you never miss a conversation that meets you where you are.

???? JOIN THE CONVERSATION What's one small interaction — a lemonade stand, a traffic stop, a two-minute conversation — that changed how you see your community, or how they see you? Share it in the comments.

#CommunityPolicing #LawEnforcementCoaching #PoliceWellness #FirstResponders #ProactivePolicing #BlahBlahBlahWellness #PoliceLeadership #DutyDrivenDeterioration #TrustBuilding

Two of the most recognized voices in law enforcement and community relations walk into a podcast recorded from Maui — and what comes out is the conversation both sides of the badge have been waiting for.

In this episode, Tami Sharp and Chris Zamora sit down with retired LBPD Sergeant Jason Lehman (founder of Why'd You Stop Me?, 40,000+ leaders trained) and Chino PD Officer Ryan Tillman (founder of Breaking Barriers United, 100M+ views across platforms) to talk about what connecting with community actually looks like — on scene, on social media, and inside the culture of law enforcement itself.

This isn't a theory conversation. Jason went viral racing a woman to his car key during a call. Ryan built Switch — a YouTube series that put Terry Crews through real law enforcement scenarios and nearly hit a million views in 24 hours. These guys live this work every day, and they bring all of it here.

???? WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

Why the camera on scene is protecting you — not threatening you

The Lion vs. the Chihuahua: why meekness (strength under control) is the most powerful command presence you can carry

What Jason's prison research on tactical cussing revealed — and why it should change how officers think about communication

How Switch is creating informed community members instead of impulsive ones — and why it works

Why positive law enforcement content gets shadow-banned and what you can do about it

The real difference between a checkbox program and community policing that actually moves people

Chess vs. Checkers: Ryan's closing framework every officer and community member needs to hear

If you've ever felt the gap between law enforcement and the community widen and wondered what actually closes it — this episode is your answer.

???? RESOURCES & LINKS

Jason Lehman · wysm.org · @JasonLehman64

Ryan Tillman · breakingbarriersunited.com · @breaking_barriers_united · YouTube

Law Enforcement Coaching · lawenforcementcoaching.com

Full Podcast Library · nppn.live

Subscribe, share this with someone on the job or in your community, and drop your thoughts below.

Tami Sharp and Chris Zamora sit down with two veteran police chiefs — Chief Earl Morrison (32 years in law enforcement, author of Leading Without Ego) and Shawn Boyle, Chief of the Yakima Police Department — for an unfiltered conversation on what actually makes a leader worth following.

This episode digs into the real stuff: how toxic leaders unintentionally create great ones, why money isn't what keeps the next generation in law enforcement, and how leading from the front (literally working alongside your officers) builds the kind of culture people don't want to leave. Earl and Shawn share how they're tackling retention without lowering standards, why "hours away from family" matters more than overtime dollars, and how mandating mental health check-ins — not just offering them — removes the stigma and the ego from asking for help.

The conversation connects directly to Chris's Duty Driven Deterioration framework, unpacking how overinvested high performers quietly slide into burnout, and why checking in on your "go-to" people matters just as much as checking in on the ones who are struggling out loud.

Expect real talk on:

- Mentorship that actually develops people instead of threatening to be replaced by them

- Why "retired on duty" isn't a punchline — it's a warning sign

- Mandatory wellness check-ins and why removing the choice removes the shame

- Leading with humility, admitting mistakes, and hiring for fit over experience

- Why the next generation isn't chasing a 20-year career — and how to make room for that

This one is packed with gold for command staff, first-line supervisors, and anyone trying to build a department people are proud to stay in.

???? Listen on the National Police Podcast Network (https://nppn.live) and across all major streaming platforms.

What if the most powerful thing a leader could say to their team is, "Correct me"? In this episode, Tami Sharp and Chris Zamora sit down with retired law enforcement lieutenant, TEDx speaker, and bestselling author Justin — who spent 20 years in the trenches, from the Texas prison system to SWAT, before finding his voice as a leadership coach and the author of How to Get to the Damn Point. This conversation goes deep on what it actually takes to lead well, why toxic leadership can produce the best leaders, how to tell when ego is running the show, and why cops are terrible at celebrating themselves — and what it costs them.

