This is an indispensable guide to legally defending yourself. When I read this, my eyes were metaphorically opened up so much. I thought I was aware of what the "laws" were for carrying a firearm, and had been doing so for many years before being turned on to this book. The way the book was written was very easy to understand, and don't let the size of the book fool you if you haven't read it yet. A good portion of the back of the book is actually an appendix with each State's laws so that you can look up your own state, or areas you may be travelling. Every student and firearms enthusiast that I talk to, I recommend this book because it will provide some serious perspective on what happens legally when you defend yourself... all the way to the supreme court. What was the most eye opening thing you learned in this book?

This is probably one of the better self-help books that I've read, and I thank my mentor Hank Hayes for turning me onto it. Since listening to Atomic Habits, I've seen it pop up in reference in many places including YouTube videos. I really appreciated the concept of "aggregation of marginal gains". We're not necessarily trying to jump out the gate and get 50% better, or even 5% better. We want to get 1% better at everything we do on a regular basis. This then adds up to be a huge OVERALL increase. I did notice that there were several other things that I either did unconsciously, or even intentionally that were confirmed or validated while reading. There is something to be said when you receive confirmation that the track you're on, or the habits you've been cultivating have been correct. On the other hand, it blazingly pointed out areas where I was not setting myself up for success. To this day, even though I work out on a regular basis, I do not set myself up for success with my diet.... and I really like sweets. But the first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one. Atomic habits was a solid read that I highly recommend, but more than likely if you're on this forum, then you've probably read it as well. The "4 Laws" of Atomic habits breaks down what may seemingly be insurmountable obstacles, and makes developing your new habits that much easier. Have you developed any new habits or techniques based upon reading the book?

Rich Diviney delves into what makes each person who they are. He enthralled me at the beginning of the book by discussing the seemingly un-quantifiable factors that would determine whether a Navy Seal would be selected into the elite DEVGRU (Seal Team 6). Although he doesn't specifically state the unit in the book, it was quite easy to infer. Early in the book, he is discussing having to be accountable to higher-ups in the Navy for why certain Navy Seals weren't being selected. As Rich was an officer in the Training Group responsible for selection, he had to help develop a justification beyond "they just don't fit". The sub-title of the book says "25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance". What I noticed while listening to this book was that auditorily I wasn't able to explicitly distinguish what the 25 attributes were. The book was very solid material and provided some concepts and direction on what attributes are, but I finished the book saying "wait, what were the 25?" Several of the ideas were interrelated, so they kind of blended together. Fortunately, he has a website theattributes.com where I was able to visually see what the 25 are, and it even offers an "Assessment" Perhaps if you're reading/have read the book, maybe it was more visually understandable. What I did pick up was a differentiation between skills and attributes. Skills are learned and usually able to be mastered, Attributes are what make us who we are. It's a very interesting self audit. Did you take the assessment? What do you feel are your strongest attributes?

I apparently read Lt. Col. Grossman's books out of order, but On Combat was the first one that I was exposed to. As I generally listen to books via Audible, as opposed to reading them lately, I was at first put off by his voice as he read the book himself. What I found though was that he has an interesting cadence to how he speaks, and obviously knows what he wants to emphasize. Out of the gate, the first chapter caught my attention because it went into the physiological effects of what happens to our bodies when we got through life and death scenarios. His first chapter or two was dedicated to the urination and defecation that occurs at surprisingly high levels of military and law enforcement personnel that were involved in deadly encounters... and even more interesting, the general idea that it is something to be ashamed of. I found the middle of the book to be a bit long winded about the correlation between video games and mass shootings. While I understand the points that he makes, I find the correlation and causation to be a bit of a stretch. And my personal opinion is that it's an offshoot of the whole Gun Rights debate with arguably even less occurrences of deadly violence. What I did find fascinating was discussions on things like vasal constriction, pupil constriction and tunnel vision, the lack of blood during an encounter, and things like that. Our bodies are amazing, and Lt. Col Grossman does a great job of trying to dissect what is occurring to our bodies during these stressful encounters. Have you noticed yourself looking at your body differently, or have you been through a life threatening situation and recognize some of the concepts in the book?

This book was quite interesting and made me wish I could attend the USMC school for which this book was written about. In the book I learned several things, and terminology for conceptual ideas that I had wondered on, but didn't have explicit direction. Such as "proximics, Iconography, Atmospherics", etc. What I find a lot of times with books like this is that it helps streamline and compartmentalize my thoughts and focuses them into categories instead of loose ideas. I think on an instinctual level, and the book even suggests this, we know when things are wrong- but we elect to ignore our senses. This book helps to dispel that notion to make you more aware so that you can be "left of bang" I do think that after reading this book, I look at the world a little differently. It took what I would consider a decent sense of situational awareness, and fine tuned it to be better able to assess what I was observing. Have you noticed any changes in your situational awareness since reading the book?

This was an excellent book in learning how to effectively prioritize Defusing, De-Escalating, and Distraction. Most of us don't necessarily WANT to get into a confrontation, especially a violent or deadly one, but when the incorrect words or phrases are used, confrontation may occur where it could have been avoided. Verbal Judo attempts to help us understand how to look through the other persons eyes and empathize with them. The authors attempt to discuss the concepts of respect, prioritizing the "why" of the situation, and how to provide options to your counterpart. Talking your way out of a problem may not always work, but using verbal judo can help you get out of a lot of negative situations. And these may not even be violent encounters. It can be used in your everyday life as well. I know that I have personally tried to use verbal judo in my relationships with my wife and step-daughter. I try to empathize with each of them, understand where they are coming from, and provide them with options and communication. How has Verbal Judo helped you with your communication?

I found this book to be quite fascinating. It really resonated with the methodology that we instruct within the NLB/ISP System. But what it did in great fashion is delve into the true mentality of what it means to defend yourself, and the realistic and horrible things you may need to execute in order to survive. It's not just about how to defend yourself, but more about putting yourself into the correct mental framing PRIOR to a situation where you may need to use violence to save yourself or your loved ones. Several of the stories were quite fascinating, and helped to hone in on the message of each section. What did you pick up from this book?

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