In the FBI Academy, we trained how to run down and tackle individuals who resisted arrest. I was a lousy runner and came up at the rear of every race. The idea that I could run down or even catch up with a suspect produced snarky comments and rolled eyes from my...
Like many of you, I’ve had to learn how to overcome several obstacles in my life. One of the biggest obstacles hit me in the face while I was in the FBI Academy—I was stressed out because I found it difficult to pass the physical fitness requirements. Among the...
I’ve always been afraid of water. To confront those fears, I decided to learn how to scuba dive, even before I learned how to swim! I would use visualization to achieve top performance if I hoped to get out alive. One of the requirements of a scuba dive certification...
As the spokesperson for the FBI in Northern California, there were long stretches of the day when eating became hard to fit in, as were bathroom breaks. Each day was a full onslaught of updates on important cases, calls to return, emails to read, and interviews to...
I didn’t characterize many of my life lessons as gifts in my younger years. Growing up on a cattle ranch lacking sophistication and social graces, I viewed those early years as full of trials and tribulations. It’s taken a while to understand that those same trials...
The word “can’t” is probably the only four-letter word I never heard in my 24 years as an FBI agent. I learned early in my career that negativity would impair my ability to analyze a tough case that looked impossible to crack. Once you allow a negative thought to take...
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