Tactical Living

Ashlie 1: (00:17) Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors on your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint 3: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie 1: In today's episode, Clint and I are not alone because we are joined by a very special guest by the name of Rick Psonak. Rick, how are you? So Rick, we asked you on our show because you told us a little bit about your background. We've known each other for some time now and I felt like I really wanted to give you a space to showcase a little bit about who you are. So I'll just dive in by sharing with the listener a little bit about your background myself and then we'll dive into some questions that allow really the world to get to know some of your story and how you've used your past to continue to benefit what I believe society as a whole. So a little bit about Rick. Ashlie 1: (01:11) Rick and I met in our Human Potential Institute Training. We are getting certified by uh, The Human Potential Institute and then potentially the ICF. We are coaches. And for Rick a little bit about things you've have shared with me about your background. Rick received his Bachelor of Science degree in orthotics and prosthetics from the University of Washington and he also went to Grad School for prosthetic and orthotic research from the University of Connecticut. Apart from that, in his journey, he has gone along the path to become the principal owner of a small Prosthetic business. They're laughing guys because that's probably the fifth time I've had a hard time pronouncing the word prosthetic… but he also specializes in microprocessors for prosthetic limbs in Jackson, Mississippi. Ashlie 1: (02:07) This this guy's background, we can go into talking about him starting a small silicon and manufacturing business that he's used for product development. He's also a business consultant and expert witness regarding issues concerning prosthetics. On top of that, he is a fellow of the American Academy of prosthetics and orthotics and he served two terms as a commissioner for the national commission of Orthotics and prosthetics education. If that wasn't enough. He has authored and coauthored chapters in textbooks and journals. In addition to that, Rick has also served in the United States army from 1974 to 1977 he is an ordained pastor. He is the cofounder coach and player of the sons of thunder basketball team and he's the founder of the epilogue life, which is a mission to be a resource and to set an example on how to thrive physically, spiritually, financially, and relationally as people age. That's quite a mouthful. Rick 2: (03:12) You made me sound better than I think I really am. Ashlie 1: (03:16) That's what I love about you, Rick. You had this humble way about you and I think that'll a lot of your history is very rich in the things that led you to be able to create this ability to serve other people. And if someone were to look at your biography, and of course this is from my, my point of view, I see this pattern of this continued desire and progression for being able to find ways to articulate your abilities to give back to other people. Can you tell me a little bit about that? Rick 2: (03:52) You know, I think growing up my mom was married five times and uh, and so at a very young age and so I grew up really trying to figure out what did it mean to be a man. And, uh, so I spent more time without a father than I did with the father. And, uh, I think that's part of it. Is this a journey? Trying to figure out what does that mean? What does it mean to be a man? And so I grew up in the inner city in Philadelphia. And so you had the street rats and you had athletes and you had all the different groups. And so I, I think it's just been a journey of figuring out what does it mean to be a person that, uh, has some sort of significance that has a sense of purpose and, and really the military was a big deal for me. Rick 2: (04:43) The only thing I knew about my dad is that he was in the army and, and I have pictures of him and my uncle who was also in the army. And so I thought maybe as, as I struggled through going to college and things like that, and I really was a terrible student, the only thing that I associated with being a man was being in the military. And so, uh, I guess as, as I think about the things I've done, it really goes back to that is that what does it mean to be a man, uh, to be a person that lives a life of significance. And, and certainly I've, over the years I've drawn a call it a correlation that being a person that lives a satisfied life somehow contributes to other people. Clint 3: (05:25) Right? So that's, that's amazing, you know, to really hear your story and to see what you've honed in on for your own past, uh, surrounding your journey and the military seems like it was huge for shaping you into what it was. And you went into the military at a hard time, you know, towards the end of the Vietnam War and just kind of gearing in towards that whole environment of, and Americana at that time, our, our country shifted within that point, within that timeframe from in the early seventies to where we are now. It's completely shifted. So did you actually serve in the Vietnam War? Rick 2: (06:14) No, I was at the very end of it. And so we were training as if, you know, something would still continue just like now with the Iraq war and uh, uh, it just seems like it's a never ending process. And so the same thing was going on at the time I was in is that there always seem to be some conflict. And so, and then I was in a combat unit that was, we were ready to go at any time. That was kind of our motto. Clint 3: (06:41) Hmm. So in that, I'm sure you saw a lot of soldiers coming back from the war within your youth at that time. You seen soldiers coming back from Vietnam, seeing what they were exposed to, seeing what they kind of were invested in and their injuries there, there PTSD now, now we know what it is. How did that articulate into what you've become and what you've done in your own life? Rick 2: (07:11) Yeah. You know, I think, I think in my life, my family had been through a lot of emotional trauma. And so I was really attuned to that. And of course, early like you were saying is that the post-traumatic stress that I don't even know if that word existed at that time, but you could see when you would deal with the soldiers coming back, there was something, there was something missing in their life. And, uh, and, and there wasn't, there weren't groups to, uh, help, uh, individuals develop a strategy. Now how, how do we go from in a jungle in a, in a territory that is nothing like where I grew up and under conditions that there's no, no, there's no practice to prepare you for that. I don't care what you do. And so you're, and these guys are 19, 20, 21 years old. Rick 2: (08:04) I mean these, you know, my son's 21 years old, I don't, he doesn't know where to catch up goes, you know, you don't know how to put that away. And so now we're telling these guys after they've seen people killed and they've been maned and psychologically they've had challenges and now go ahead. You're good luck. Have a good high five. And uh, and so yeah, you didn't take a psychiatrist to recognize that that was happening. And um, and so it is cool. And even now there, there are, uh, you know, certainly challenges, but it's cool to have an organization like what you guys are doing because post-traumatic stress exists all over the place. I mean, patients that I see that are in car accidents that lose limbs, they have post-traumatic stress. And of course, policemen, I lived, one of the things I did is I lived with a policeman for three or four. He was actually Tecta homicide detective. And so, uh, and I would watch him come home after the stress of, uh, of the day of life of a homicide detective and see, hey man, this is taxi. Clint 3: (09:11) No, and you're absolutely right. And, and to identify that its not just first responders, it's not just military veterans, it's anyone who goes through any type of traumatic incident within their lives has some form of PTSD and, and it's crazy to see that the response that our society has towards that nowadays one people over utilize it to the effect of trying to capitalize on it for disability or whatever else it may be. But there are also, it's do people who really need or under utilizing it because they don't want to label put on them. Rick 2: (09:53) Yeah. Clint 3: (09:53) Have you noticed that with say some of your clients that you've worked with with prosthetics? Rick 2: (09:59) Yeah, absolutely. You know, I worked on military base for a couple years after I got out and I, yeah, no, I see. That's the cool thing where as you start to see common pieces of the puzzle in different facets of life. And so we have what's happening with police officers. But if you're not careful, you think, oh, we'll work, we're unique, we're a separate segment of society and you feel isolated. But then we'll send you feel like, well hey, we have some the same symptoms of people who went to battle and then you realize that people who are in substantial trauma situations like in a, in a car or truck accident, well now they have some common things. And so I think one of the solutions, and it's not easy, I don't want to sound like as easy is that we team up, I think we team up. That's a cool thing that you're, the thing that I see what you guys are doing is you are creating a team, a network. When I listened to you about your fishing trip, I thought, man, you guys, you guys got going, you got something special there. And so, um, yeah. If we can start bringing in the different facets and say this, hey, let's use some of the resources that you guys have developed and some of the tactics that you guys now understand and help people who experienced trauma in other aspects of life. Ashlie 1: (11:10) I think it's great that you pointed that out and I love that you preface that by saying that we need to use caution. Um, I just read about another, another police officer. He lives in New York who committed suicide and his service is going to be tomorrow and it just really hit me because the media was very graphic and portraying the fact that his girlfriend was at home and they're talking about the witnesses that heard her shouting, no, no, no. Right before it happened. Hearing the gunshot and hearing her screaming, no, no, no. Again and there, they're just taking us through such a portrayal of what I believe to be very raw and even defaming and we can get into the whole, the whole is with media in general. But the point I'm trying to make here is, is there was one lieutenant who pointed out that it should be routine and consistent for not only police officers, but for anybody in a high stress profession. So it'd be it doctors are like name, name a high stress profession too, where there's some sort of annual therapy. That way it becomes not only required, but it starts to become more open and acceptable. And people don't feel like there's something wrong with you. People understand the fact that this isn't an aide. This is literally like a medical supplement that you need in addition to your profession. What are your thoughts on that? Rick 2: (12:31) Oh, yeah. I mean, some of the solutions are not, they're not easy, but they're common, you know, because one of the things I'm doing now is in my longevity studies as, as we try to figure out how can you have a wife of significance that doesn't end when you're in the military or when you played sports, they can continue on. And you know, some of the common factors that, uh, because apathy, what happens is a person, uh, like with both post-traumatic stress, all of a sudden they ask them questions. Does anybody love me? Do I have anybody to love? Do I now have a purpose? Is there something broken? You're my wife and who, who am I part of a team? We'll, we'll see old folks think that they think something's broken. I'm not as physically active as before. People were, people stereotype me and tell me I'm going to lose my memory. Rick 2: (13:23) I'm not going to remember things. And so some of that is a, there's a study that the words set in motion, physical action in your body. So when you start saying a person has post-traumatic stress, say a placement, if he starts saying, well, I'm crazy, there's something wrong with me. People are not know, don't know how to respond to me. And then what do they do? They back off. And then the isolate themselves. Another one of the factors that, uh, really set in motion, this thing of depression. And, uh, and that happens with the age of people, they all of a sudden feel like, oh man, I don't want to, uh, like my, my stepfather used to say he wouldn't come to a family gathering because, oh, I don't, you know, I don't walk that well and people have to take care of me and bring my food. Rick 2: (14:13) And he's the guy that needs this the most. The officer who has experienced a situation that's not a time to go into isolation. And that's where the team, you know, again, I love it when the team shows up, even, you know, you hate it. Uh, there was an officer killed in the line of duty here, Mississippi and the streets lined up with soldiers and officers and, and you know, for him, uh, the mission was over, but for his family, for his children to see, hey, daddy meant something, somebody for his wife to see. Daddy met some and he was part of something. I think that that nothing can erase the healing, but I think that helps. Ashlie 1: (14:56) Yeah. And it, it brings emotion up for me because when we hear about that, especially Clinton, we're just having this discussion yesterday being not the platform that we have created. We give every intent to pour out positive and influential training information, the words we speak, we have a very important intent when it comes to showcasing things and in recent time we've gained a significant amount of feedback thanking us for not showcasing a lot of the negativity that we do see on similar niche social sites, let's say. To hear that, to hear that from somebody, not let's say in our immediate circle and to hear the respect and just the identification that you had during something like that, like it means a great deal to us to hear that identification and, and taking a step back and maybe bringing the level up just a little bit, but in a lot of my neuroscience studies, Rick, what you had made mention of with the ability to take your thoughts and like plant the seed so to speak. Ashlie 1: (16:13) There are newer studies that have come out that are showcasing the fact that even having the mental exercises in our mind of like physical mobility is producing real physical, statistical, statistical growth in even on like muscle mass. So it's amazing what could happen when we start to identify the power of our intuition, of our, our cognitive abilities. But we need, we need a place for people to be able to showcase how to do it. This isn't something that were ever taught, and that's something I love about the company that you've created with the epilogue worthy life, is that you really want to show people that you don't have to follow this social standard that doesn't have to apply to you anymore. Rick 2: (16:58) Yeah. You know, the thing that I saw in the military in this was a big thing for me spiritually, is that I didn't come from a spiritual background. I mean like my one step father was Catholic and so I hit a little thing of Catholic and I didn't really know anything about God or church and I was in the military and there were two guys, there was two soldiers and they really stuck out to me. And these were guys, these are the guys you wanted to be with. If you were going into a tough situation, you wanted to be with them. And they somehow talked about their spiritual life. Like it was natural. Not that it was weird, they didn't pass out tracks, but they felt like they, they felt like they believed that God existed in, played a role in their life and that their job was to, to be an example. Rick 2: (17:39) And I was, I was fastened. I was intrigued by it. I mean, these are guys that didn't just talk about it but lived it. And I think that's the same thing with what we're trying to do with this longevity study is that there's a lot of groups out there. They're talking about, oh, here's the supplements to take, or here's the research that supports it. The cool thing is, is I've been fortunate to team up with guys that are older than I am. I remember I thought, wow, I'm the baddest ass 65 year old guy in the gym and I would kind of strut around like a peacock. It soon as one guy, uh, was, there's one guy was obviously a little bit older. I didn't think he was older than me, but a little bit older and he was what I was trying to be. Rick 2: (18:17) I mean, you could see every single muscle in his body. He wasn't the bulked up, he was just ripped. And he's a trainer, athletic trainer or a fitness trainer. And so one time I said, his name was Joe. I said, Joe. I said, man, how old are you? I was expecting him to say 58. Well, he's a year older than me. And I was like, Joe, you hurt my feelings. I mean, really, I mean, you know, I lost a couple, uh, Turkey strut and feathers that day. And so, uh, and so then a couple of weeks go by and I'm on the treadmill and there's this, uh, a fella that a tall guy looked like a look like a older doctor. J just a very distinguished, a little bit salt, pepper in his hair. We get talking. He was a specimen too. He's on the treadmill. And I go, so you come here to put a shame on a old man here. And he goes, oh man. I said, well, how old are you? Well, same thing. He was 67. And I thought, Oh, what the heck? You know, I'm not even the second, uh, you know, most fake guy. But the point was, is what I, and then since then I've picked up about three other guys there, fortunately just a little bit younger than me. Rick 2: (19:24) But what happens is they are examples of people living the way that they believe. And so it's not statistics, it's not research. I mean, what I want to do is this investigate why is the, um, um, the retired Navy guy, why is he so healthy? He's taking care of his momma too. And so, you know, why is she so healthy? Uh, and um, and then the same thing with the fitness guide. So we're sort of looking at what, isn't that what you want? You want to be the best example of what you proclaim in what you believe. That's, that's, that's all. And so that's what we're trying to do is say, I don't know what supplements you need. I don't know. I don't know if they even help. Here's why I know is that having a positive attitude, teaming up with people. Um, uh, you know, your, your, your Kryptonite, minimizing the Kryptonite. That's in your life. Certainly Diet and exercise has a big role in that relationship. Listen, my wife, uh, if I live longer, it's because of her support and her love. And as I listened to you two guys, I mean, I see that you've got a powerful, you know, um, Dynamo going there and uh, anyway, Clint 3: (20:37) So, so for your longevity study that you're doing, it sounds absolutely amazing and I love that because it's not science-based, it's not, it's not based off of experts in the area of what supplements you can take and all that. It's based off almost your vibrational pattern that you put out in the day to day along with a healthy lifestyle. Yeah. So in that, how was that in turning? How, how have you seen other people enacting that around you, other than those people that you are doing this study with? Rick 2: (21:17) Yeah, well, one of the, there's a young guy that I'm, I'm coaching in our program. I'm coaching and, uh, he's like 22 years old. And he was also a fitness coach at this same club that went to, and he has a video business where he does commercials for people. And so I said, his name is Derek. And I said, Garrick. Um, I brought him into our meetings and because I thought, well, maybe he gave the help, you know, market it or sell it. And I said, do me a favor though. I'll be honest, is this just some nuance that's speaking to us older guys or is it, does this have some interest to a guy that's 22 years old or how rolly he's probably older than that, but, um, in his twenties. And he said, no, no, no. He was, listen, he goes right now, he goes, a younger person's role model sometimes is another young person, a skateboarder, a guy that's invented some app. And he goes, that only takes you so far. He goes, so my question to myself is, uh, what does life have in store for me? 10, 20, 30 years from that? And he goes, you guys give us a positive picture of what that could be. And so that's kind of the question I asked my kids. I said, let me be honest, is this something that doesn't have anything to do? Everybody is wondering what's around the corner. Huh? Clint 3: (22:43) And, and it's really funny, like I, as you're, you're talking about this eye I can picture of you and your buddies talking about in your meeting, you're all, it comes to my mind. I don't know if you're aware of the movie, the space cowboys. That's it. That's literally what is pinging at me right now. And then I could just see you guys all sitting around saying, no, you've got to do it this way, not this way. And you guys kinda transforming it and then, but really developing this plan, your approach on how you want to do it and bring it out to the world and you're so right. And I think back on every day on the news, you hear this ladies lived to be 105 years old and she attributes tributes it to drink in a Coors light every day. You know, or she had tr day attributed to not sleeping in the same bed together ever. And it's things like that, but what they're really not covering is how lifestyle that, that way of their own vibrational patterns, their own way of living. And it starts up here and it absolutely starts up here and you said it perfectly is when you have that one seed planted, whether it's a good seed or a bad seed, Rick 2: (23:57) It's going to grow. Clint 3: (23:58) That's right. If you had that good seed planted, it's really developing from there. And that's what the key is to longevity. Rick 2: (24:08) Yeah. Well any type of recovery. And that's, you know, for me it's, well, here's what happened for me is that I'd had some injuries. Um, and I guess life was, was I was trying to get some businesses going and I wasn't at home as much as I needed to. I was missing some ball games my kids were playing in and it wasn't, wasn't really in a good place. What wasn't, wasn't a happy place. And, uh, but I didn't know that. I didn't know any other way. And that's the problem is real examples of how to do it right. They're not, they're not out there. And, uh, and so one day I'm