It was just another day in 2006 when young graduates, Uzair and Aaqib, decided to commercialize a product that they had created in their leisure time.
This led to the creation of a top-tier, multi-platform premium VPN service offering privacy, security, and accessibility to its users. Why, you ask? Because we want people to use the internet the way it was meant to be used.
Talking about humble beginnings, we started off our journey in a basement, with limited resources but with the inspiration to infuse perfection into everything we undertook.
At a time when the online world was littered with clunky proxy solutions with opaque backgrounds, we added transparency & reliability into the mix and brought forth a premium VPN solution that took the privacy of its customers very seriously.
Today, we have hundreds of brilliant minds working tirelessly to ensure that this journey goes down into the history books as a benchmark for success and a source of inspiration for dreamers and thinkers.
And guess what? We plan to keep it this way for many, many, many more years to come.
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
We represent Jesus Christ on this earth. Therefore, when people have an encounter with us, they should have an encounter with Jesus. There should be something about us that lets others know that we represent Him.
My knees are bloody, my neck is sore, I have bruises all over the place, I’m flat out exhausted.
And that’s just because of the beating Mickey Schuch gave me.
That guy Mickey Schuch. More about him later.
How My Showdown With Mickey Schuch Began —
Mickey’s that guy from Carry Trainer and GunFighter Gun Oil. He was also an instructor at the conference. How he built his students' confidence while also challenging them continuously, both mentally and physically, was pretty impressive. I’ll tell you more about that beating later. I wasn’t sure if I wanted it at the time, but I went for it, and it turns out I needed it.
The 2022 Guardian Conference was September 16th-18th at the Oklahoma City Gun Club. The Club is right in the backyard of CCW Safe, the host and title sponsor of the event.
Time Spent With Awesome People —
People from 25 states got in their vehicles or boarded planes, some having to travel a few thousand miles to come and train with an incredible line-up of instructors. I could sit here and type forever, just going through the experience levels and accolades of each of these instructors. That list is long, and it is impressive. On top of that, these men and women were incredible human beings.
left to right (J. Johnston, B. McLaughlin, J.Meyer, R. High, M. Lauer, R. Bowman, A. Little, M. Little, A.J. Zito, S. Middlebrook, M. Burgess, M. Schuch, C. Haggard, W. Dobbs, B. Eastridge)
The conversations I had were overwhelmingly positive, having to dig deep for criticism. Best I could get were suggestions on different muffin flavors at breakfast and if I could install a controllable thermostat on Mother Nature. I also would have liked to see a Chocolate Chip muffin in the mix. But that whole government climate control conspiracy rabbit hole isn’t something I want to go down, not again anyway. Not trying to get on any more lists than the ones I’m undoubtedly on already.
Sam Middlebrook encouraging students like only he can do.
It Takes a Team —
I didn’t actually take any courses; I was there just to do my best to make sure the Conference went well. Whether it was running to pick up lunches or fighting our instructors, I was the man for the job. The Conference was fantastic. We crushed it. Our team invests their time and abilities unlike any other I’ve seen. There were constant smiles on attendees' faces and the positive energy was impossible to ignore.
left to right (C. Lucero, M. Goerdt, J.P. Svec, R. Beckman, M. Maruster, B. McLaughlin, J. Paulsen, S. Paulsen, D. Adams, S. Delmonico, J. Meyer)
You would think with the conference landing smack dab in the middle of Mercury being in Retrograde (shout out to my fellow hippies) we would have experienced more hiccups or issues, but we made it through. A few scratches and bruises, but every person who attended left a better person at the end of the weekend.
David, one of the hardest working guys I know.
I have zero doubt that every single attendee, 19% of which were women, went home with new invaluable knowledge. Attendees had their minds blown.
Wayne Dobbs is a wonderful human, who is also one heck of an instructor.
What's The Point of It All —
Yes, weapon handling skills saw significant improvements. But the experience changed the mindset of everyone involved. Pre-conceived notions on gun-culture got tossed out the window, and there were tears of joy and realization every day (probably mostly from me).
This conference is different. It’s about people. It’s about becoming a better human being. The experience challenged everyone to push themselves and they left more confident in their abilities. Better equipped to be leaders in their communities and Guardians of those that they love.
Please Consider Coming Next Year —
We are putting the 2023 Guardian Conference on the same weekend next year September 15-17th at Oklahoma City Gun Club. 25% of this year’s attendees also went last year and I expect an increase in that number next year as just about everyone was saying they were coming back for sure in 2023! This is some of the most diverse, highest quality, and most affordable training you can ever get, we make sure of that.
Be sure to sign up early to save more and secure your spot for next year!
Okay… back to the sparring match with Mickey.
Word Travels Quickly —
Let me tell you, I’m a talker and I always have been. I can talk crap with most, but Mickey Schuch is a grandmaster. His verbal skills and quick wit are impressive. I like a challenge, so I felt like going back and forth with him and we wrestled a bit. He went easy on me. I used some of my non-existent ground fighting skills on him, and then after I told everyone that I would have had him if only he hadn’t given up. You can bet he was gonna' hear about it.
Clearly, I am letting Micky feel like he was winning.
Fast forward to the next day, the conference has wrapped up, attendees are all gone and Mickey calls me out. He’d heard I’d been talking smack. Challenge accepted. I continue to run my mouth. Mickey continues to make me tap out via various chokes and armbars half a dozen times over what seemed like a much longer time than a few minutes. He still took it easy on me, but he made sure I felt it this time. A few of my coworkers were even slightly concerned. But it looked worse than it felt; I kept smiling and talking smack.
Truth be told, I was just proud of myself for accepting the challenge.
Another shot of me dominating Mickey.
