” At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
John F. Kennedy expressed it eloquently when he said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
Gratitude is a powerful tool. I used it so many times as a hostage negotiator when I was dealing with… Continue reading
As a police officer it is difficult to find extra money to save. With all of the money we pay in taxes, bills and maybe even child support or alimony, it can seem impossible to begin saving. I am going to share a secret that will help you increase your savings from nothing to over $15,000 dollars per year, while still taking home more money. This may seem too good to be true, but if you patiently follow this method you will be amazed at how much your savings grow. Continue reading
Police Officer Suicides are becoming an epidemic. Over the last several years suicides by police officers have out numbered the number of officers killed in the line of duty by 3 to 1. It is estimated that between 400 to 500 officers take their own lives each year. This is a major problem and as law enforcement professionals we must resolve this problem ourselves. The first step is awareness and then we must take action. I started this blog at www.copsalive.com when a friend and former Sheriff’s Patrol Sergeant committed suicide. No one saw it coming and in my twenty three years as a police officer… Continue reading
Do you have a vision for what it is that you really want in life or in your police career? Police officers are just like most people when it comes to procrastinating about a plan for their lives or even their careers in law enforcement. Experts and psychologists agree that when people spend time really articulating what they want, they have a much better chance of getting it, so life planning and career planning can have a tremendous impact upon your success. This usually includes writing down your thoughts and goals so you have a sort of map to get where you want to go. Here’s an interesting video from YouTube that might also help you.
Cops and other law enforcement professionals are just like other people when it comes to wanting a way to increase their income. Many like me have taken to creating side business on the internet and in that vein several people have asked me lately for resources intended for bloggers. So like a good blogger, I decided to write an article to describe some of my thoughts.
Can you earn a living on the internet? Some say so, and many say the way to build your base of support is through blogging or writing a frequent article on a blog or web log. Continue reading
Paying yourself first is very common advice you may have heard from financial planners or read in personal finance books. It is common because it is one of the most important steps to being financially independent. The amazing power of this concept is often overlooked because of its simplicity. If you followed only one bit of investment advice during your life, this would be the one that would most likely make you wealthy. Continue reading
Lt. Col. Jeffery Hart is the Assistant Chief of Police in Morganfield Kentucky, he is a successful cop and he is a lucky man. I came across Jeff’s story when I was researching the heart defect that took the life of Colorado Police Officer Nick Heine. See our blog on “Are You Planning for the Un-Expected?” Officer Heine was a healthy 30 year old police officer who collapsed when he was running from one disturbance call to another. He died later at the hospital from an undiscovered heart defect. Jeff was 43 years old when he was responding to a robbery alarm and had a major heart problem that nearly took his life. Jeff was lucky and had a chance to change his life and health, Nick was not. How’s your health? What do you do on a daily basis to maintain your wellness? Continue reading
I recently had the opportunity to interview a police officer who really has planned for success in his life and his career.
Chuck Rylant began his law enforcement career in 1998 with the Lompoc Police Department in California. During those four years, he worked in a patrol car and later as a field training officer. While working graveyards on patrol, he chipped away at his bachelor degree by taking one class at a time. Looking back, he can remember struggling to stay awake while doing homework between 3:00 AM – 6:00 AM when there were only a few calls during his patrol shift. Unfortunately, he went through a divorce and had to put off finishing college for a couple of years while he got his “life in order”. Continue reading
I can think of so my topics to write about using this title but in honor of George Carlin I’m going to write about “stuff”. Check out George’s thoughts on “Stuff”.
These thoughts struck me as we are thinking about moving into a new home and have way too much stuff, which is what I worked hard for as a cop for over twenty years. Now I’m wondering if I really ever needed all this stuff (and what I could have done with the money had I not bought all of this “stuff”). Continue reading
Yesterday the United States celebrated it’s Independence Day. Many countries celebrate such a day to denote their coming of age and independence from the input and control of another’s influence. Not many people celebrate such a day for their life but maybe we should.
What in your life do you NEED to become independent from? A mortgage? A bad relationship? A job? An unhealthy lifestyle? What would financial independence look like for you? What would freedom look like to you? CopsAlive is built upon the premise that we should have a plan to survive and thrive in life and in our job. What’s your plan? Continue reading
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John Marx - BIO
Chuck Rylant - BIO
Mark St. Hilaire - BIO
Scott Silverii - BIO
Jack Digliani - BIO
Lisa Wimberger - BIO
Christa Cassilis-Hayburn - BIO
Diane Sieg - BIO
Laurie Taylor - BIO
Joe Padilla - BIO
Tina Ulatowski - BIO
Cary Friedman - BIO
Raymond Craig - BIO
Janice Hoffman - BIO
Brian Cain - BIO
Tammy Featherstone - BIO
Brian McVey - BIO