coming out of church and a lady comes up to me, she's looking at me and I'm thinking, oh Geez, what somebody hitting on me at church? She says, you, you will make a great person for a photo shoot. Rick 2: (24:54) I'm doing. I'm like, what? She goes, we're doing a calendar and we are going to have cheerleaders in every month and we're going to feature cheerleader, local high school cheerleaders and we need somebody for December. We need somebody to play Santa Claus with a cheerleader on her lap. I'm like, do I, do I get to keep my clothes on in this year? Or like some kind of Bordeaux? And she goes, no, no, no, no. You'll just be there with the, you know, sort of contemporary sack glass. And I'm like, yeah, well, no idea. My picture of Santa Claus, there's a bowl, you know, stomach, like a bowl full of jelly. And I thought, I still see myself as, you know, as rocky. I still see myself as some, some hero and she saying, no, no, you would really make a good Santa Clause. And it was that day, you know, it was called the day. Rick 2: (25:38) I said, I don't want that. I don't want that scenario. I don't want that to be my story that I'm going to be a Santa Claus. Uh, I still, I don't want all my, my, my hero stories to be when I was 20 years old in the military or when I was playing college football or whatever. I want some in the future. But here's what I realized is in order to do that, then okay, I'm going to have to monitor what I eat. I first am going to have to be healthy and then, uh, I need to tie up, man, you know what? I need to up my game with the people I know. That's why it's exciting to know you guys. You guys just elevated my friend level, you know. But there was some, listen, there was some people I had a kick out of my life and I think that's on any team. Rick 2: (26:21) I don't know if that's with the police force, but there's some folks that are negative and bring you down and make you weaker. And it was really during that time I, there was some folks, like I said, you know what, I'm not going to hang out with them anymore. So my wife and she said, good cause all we do is complain about stuff whenever we're around them. And I want to be around people that are exciting. I want to be around with young people, with the young mindset. And, and so I think in any recovery or improving your longevity, you need people to love. You need things to do. You need people to team up with. Uh, you need things that you want to learn. You need places that you're going to go to. You know, as I was listened to Ashley talk about, you're not fishing but wanting to fish and yeah. And, and I think you had indicated there was some fears in the process, but you, but the fears, you know why parachute, not because I'm, I'm brave and heights is cause it's scary. That makes life fun. [inaudible]. Ashlie 1: (27:23) Yeah. I would love to just point something out to you and that's what you would discuss too to some people, the listeners, as you're listening to this, you, you might have found humor in Rick story as it pertains to being offered the very prestigious role of Santa Claus and him shutting it down. But the way that I see that Rick is you, you really broke the mold by telling her, no, I don't see myself the same way that you see me, and I think so many people don't have that type of courage because a lot of us think that we're being discourteous by disagreeing with somebody in that same instance, and I want to applaud you for really showcasing your own truth because I don't believe that a lot of people find it acceptable to do that. And Clinton, I always try to stress getting outside of that social norm and that conformity that we've really had imposed on us from a very, very young age. And I think that's a perfect example of showcasing that you're owning your own reality and you're not allowing anybody, be it a sweet little lady at Church or, or anybody else dictate who you're supposed to be. Rick 2: (28:28) Yeah, yeah. No, you know, you articulated perfectly. And I think that's the problem is that when the media, right now, that's who's defining a lot of things where I'm at, Mississippi is known to be a hotbed of racial tension. Yet the people that are on my team, it's predominantly black individuals. And then I asked them, I said, listen, maybe we can use this for something else other than longevity. Maybe we can show. And, and I think that there were, was a sense of the reality that the false reality, the false narrative that the media portrays are there other areas of hotbed were racial tensions. Yeah. But it's not, it's not predominant. It's the police that listen to police matter look like a bunch of crazy people out. Just shoot in the first person, walk around. And I know, I know police officers that that's not their intent. Rick 2: (29:26) Nobody's there with the camera when they're, uh, they're helping somebody or protecting somebody or when they're involved, engage in social activities in the community. Where's the camera then? And yet, but that doesn't make news. They want to, you know, they want a dirty Harry scenarios what they want. And so I think that that's why I told these guys that I'm working with, I said, I want you guys to be famous because you are worthy to be an example for the younger folks. I think Clint guys like you, you are worthy to be the example of what a policeman is. And it's not. Rick 2: (30:02) Well, we, can go to why bad things happen. But you know, in my mind, when I was, when I was a soldier, we practice every day shooting. We practice entering a room, how to go in with a team. And a lot of times what happens is that in some professions is that, uh, you're not engaged. We always felt like we're going to go to war. We were ready. A police officer doesn't go to work that think this day. And I remember the story that I actually talked about with the, when you entered the house is that, gee, you didn't know that day that you're going to actually go to the crossroads of life and death. And so for, I think the unfortunate things for what I, my experience with police officers, they are not in that tension mode of I better have my six gun drawn at any moment. And so, and then now we're going to criticize somebody who went from kissing their wife goodbye and then entered into a combat zone. The, I think it's unfair. I think it's the media. I blame the media because they're just trying to get, they don't care about you. They don't care about the victim. They care about a good story and shame. Shame on them. Clint 3: (31:11) Yeah, absolutely. I couldn't have said it better myself and, and I appreciate your kind words. I really do. Um, you know, and, and being a police officer and being your first responder in general, it's, it's not easy nowadays. Times have changed. We have to adapt, we have to overcome. But you know, one thing Ashley and I really wanna to do is, is, you know, present the humanity behind the badge, whether you're a firefighter, a police officer, or an ambulance driver. You know, firefighters always get the positive news stories, but it's kinda something that we as first responders, we all have the animosity towards each other than we had and we've talked about to you the listener before in reference to that. But for four, as a first responder, you know, when we go to work, we kiss our spouse, we kiss our kids, our dogs, whoever that may be to you. And we don't go out upon, you know what, I'm going to shoot somebody today. Yeah. That's the least of what we've ever thought about. It's really trying to understand what can I do not to have to shoot somebody? What can I do to come home safe to my family at the end of the day while I protect the city, the county, the state that I worked for. Ashlie 1: (32:33) Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. You both of you, I appreciate you for sharing that. And Rick, I just want to dive into a little bit of the epilogue worthy life a little bit because I know how hard you're working and you've created this team of very likeminded individuals who understand that there's so much more that you're worthy of and creating and receiving and giving in in your world, especially as you age. So can you talk to the listener through a little bit about some of the services that you've created and what your offering is? Rick 2: (33:03) Well, well, we're very early. We're very early in the process. And so right now what we're doing is, um, you know, silver, our motto is we got stuff to do. That's the model we have stuff to do. It's not over. We're not, I'm not, we're not retiring. We're not going fishing. And so what we're doing right now is we're formulating the stories and identifying the message that, uh, each of these individuals have. And that's what we really want to do with, uh, um, w our plan is to do probably on, um, a podcast, uh, to do some seminars because, you know, uh, one of the guys is, um, you know, he's, he's, he's an expert on fitness and diet and, and things like that. And so we want to help people, um, understand how your diet affects how well you're able to get into that zone, to that best version of yourself. Rick 2: (33:55) And then how exercise, I mean, there's a lot of research that speaks to that. And then, um, uh, the one fellow, the ex-navy officers, also a pastor. And so how does spirituality, how does that attribute, how, how does that change as you get older and how does that affect your view, your picture of yourself and, um, and so in matter of fact, one of the guys that is on the team is a, uh, former professional baseball player. And he's a guy who reached the pinnacle, kind of the pinnacle of his career in dreams in his twenties and early thirties. And so what happens from there? The point is what happens is when, when you retire or when your success is something in your past. And so we're right now at the point of developing those stories. And, um, I think that's a big part of it is if you're familiar with the hero's journey and, um, uh, I took a course called storyline and the question they ask is, so what kind of character are you in your story? Rick 2: (34:55) Or are you the lead character in your story? There are some people whose narrative is that their secondary to their spouse or to their boss or they're still doing what their dad told him. Um, you know, and so some online you have to become the lead character in your story and then recognize in any exciting story, um, you know, it's not exciting story to say, you know, okay, what's your story? Why I want to buy a BMW? You know, that interest not that compelling, but hey, I want to go out there on the big water and catch me a big fish and there's going to be challenges in the process. I'm going to go out there and uh, you know, uh, who knows what that the weather. And so that's like, now we've got an exciting story. You know, the weather is a factor in then fighting the big fish is a factor and that's an exciting narrative, but you want to be the hero in your story. Rick 2: (35:48) Now the other thing what's cool about being a coach or even a police is that when you're the person who enters a another person's story and you're the guy, hey, let me be your guy. Let me, let me help you. You know, the person who calls nine one one, well, they're the star of their story, but they need, they need the guide to come in and protect them. Um, and, and we, we all need a coach. We all need a mentor. Um, so that's what I'm hoping is, hopefully we'll have a team of guys that will be good mentors, uh, that will have, you know, everybody, like the one guy says he eats Red Jello and that helps the cartilage in his knee. I don't know if that does, but he thinks it does. And so you know, well, what we're looking at is for the commonality. We're looking at all the guys exercise routinely. That's a common thing. All the guys watch what they eat. That's a common thing. All the guys have a um, positive family relationships. That's that, that when you start finding those types of commonalities, well now we have a, uh, we have some maybe steps that we can enter in. We have to think, are these contextual? Maybe they just worked in this context or are they universal? And so those are the types of things that we'll, we'll ask, do you guys eat Red Jello? Clint 3: (37:08) I Love Red Jello. So this is an incredible platform and foundation that you've created and I know that you're going to do amazing things. And I think the diversity and the networking aspect of this and how you're really being cognizant and, and taking your time to pull all of the things that make sense together before you just started, you know, word vomit out into the world. I think that just shows me a little bit more about your character, Rick. And what you mentioned was that it's so important to be the star of your story. And what you said was, let me be your guide. And that brings me back to the beginning when we first started this interview where you're talking about not having that mill role model in your life and using military service to help you to form that discipline and to become, become a man. So to sum it up, can you share with the listener a little bit about how this journey, how that first decision to join the military service and everything that happened thereafter led you to be what I believe such an incredible man that we're honored to be able to sit in front of right now. Rick 2: (38:28) Yeah. At any point in my life, if someone were to come up to me and say, uh, that, let me, let me train you, let me help you. I would have been, I would have received it, but there wasn't, there weren't people. Now, there were a lot of, you know, cocky folks who, who, um, but they're bad asses and then somehow wanted to teach you, wanted you, wanted you to be their boy. Uh, well I'm talking about somebody who was living an epic wife. If somebody were to come up to me, I, I would have jumped on board and I, I probably would've followed somebody bad if they, um, they came along. But fortunately, like I met these soldiers and all of a sudden I seen people who were succeeding by doing what was right and doing the hard thing and that they were able, the other thing was being able to clearly articulate what they believe and, um, and doing it in a way that, you know, the, that nobody, nobody snickered at these guys. Rick 2: (39:31) And so when I got out of the military and, um, and start thinking what I was going to do, um, uh, well, I was injured in the military. What happens? I was injured and, um, where I was, when I was in the hospital, there was a guy that had lost his leg and he was in a wheelchair. And I wanted to be able to say, do you know, cause he sat by himself, his obviously he was depressed. I wanted to say, come hang out with us. And I thought, well, what's he going to say if I say, dude, how you doing? I thought I was going to say Masa. What do you think? Because, so I didn't know how, I couldn't see how the interaction, so I just avoided in one day, uh, they brought in a prosthesis in fit him and he stood up and start a walk and I go that that is a coolest damn thing I've ever seen. Rick 2: (40:19) That's what I'm going to do. I just knew I was gonna do that. So again, these examples and, and the guys that work with them seem to know they were compassionate and they, um, they had skill and that's what I wanted. I felt like I was a guy that didn't have a lot of skill. Uh, didn't have a lot of confidence just because of my, my upbringing. And even when I went into the military, uh, there are a lot of, I was doing a lot of cool things, but I was still the same guy. I, I wanted to, I didn't want to stay the same, just say, I don't know if you've got time for a quick story, but you know, I always wanted to change in the, I was at the hospital one time and a guy was in the hospital and he had a short sleeve shirt on and he had a big airborne tattoo. Rick 2: (41:00) So parachute with wings on it. And I thought, I love the give military guys a chance to cry. And so I went up to him and I said, dude man, well tell me about that tattoo he was with. I'm one of those guys that jumped out of perfectly good airplanes in the military. I go, really? I said, well what unit were you in? And then he looks at me a little bit and he goes, I'm never, I've never made it to a unit. I go, what? It was. Yeah. Yeah. Cause I got ahead of that thing. I think, God, I didn't know that was an option. Got Out. W what do you mean? Here's, well, you know, all those lifers take it so serious and uh, I, I'm not one of them dumb guys, you know, they have to be told what to do. So I just got out. Rick 2: (41:42) Well now, I mean, I don't know what to say cause I'm going up here to compliment him and it's, it's kind of taken a turn. I don't even know what he's talking about. And so fun. I just, in order to kind of conclude the conversation, I said, well, you know, did it, did it, did your experience, um, help you any way change you in any way for the good, you know, and he goes, no, he goes, I came out the same way I went in and, you know, I was like, okay, I guess we're done now. You know, and I thought they want to say a thing cause I didn't come out the same way I went in. I came out with a different view of what teamwork meant, what friendship meant, what dedication it would hard work, man. And, uh, and, and that's, that's what his, his, his, even now I don't, I don't want to come into my thirties and come, come onto my forties the same way that I entered in, you know, and, and even with friendships, man, I don't want to meet you guys and leave without something happening, some connection happening here, because, you know, as time goes on, I don't have a lot of time for stuff that doesn't work. Rick 2: (42:45) And so, um, so really that's the, the thing is I think is as I go on, I still want to learn. I still want to grow, even though there's some things that I can't do it, guess what? There's some things I can do. I ran a marathon with my daughter, a half marathon with my daughter, uh, and I was 64. Uh, I entered my first fitness contest and won it. I was 60. Um, I started two businesses, 63. Um, and so I think one, it's my nature to do that kind of stuff. Um, the other, um, it's exciting. It's adventurous. I'm a late bloomer, I guess. Ashlie 1: (43:25) Um, there's never been a more appropriate time to say better late than never. Ashlie 1: (43:32) And Rick, as we wind things down here, I just want to point out that I do believe you owe me a story as it relates to a cadaver putting you in a headlock. Rick 2: (43:43) You know, I listened to that story about a client he got tackled by a Zombie. You know, I thought, yeah, I can relate. Um, when I was a, when I was, one of the courses I needed to take before I go to the University of Washington is I had to have a could diver anatomy class and um, at East Cara, so I was at East Carolina University and they had a brand new medical program and on the seventh floor of the hospital was the cadaver land. And so what would happen is as students, we would get a key, and this was an intense course. It was in the summertime. So it was faster than normal. And what we'd have to do is during the tests is we have to identify the smallest bone or the smallest nerves. And we were studying the brachial plexus. And again, I was not a good student. Rick 2: (44:31) I'm panicking. It's like 11 o'clock at night. I can't study, I have to pass this test. I was accepted universe, Washington contingent of passing this test. And so I think I got study, we're studying the brachial plexus, a series of small nerves in the eye, exhilaration in the armpit. And so I go up to this seventh floor. And so as you go, the floor of the hospital, you go in, there's a lot of activity even at night, but as you start going up the floors, you have administration on the top floor, there's nobody. And then you go into the cadaver lab and it's freezing cold. It smells like Formaldehyde and you have 20, um, looks like stainless steel coffins that the bodies are down inside and you wheel him up, you know, to, to eye level. And so I have all these podiums around and the brachial plexus are these nerves bet the size of a string and they'd go in and out of muscles and they, they come from your sir, um, from your neck, from the, uh, Vertebra and come down to different muscles. Rick 2: (45:28) And activate these muscles and they purest muscles. And so I gotta be able to identify them. And so these body, so I will my guy up and we called him half and half because half his body had the skin on the other half. He'd been carved out by the pre-med students where they would separate his pictorial muscle from his major, from his Pec minor. And so I'm in here. So if you can imagine I got my guy up like you, like a touched, like the referee would signify a touchdown. So he's up uh, his armpit, his eye level and I'm trying to find these nerves in his pictorial. I had to pull his pectoral muscle back and trying to find this nerve. And when I let go it, it comes back slaps over top of where I'm trying to find it. And now I've lost what I was looking for it. Rick 2: (46:12) And so I do this three or four times and I got my face right in there with a magnifying glass cause I got to find it cause I'm like facing. And finally I get irritated and I grab that pictorial muscle where the pictorial muscle inserts on your humerus. And so his arms are like this. I grabbed his pictorial, his arm goes over top of my head and of course Rigor Mortis has set in and I'm sitting on a chair, I can't get away [inaudible] closer to his exhilarate and I listen, I know this guy's dead. You know what his problem is? I've watched too many Zombie movies and I'm like, I know he's dead, but somebody might have just jumped. I don't know, maybe somebody just jumped in here and I try to calm myself. I, you know, put the, the sheet over top of them, crank them back down, and then I get out of there and I see a security guard and I go, Hey sir, how you doing? How you been? You work here long, you've been in here, you know what time is? I had have somebody talk to you. I tell everybody I got a headlock by a cadaver. That's a memory that I'm sure you've carried with [inaudible]. Well, that's it. Yeah. We have another thing for us to share. Absolutely. We battled the zombies together. Ashlie 1: (47:29) Oh, Rick, it's been such a pleasure to sharing this space with you and hearing more of your story and just building on our friendship together and you know, as, as you listen, I, I'm sure there's some nuggets or some pieces of wisdom or relate-ability that you share with Rick and his story and Rick and I'm just wondering how as a listener, if they want to reach out to you, what's the best way, Ashlie 1: (47:54) How could they contact you and I'll give you my information?