What You'll Learn:

• Why giving your team explicit permission to correct you is a game-changer — and why it goes against everything the paramilitary structure teaches

• How toxic leaders can be more instructive than great ones (and how to use that fuel without becoming them)

• The Walt Disney dreamer/realist/critic framework — and why the dreamer and the critic should never be in the same room

• What it actually looks like when a leader surrounds themselves with yes men — and why it ends in lawsuits or termination

• How parenting and leadership use the exact same skill set, just in different contexts

• Why cops don't celebrate wins, what that costs them long-term, and how to start changing it

• The first indicator that you're leading with ego — and it's not what most people think

• What Eckhart Tolle's work has to do with checking your defensive reactions in a leadership role

• How to deliver hard feedback up the chain without blowing up your career

Key Takeaways:

— The most dangerous thing in a command staff is an echo chamber. If no one challenges you, you are the biggest liability in the room.

— Learning what not to do from a toxic leader is just as valuable — sometimes more valuable — than learning from a great one. Don't waste the lesson.

— You can't let the dreamer meet the critic. If you're building something, protect the idea until it's solid enough to survive scrutiny.

— Celebrating your wins is not vanity. It is a wellness practice. If cops treated their wins the way they treat their worst calls, the math would look completely different.

— Direct communication is a skill set you have to develop on purpose. It doesn't happen by default.

Resources Mentioned:

• How to Get to the Damn Point by Justin — available on Amazon

• The Suspect Within — Justin's TEDx Talk- https://www.tedxsouthlake.com/2024-speakers/justin-atherton

• A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

---

Ready to bring this kind of leadership development to your department? Law Enforcement Coaching offers IADLEST-certified training, one-on-one coaching, department assessments, and retreats built specifically for the law enforcement community.

Learn more at lawenforcementcoaching.com

---

If this episode hit home, don't keep it to yourself. Share it with a sergeant, a lieutenant, a chief — whoever in your world needs to hear it. Leave us a comment below and tell us: what's one thing you learned from a toxic leader that made you better? We read every single one.

Like and subscribe so you never miss an episode of The Blah, Blah, Blah...Something Wellness Podcast, proudly partnered with the National Police Podcast Network at https://nppn.live

She entered law enforcement in 1980 in Southern California — one of seven women in an academy class of 72. She became the first female detective in Santa Barbara County not assigned to juveniles or sex crimes. She sued for discrimination twice. She survived an off-duty attempted murder. She won the sheriff's seat in a county that traces its law enforcement lineage to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid — and then won it again. Kim Stewart is the twice-elected Sheriff of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, only the second woman ever elected sheriff in the state, and she has been breaking barriers in this profession for nearly 45 years. She deserves to be known.

Tami Sharp and Chris Zamora bring her into the room alongside retired Maricopa County Sergeant Greg Nottingham — 31 years MCSO — for one of the most honest conversations about what great leadership actually requires and what it takes to stay in this profession without losing yourself along the way.

What You'll Learn:

- Why the profile that makes you great on the street is the same one that can derail you at the top

- Why great leaders support good ideas — not just their own — and give credit where it's due

- How women in law enforcement are still navigating a system not built for them — and winning anyway

- Why the best call on scene sometimes has nothing to do with force

- What telehealth made possible for high-profile leaders who can't afford to be seen asking for help locally

- Why the culture in law enforcement shifts every 20 years — and what happens to the ones who don't shift with it

- Kim's one-word secret to 45 years without becoming disgruntled

Key Takeaways:

- Evolve with the profession or get left behind — stubbornness works both ways

- Leadership isn't about having all the ideas — it's about knowing whose to back and saying so out loud

- Doing the right thing means you won't always be liked. Do it anyway.

- Ask a real question. Pizza parties don't cut it. Your people want to feel seen and heard.

Resources:

Law Enforcement Coaching → https://lawenforcementcoaching.com

National Police Podcast Network → https://nppn.live

Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office → https://www.donaanacounty.org/sheriff

Need Support?

