Episode 9

Episode 9

Episode #9: How to Recognize and React to Stalking Behaviors

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Being stalked is no joke, and in this episode Kelly and Doug dig into controversial topics related to stalking.  What exactly constitutes stalking?  Are there differences in how men and women should and do react to stalking?  How do you stop stalking behavior once you’ve recognized it?  What resources are available to you if you’re unsure you’re being stalked but feel uncomfortable?  And what is the role of intent when talking about stalking behavior?

Scroll down for this week’s Episode Key.  You’ll find all of the mentioned links, articles, daily habits, and other tips and tricks in there. 

It is far too common an occurrence to feel that “off” feeling in your gut or suspect someone might be following you on the streets or maybe stalking you online, but also feel uncomfortable reporting it because you are unsure if you are correct or possibly mistaking the situation.  

Listen to this episode of Thrive Unafraid to learn how to:

  • Determine if you’re being stalked
  • Steps to take if you’re being stalked
  • Where to go for help if you’re being stalked or simply feel uneasy about a situation
  • How to recognize warning signs and trust your instincts
  • How to confront a stalker safely

Kelly shares stories from women who have confided in her about their stalking experiences, how they handled the situation, and Kelly shares further expertise and insight on how to safely interact with a potential stalker or when to skip straight to the authorities.

Gain the confidence to Live Life Unafraid with situational awareness and personal safety guidance from this episode. 

Ready to join the conversation?  

Follow The Diamond Arrow Group on Instagram and Facebook, and Kelly Sayre on LinkedIn and Twitter.

You can find Doug at @texasspydad, or on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Check Kelly’s new book Sharp Women that guides you through embracing your best self-defense weapon – your intuition.    

Please click ‘Follow’ or ‘Subscribe’ on your favorite podcast platform, and we’d love to hear what you think is the best piece of advice you’ve heard on the podcast to-date in a Review on your podcast platform!

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Episode 7

Episode #7: Common Manipulation Tactics: Are You Being Emotionally Manipulated? with Guest Justin Black

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Do you ever wonder if someone you care about or interact with often is manipulating you?  This week Kelly and Doug are joined by Justin Black to discuss common manipulation tactics, how to identify them, and how to address this behavior.

Click here to download the Guide to Identify the 12 Most Common Manipulation Tactics.  

Justin Black is the man behind the Spycraft 101 podcast, blog, and wildly popular Instagram account, where he teaches about the history of clandestine operations to history lovers, covert ops junkies, patriots, weapons & gadgets enthusiasts, the safety savvy, and the personal-security conscious.  He’s also highly trained in human intelligence and he came onto Thrive Unafraid to discuss threats and human behavior.

Kelly, Doug, and Justin discussed:

  • Common manipulation tactics
  • Is all manipulation bad/wrong?
  • The morality of gaslighting
  • A breakdown on manners
  • Listening to the voice inside you
  • Reading body language and non-verbal cues
  • People-watching to learn tells

Justin also shares enthralling stories about CIA and British Special Operations agents using manipulation tactics in their work or to survive capture.

Join us to learn more about how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from manipulation in your home, at work, or in public.

Ready to join the conversation?  

Follow The Diamond Arrow Group on Instagram and Facebook, and Kelly Sayre on LinkedIn and Twitter.

You can find Doug at @texasspydad, or on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Check Kelly’s new book Sharp Women that guides you through embracing your best self-defense weapon – your intuition.    

Please click ‘Follow’ or ‘Subscribe’ on your favorite podcast platform, and we’d love to hear what you think is the best piece of advice you’ve heard on the podcast to-date in a Review on your podcast platform!

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Episode 6

Episode #6: When Your Gut Raises the Alarm

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Learn to avoid dangerous situations, how to assess risks and how to react if danger does arise by yourself or with your loved ones.  In this episode, Doug and Kelly discuss the experience of a mom whose gut raised the alarm in a large parking lot with her child.  

Click here to download Kelly’s Boundaries Workbook. Her comprehensive approach helps you take charge of your own personal safety so that you can better protect yourself in any situation.

Learn to:

  • Identify potential threats 
  • Enact physical awareness 
  • Pay attention to your surroundings 
  • Avoid distractions 
  • Create an escape plan, if needed 

They also touch on:

  • Knowing basic self-defense techniques 
  • Trusting your instincts 
  • Personal safety devices 
  • Tips for building situational awareness

Explore the importance of having real conversations about safety and discover practical methods to ensure that you are living in a secure environment. Tune in to learn expert tips on how to courageously move forward confidently in all aspects of life, no matter your current circumstances.

 

Ready to join the conversation?  

Follow The Diamond Arrow Group on Instagram and Facebook, and Kelly Sayre on LinkedIn and Twitter.