Rick 2: Yup. Certainly they should certainly email me at, um, I don't even know my email address. Ashlie 1: (48:06) It's [email protected] Rick 2: (48:09) There we go. Yeah. And listen, love to, to talk to them. And to me the lesson is teaming up and you know, I love, you know, the fact that I feel like we're teaming up here and I think, uh, no matter what your, you know, tense situation is, don't, don't face it alone. You weren't meant to face it alone. And, um, yeah, Ashlie 1: (48:32) Perfect way to end it. Rick, we thank you again. We thank you for your service and as you listen, if any of this resonates with you, then you know that that's how you're able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

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[Intro] 

911, what’s the nature of your emergency?  

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton. 

Clint: And I am your co-host Clint Walton. 

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about why it's so important for women to make their men feel like their king and why it's even more important in my opinion for men to make your wife or your girlfriend, significant other feel like your queen. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content.

Clint: Now Clint didn't come into my family easily. I say that because I grew up in a home with five brothers. I am the only girl and I was surrounded by more love, attention, affection, gifts, surprises and really co-dependency than most people and I couldn't be more grateful for that. But in saying that coming into my family and asking my dad to marry me, I would imagine was probably one of the most difficult things for you to have had to do. And I say that because even to this day my dad still calls me his princess and I know if I was a fly on the wall during that conversation, my dad probably would have instilled into you the fact that the only way that this would work is if you made sure to treat me like a princess the same way that he always has. 

Ashlie: Yeah and I still remember the conversation and where we were and everything surrounding it to this day and I remember one thing specifically that your dad brought up is, I better take care of you as well as he has. And that's always stuck with me. But I’ve always set a goal for myself to take care of you better. And in that I find it to where one, it makes me feel good to know that I’m taking care of you, but I’m also honoring your dad's wishes for you through his eyes. 

Clint: And I’m sitting right next to Clint and I had to look away just now because he's looking at me directly in the eyes and as he's telling me this. And I know that as he's saying it, it comes from a place of the most genuine source and anything that he does, it's not to try to pretend like he is doing things to make me happy or saying or acting in a certain way because he thinks it will make me happy. He genuinely picks up on these cues throughout the day to where he'll do the most random little things that I appreciate so much. And it's because of the attention that he pays into those things in our day to day living that he's able to pick out the things that he knows are going to show me love in the best way possible and as a woman, like as a young girl before we got married or even during you know the who are planning the wedding and everything like that. My dad is a contractor he literally built a stage on top of his bar and had his carpet guy install a red carpet for us to walk to down. And yeah we got married at my parents house on top of his spa. It was actually the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever been to. And every girl wants to be that princess. But she doesn't just want to look the part, she wants to feel the part. And my dad always showed me that, he's still always makes me feel like his special girl and in getting married and then realizing that whether we want to believe it or not many of us as girls look for those same attributes in the man that we want to marry. We hear it a lot in how men oftentimes seek women that have some of the same virtues as their own mothers. And I think that there's some validity in saying that because I needed a strong protector. I needed somebody to show me endless love that was just pure. Like the same kind of love that my dad showed me as his kid. And Clint you do that constantly. You do such a good job at making me feel like you're queen. You hold me up on this pedestal but not in a way to where I’m any better than you. But in a way to where you can love and honor and respect me in the same way that I know I try every day to do for you. And you absolutely do. And I don't say it enough to you how much I do appreciate everything that you do for me and how you approach everything in our lives. You deal with my knuckleheadness. But it's something that you've come to enjoy and love about me. Even though it irritates you sometimes. You love my whole package of who I am and you are that sunshine in my day in and I strive for everything I can do to make sure you're happy and in turn you do the same for me. And neither one of us is doing it in a expectation or of sense of entitlement. We do it because we truly love one another. And you're, your way about you is, you're such so much like your dad and you're so firm and strong in so many ways. But you had this softness about you that really just highlights everything that you are. And that's where I just love you with that.

Ashlie: I love you baby.

Clint: And as you're listening I did not intend for this to get this as mushy as it has. My intention is to be able to point out the fact that as a woman it has been so important for me and really this learning curve for me to understand that as you, as a man I need to do as much as I can to make you feel as strong and masculine and protective as you are.

Ashlie: And it's easy for us to just kind of bypass that and not verbally express that as a woman. 

Clint: And something that's so important to us do you don't put me down and I see this in relationship after relationship that you know either we've coached through or we've just seen out in the world of the wife is just kind of dragging the husband along by the leash instead of walking side by side. 

Ashlie: Or vice versa. 

Clint: Exactly. And it's sad when you see that. But if it works for them great. But it's something we should all be walking side by side in our lives and building one another up. Not pushing someone down to either lower them down a level so you feel about them. But to bring them up to that level to walk with you. 

Ashlie: For sure and we don't live our marriage in a way to where we ever compare ourselves to other people. We set the precedents for that during our premarital counseling. Really we've had so many long discussions about just being independent from the world as it pertains to our marriage. But it's definitely something that you notice when it starts tapping at you in this negative way when you see that negativity in other people's relationships. And for us because we're such people pleasers, especially as coaches we just want to help everybody. You know we just want to literally like take a cape and like shield them and they come here, let me just show you a different way. Because it doesn't have to be this negative emotion like as people are driving down the frickin road we see people arguing. We just saw it yesterday where their hands are up in the air, they're screaming in this closed car like, oh I can feel that in the car next to them. It doesn't have to be that way. It should not be that way ever. I can tell you right now Clint I have never once had it that way in our marriage. Because we're perfect? No absolutely not. But because we've used other tools to make sure that it never gets to that point, we have other points of release. We have other tools that we're able to use instead of this screaming match and then you have high blood pressure and early mortality rate and of course divorce and infidelity like all these other things that come along with that. 

