Abundance, Cooperation, and Bad Advice.

I have completely ignored some advice from people who care about me and want to help me. Today I'm going to explain what that advice is and why I've chosen to completely ignore it. My hope is that in the process you will come around to my way of thinking and learn something about having a mentality of cooperation and abundance. 

I MUST BE CRAZY- I have a book coming out next month on how to apply Stoic philosophy to the profession of Law Enforcement. I am also developing a series of classes that I intend on marketing to agencies teaching the same topic. So why on earth have I created a website where I give the same information away for free? Why do I do free webinars for my friend's training companies? Why would I keep posting free articles on Linkedin?  Why do I partner with other cops who are teaching Stoicism and why am boosting their signal instead of my own? Why am I helping competing trainers, influencers, content creators, website hosters, and authors? Why am I developing a free newsletter to give away free information every week? Am I crazy??? 

According to my well-meaning friends and family, I am absolutely nuts. They tell me “Steve, stop giving it all away for free!” I think they mean well, but they just do not have the same mentality that I do. I’m talking about the mentality of abundance and cooperation. 

COOPERATION AND ABUNDANCE ARE LINKED - I share and cooperate with others because there is more than enough for everyone (abundance). We can all be successful, and if someone else succeeds that doesn't mean that I fail. There is way too much of this kind of thinking in law enforcement. I bet you know some people who sit in their little corners and aggressively guard their shitty little turf. Those people have a poor mentality, they don't think there is enough success to go around. Do you respect those people? Do you want to be like those people? 

Stoic philosophy teaches that we are social creatures and that we are made to live and work together. The Stoics also teach that friendship is one of the great joys of life: 

“This is the first promise that philosophy holds out to us: fellow-feeling, humanity, sociability.”- Seneca

“We were born for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of upper and lower teeth. So to work in opposition to one another is against nature: and anger or rejection is opposition.”- Marcus Aurelius 

“It’s in keeping with Nature to show our friends affection and to celebrate their advancement, as if it were our very own.”- Seneca

MY BIG SECRET TO CONTENT CREATION - Here is my big secret to coming up with content and material... I develop the material I teach by combining the following things: 

• Books I've read
• Experiences I've had in police work
• Life Experience 
• My ability to think critically 
• Creativity

I have absolutely no intention of stopping reading. I don't intend to stop learning from my life or work experiences. I’m going to keep on keeping on being creative and thinking critically. The point is that there is no reason to think that I will ever run out of new, interesting, fun, and creative content to share with others. I couldn't possibly “give it all away”. 

I HOPE YOU FIND IT- Philosophy literally means “love of wisdom”. My hope is that you all find an area of study and expertise that you feel the same way about. Something that holds your interest and that you never want to stop discovering more about. I hope you find something that makes you “nerd out” over some new little fact or aspect that has practical application. With just a little bit of creativity, most areas of study have infinite crossover applications. For example, I could just as easily apply Stoic philosophy to Star Wars, Sports, History, Leadership, Lego building, or Travel and I could write volumes about each one. The point is to find something you enjoy and find useful and dive in. Become an expert, then share the hell out of it with anyone who will listen. Ideas and information are abundant and I dare say infinite. 

INFINITE ABUNDANCE - If I haven't convinced you yet that new ideas are so abundant that they are basically infinite, consider this: Every time you study something or learn about a new topic, do you not come away with the idea that there is more to learn about the topic? Einstein said it best “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” The point is that information is infinite and so is content provided you are willing to stay humble enough to keep learning and exploring and are cooperative enough to keep sharing it all with others. 

I MUST SHARE- I can’t imagine not sharing something that I find useful and keeping it to myself. Especially when it comes to helping my fellow LEOs. We need all the resources we can get. 

“Nothing will ever please me, no matter how excellent or beneficial, if I must retain the knowledge of it to myself. And if wisdom were given me under the express condition that it must be kept hidden and not uttered, I should refuse it. No good thing is pleasant to possess, without friends to share it.” — Seneca

Basically, Seneca is saying, “If I can't tell my friends about it, I’d rather not know”. I can respect that sentiment. 

MY REWARD -  I don't share Stoic philosophy with cops because I think I'm going to get rich from it. I do it because it needs to be done. It is my purpose. I'm not going to halt my mission in life because nobody is paying me to do it. Thats crazy. I love what I do. Every time I help someone, I get a reward that money just can't buy. I don't care how rich you are, or what things you have. My life is much more abundant because I learn, create, and share. 

For all kinds of free information and articles that I’m “giving away for free” go to StreetStoic.com While you are there sign up for the free newsletter that Bryce Lee and I are cooperating on in order to give you even more free Stoic content.