Safe Call Now: 1-206-459-3020 | https://www.safecallnowusa.org

Copline: 1-800-267-5463 | https://copline.org

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988

If this episode hit home, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe, leave a comment, and come back next week.

You are a temporary steward of a really big leather chair. The day you leave, you're a picture on a wall. The question is — what kind of picture will you be?

This episode of the Blah, Blah, Blah...Something Wellness Podcast pulls back the curtain on what great leadership in law enforcement actually looks like, sounds like, and costs. Because the chiefs who changed everything? They weren't the ones chasing the next rank. They were the ones who showed up on a rifle perimeter just to cover their officer. Who walked the halls, learned your name, and asked about your family. Who understood that policy is the ground floor — and culture is everything above it.

Host Tami Sharp and co-host Chris Zamora are joined by retired Chief Neil Cervenka and Under Sheriff Chris Hsiung — founding board member of The Curve, the leadership nonprofit co-founded with Simon Sinek — for one of the most honest, experience-backed conversations about police leadership you'll hear anywhere.

---

????️ GUESTS

Neil Cervenka — Retired Chief of Police

25 years in law enforcement | 7 years military law enforcement

Chris Hsiung — Under Sheriff, Santa County Sheriff's Office | Retired Chief, Mountain View Police Department | Founding Board Member, The Curve (co-founded with Simon Sinek)

???? The Curve: https://www.thecurve.org

---

???? BOOKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED

Start With Why — Simon Sinek

???? https://www.amazon.com/Start-Why-Leaders-Inspire-Everyone/dp/1591846447

The Infinite Game — Simon Sinek

???? https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Game-Simon-Sinek/dp/073521350X

Simon Sinek TED Talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

???? https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

The Curve — Leadership Nonprofit for Law Enforcement

???? https://www.thecurve.org

---

⏱️ WHAT WE COVER

→ What made one chief show up on a rifle perimeter just to cover his officer — and why that's the whole lesson

→ Why rank does not equal leadership, and what happens to agencies that confuse the two

→ Ego as the slow slide: how decent people become bad leaders and why it rarely starts big

→ Checkbox managers vs. leaders who actually let what they learn change them

→ The Law of Diffusion of Innovation — why targeting your innovators beats fighting your resisters every time

→ The Styrofoam Cup: what rank gives you, what it doesn't, and what gets left behind when you're gone

→ How to reach a toxic, salty veteran before you write them off

→ Passionate debates vs. ego clashes — how to tell which one you're actually in

→ "Policy is the ground floor" — what real culture looks like above it

→ Why retention, not recruitment, is the real measure of whether your leadership is working

→ If you're wearing a uniform at any level, you are already a leader

---

???? CONNECT WITH US

Law Enforcement Coaching LLC: https://www.lawenforcementcoaching.com

National Police Podcast Network: https://nppn.live

What if the "woo woo" stuff actually works — and you've been doing it your whole career without knowing it? In this episode, Tami Sharp and Chris Zamora sit down with hypnotherapist and feng shui expert Rene Kitchukova and Reiki teacher Ann Cabano to "de-woo" holistic healing and translate it into language first responders actually relate to.

This is an honest, grounded conversation about Reiki, hypnotherapy, feng shui, NLP, breath work, and visualization — not as magic, but as practical, measurable tools for nervous-system regulation, trauma recovery, and operational readiness. If you read people, trust your gut, and assess a scene before you walk in, you're already an energy worker. We're just giving you the language and the tools to use it on purpose.

???? WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

Why first responders are already doing breath work and visualization on the range and in the shoot house

How hypnotherapy actually works — and why you slip into a natural state of hypnosis every day

What grief and trauma physically do to the body, and why the body keeps the score

Simple, do-it-from-the-patrol-car tools to complete the stress cycle and reset your nervous system

How to set energetic boundaries so you stop absorbing everyone else's stuff

The "no, don't, can't" reframe that changes what you attract into your life

???? KEY TAKEAWAYS

✅ You are already an energy worker — your gut and your instincts are the proof

✅ "De-wooing" isn't dismissing the work; it's explaining it so more people can benefit