Clint: And it's that snowball effect. Because say just figuratively speaking  with you, you yelled at me all the time. Well that would put me in an area where I closed myself off more and more and more over time because yelling doesn't get us anywhere. 

Ashlie: And I think both of us Clint we have to admit like we're pretty lucky. Because I can't think of a single time where like Clint yelled at me or I can remember yelling at Clint and I don't like screwing around like. 

Clint: Neither one of us are yellers. But I mean there are people who do.

Ashlie: Yeah. We actually have fun with stuff like that pretending like what did you leave this here for Mr. Walton.

Clint: Well and it's why you will play fight sometimes and we call her the fun police. 

Ashlie: We actually physically play fight like wrestling on a couch or on the floor. And the fun police Clint’s talking about is our oldest dog Bella.

Clint: She, if we start laughing and even to this day like as we record this podcast if we laugh too loud, we'll hear her barking downstairs and we're like oh jeez.

Ashlie: Little brat, extra editing. 

Clint: I know. 

Ashlie: But what I want to point out is really and in all relationships, not just  your most intimate ones, that any relationship that you're in where you're physically communicating with somebody on a regular basis. What ways are you able to love honor and respect then and most importantly to show them that appreciation by doing something further than just saying hey thank you. Appreciate that. How about saying something like you know I noticed that you were able to clean out the fridge at work and I know nobody else has done that for a maybe a year. Like I think it's really cool that you did that. And I just wanted to point out to you and tell you that I appreciated that.

Clint: Or it could be something that they did for you and just really expressing your gratitude towards them. Whether it's expected or not expected, just showing your appreciation for subordinates or people even above you. Just for stuff that anyone do throughout the day. 

Ashlie: And it doesn't necessarily have to be anything monetary either, like just a simple like expression. I just did this with somebody that I haven't yet done it with before. But I sent him a long text message about the things that I appreciate that he does in my day to day because I really value those things and I’ve said thank you thousands of times. But I’ve never elaborated on that. Thank you. And just by doing that one simple trick. Try to do it every day. Show somebody and tell them expressively why you love honor and appreciate them. Get creative with putting sticky notes on your kids mirror so they see it in the morning or in their lunch box. And like I say, it doesn't have to be like just your spouse. It could be any intimate relationships that you're in. When you're able to be comfortable enough to know that you do appreciate these things, that you learn the tool of being more expressive with it the relationships continue to grow and they deepen. And by having those deep relationships they become so much more meaningful. And that's what the world is all about is creating these meaningful relationships with one another. Really enriching what it is that you want to give to others and showing that gratitude any chance that you can and when you're able to do that you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

Let’s Connect! 

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Email: [email protected] 

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Website: www.leowarriors.com

[Intro]

911, what's the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I am your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about why it's so important for women to make their men feel like their king and why it's even more important in my opinion for men to make your wife or your girlfriend, significant other feel like your queen. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content.

Clint: Now Clint didn't come into my family easily. I say that because I grew up in a home with five brothers. I am the only girl and I was surrounded by more love, attention, affection, gifts, surprises and really co-dependency than most people and I couldn't be more grateful for that. But in saying that coming into my family and asking my dad to marry me, I would imagine was probably one of the most difficult things for you to have had to do. And I say that because even to this day my dad still calls me his princess and I know if I was a fly on the wall during that conversation, my dad probably would have instilled into you the fact that the only way that this would work is if you made sure to treat me like a princess the same way that he always has.

Ashlie: Yeah and I still remember the conversation and where we were and everything surrounding it to this day and I remember one thing specifically that your dad brought up is, I better take care of you as well as he has. And that's always stuck with me. But I've always set a goal for myself to take care of you better. And in that I find it to where one, it makes me feel good to know that I'm taking care of you, but I'm also honoring your dad's wishes for you through his eyes.

Clint: And I'm sitting right next to Clint and I had to look away just now because he's looking at me directly in the eyes and as he's telling me this. And I know that as he's saying it, it comes from a place of the most genuine source and anything that he does, it's not to try to pretend like he is doing things to make me happy or saying or acting in a certain way because he thinks it will make me happy. He genuinely picks up on these cues throughout the day to where he'll do the most random little things that I appreciate so much. And it's because of the attention that he pays into those things in our day to day living that he's able to pick out the things that he knows are going to show me love in the best way possible and as a woman, like as a young girl before we got married or even during you know the who are planning the wedding and everything like that. My dad is a contractor he literally built a stage on top of his bar and had his carpet guy install a red carpet for us to walk to down. And yeah we got married at my parents house on top of his spa. It was actually the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to. And every girl wants to be that princess. But she doesn't just want to look the part, she wants to feel the part. And my dad always showed me that, he's still always makes me feel like his special girl and in getting married and then realizing that whether we want to believe it or not many of us as girls look for those same attributes in the man that we want to marry. We hear it a lot in how men oftentimes seek women that have some of the same virtues as their own mothers. And I think that there's some validity in saying that because I needed a strong protector. I needed somebody to show me endless love that was just pure. Like the same kind of love that my dad showed me as his kid. And Clint you do that constantly. You do such a good job at making me feel like you're queen. You hold me up on this pedestal but not in a way to where I'm any better than you. But in a way to where you can love and honor and respect me in the same way that I know I try every day to do for you. And you absolutely do. And I don't say it enough to you how much I do appreciate everything that you do for me and how you approach everything in our lives. You deal with my knuckleheadness. But it's something that you've come to enjoy and love about me. Even though it irritates you sometimes. You love my whole package of who I am and you are that sunshine in my day in and I strive for everything I can do to make sure you're happy and in turn you do the same for me. And neither one of us is doing it in a expectation or of sense of entitlement. We do it because we truly love one another. And you're, your way about you is, you're such so much like your dad and you're so firm and strong in so many ways. But you had this softness about you that really just highlights everything that you are. And that's where I just love you with that.

Ashlie: I love you baby.

Clint: And as you're listening I did not intend for this to get this as mushy as it has. My intention is to be able to point out the fact that as a woman it has been so important for me and really this learning curve for me to understand that as you, as a man I need to do as much as I can to make you feel as strong and masculine and protective as you are.

Ashlie: And it's easy for us to just kind of bypass that and not verbally express that as a woman.

Clint: And something that's so important to us do you don't put me down and I see this in relationship after relationship that you know either we've coached through or we've just seen out in the world of the wife is just kind of dragging the husband along by the leash instead of walking side by side.

Ashlie: Or vice versa.

Clint: Exactly. And it's sad when you see that. But if it works for them great. But it's something we should all be walking side by side in our lives and building one another up. Not pushing someone down to either lower them down a level so you feel about them. But to bring them up to that level to walk with you.

Ashlie: For sure and we don't live our marriage in a way to where we ever compare ourselves to other people. We set the precedents for that during our premarital counseling. Really we've had so many long discussions about just being independent from the world as it pertains to our marriage. But it's definitely something that you notice when it starts tapping at you in this negative way when you see that negativity in other people's relationships. And for us because we're such people pleasers, especially as coaches we just want to help everybody. You know we just want to literally like take a cape and like shield them and they come here, let me just show you a different way. Because it doesn't have to be this negative emotion like as people are driving down the frickin road we see people arguing. We just saw it yesterday where their hands are up in the air, they're screaming in this closed car like, oh I can feel that in the car next to them. It doesn't have to be that way. It should not be that way ever. I can tell you right now Clint I have never once had it that way in our marriage. Because we're perfect? No absolutely not. But because we've used other tools to make sure that it never gets to that point, we have other points of release. We have other tools that we're able to use instead of this screaming match and then you have high blood pressure and early mortality rate and of course divorce and infidelity like all these other things that come along with that.

Clint: And it's that snowball effect. Because say just figuratively speaking with you, you yelled at me all the time. Well that would put me in an area where I closed myself off more and more and more over time because yelling doesn't get us anywhere.

Ashlie: And I think both of us Clint we have to admit like we're pretty lucky. Because I can't think of a single time where like Clint yelled at me or I can remember yelling at Clint and I don't like screwing around like.

Clint: Neither one of us are yellers. But I mean there are people who do.

Ashlie: Yeah. We actually have fun with stuff like that pretending like what did you leave this here for Mr. Walton.

Clint: Well and it's why you will play fight sometimes and we call her the fun police.

Ashlie: We actually physically play fight like wrestling on a couch or on the floor. And the fun police Clint's talking about is our oldest dog Bella.

Clint: She, if we start laughing and even to this day like as we record this podcast if we laugh too loud, we'll hear her barking downstairs and we're like oh jeez.

Ashlie: Little brat, extra editing.

Clint: I know.

Ashlie: But what I want to point out is really and in all relationships, not just your most intimate ones, that any relationship that you're in where you're physically communicating with somebody on a regular basis. What ways are you able to love honor and respect then and most importantly to show them that appreciation by doing something further than just saying hey thank you. Appreciate that. How about saying something like you know I noticed that you were able to clean out the fridge at work and I know nobody else has done that for a maybe a year. Like I think it's really cool that you did that. And I just wanted to point out to you and tell you that I appreciated that.

Clint: Or it could be something that they did for you and just really expressing your gratitude towards them. Whether it's expected or not expected, just showing your appreciation for subordinates or people even above you. Just for stuff that anyone do throughout the day.

Ashlie: And it doesn't necessarily have to be anything monetary either, like just a simple like expression. I just did this with somebody that I haven't yet done it with before. But I sent him a long text message about the things that I appreciate that he does in my day to day because I really value those things and I've said thank you thousands of times. But I've never elaborated on that. Thank you. And just by doing that one simple trick. Try to do it every day. Show somebody and tell them expressively why you love honor and appreciate them. Get creative with putting sticky notes on your kids mirror so they see it in the morning or in their lunch box. And like I say, it doesn't have to be like just your spouse. It could be any intimate relationships that you're in. When you're able to be comfortable enough to know that you do appreciate these things, that you learn the tool of being more expressive with it the relationships continue to grow and they deepen. And by having those deep relationships they become so much more meaningful. And that's what the world is all about is creating these meaningful relationships with one another. Really enriching what it is that you want to give to others and showing that gratitude any chance that you can and when you're able to do that you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.

Let's Connect!

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Website: www.leowarriors.com

[Intro] 

911, what’s the nature of your emergency?  

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by the LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton. 

Clint: And I’m your co-host Clint Walton. 

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about why it's so important to be able to measure your body metrics and how there's so much more than just what you see on the scale. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint and I discovered what a Bod Pod was and we were intrigued. As you sit there if you're not familiar, it's literally like this little personalized spaceship looking egg that you sit inside of. It's a chamber that closes, you wear little to no clothing and as it pressurizes it gives you an entire analysis of your body composition. Most importantly your ratio of fat to muscle and even goes as deep as being able to tell you which area of your body consist of what element of fat and muscle. So we've been online. Clint actually booked the appointments for us. We were so excited to go there and we show up and she's like I’m so sorry you guys we actually don't have the bod pod anymore.

Clint: They use this whole new skill process that you stand on the scale and it has like electrodes that you put your fingers on and it does the same thing without sitting in the spaceship. But I was excited to sit in the spaceship.

Ashlie: Yeah it's a body composition test. So Clint and I both did it. I was working on some other things physically so I did a little bit more of an extensive test, but both of us got the breakdown of our body composition and for us Clint and I are both left handed. So it was really cool to see. For some reason I have a pound. Well 1.32 of a pound more muscle in my right hand than I do in my left hand.

Clint: And I was something to the effect of like three quarters of a pound more in my right arm than I did in my left.

Ashlie: Yeah. And that's something cool to point out. And the reason that's important to point out is because once you're aware of that you start to fixate on it and you start to pay more attention to it.

Clint: And the girl that was reading our results to us kind of explained well when you're left handed you do most tasks with your left hand, but you use your right hand as more of a supplement. So you're actually lifting more heavy things because you can lift heavy things with your right arm compared to your left arm where you free that up to use and whatever else you may need to do. 

Ashlie: And vice versa if you're right handed and I wonder if there's some kind of maybe subconsciously we tried to protect our dominant hand by lifting those heavier things with the other hand. 

Clint: Well and that goes for me as being a police officer. I always, I’m trained to keep my gun hand free. So if I’m ever carrying anything at work like I carry it in my right hand. So in case something happens I can draw my weapon real quick and deal with what I need to deal with. 

Ashlie: So if you're like you grab a bottle of water you're more likely to drink it with your right hand? 

Clint: Absolutely, carry bags,  just anything. My site book I hold it in my right hand. Of course I have to because I’m I guess I’m writing with my left. But just anything throughout the day the training in the academy. I remember I still remember to this day the first day of the academy you know I ran in, you have to run into the academy to go get changed to put your uniform on and stuff and I was carrying my bag in my left hand and there was tac officer there started yelling at me and I had to drop down and do push ups because I was carrying my bag in my gun hand. And they questioned me on it and I had no clue. And from that point on I was like well I guess that's the end of caring stuff on my left hand. 

Ashlie: That's interesting. And so by going through this analysis of our body composition it was a wake up call for both of us. Because our fat percentage, it actually tells you how many pounds of fat you have not just your fat percentage. It was far more than Clint and I had guessed that it would be for both of us and it actually made me quite proud because my muscles in my biceps are, if you were to take an analysis of the ratio from man to woman it shows you the breakdown of like okay so most women are in this range. So mine far exceeded that. So I was like pounding my chest a little bit, like yes the hard work is paying off.