Truth is Mickey Beat my Butt, and He was Gracious About it —
Afterwards Mickey shook my hand and thanked me a few times and was sure to tell me I would probably be good at Jiu Jitsu if I went to some classes. Maybe he respected me a bit more afterwards for not backing down… but either way, I respected myself more.
The experience humbled me, reminded of my weaknesses, and inspired to be better. Then, just like he did with the students in his classes, he built up my confidence. Maybe next year Mickey and I will go for round 2. I hope you will be there.
Energy drinks are known to give you an instant boost of energy. However, research reveals that many leading energy drinks are not healthy, and some many even be harmful. One single energy drink can increase heart disease risk in young adults while significantly boosting blood pressure and stress hormone response (Mayo Clinic). They can also lead to nervousness, irritability, insomnia, rapid heartbeat and increased blood pressure. Further, some energy drinks are jam-packed with stuff that's bad for you. For example, most are laden with caffeine and sugar.
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Source: Mayo Clinic. "Mayo Clinic study: One energy drink may increase heart disease risk in young adults." EurekAlert! N.p., 9 Nov. 2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2017. Moss, MC, Scholey, AB, Wesnes, K, "Oxygen administration selectively enhances cognitive performance in healthy young adults: A placebo-controlled double-blind crossover study," Journal of Psychopharmacology, 1998 Dec;138:27-33 NOTE: Oxygen Plus products are intended for recreational, intermittent use only, and are not to be used as a medical or life-saving device. WARNING: Persons with any type of health or medical condition should consult their physician prior to use of O+ products. Elevate your IQ: www.oxygenplus.com.
Yesterday I shared with you about a time when the Lord reminded me that I am not the vine—He is. For years I had tried to accomplish by myself what Jesus wanted to achieve through me. My desire was to impress God and earn His approval. His goal, on the other hand, was for me simply to abide.
The Holy Spirit’s job is to live the life of Christ through us. This is known by a variety of names, including the exchanged life, the Spirit-filled life, and the abiding life. All of these describe the joyful existence Paul spoke of in Galatians 2:20: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.”
Seen from the outside, a branch does not appear to be doing anything. But that doesn’t mean that the abiding life is passive. Jesus was the perfect example of a Spirit-filled life, and He certainly didn’t sit around! He worked hard out of a reservoir of divine energy (John 8:28). All of Christ’s wisdom, knowledge, and courage was drawn from God through the Holy Spirit.
Christians bear fruit through surrender. We “take root” in the Lord by meditating on His Word, praying, and serving. We reserve nothing for ourselves to control but fully rely upon Him. That’s not passive living; it’s an abiding life.
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”- C.G. Jung
How do passion and addiction differ? How are they similar? Could
our passion escalate into an addiction? Is it possible to change an
unhealthy addiction into a healthy passion?
Addiction
An addiction is a chronic dysfunction of the brain system that
involves reward, motivation, and memory. It's about the way your body
craves a substance or behaviour. This definition demonstrates how the
mind can take control of the body. Dysfunction implies that the control
is really out of control. We don’t have an addiction, an addiction has
us.
Our motivation and memory systems have been hijacked. We are no
longer in charge. The reinforcement schedule of addictive behaviour
creates its own reward scheme. We are being handed a counterfeit reward
for a dysfunctional behaviour. Meanwhile, a co-dependency is being
created each time we renew this reward. It is believed that the
self-centred qualities of an addiction are mainly about the ego and not
the task. Over time the co-dependency takes away our personal agency,
our self-discipline, and our life. Disturbingly, we can become
oblivious to this regression.
“In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you.”- Andrea Dykstra
Passion
Passionate people are compelled, perhaps even called, to do something
meaningful with their lives. There is a sense of achievement, pride
and purpose in their pursuit of life.
Passionate people take charge. They are in control of their life and
demonstrate this control through having personal agency,
self-discipline, and autonomy in their life. Rewards are still
important but not central to their drive and ambition. They are not ego
driven. They are task driven. They are all in on accomplishing goals
and creating purpose and value in their lives. Fortunately, they notice
their progress.
“You don’t follow your passion. You take it with you.”- Mike Rowe
Personal Agency
Personal agency refers to “the sense that I am the one who is causing
or generating an action” (Gallagher 2000, p. 15). A person with a sense
of personal agency perceives himself/herself as the subject influencing
his/her own actions and life circumstances (Bandura 2006; Gallagher
2000).
To develop personal agency takes time and effort. You will need to
choose what you let into your mind. This would involve your physical
environment as well as your social environment. This means choosing the
people, experiences, and really all the stimuli that you are exposed
to. You will need to learn to be very selective about who and what you
let into your mind. Try to see yourself as a learner, and that includes
paying attention to your self-observational skills as well.
Manage your emotions and your beliefs through introspection.
Impulsive behaviour is a by-product of mismanaging your emotional being.
This degree of self-discipline requires your being into reflection not
reflex. Your intuition may at times need to be cross-referenced. Make
an effort to be deliberate before you take any action. Realize that
risk is not about being impulsive but being impulsive can be a risk.
“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”- Malcom Forbes
When we take charge of our personal agency, we are able to dispense
with our addictive behaviours in favour of our passion. Our needs are
altered into our wants, which is a healthier place to be. Remember,
both addiction and passion have power. However, they pull us in
opposite directions. Addiction pulls us toward dysfunction and despair,
while passion pulls us toward purpose and fulfillment. We have the
power to decide what we want. Our personal agency, which we all have
should we call upon it, will be our guide.
Bio
Dr. Bruce Wilson is a psychologist with 25 years of experience. He
enjoys sharing his ramblings with friends and colleagues. He is
currently in private practice at Mind Health Care in Geelong, Australia.
This article is solely his work.
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