✅ Movement + breath complete the stress cycle, so it stops compounding

✅ What you focus on, you get more of — so focus on what you DO want

✅ You can't grieve wrong, and you can't heal wrong; self-awareness is where it starts

???? RESOURCES & REFERENCES MENTIONED

Tami's writing

"A Skeptic's Guide to Understanding Reiki and Its Benefits" (Police1) — https://www.police1.com/health-wellness/a-skeptics-guide-to-understanding-reiki-and-its-benefits

Schools & training mentioned

Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), Tempe, AZ — https://swiha.edu/

Barbara Brennan School of Healing — https://barbarabrennan.com/

Books mentioned

The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk, MD — https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score

Law of Attraction — Michael Losier — https://www.michaellosier.com/

The Psychology of Wealth — Napoleon Hill — https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Wealth-Practical-Prosperity-Success/dp/1250350069

Also referenced

The Secret (Rhonda Byrne) — https://www.thesecret.tv/

Tony Robbins (NLP) — https://www.tonyrobbins.com/

???? WORK WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT COACHING

LEC delivers culturally competent wellness and the IADLEST-certified Duty Driven Wellness Training Initiative — built for first responders, by people who've lived the job. Learn more or connect with a coach at https://lawenforcementcoaching.com

???? SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN

New episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation that meets you where you are.

???? JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What's one tool from this episode you're going to try this week? Drop it in the comments — and if something stirred up a question, ask it.

⚠️ SUPPORT RESOURCES

This episode touches on grief, trauma, and suicide loss. Support is available 24/7:

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988

COPLINE (24/7 confidential line for law enforcement, answered by retired officers) — 1-800-267-5463

We're going a little woo-woo this month — but as host Tami Sharp puts it, "woo-woo isn't actually woo-woo, it's just misconception." In this episode of The Blah, Blah, Blah…Something Wellness Podcast, Tami is joined by her partner in all things Chris Zamora and two powerhouse coaches from the public safety wellness space: Karen Hurley of Coaching with a Karen, and Sara Brady of Thinline Consulting.

What started as a debunking of myths around energy and spirituality turned into one of the most important conversations this show has had about coaching itself — what it actually is, what it isn't, why it's exploding in law enforcement right now, and how to spot the difference between a real coach and "I cried last week so now I'm a life coach."

???? What This Conversation Gets Into:

Coaching vs. therapy vs. peer support vs. clinical care — and why staying in your lane matters (Sara's NextGen Wellness framework lays it out clearly)

Why coaching is unregulated right now and the standards Tami, Chris, Karen, and Sara are working to set in the first responder space

Chris's FTO analogy for what coaching actually does — teach you, then let you go

Tami's take: coaching is like having a personal trainer for your soul — an accountability partner who knows how to ask the right questions

Why a good coach is a flashlight in the dark, not company in the misery

Energetic boundaries for first responders — saltwater baths, protective bubbles, and why you might be carrying other people's stuff home from shift

The "asshole shield" — how guarding your heart on the job hardens you off the job, and what to do about it

Tami's tip: before you walk through your front door, take off the shield. Stretch. Open your heart. Do a "Care Bear stare" if you have to.

???? A Story That Stops the Show:

Chris shares the story of his friend Officer Rob Targos, killed in the line of duty 20 years ago this week — and the tattooed stranger in a convenience store who, at Chris's lowest moment 18 years into the job, reminded him why he wears the badge. "If you lose your compassion, you've got to get some help."

????️ OGs & Young Bucks:

Sara reframes the generational divide in public safety — the OGs built this profession with blood, sweat, and tears; the Young Bucks are bringing a different kind of grit. Both have something to teach each other, and the agencies that figure that out will win.

???? Mic-Drop Moments:

Karen: "Healing is the hardest work you'll ever do — and the best choice you'll ever make."

Sara: "It's never too early or too late to start doing something differently."

Chris: "It's okay to talk. You are not alone."

Tami: "Take the shield off before you walk in the door."