Clint: You should see her all the time, she'll flex and show me look at my muscle. And I’m proud of her for doing it. Because she has these biceps that are awesome. 

Ashlie: Got to get the blood flowing baby. And this test, it's not that expensive. It was less than $40 to do this test and it gives you a full picture of exactly where all the fat and muscle is stored in your body. The percentages, how you compare to others. The healthy ranges, things like that and in not having that, it's very difficult for you to just gauge exactly where you're at. Apart from looking at that scale and that's what I was struggling with. Because I was the same weight for like a year. But during that year I worked out harder than I have in my entire life. And I was seeing a change in my physique, but I wasn't seeing that scale move. I swear to you like my whole body looks so different and people are like oh my god you're losing too much weight. And I’m like I promise you I haven't lost anything. Like I don't know what it's going to take for me to prove that to you, but my number on the scale is exactly the same. And what has happened is the change in my body composition because I’m gaining more muscle, which of course weighs more than fat. And I’m just redistributing my physique. It's just kind of being reframed in a different way. And I’m able to really focus on the areas I want to target by everything being pointed out to me.

Clint: And it's so interesting to see the difference in every element of your body, whether it's your arms, your legs, your core and what's cool with this is it also breaks down the amount of water you have within your system. And it's interesting to see. They tell you then well either you're dehydrated or not or how much molecular water you have within your muscles that you need more or you need less. Because over hydration is not good either. 

Ashlie: Yes it actually points out to you if you have any kind of inflammation and that can stem from possible infections. It can also stem from over exerting yourself. So if you're working out too hard it's actually working against you. And Clint and I was just having this discussion of how I mean you would think one pound of fat is the same as one pound of muscle right. But the difference with that is that there is a density for the level of fat that you have and that density level is 0.9 grams per milliliters. And then the density of muscle is 1.1 grams per milliliters. So if you were to take the same density and you were to try to say okay I want to equivalent everything to one pound, then the density of muscle that you have weighs far more than the density of fat just based on the variables.

Clint: Yeah and I was completely wrong in my thought process with that. And it just goes to show how under educated I am in those instances and where I think I know something or I’ve heard something without actually following up the research that I should have before even bringing up the topic.

Ashlie: Yeah. But then by challenging yourself to being open to exploring new possibilities of like ok maybe I’m not right, that allows you to really grow and expand. And that was the whole purpose of going into this bod pod is to get more information then just like what that number I’m seeing on this scale that I’m getting so fixated over. Like somebody tell me. So I go to a who, who knows how to do the how and explain to me. I mean these are people that often work with nutritionists and very educated professionals that work in the bodybuilding industry and people that are so empowered by those numbers not only on a six month basis, but literally like on a week to week basis. They want to see those stats and see everything change. And I think if you have the opportunity to just like google bod pod or like even body... 

Clint: Body Metrx. 

Ashlie: Yeah. It's like body metrics, but it's abbreviated body Metrx. Then see if there's one close to you and I would highly encourage you to just see what your numbers are.

Clint: Well it's with the BMI testing that we did on that scale and also kind of gives you a rough outline of your resting metabolism rate and I know you did the test further on that. 

Ashlie: Yeah I got profiled for the resting metabolic rate just to you know if you don't know what that is, it's just educating you on exactly how many calories you do burn just by living like literally just by being sedentary and not doing anything without your workout considerations and your  diet and your lifestyle considerations just how many calories you would need in order to live as a human body.

Clint: Well i wish we would have known beforehand because we signed up for both of them, but if we were none the first test was pretty accurate in the same results that you got back with that. 

Ashlie: Yeah we could have saved another $150. Just the body composition test it was like $40 and then they added on the extra. But live and learn.  And as you sit there, if there's one thing that I would hope for you is that you take your health into the utmost consideration when it comes to anything that you want in your life. I've seen this with the death of my own mom. I've seen this with almost everybody that I know. They have some kind of health ailments and that health ailment in my opinion is not a diagnosis it's an acute symptom of an underlining issue that usually stems from something in their lifestyle. Be it their diet or be it something that they are or are not involved in activity wise. 

Clint: Its something you're exposed to on a regular basis that you can control and in some instances you just can't. 

Ashlie: Yeah and that's about bringing that awareness. I mean we are very fortunate to be going to school where the training is stemmed from Dave aspirin and the whole bullet proof world where we're learning about things like mold toxicity and even something like burning those amazing bath and body works candles that we used to do all the time. It's literally creating carcinogens in the air. And if you don't believe me like hang out in a closed room for an hour or two with one of those candles burning and take a q tip and swab the inside of your nose and see the soot that comes up on that white q tip. That's literally cancerous toxins that we're breathing in constantly. And we used to do that nonstop and it wasn't until we became aware that we don't even go there anymore. We don't burn those candles. We have tons of those candles, we're giving them away as like birthday gifts as it comes along. And I mean it's the type of thing to where if you're not only aware of it, but you actually believe in it and then do the research for yourself. Because I’ve told countless people that same information and they still burn those candles. Like okay we'll just make sure that when I’m over you're going to be cool when I blow it out. And just spreading that awareness and understanding that there are so many resources out there. And by talking with people and sharing these types of experiences I just hope that it prompts something in you to want to discover these things for yourself. Because the more knowledge that you have about what it is that's inside of your body, this is your vessel and you need to protect it. And when you have the knowledge to be able to do that then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

Let’s Connect! 

Facebook 

Instagram 

Email: [email protected] 

LinkedIn 

Website: www.leowarriors.com

[Intro]

911, what's the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by the LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about why it's so important to be able to measure your body metrics and how there's so much more than just what you see on the scale. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint and I discovered what a Bod Pod was and we were intrigued. As you sit there if you're not familiar, it's literally like this little personalized spaceship looking egg that you sit inside of. It's a chamber that closes, you wear little to no clothing and as it pressurizes it gives you an entire analysis of your body composition. Most importantly your ratio of fat to muscle and even goes as deep as being able to tell you which area of your body consist of what element of fat and muscle. So we've been online. Clint actually booked the appointments for us. We were so excited to go there and we show up and she's like I'm so sorry you guys we actually don't have the bod pod anymore.

Clint: They use this whole new skill process that you stand on the scale and it has like electrodes that you put your fingers on and it does the same thing without sitting in the spaceship. But I was excited to sit in the spaceship.

Ashlie: Yeah it's a body composition test. So Clint and I both did it. I was working on some other things physically so I did a little bit more of an extensive test, but both of us got the breakdown of our body composition and for us Clint and I are both left handed. So it was really cool to see. For some reason I have a pound. Well 1.32 of a pound more muscle in my right hand than I do in my left hand.

Clint: And I was something to the effect of like three quarters of a pound more in my right arm than I did in my left.

Ashlie: Yeah. And that's something cool to point out. And the reason that's important to point out is because once you're aware of that you start to fixate on it and you start to pay more attention to it.

Clint: And the girl that was reading our results to us kind of explained well when you're left handed you do most tasks with your left hand, but you use your right hand as more of a supplement. So you're actually lifting more heavy things because you can lift heavy things with your right arm compared to your left arm where you free that up to use and whatever else you may need to do.

Ashlie: And vice versa if you're right handed and I wonder if there's some kind of maybe subconsciously we tried to protect our dominant hand by lifting those heavier things with the other hand.

Clint: Well and that goes for me as being a police officer. I always, I'm trained to keep my gun hand free. So if I'm ever carrying anything at work like I carry it in my right hand. So in case something happens I can draw my weapon real quick and deal with what I need to deal with.

Ashlie: So if you're like you grab a bottle of water you're more likely to drink it with your right hand?

Clint: Absolutely, carry bags, just anything. My site book I hold it in my right hand. Of course I have to because I'm I guess I'm writing with my left. But just anything throughout the day the training in the academy. I remember I still remember to this day the first day of the academy you know I ran in, you have to run into the academy to go get changed to put your uniform on and stuff and I was carrying my bag in my left hand and there was tac officer there started yelling at me and I had to drop down and do push ups because I was carrying my bag in my gun hand. And they questioned me on it and I had no clue. And from that point on I was like well I guess that's the end of caring stuff on my left hand.

Ashlie: That's interesting. And so by going through this analysis of our body composition it was a wake up call for both of us. Because our fat percentage, it actually tells you how many pounds of fat you have not just your fat percentage. It was far more than Clint and I had guessed that it would be for both of us and it actually made me quite proud because my muscles in my biceps are, if you were to take an analysis of the ratio from man to woman it shows you the breakdown of like okay so most women are in this range. So mine far exceeded that. So I was like pounding my chest a little bit, like yes the hard work is paying off.

Clint: You should see her all the time, she'll flex and show me look at my muscle. And I'm proud of her for doing it. Because she has these biceps that are awesome.

Ashlie: Got to get the blood flowing baby. And this test, it's not that expensive. It was less than $40 to do this test and it gives you a full picture of exactly where all the fat and muscle is stored in your body. The percentages, how you compare to others. The healthy ranges, things like that and in not having that, it's very difficult for you to just gauge exactly where you're at. Apart from looking at that scale and that's what I was struggling with. Because I was the same weight for like a year. But during that year I worked out harder than I have in my entire life. And I was seeing a change in my physique, but I wasn't seeing that scale move. I swear to you like my whole body looks so different and people are like oh my god you're losing too much weight. And I'm like I promise you I haven't lost anything. Like I don't know what it's going to take for me to prove that to you, but my number on the scale is exactly the same. And what has happened is the change in my body composition because I'm gaining more muscle, which of course weighs more than fat. And I'm just redistributing my physique. It's just kind of being reframed in a different way. And I'm able to really focus on the areas I want to target by everything being pointed out to me.

Clint: And it's so interesting to see the difference in every element of your body, whether it's your arms, your legs, your core and what's cool with this is it also breaks down the amount of water you have within your system. And it's interesting to see. They tell you then well either you're dehydrated or not or how much molecular water you have within your muscles that you need more or you need less. Because over hydration is not good either.

Ashlie: Yes it actually points out to you if you have any kind of inflammation and that can stem from possible infections. It can also stem from over exerting yourself. So if you're working out too hard it's actually working against you. And Clint and I was just having this discussion of how I mean you would think one pound of fat is the same as one pound of muscle right. But the difference with that is that there is a density for the level of fat that you have and that density level is 0.9 grams per milliliters. And then the density of muscle is 1.1 grams per milliliters. So if you were to take the same density and you were to try to say okay I want to equivalent everything to one pound, then the density of muscle that you have weighs far more than the density of fat just based on the variables.

Clint: Yeah and I was completely wrong in my thought process with that. And it just goes to show how under educated I am in those instances and where I think I know something or I've heard something without actually following up the research that I should have before even bringing up the topic.

Ashlie: Yeah. But then by challenging yourself to being open to exploring new possibilities of like ok maybe I'm not right, that allows you to really grow and expand. And that was the whole purpose of going into this bod pod is to get more information then just like what that number I'm seeing on this scale that I'm getting so fixated over. Like somebody tell me. So I go to a who, who knows how to do the how and explain to me. I mean these are people that often work with nutritionists and very educated professionals that work in the bodybuilding industry and people that are so empowered by those numbers not only on a six month basis, but literally like on a week to week basis. They want to see those stats and see everything change. And I think if you have the opportunity to just like google bod pod or like even body...

Clint: Body Metrx.

Ashlie: Yeah. It's like body metrics, but it's abbreviated body Metrx. Then see if there's one close to you and I would highly encourage you to just see what your numbers are.

Clint: Well it's with the BMI testing that we did on that scale and also kind of gives you a rough outline of your resting metabolism rate and I know you did the test further on that.

Ashlie: Yeah I got profiled for the resting metabolic rate just to you know if you don't know what that is, it's just educating you on exactly how many calories you do burn just by living like literally just by being sedentary and not doing anything without your workout considerations and your diet and your lifestyle considerations just how many calories you would need in order to live as a human body.

Clint: Well i wish we would have known beforehand because we signed up for both of them, but if we were none the first test was pretty accurate in the same results that you got back with that.

Ashlie: Yeah we could have saved another $150. Just the body composition test it was like $40 and then they added on the extra. But live and learn. And as you sit there, if there's one thing that I would hope for you is that you take your health into the utmost consideration when it comes to anything that you want in your life. I've seen this with the death of my own mom. I've seen this with almost everybody that I know. They have some kind of health ailments and that health ailment in my opinion is not a diagnosis it's an acute symptom of an underlining issue that usually stems from something in their lifestyle. Be it their diet or be it something that they are or are not involved in activity wise.

Clint: Its something you're exposed to on a regular basis that you can control and in some instances you just can't.

Ashlie: Yeah and that's about bringing that awareness. I mean we are very fortunate to be going to school where the training is stemmed from Dave aspirin and the whole bullet proof world where we're learning about things like mold toxicity and even something like burning those amazing bath and body works candles that we used to do all the time. It's literally creating carcinogens in the air. And if you don't believe me like hang out in a closed room for an hour or two with one of those candles burning and take a q tip and swab the inside of your nose and see the soot that comes up on that white q tip. That's literally cancerous toxins that we're breathing in constantly. And we used to do that nonstop and it wasn't until we became aware that we don't even go there anymore. We don't burn those candles. We have tons of those candles, we're giving them away as like birthday gifts as it comes along. And I mean it's the type of thing to where if you're not only aware of it, but you actually believe in it and then do the research for yourself. Because I've told countless people that same information and they still burn those candles. Like okay we'll just make sure that when I'm over you're going to be cool when I blow it out. And just spreading that awareness and understanding that there are so many resources out there. And by talking with people and sharing these types of experiences I just hope that it prompts something in you to want to discover these things for yourself. Because the more knowledge that you have about what it is that's inside of your body, this is your vessel and you need to protect it. And when you have the knowledge to be able to do that then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.