You can find Doug at @texasspydad, or on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Check Kelly’s new book Sharp Women that guides you through embracing your best self-defense weapon – your intuition.    

Please click ‘Follow’ or ‘Subscribe’ on your favorite podcast platform, and we’d love to hear what you think is the best piece of advice you’ve heard on the podcast to-date in a Review on your podcast platform!

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Episode 1

Episode #1: Dissecting the “Good Guy” Excuse

Welcome to the Thrive Unafraid podcast! In their premier episode,  Kelly and Doug tackle the “good guy” excuse. When is someone’s bad behavior forgivable, and what’s your responsibility when it comes to communicating what you’re not okay with?
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In this episode, Doug and I are discussing the Good Guy Excuse. I came across an article in Harvard Business Review back in August of 2022. The title is, “Stop Protecting Good Guys”, and we’ll link the article in the episode key that you’ll be able to download from the Diamond Arrow group.com website, so you can go check out the article for yourself.

My first reaction when I heard that was, “What? No, we need all the good guys we can get in society!” That was my initial thought. As I read the article, I realized what they were actually trying to say, and some of my initial thoughts were, I had done a post called “the every man”, and I switched it up with what has been said-and I don’t know if it’s an actual quote or not, but every woman you know has either experienced a sexual assault or knows someone who has experienced a sexual assault or almost experienced a sexual assault.

What I had done was I switched it and said, every man you know has committed sexual assault, or knows someone who’s committed sexual assault, or has almost committed sexual assault. And I remember when I created that, that switched up meme, I got the sweats. Thinking about posting that to the Diamond Arrow Group social feeds, because I was like, are people gonna understand? Are people going to…how are they gonna react? Then I had to second guess and say, is that true? And of course, I asked my husband, would this resonate with you? He’s law enforcement, so he is like, you can’t really count me. I know lots of people who have.

But the reaction to it was really interesting and we can get into that later. Good guys are not immune to bad behaviors, so there’s that piece. And I also thought women are not immune to this protective, albeit dismissive excuse either. How about you, Doug? What were some of your initial thoughts?

(laughing) Well, it’s interesting. I hadn’t read it until just recently when you sent it over to me to take a look at, and the first thing that came to mind is, it’s interesting how we use language. You know, to frame discussions, right? Because on one level, everybody wants to be a good guy, but nobody defines what a good guy is. So the language, it matters in this, the article is talking primarily about sexual harassment. Although it gives an example of sexism in the workplace, but the focus is on primarily sexual harassment.

At the end of the day, it’s all about excusing poor behavior under one of a number of guises. I found it interesting. I went and sat down with my daughters to talk through some of this as well and to get their view on it. I wanted to ask them, what’s the counterpart to a good guy? Is it a bad boy? Right? And so what is that language and how do we land there? And what does that mean?

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To wear or not to wear, that is the question

To wear or not to wear, that is the question

I received a question on the Diamond Arrow Group Facebook page from a follower last week. The woman had an upcoming work trip and wondered if wearing company logo wear or personal clothes while on the trip would make her less of a target. As with 99% of situational questions I get, it depends. Here’s the conversation we had. Let me know what you think!

Follower: Do you think you make yourself less of a target if you are wearing work logo (traveling for work) compared to if you are dressed for leisure/personal…. If I’m traveling for work, someone else knows about my wear abouts vs leisure/personal where no one might even realize I am traveling…. penny for a thought??

Kelly: Great question. How I think about it is, if I’m evaluating you as a potential target, I could google your company and see where it’s based. That tells me if you’re traveling for work vs. daily commute. If I spend a few seconds on the company website understanding what it’s about, I may use that info to strike up a conversation pretending mutual interests. If I can get you to open up and have a conversation, I may ask questions that tell me why you’re in town, where you’re staying, how long you’ll be in town, and how many people you’re traveling with.

If you’re in personal clothes, I will not know if this is your hometown or not. Which raises the risk that you are familiar with the area and the people around you. This also presents more of a risk that you carry tools that won’t pass TSA inspection (traveling tends to minimize tool choices).

It’s not so much about do this, don’t do that-it’s about being conscious of the information you broadcast (verbal & non-verbal, logo wear-whether work or personal) and recognizing behaviors that seem off (too curious, too intrusive) from normal stranger behavior.

Follower: I’m heading out Sunday night for business and I’ll be traveling with my boss, we’ve usually gone together, but we have a co-worker that is joining us a few days later on her own and made me think about the situation if I was traveling by myself. And great info!! Made me think about things I wouldn’t have.

Answering questions about personal safety and helping people see things from different perspectives, in order to increase their personal safety, is one of my favorite things to do. If you have a question for me, send me an email, DM, or post on the social channels and I’m happy to help!