???? The Panel:

Tami Sharp — Host | Founder & CEO, Law Enforcement Coaching

Chris Zamora — Retired Detective (23 yrs, Gilbert PD) | Co-Founder, LEC | Creator of the Duty Driven Deterioration (DDD) Framework

Karen Hurley — Spiritual Coach | Public Safety Wellness Consultant | Coaching with a Karen

Sara Brady — Retired Dispatcher | Functional Health Practitioner | Founder, Thinline Consulting | NextGen Wellness

???? Join the Conversation:

What's the energetic clutter you're ready to clear this spring? Drop a comment or email us at [email protected] — we read every single one.

???? Connect With Us:

Law Enforcement Coaching: lawenforcementcoaching.com

Can psychedelics like ketamine and ibogaine actually help police officers, firefighters, and veterans heal trauma? In this episode of The Blah, Blah, Blah…Something Wellness Podcast, Tami Sharp and Chris Zamora sit down with Matt Griffin, Caleb Cuevas, and Joe Swanson for an honest conversation about PTSD, suicidal ideation, burnout, and the structured therapeutic modalities helping first responders heal when traditional treatment hasn't been enough.

This isn't reckless experimentation. It's lived experience inside professionally guided settings — ketamine therapy, ibogaine, hypnotherapy, breathwork, and nervous system regulation — with real talk about integration, identity loss, and why "sucking it up" stopped working.

Who this is for: Police, dispatchers, firefighters, corrections, paramedics, military, spouses, and anyone silently carrying invisible wounds.

Resources

Law Enforcement Coaching → https://lawenforcementcoaching.com

The Journey to Midnight by Matt Griffin

Matt Griffin IG → https://www.instagram.com/authormatthewgriffin/

MAPS → https://maps.org

VETS → https://vetsolutions.org

Ambio Life Sciences → https://ambio.life

If you need help now

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call/text 988) | Copline 1-800-267-5463 | Safe Call Now 1-206-459-3020

#FirstResponderWellness #PoliceMentalHealth #PTSD #KetamineTherapy #IbogaineTreatment #TraumaRecovery #LawEnforcementCoaching

In this episode of Blah, Blah, Blah…Something Wellness, Dr. Tami Sharp and Chris Zamora sit down with Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. for a conversation that cuts through surface-level wellness and gets into the real work—healing, awareness, and taking ownership of how we show up in life.

Drawing from the teachings behind The Four Agreements, The Fifth Agreement, and Don Miguel Jr.’s own work including The Mastery of Self, The Five Levels of Attachment, and The Poison Arrow, this episode breaks down how belief systems, conditioning, and unhealed wounds quietly shape our reactions, relationships, and identity.

This isn’t theory—it’s real life. From emotional reactions acting like a “car alarm,” to the danger of believing your assumptions, to the difference between truth and belief, this conversation hits directly on what first responders (and anyone under pressure) actually deal with. The episode also dives into PTSD, identity outside the job, and why so many people resist healing—even when they know something isn’t right.

Chris shares raw, real-world stories from his time in law enforcement that show how fast perception and assumptions can escalate situations—and how awareness and compassion can completely change the outcome. Together, they unpack what it actually looks like to “leave it at work,” why that’s harder than it sounds, and how to start doing it anyway.

If you’ve ever found yourself reacting faster than you can think, carrying things home you can’t explain, or questioning whether healing is even possible—this episode answers that directly.

What you’ll walk away with:

• A simple way to recognize when a reaction is coming from an unhealed wound
• Why “don’t make assumptions” really means don’t believe your assumptions
• The difference between truth and belief—and how it impacts your life
• A clearer understanding of PTSD vs. emotional reactivity
• Permission (and a starting point) to begin healing

???? https://www.miguelruiz.com/

• The Five Levels of Attachment
• The Mastery of Self
• Living a Life of Awareness
• Don Miguel Ruiz’s Little Book of Wisdom
• The Seven Secrets to Healthy, Happy Relationships (co-authored with HeatherAsh Amara)
• The Poison Arrow

These books expand on the foundation of The Four Agreements and take it deeper—into identity, belief systems, emotional wounds, and the real work of self-awareness and healing.

This is one of those conversations you don’t just listen to—you come back to it.

If it hits, share it with someone who needs it.