Let's Connect!

Facebook

Instagram

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn

Website: www.leowarriors.com

[intro]

911, what's the nature of your emergency. 

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I’m your host Ashlie Walton. 

Clint: And I’m your co-host Clint Walton. 

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about how consistency is king, but how accountability is queen. so just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. this morning I got to thinking about all the times in my life where instead of me powering through the suck I’ve allowed myself to just make excuses about why it's easier or why something else got in the way of me ultimately achieving my goals. and Clint as you sit there I’ve seen this in your life. we've been married now for eleven and a half years. time and time again, but something incredible changed within this past year and that key is accountability. now it's easy for us to set forth a goal in our life to say I’m going to lose some weight, to say I’m going to quit my job or maybe start my own business. but what happens is when we get to the brass tacks of things and we start to actually dive into the work that's required to do that, it starts to suck. 

Clint: Absolutely. it suck that you had to power through. it's not only emotional but mentally draining and it just everything you go through the highs, the lows it's hard. it's one of the hardest things that we can go through I think as humans. 

Ashlie: Nobody ever taught us that in school. and I think things should change with that. because we're never taught, okay you want to be an astronaut when you're a kid but nobody ever shows us the backside of that. which is the hard work that's required. and then the accountability on the backside and the mentors and all the other components that fit into it along the journey. so about a year ago after I invested thousands of dollars into hiring a coach for myself. and then starting to go to school to get our certification to become human potential coaches, within that journey we started to meet some incredible like minded people whose mission in life is to allow others to be empowered based on the own power that they have that they don't often tap into. when you're friends with a bunch of coaches, the downside is that there's nothing you can put out there into the world that they won't hold you accountable for being friends with a bunch of coaches means that it's like we have our own hired coaches, because they understand the importance of making sure that they're showing up for you in a way that supports you and your goals.

Clint: And what's funny with that is sometimes you're like I just want a friend. I don't want to coach right now and it's having that mindset of, hey take your coaching hat off right now so we just talk.

Ashlie: We have that in our own relationship. are you trying to coach me right now or are you trying to be my husband. and in reflecting on that this morning. Clint and I work out in the mornings on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. so you know it's kind of like those shower thoughts where mindlessly like your mind is open. so the universe allows you to just expand on your thought process and it got me thinking about how much progress we've made in this past year. but it all boils down to not only consistency, but having somebody to hold you accountable during that ride. 

Clint: In the accountability portion of it is just so important because think about it, if you ever have tried something and it gets hard. it's easier to step back and go into the old habit or whatever else you were doing before compared to having someone say, you're going to finish this and you got this, keep going.

Ashlie: And then also by prompting you to discover new ways of how you're going to execute that. having coaches they don't necessarily guide you into like okay here's step one, here step two. they prompt you with questions that allow you to explore your own resources and what it is that you need to do in order to learn how to get from step a to step b. and that's the whole learning process that we've experienced as this new world from this past year. and this isn't to pound on our chests in any way, I want to preface this by saying that. but I can't believe what we've done, it hasn't been a  year. I guess it's been nine months. in starting your own business, hiring the attorney. having a Facebook page that is well on until almost 7000 likes now. building up our Instagram profile, learning how to run and operate a business. learning how to  start a podcast and most of that has relied on us being able to expand in a way to where we're vulnerable enough to tell other people like, hey listen I admire you for knowing how to do this. you clearly do this a lot better than me. like can you please just show me some guidance.

Clint: It's letting go of our own egos of trying to say that we know how to do everything all the time and letting people who do know how to do it whatever it may be do it. 

Ashlie: And this doesn't have to just stem into the business world. Clint and I there's been many times where we'll tell one another like, hey listen this is my intention. this is what I want. can you make sure that you're kind of kicking me in the ass anytime I try to give you some bullshit excuse about why I shouldn't do it.

Clint: Yeah. a perfect example of that is when I told Ashlie, a month and a half ago that I want to complete a full Murph within a three week timeframe and if you don't know what a Murph is, it's running a mile on the treadmill wearing a 100 pound vest, doing a 100 pull ups, 200 pushups and 300 squats and then another mile on the treadmill and you're wearing that 20 pound the entire time. 

Ashlie: You said one hundred pound vest at first. 

Clint: Yeah after I said it I realized it. but it's a 20 pound, that's not a hundred. but that is a tough challenge to do. and so the first day I just attempted it, trying to do it. and I didn't try doing it with the vest on just because I knew it was going to be very taxing on myself and I did about three quarters of it and I was like, holy crap this is no joke. my body was completely dead. I was already sore and I just couldn't pull myself up anymore. I couldn't do another pushup and I definitely couldn't have run another mile. so afterwards I texted Ashlie because she was at work. we had different schedules at the time. I said I want you to hold me accountable in three weeks. I want to complete a full Murph unweighted and she says okay. she said you can do it. and she'll hold me accountable. three weeks time passed I completed the unweighted Murph and so I set the next goal. I want to do a complete Murph with the weighted vest and my next goal when I complete that, I want to increase my time. 

Ashlie: And the thing with that is I wasn't standing in your corner as your wife. I was standing in your corner as your accountability partner. someone who could call you out on the days when maybe you were slacking off a little bit. it happens to everybody. but that's the point of having somebody who can hold you accountable. 

Clint: Someone in your corner that hold you accountable but also pushes you too. 

Ashlie: And something just came up for me as we're talking about this because as you're going along your journey of creating something that you aspire to be, like you're already that person. you're just working on being better at that person. there's always going to be the naysayers and in our life I think that because we've aspired for so much in such a short amount of time, on the backside of that we've actually lost a lot of people in our lives because of that. people who we now know have such personal self-doubt and personal limitations that they feel they need to compare themselves to what we're creating for ourselves, instead of saying hey what you're doing is cool, like I think I want to try this. can you help me. but they're not humble enough to do that.

Clint: And like you said it comes from their own point of happiness or self-doubt that's there. and in saying that it's almost comical in some ways when you hear those people talk down to you for what you're doing. and I’m a firm believer and we should never talk down to anybody with what they choose to do with what they want to do in their own lives. and I had someone recently tell me that you and I are working too hard. and I was baffled by that. and I started really looking at that situation and trying to understand why they said we're working too hard. at that time I just said you know it's not work, it's something you enjoy doing. and over time I thought about it more and more and it comes from not me working too hard or you working too hard but from their own point of they never strive to work harder.

Ashlie: I don't want to say it and in that context to where we're trying to elevate our status above anybody else's. but the reality of the viewpoint for other people who do say those types of things, it just means that they're at a point in their life where maybe it's not as excelled to the level of where we're at right now and we're allowed to say that because a year ago we would kick back on the couch for three days in a row like literally just wasting life away watching movies. we weren't being productive. and now whenever we have time together it's just we're constantly like hitting the recorder, hitting the laptop, creating something new. we're doing so many training programs right now that it's just this constant schedule of nonstop. and we're also being very cognizant of the fact that we need to take breaks when we need to. that's why we took off to Vegas for a couple of days for the fourth of July. that's why we make sure that we encourage one another, we literally tell one another like drink more water. Clint will pee, I will go in there right after him and I will smell that his pee smell is too strong and I’ll tell him like, Clint you need to drink more water.

Clint: And I do. 

Ashlie: And you know we're making sure that we're sleeping well. we're making sure that we maintain our physical fitness. we're making sure that we encourage one another to eat healthy. Clint made me a protein shake a smoothie every day this weekend. we drink a green drink every day like we're doing things to make sure that we're not getting burnt out and that doesn't mean, we're not going to. it just means that where we're at in our mindset right now we're in a space where everything that we're doing, it's constant, excitement and progression and it's not like of like, I fuck I got to go to work again. I had to put in these like grinding hours that I don't want to do. it doesn't feel that way. so that physical and that sociological stress that comes along with not wanting to do those types of tasks,  it's omitted from what we're doing right now. because we're living in our purpose. we're doing something with a very ultimate goal in supporting and helping other people. that's the driving factor.

Clint: Yeah exactly. thank you for clarifying what I was trying to say. I know you have to do that for me a lot because I’m a cave man. but with that  we really want to just push other more and not just push them, but show other people what they're capable of. and that's what we do with our coaching.

Ashlie: Yeah. because Clint and I are creating this fucking awesome rocket and we're making it like the most high tech piece of equipment that you could ever see and this is metaphorically and we don't want people to be sitting there in the dust when we take off. we want other people to come right next to us and like come into our shop, like let us show you how we built the structure of this thing and then let us help you by giving you the assets to create something freaking amazing for yourself. 

Clint: Because if you don't know how to do it how do you figure out what you want to do.

Ashlie: You do that by taking that first step by showcasing that vulnerability, by saying you know why instead of me just being envious of this other person, I want what they have. only I want to make it my own. and the first step is by reaching out to them. I can recall many times most recently when I’ve been incredibly uncomfortable having to talk to perfect strangers and tell them that I’m envious of something that I like that they have. but it comes from a place of me wanting to grow and expand. and yeah I can google things, watch some YouTube videos, read some books. but the easiest way for me to get there is by learning from the experience of other people that I’ve done it before. and I believe that when you're able to take that envy and you're able to turn it into ammunition and power that allows you to grow and expand based on what it is that you want to accomplish in life, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

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[intro]

911, what's the nature of your emergency.

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about how consistency is king, but how accountability is queen. so just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. this morning I got to thinking about all the times in my life where instead of me powering through the suck I've allowed myself to just make excuses about why it's easier or why something else got in the way of me ultimately achieving my goals. and Clint as you sit there I've seen this in your life. we've been married now for eleven and a half years. time and time again, but something incredible changed within this past year and that key is accountability. now it's easy for us to set forth a goal in our life to say I'm going to lose some weight, to say I'm going to quit my job or maybe start my own business. but what happens is when we get to the brass tacks of things and we start to actually dive into the work that's required to do that, it starts to suck.

Clint: Absolutely. it suck that you had to power through. it's not only emotional but mentally draining and it just everything you go through the highs, the lows it's hard. it's one of the hardest things that we can go through I think as humans.

Ashlie: Nobody ever taught us that in school. and I think things should change with that. because we're never taught, okay you want to be an astronaut when you're a kid but nobody ever shows us the backside of that. which is the hard work that's required. and then the accountability on the backside and the mentors and all the other components that fit into it along the journey. so about a year ago after I invested thousands of dollars into hiring a coach for myself. and then starting to go to school to get our certification to become human potential coaches, within that journey we started to meet some incredible like minded people whose mission in life is to allow others to be empowered based on the own power that they have that they don't often tap into. when you're friends with a bunch of coaches, the downside is that there's nothing you can put out there into the world that they won't hold you accountable for being friends with a bunch of coaches means that it's like we have our own hired coaches, because they understand the importance of making sure that they're showing up for you in a way that supports you and your goals.

Clint: And what's funny with that is sometimes you're like I just want a friend. I don't want to coach right now and it's having that mindset of, hey take your coaching hat off right now so we just talk.

Ashlie: We have that in our own relationship. are you trying to coach me right now or are you trying to be my husband. and in reflecting on that this morning. Clint and I work out in the mornings on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. so you know it's kind of like those shower thoughts where mindlessly like your mind is open. so the universe allows you to just expand on your thought process and it got me thinking about how much progress we've made in this past year. but it all boils down to not only consistency, but having somebody to hold you accountable during that ride.

Clint: In the accountability portion of it is just so important because think about it, if you ever have tried something and it gets hard. it's easier to step back and go into the old habit or whatever else you were doing before compared to having someone say, you're going to finish this and you got this, keep going.

Ashlie: And then also by prompting you to discover new ways of how you're going to execute that. having coaches they don't necessarily guide you into like okay here's step one, here step two. they prompt you with questions that allow you to explore your own resources and what it is that you need to do in order to learn how to get from step a to step b. and that's the whole learning process that we've experienced as this new world from this past year. and this isn't to pound on our chests in any way, I want to preface this by saying that. but I can't believe what we've done, it hasn't been a year. I guess it's been nine months. in starting your own business, hiring the attorney. having a Facebook page that is well on until almost 7000 likes now. building up our Instagram profile, learning how to run and operate a business. learning how to start a podcast and most of that has relied on us being able to expand in a way to where we're vulnerable enough to tell other people like, hey listen I admire you for knowing how to do this. you clearly do this a lot better than me. like can you please just show me some guidance.

Clint: It's letting go of our own egos of trying to say that we know how to do everything all the time and letting people who do know how to do it whatever it may be do it.

Ashlie: And this doesn't have to just stem into the business world. Clint and I there's been many times where we'll tell one another like, hey listen this is my intention. this is what I want. can you make sure that you're kind of kicking me in the ass anytime I try to give you some bullshit excuse about why I shouldn't do it.

Clint: Yeah. a perfect example of that is when I told Ashlie, a month and a half ago that I want to complete a full Murph within a three week timeframe and if you don't know what a Murph is, it's running a mile on the treadmill wearing a 100 pound vest, doing a 100 pull ups, 200 pushups and 300 squats and then another mile on the treadmill and you're wearing that 20 pound the entire time.

Ashlie: You said one hundred pound vest at first.

