Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Leadership Lessons from "Collateral"

“Someday? Someday my dream will come? One night you’ll wake up and discover it never happened.”

— Vincent, Collateral

One of the most uncomfortable leadership lessons in film happens in the back seat of a taxi in 2004's, Collateral. Tom Cruise’s character, Vincent, isn’t a hero (he's a ruthless hitman), but he is brutally honest.

When Max, the taxi driver, explains his dream of owning a limousine business, Vincent isn’t impressed. Max has the name, the vision, the story. He’s been thinking about it for years. Vincent cuts through the fantasy with a single truth: owning a limo company doesn’t require a dream... it requires a lease. A Lincoln Town Car. Paperwork. Action.

That’s the difference between them.

Max isn’t incapable. He’s cautious, comfortable, and waiting for the “right time.” Vincent calls him out: you’ll never do it - not because you can’t, but b...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Jonah Complex: The Fear of Success

“The greatest risk isn't aiming too high and missing... it's aiming too low so you never have to change.”

— Michelangelo

Most people claim they’re afraid of failing. In truth, many are far more afraid of succeeding.

Psychologists call this fear of success, sometimes referred to as the Jonah Complex, the fear of stepping fully into one’s potential. It was originally coined by Abraham Maslow and refers to how in the Bible, Jonah tried (in vain) to run away from his fate. Success brings consequences: higher expectations, visibility, accountability, and pressure. And for those who are comfortable talking about ambition but less comfortable owning results, that pressure feels threatening.

The data supports this. Research shows fear of achievement is closely linked to low self-efficacy - a lack of confidence in one’s ability to handle success - and lower life satisfact...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Move with Urgency to Win

“Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.”

— Jim Rohn

One of the most consistent patterns in success — whether in business, fitness, leadership, or personal growth — is that people who move quickly toward their goals far outperform those who overthink, over plan, or constantly change direction. Planning has value, of course, but the real separator between high performers and the average is speed of execution.

Research from the University of Scranton shows that only 8% of people actually achieve the goals they set. Not because the goals were too ambitious — but because most people never take meaningful action. Meanwhile, individuals who take immediate, imperfect steps are up to 40% more likely to achieve their goals. Because action creates momentum, and momentum is a strategic advantage.

Sir Richard Branson built his empire on a three-word philosophy: “Screw it, ...

Dear A, 

It's November 28th and we're closing in on the last month of 2025.  Let's make it a great one.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday and you were able to be surrounded by family and friends.  Hopefully, it was a time to reflect and be filled with gratitude.  

Here's what I'm exploring this week...

AUDIO BOOK I'M LISTENING TO...

Zero Minus Ten by Raymond Benson. I remember reading this James Bond thriller more than twenty years ago during an overseas flights to one of my first assignments for CIA. It popped up in my audio book recommendations and I had to give it a listen. Benson was authorized by the Ian Fleming estate to carry on the tradition of writing James Bond novels. This was his first attempt and it stays in line with tradition. A short, but fun, listen.

HOLIDAY MOVIE I'M WATCHING...

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. This is the best - and one of the few - movies about Thanksgiving. Steve Martin and the late great John Candy give so...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Turkey with a Side of Intellectual Firepower

The Thanksgiving holiday takes place in the United States. It is a day to gather around the dinner table with loved ones and give thanks for all that is good in our lives (and eat large quantities of turkey meat with a bunch of side dishes). And, while the world can seem like a mean and nasty place sometimes, there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for. As an example, my 90-year old father is fond of saying, "Every day I look in the newspaper at the obituary pages... if I don't see my name in there, it's the best day of my life!" You gotta love his sense of gratitude.

I am certainly thankful for my family, my friends, my health, as well as all of you who have supported SMI over the years. Therefore, to show my appreciation, please allow me to share with you our annual "Black Friday" special promotion.

For our international friends, "Black Friday" has beco...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

“You don't understand the strength of a team until you are pushed beyond your limits.”

— Gene Kranz

When an oxygen tank exploded aboard Apollo 13 on April 13, 1970, 200,000 miles from Earth, the three astronauts aboard — Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise — were suddenly fighting for their lives. What was supposed to be NASA’s third lunar landing instantly became a desperate struggle for survival. Back in Houston, a 37-year-old flight director named Gene Kranz and his team of engineers faced a crisis unlike anything they had ever trained for. Yet through composure, preparation, and leadership under pressure, they achieved the impossible: bringing the astronauts home safely.

Kranz was the leader of what NASA called the “White Team,” part of a rotation of mission control units responsible for different shifts. Internally, they were known as the “Tiger Team,” a handpicked group of engineers and probl...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Endure It... Stop Complaining

“If it is endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Life is not fair. It never has been. It’s tough, unpredictable, and brutally competitive — and that’s exactly what makes it worth living. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor who wrote those words nearly two thousand years ago, understood something timeless: the world doesn’t care about your excuses. It only responds to your actions.

That’s the essence of CARVER Leadership.

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius faced wars, betrayal, and plague — yet he refused to let external chaos dictate his internal strength. He understood that endurance is not resignation. It’s power. It’s choosing to remain steady while the world tests your resolve.

CARVER Leadership teaches that same principle. The “C” in CARVER s...

It was a busy week with a lot of commuting between Sarasota and Tampa.

Here's what I'm exploring this week...

AUDIO BOOK I'M LISTENING TO...

Failure is Not an Option by Gene Kranz. I own a hardcopy of this book. However, as I am delivering an emergency response course in a few weeks I thought I would revisit the book's powerful lessons while I drive. Kranz and his team at NASA are American heroes who define what it means to lead during uncertainty and take big risks. Landing a man on the moon truly remains as one of our greatest human achievements. Kranz pulls back the curtain on the type of leadership it took to endure all the challenges.

STUDY I'M EXCITED ABOUT...

The Mindset that Helps You Live to 85. A 30 year study of 71,000 adults found that people with the most optimistic outlook are up to 70% more likely to live to age 85 or beyond, regardless of their health habits. The effect held for both men and women and across different levels of health and stress. In o...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

 3 Words that Change EVERYTHING

“The difference in people's lives is the difference in their standards.”

- Tony Robbins

My old high school football coach, John Sprague, gave me some of the best advice I ever received in the form of three simple words: Raise your standards.

That phrase changed everything for me. It’s a reminder that if you don’t like where you are in life — change it. If you don’t like your body, raise your standards. If you don’t like your job, raise your standards. If you don’t like the people you spend time with, raise your standards. You can have almost anything you want in life if you’re willing to work for it — but first, you must expect more from yourself.

Raising your standards isn’t about perfection. It’s about refusing to settle. It means looking at the results you’re getting and realizing that they are a direct reflection of what you’ve been willing to tolerate — from you...

I'm looking forward to spending time with family and friends this evening and taking my little guy tricker-treating (he's Spiderman).   

Here's what I'm exploring this week...  

BOOK I'M READING...

Taking Religion Seriously by Charles Murray. This is Murray’s autobiographical reflection on his decades-long journey toward understanding God in general and Christianity in particular. He contends that faith can — and should — be examined through rigorous intellectual inquiry. Along the way, he weaves together insights from cosmology and the improbable conditions of the Big Bang, the emerging science of consciousness, and perspectives from evolutionary psychology, all pointing to the possibility of a universal Moral Law. His examination of Christianity engages deeply with questions of Gospel authorship, the reliability of biblical texts, and the scholarly debates surrounding the resurrection. In short, not only can science not disprove the existence of God, but it actually lends ...