Clint: Yeah after I said it I realized it. but it's a 20 pound, that's not a hundred. but that is a tough challenge to do. and so the first day I just attempted it, trying to do it. and I didn't try doing it with the vest on just because I knew it was going to be very taxing on myself and I did about three quarters of it and I was like, holy crap this is no joke. my body was completely dead. I was already sore and I just couldn't pull myself up anymore. I couldn't do another pushup and I definitely couldn't have run another mile. so afterwards I texted Ashlie because she was at work. we had different schedules at the time. I said I want you to hold me accountable in three weeks. I want to complete a full Murph unweighted and she says okay. she said you can do it. and she'll hold me accountable. three weeks time passed I completed the unweighted Murph and so I set the next goal. I want to do a complete Murph with the weighted vest and my next goal when I complete that, I want to increase my time.

Ashlie: And the thing with that is I wasn't standing in your corner as your wife. I was standing in your corner as your accountability partner. someone who could call you out on the days when maybe you were slacking off a little bit. it happens to everybody. but that's the point of having somebody who can hold you accountable.

Clint: Someone in your corner that hold you accountable but also pushes you too.

Ashlie: And something just came up for me as we're talking about this because as you're going along your journey of creating something that you aspire to be, like you're already that person. you're just working on being better at that person. there's always going to be the naysayers and in our life I think that because we've aspired for so much in such a short amount of time, on the backside of that we've actually lost a lot of people in our lives because of that. people who we now know have such personal self-doubt and personal limitations that they feel they need to compare themselves to what we're creating for ourselves, instead of saying hey what you're doing is cool, like I think I want to try this. can you help me. but they're not humble enough to do that.

Clint: And like you said it comes from their own point of happiness or self-doubt that's there. and in saying that it's almost comical in some ways when you hear those people talk down to you for what you're doing. and I'm a firm believer and we should never talk down to anybody with what they choose to do with what they want to do in their own lives. and I had someone recently tell me that you and I are working too hard. and I was baffled by that. and I started really looking at that situation and trying to understand why they said we're working too hard. at that time I just said you know it's not work, it's something you enjoy doing. and over time I thought about it more and more and it comes from not me working too hard or you working too hard but from their own point of they never strive to work harder.

Ashlie: I don't want to say it and in that context to where we're trying to elevate our status above anybody else's. but the reality of the viewpoint for other people who do say those types of things, it just means that they're at a point in their life where maybe it's not as excelled to the level of where we're at right now and we're allowed to say that because a year ago we would kick back on the couch for three days in a row like literally just wasting life away watching movies. we weren't being productive. and now whenever we have time together it's just we're constantly like hitting the recorder, hitting the laptop, creating something new. we're doing so many training programs right now that it's just this constant schedule of nonstop. and we're also being very cognizant of the fact that we need to take breaks when we need to. that's why we took off to Vegas for a couple of days for the fourth of July. that's why we make sure that we encourage one another, we literally tell one another like drink more water. Clint will pee, I will go in there right after him and I will smell that his pee smell is too strong and I'll tell him like, Clint you need to drink more water.

Clint: And I do.

Ashlie: And you know we're making sure that we're sleeping well. we're making sure that we maintain our physical fitness. we're making sure that we encourage one another to eat healthy. Clint made me a protein shake a smoothie every day this weekend. we drink a green drink every day like we're doing things to make sure that we're not getting burnt out and that doesn't mean, we're not going to. it just means that where we're at in our mindset right now we're in a space where everything that we're doing, it's constant, excitement and progression and it's not like of like, I fuck I got to go to work again. I had to put in these like grinding hours that I don't want to do. it doesn't feel that way. so that physical and that sociological stress that comes along with not wanting to do those types of tasks, it's omitted from what we're doing right now. because we're living in our purpose. we're doing something with a very ultimate goal in supporting and helping other people. that's the driving factor.

Clint: Yeah exactly. thank you for clarifying what I was trying to say. I know you have to do that for me a lot because I'm a cave man. but with that we really want to just push other more and not just push them, but show other people what they're capable of. and that's what we do with our coaching.

Ashlie: Yeah. because Clint and I are creating this fucking awesome rocket and we're making it like the most high tech piece of equipment that you could ever see and this is metaphorically and we don't want people to be sitting there in the dust when we take off. we want other people to come right next to us and like come into our shop, like let us show you how we built the structure of this thing and then let us help you by giving you the assets to create something freaking amazing for yourself.

Clint: Because if you don't know how to do it how do you figure out what you want to do.

Ashlie: You do that by taking that first step by showcasing that vulnerability, by saying you know why instead of me just being envious of this other person, I want what they have. only I want to make it my own. and the first step is by reaching out to them. I can recall many times most recently when I've been incredibly uncomfortable having to talk to perfect strangers and tell them that I'm envious of something that I like that they have. but it comes from a place of me wanting to grow and expand. and yeah I can google things, watch some YouTube videos, read some books. but the easiest way for me to get there is by learning from the experience of other people that I've done it before. and I believe that when you're able to take that envy and you're able to turn it into ammunition and power that allows you to grow and expand based on what it is that you want to accomplish in life, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.

Let's Connect!

Facebook

Instagram

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn

Website: www.leowarriors.com

[Intro] 

911, what’s the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by Leo warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton. 

Clint: And I’m your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about why it's so important when you work in a line of a first responder to make sure to have some downtime and even further if you can to build that commodity with the people that you work with outside of the job. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint and I love deep sea fishing. We've talked about that before and for the past I would say since January or so Clint and one of his partners Nate have put together a fishing trip. This is a two day tuna trip outside of Baja and it will be my first experience on a boat for that length of time. The whole idea that Clint and his partner had worked was to put together this trip to where as many officers as wanted to be a part of this could really join and experience something as cool as deep sea fishing in the middle of the ocean while doing it together. And Clint if you can you just talk a little bit about what your intention was in putting this whole trip together in the first place.

Clint: So when my buddy and I started talking about planning this fishing trip we thought it'd be really cool and we've talked about it before on previous fishing trips to really put something together where we can get members of our department onboard to really get in the world to deep sea fishing. It's something that you and I and Nate are passionate about. I have my collection of rods and just like any hobby everyone has their collection of things that they like to stack up. So as we talked about it we're like going over different ideas of what we could do and how we could approach it. And it was always talk. We've talked about it for years now but we never really took action on it. So this year I said you know what. We're doing it. And I asked for a few phone numbers, contacted a couple of skippers and really plan, started planning the trip and our mindset wasn't just to get people into fishing but to showcase the brotherhood that we have. And I shouldn't say just brotherhood but the brotherhood and sisterhood and family hood of being together on the boat in the middle of the ocean for two and half days and shedding light on how you can have fun outside of work and you don't just have to be friends at work. 

Ashlie: And not only that but something that just came to me was there's been many times when you or us as a couple have been invited to do things outside of the workplace and a lot of times that involves drinking.

Clint: And it's funny that you mention that because I’ve made it very clear to everyone who's coming on the boat that they can't bring alcohol on the boat. You get cops together and they start drinking, it turns into a mess.

Ashlie: And for us we're always very grateful to be invited to those types of things. And there's no shame on anybody who enjoys doing that.

But for us it's just not our lifestyle. I can count probably on two fingers how many times a year I put alcohol in my body. And it's always when you and I are together, alone together and it's just not something for us. You've been through that, you've lived through that, you've moved on from that and in creating this environment where you put together this event for people to go and do something new for many of them. Very exciting. That requires some teamwork and I say teamwork because when you're out there in the middle of the ocean and you have a big catch, it's very important that you're cognizant of everybody around you. Because there are times when you have to manipulate around one another to make sure that your lines don't get crossed, especially when someone's trying to like reel in a big one.

Clint: And that's what I’m actually looking forward to see how well we can work together with going over and under each other and making sure we don't cross our lines throughout the whole time and how we can help one another. I've been on these trips before where it's a whole bunch of random people and there's no teamwork involved with it. And it makes it really hard.

Ashlie: It's something so cool that this has stemmed into was it hasn't just turned into this simple fishing trip where a bunch of officers or people involved in law enforcement in some way go out on a boat together. It's turned into something a little bit bigger than that. You and Nate put forth a lot of effort in reaching out to some pretty big companies to get them to sponsor the trip in a way. They've sent us a lot of swag that we can give out. We're planning on doing raffles on the boat. Somehow one of the founders, del from del taco is going to be going on our trip. How the fuck did that happen I have no idea. And just a really cool dynamic of people and we're excited because we're going to bring out some of our equipment. We're going to shoot some podcasts on the boat. 

Clint: Get some interviews with some of my partners and people who aren't in law enforcement to have that mindset brought forth to you as a listener.

Ashlie: I'm so excited for that and I think the more and more that we've shared with people coming on this trip what the intention is and some of the other things that you know are going to be happening besides just the fishing component of it. I think people have a lot of hype built up around this trip. 

Clint: And I think one the other great things is we have a representative from western outdoor news coming on the trip with us who's going to showcase us as police officers going out, we work hard but we fish hard too. And the spin he's going to put on, that is going to be really cool to see.

Ashlie: It's exciting. I never thought back in the beginning of the year when we were kind of collaborating and talking about the idea of this trip that it would have even turned into what it has up until this point. And as an officer or anybody that works in a demanding line of work, it's so important to have something like this to look forward to. For you and I where we said Clint I know for us usually it's planning that big international trip every year. We do that because it gives us hope. It gives us this excitement of knowing that just keep grinding it out. And when that date comes up there's no excuses. Like this is going to happen and we can just disconnect and just experience life in the way that we're supposed to.

Clint: And I love that you said disconnect. I've told everybody who's coming on the boat you're not going to have cell phone reception, you're going to be in the middle of the ocean.  You're forced to disconnect from the real world. And we also set a rule of there's no work talk, there's no shop talk. We're just people going out to go fishing together.

Ashlie: Well I would hope except for when we start to record some interviews.

Clint: Yeah. But I’m just talking about war stories amongst each other trying to pound our chest to see who's better.

Ashlie: And I think that in just knowing the experiences that we've had fishing before, again I’ve never gone this far out into the ocean. But there's this certain sense of vulnerability when you're exposed to the elements in that way. And for us we'll of course be sleeping on the boat, eating on the boat, fishing on the boat, peeing on the boat, showering on the boat. Like this is going to be our life for the weekend. And in that sense of vulnerability it puts everybody on that same playing field to where perhaps that pounding of the chest won't even come up. Because everybody's equal. Everybody is there just to experience life and to enjoy themselves. But by doing it in a company of like minded people where everybody knows there's no judgment. 

Clint: It's a safe environment. 

Ashlie: Exactly. And as you sit there can you think of a time in your own life where maybe you've gotten to go out, maybe it was an event or out with some friends for the evening going over to someone's home for a party or even a concert just this element of being around like minded people and people that you know are going to support you no matter what. And in this trip it's very taxing. Fishing is exhausting. And Clint and I watched some videos of the type of fish and the weight of fish that we can anticipate to catch on this. And I mean for most people this is even happened to Clint where you catch one big fish and you're spent. 

Clint: Yeah you're done for the day. Like my arms are dead and I’m just going to go sit down for a little bit. 

Ashlie: But even that, even the thought of just sitting back and watching everybody else enjoying themselves and even experiencing the struggle of pulling in a big fish. It excites me. It excites me to see everybody get to do that together and then to pull those stories home with them and to use that as fuel to really get to do something like this again.

Clint: And that's our big hope with this trip is to turn it into an annual occurrence to where we can share pictures, share stories, share look how great this was to get more people to jump on board.

Ashlie: I think that will happen because just the mere topic of presenting this to people, you presented it to the union you received support from the union and a lot of people are all for seeing police officers out there in the real world outside of work doing something that is fun. It really showcases exactly the humanity behind that badge and that brother sisterhood that you talked about. And as you sit there if there's anything in your own life, anything that you can think of that might be a little challenging or even time consuming to put together something along these lines. I know for Clint it was a little challenging in the beginning because we are financially responsible for over twenty thousand dollars to secure in reserve this boat. That means that if one person shows up, we're still responsible for that money. There's a lot of pressure that comes with that. But in knowing it's a good idea. And what Clint did was, Clint and Nate you know they kind of took a tally and they asked around to see what would excite people. What is something that everybody would want to do together. And this was a commonality because they know that fishing is something Clint and Nate have always bragged about doing before. In a growing up in a home with five brothers I always saw that, sort of envy that comes along with seeing something so awesome that someone else is doing. And then you ask yourself well why is it that I haven't done that too. Like why haven't I put myself in a position to experience life this way.  And as you sit there if there's anything that comes up for you that you can maybe just be a part of not necessarily instigating create on your own, but just to put yourself out there to experience life in a way that gets you out of your comfort zone. Gets you out of that normal routine of life. And that really allows you to discover new things about yourself based on new challenges that come with whatever that new thing is. It allows you to grow. I believe that's one of the only ways that we expand is by getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and when you're able to do that. There's this new power that comes to you and there's this new drive to continue to do like things as you move forward. And by this continual expansion and growth by experiencing new things in life, then you're really able to enjoy your tactical living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

Let’s Connect! 

Facebook 

Instagram 

Email: [email protected] 

LinkedIn 

Website: www.leowarriors.com

[Intro]

911, what's the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by Leo warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about why it's so important when you work in a line of a first responder to make sure to have some downtime and even further if you can to build that commodity with the people that you work with outside of the job. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint and I love deep sea fishing. We've talked about that before and for the past I would say since January or so Clint and one of his partners Nate have put together a fishing trip. This is a two day tuna trip outside of Baja and it will be my first experience on a boat for that length of time. The whole idea that Clint and his partner had worked was to put together this trip to where as many officers as wanted to be a part of this could really join and experience something as cool as deep sea fishing in the middle of the ocean while doing it together. And Clint if you can you just talk a little bit about what your intention was in putting this whole trip together in the first place.

Clint: So when my buddy and I started talking about planning this fishing trip we thought it'd be really cool and we've talked about it before on previous fishing trips to really put something together where we can get members of our department onboard to really get in the world to deep sea fishing. It's something that you and I and Nate are passionate about. I have my collection of rods and just like any hobby everyone has their collection of things that they like to stack up. So as we talked about it we're like going over different ideas of what we could do and how we could approach it. And it was always talk. We've talked about it for years now but we never really took action on it. So this year I said you know what. We're doing it. And I asked for a few phone numbers, contacted a couple of skippers and really plan, started planning the trip and our mindset wasn't just to get people into fishing but to showcase the brotherhood that we have. And I shouldn't say just brotherhood but the brotherhood and sisterhood and family hood of being together on the boat in the middle of the ocean for two and half days and shedding light on how you can have fun outside of work and you don't just have to be friends at work.

Ashlie: And not only that but something that just came to me was there's been many times when you or us as a couple have been invited to do things outside of the workplace and a lot of times that involves drinking.

Clint: And it's funny that you mention that because I've made it very clear to everyone who's coming on the boat that they can't bring alcohol on the boat. You get cops together and they start drinking, it turns into a mess.

Ashlie: And for us we're always very grateful to be invited to those types of things. And there's no shame on anybody who enjoys doing that.

But for us it's just not our lifestyle. I can count probably on two fingers how many times a year I put alcohol in my body. And it's always when you and I are together, alone together and it's just not something for us. You've been through that, you've lived through that, you've moved on from that and in creating this environment where you put together this event for people to go and do something new for many of them. Very exciting. That requires some teamwork and I say teamwork because when you're out there in the middle of the ocean and you have a big catch, it's very important that you're cognizant of everybody around you. Because there are times when you have to manipulate around one another to make sure that your lines don't get crossed, especially when someone's trying to like reel in a big one.

Clint: And that's what I'm actually looking forward to see how well we can work together with going over and under each other and making sure we don't cross our lines throughout the whole time and how we can help one another. I've been on these trips before where it's a whole bunch of random people and there's no teamwork involved with it. And it makes it really hard.

Ashlie: It's something so cool that this has stemmed into was it hasn't just turned into this simple fishing trip where a bunch of officers or people involved in law enforcement in some way go out on a boat together. It's turned into something a little bit bigger than that. You and Nate put forth a lot of effort in reaching out to some pretty big companies to get them to sponsor the trip in a way. They've sent us a lot of swag that we can give out. We're planning on doing raffles on the boat. Somehow one of the founders, del from del taco is going to be going on our trip. How the fuck did that happen I have no idea. And just a really cool dynamic of people and we're excited because we're going to bring out some of our equipment. We're going to shoot some podcasts on the boat.

Clint: Get some interviews with some of my partners and people who aren't in law enforcement to have that mindset brought forth to you as a listener.

Ashlie: I'm so excited for that and I think the more and more that we've shared with people coming on this trip what the intention is and some of the other things that you know are going to be happening besides just the fishing component of it. I think people have a lot of hype built up around this trip.

Clint: And I think one the other great things is we have a representative from western outdoor news coming on the trip with us who's going to showcase us as police officers going out, we work hard but we fish hard too. And the spin he's going to put on, that is going to be really cool to see.

Ashlie: It's exciting. I never thought back in the beginning of the year when we were kind of collaborating and talking about the idea of this trip that it would have even turned into what it has up until this point. And as an officer or anybody that works in a demanding line of work, it's so important to have something like this to look forward to. For you and I where we said Clint I know for us usually it's planning that big international trip every year. We do that because it gives us hope. It gives us this excitement of knowing that just keep grinding it out. And when that date comes up there's no excuses. Like this is going to happen and we can just disconnect and just experience life in the way that we're supposed to.

Clint: And I love that you said disconnect. I've told everybody who's coming on the boat you're not going to have cell phone reception, you're going to be in the middle of the ocean. You're forced to disconnect from the real world. And we also set a rule of there's no work talk, there's no shop talk. We're just people going out to go fishing together.

Ashlie: Well I would hope except for when we start to record some interviews.

Clint: Yeah. But I'm just talking about war stories amongst each other trying to pound our chest to see who's better.

Ashlie: And I think that in just knowing the experiences that we've had fishing before, again I've never gone this far out into the ocean. But there's this certain sense of vulnerability when you're exposed to the elements in that way. And for us we'll of course be sleeping on the boat, eating on the boat, fishing on the boat, peeing on the boat, showering on the boat. Like this is going to be our life for the weekend. And in that sense of vulnerability it puts everybody on that same playing field to where perhaps that pounding of the chest won't even come up. Because everybody's equal. Everybody is there just to experience life and to enjoy themselves. But by doing it in a company of like minded people where everybody knows there's no judgment.

Clint: It's a safe environment.

Ashlie: Exactly. And as you sit there can you think of a time in your own life where maybe you've gotten to go out, maybe it was an event or out with some friends for the evening going over to someone's home for a party or even a concert just this element of being around like minded people and people that you know are going to support you no matter what. And in this trip it's very taxing. Fishing is exhausting. And Clint and I watched some videos of the type of fish and the weight of fish that we can anticipate to catch on this. And I mean for most people this is even happened to Clint where you catch one big fish and you're spent.

Clint: Yeah you're done for the day. Like my arms are dead and I'm just going to go sit down for a little bit.

Ashlie: But even that, even the thought of just sitting back and watching everybody else enjoying themselves and even experiencing the struggle of pulling in a big fish. It excites me. It excites me to see everybody get to do that together and then to pull those stories home with them and to use that as fuel to really get to do something like this again.

Clint: And that's our big hope with this trip is to turn it into an annual occurrence to where we can share pictures, share stories, share look how great this was to get more people to jump on board.

Ashlie: I think that will happen because just the mere topic of presenting this to people, you presented it to the union you received support from the union and a lot of people are all for seeing police officers out there in the real world outside of work doing something that is fun. It really showcases exactly the humanity behind that badge and that brother sisterhood that you talked about. And as you sit there if there's anything in your own life, anything that you can think of that might be a little challenging or even time consuming to put together something along these lines. I know for Clint it was a little challenging in the beginning because we are financially responsible for over twenty thousand dollars to secure in reserve this boat. That means that if one person shows up, we're still responsible for that money. There's a lot of pressure that comes with that. But in knowing it's a good idea. And what Clint did was, Clint and Nate you know they kind of took a tally and they asked around to see what would excite people. What is something that everybody would want to do together. And this was a commonality because they know that fishing is something Clint and Nate have always bragged about doing before. In a growing up in a home with five brothers I always saw that, sort of envy that comes along with seeing something so awesome that someone else is doing. And then you ask yourself well why is it that I haven't done that too. Like why haven't I put myself in a position to experience life this way. And as you sit there if there's anything that comes up for you that you can maybe just be a part of not necessarily instigating create on your own, but just to put yourself out there to experience life in a way that gets you out of your comfort zone. Gets you out of that normal routine of life. And that really allows you to discover new things about yourself based on new challenges that come with whatever that new thing is. It allows you to grow. I believe that's one of the only ways that we expand is by getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and when you're able to do that. There's this new power that comes to you and there's this new drive to continue to do like things as you move forward. And by this continual expansion and growth by experiencing new things in life, then you're really able to enjoy your tactical living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

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[Intro]

911 what’s the nature of your emergency? 

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of tactical living by Leo worriers. I'm your host Ashlie Walton. 

Clint: And I’m your co-host Clint Walton. 

Ashlie: For today's episode I want to talk about how opposites attract. Why that might be difficult in a relationship. But the gifts that we found from that in our own marriage. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Now to preface this, I want to tell you that just now before I hit the record button Clint leaned over and gave me a kiss and I thought it very fitting because what you might not know is that when we record together, typically Clint has no idea what we're about to discuss. 

Clint: I have absolutely no clue anytime. 

Ashlie: And I have to do that on purpose because for Clint it's not as easy to just talk organically and on the fly like it is for some people. And that's not to bash him. It's just to really point out the fact that if we were to have some prewritten skit Clint would try to really like audition what it was that we had just gone over and I know this because we've tried content like that in the past. 

Clint: And I sound like a robot.

Ashlie: It's true. And I thought it was really sweet me knowing fully what we were about to talk about and him leaning over and kissing me like that before we even started recording. Because since day one when I met Clint, there has hardly been a single thing starting from that time even to this day that are similar about us. The only things that I know for sure are our ideal allergies on life, our morals and our ethics, how genuine our heart is and how we live our lives always to try to place ourselves in the shoes of other people and our desire to really want to endlessly give back more than what we receive. We are not some matters here.  I am just pointing out to you the qualities that I know that he and I are in alignment with and I’m starting it off on a positive note that way because this is going to take a completely different turn.

Clint: I'm ready. 

Ashlie: Because apart from those there is nothing about Clinton I that are the same. We don't share the same taste in music, hell we don't even share the same volume of music. Our driving styles and speeds are completely different. Our interests, our hobbies, tv shows, books, like name something and there isn't any quality about our interests and our disinterest that align. Everything is different and in the beginning of our relationship I wondered if that would cause a problem. I like rock, I like very loud rock. I like very loud rock when I’m driving very fast in my truck. 

Clint: And I’m completely the opposite of, you just give me some low-level real country music, not this new pop country but real you know George strait something like that and the volume you can just barely hear. 

Ashlie: While he's driving five miles an hour down the road. 

Clint: It's the safest way to drive.

Ashlie: And I really thought that if two people are so different how could they be so compatible. As our relationship started to blossom and it started to turn into something else, I started to realize how opposites really do attract and it dawned on me that the reason that they do attract requires the ability of the other person to give a little, to show some sacrifice and to show some genuine interest in what it is that's important to the other person. My first true test to this was when Clint invited me to go out on a deep-sea fishing trip with him and his family. I never thought that I would be stuck in the middle of the ocean with squid ink all over my body. Scales that I had to rinse off or I think a week. 

Clint: She was like a mermaid with scales coming out of everywhere. And this whole story with the fishing was something that she's never been on a boat in the middle of the ocean fishing and just seeing her willing to try that meant so much to me with knowing how important fishing is to me. 

Ashlie: And I remember creating all these stories in my head before we went, all the reasons why I wasn't going to like fishing. I get carsick so of course I’m going to get seasick. I like to be clean. So of course I’m going to hate being dirty in the middle of an ocean. I'm not going to catch anything; I don't want to catch anything. What happens if I do catch something? I'm going to be around all these stinky men. I'm not going to enjoy myself. 

Clint: And that was just the start of this adventure with fishing and luckily on our first trip together I was able to get her dad and brothers to go, so she would also feel a little bit more comfortable. 

Ashlie: And the most amazing thing happened because as soon as Clint showed me how to fish and he taught me how to feel the end of my line, so I can gauge it bouncing up and down on the bottom of the ocean floor. I started to feel this connection to fishing and this trip in particular was special because I kid you not as soon as all of us put our lines in the water and touch the ground of the ocean. We all caught hundreds and hundreds of fish that day. It was an incredible trip. Because I remember feeling so much excitement just to see what the next person brought up from the ocean.

I mean there is these incredible looking fish I’ve never seen before and it was intriguing it might sound disgusting, but to see the fish like throw up all their guts and their eyes popping out from the change and elevation so quickly and the most special thing happened on our way back in from that trip and I remember I was standing at the front of the boat by myself and I was looking at these two dolphins and they were just bouncing up and down out of the water. Of course being in the middle of the ocean like that it's just amazingly beautiful to watch the water glistening and bouncing off of the sky with the sun shining and you can see the dew from the water coming off of the side of the boat and it was just beautiful and I was just enjoying that. 

I had never experienced marine life like that in real life and then I remember the captain asking me if I really liked that. And I look up at him and he said because if you really like that, just wait a second and he turns off the boat and in a matter of 30 seconds we were surrounded by an entire school of thousands of dolphins and I know that might sound eccentric but it was thousands of dolphins.  I was so happy I want to cry right now and just reliving that moment. I looked all around the boat and the dolphins were enjoying the company of the boat in the middle of the ocean and they stayed there with us for a good 10 minutes and we just watched them just dancing up and down out of the water. Everybody pointing out the little baby dolphins to me knowing how excited it was for me to experience to this and we got to see there was actually a couple different kinds of dolphins in this school and it was just so special and probably something I mean I would I can only hope to experience again in my life.

But by me taking the chance and allowing myself to enjoy something that Clint found so special, not only did it allow me to really be immersed in his world, but it actually gave me a new love, a new hobby. Since then we've gone on dozens of fishing trips. I've won the jackpot fishing on a boat with nothing but a bunch of big smelly men and I experience something new every time we go and the best part for me is when I catch something or even if I’m just there just standing alone on the side of the boat and I’m fishing. Clint looks over at me and I could tell he's so happy with me experiencing life in his world based on one of his own passions and as you sit there maybe you can think of something like your own spouse or even a family member has asked you to share interest in and maybe you've pushed them away.

Maybe you've pushed them away because you've told yourself these stories about why it doesn't suit you. But when you stop for a moment and you recognize the fact that, that's not the point. It doesn't have to suit you. What does have to suit you is your willingness to explore your relationship with that person in a way that becomes more intimate with them by showing a little bit of commitment and willingness to explore a part of their world and who knows you might even find a gift in it yourself. And as you sit there, I hope that you can think of that one person, that one person who's asked you to do something with them. The one who you might keep brushing off time and time again and maybe reach out to them, catch them by surprise. Ask them to go do that one thing that they've been inviting you to do for the longest time. And when you're willing to be open and you're willing to explore new possibilities. The gifts on the backside are what will really allow you to enjoy your tactical living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

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