Becoming Bulletproof — Book Summary
Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly
by Evy Poumpouras
Published: 2020 | 336 pages| Rating Amazon: |
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Date of the summary: Jul 4, 2021
Introduction
This fantastic and must-read book, Becoming bulletproof by Evy Poumpouras, is a highly recommended book for everyone. It is a self-help book that will educate you on how to protect yourself, read people, influence situations, and allows you to live fearlessly.
The author is a former Special Agent of the United States Secret Service and on-air national TV contributor who frequently appears on NBC, MSNBC, CNN, and HLN. She is also an adjunct professor for the City University of New York, where she teaches criminal justice and criminology. All her expertise was employed when writing this book to ensure you get the value of your time.
Interesting quotes from the book
I know fear keeps us alive, but I also know that fear keeps us from living.
— Evy Poumpouras, Becoming Bulletproof
It’s the things we don’t do that tend to haunt us long-term—such as choosing not to take a new job, not to pursue a relationship, not to stand up for ourselves, or not to push beyond our comfort zones. We tend to remember the things in life we had the chance to do, but didn’t—an opportunity lost, a promise unfulfilled.
— Evy Poumpouras, Becoming Bulletproof
Fear is like fire, if you extinguish it while it's small, it won't become an inferno.
— Evy Poumpouras, Becoming Bulletproof
Summary of the book Becoming Bulletproof
This book is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on how you can protect yourself, while the second part has to do with how you can easily read people through their facial appearance and other body dispositions, and the third part is about the power of influence.
In the first chapter, the author made her readers realize that her book is not about never feeling fear but being about understanding fear and learning to control it. In this chapter, she gives you practical ways on how you can master your fear so that it doesn't turn to panic in a moment when you need to be able to think clearly. She makes you realize that fear can be a limiting influence in our lives, and it can prevent you from pursuing goals that you long to go after, from speaking openly and honestly, and from being who you are truly meant to be. In a nutshell, this chapter shows you how to get to know your fear, trust your instincts, and make choices that will keep you safe and strong.
The following chapter focuses on how you can harness fear to achieve what you truly want out of life to become the strongest version of yourself that you can be. This chapter also gives you reasons why fear doesn't have to limit you.
The third chapter is about creating a mental shield so that someone's cruelty or negligence doesn't throw you off your game. Here, you will learn how to fortify your mental armor, which is a protective shield that you put between yourself and the outside world.
The next chapter teaches you about mental resilience, and it also gives you tools on how to enhance your resilience for situations when you find yourself contending with a mental crisis. In this chapter, you will understand how resilience is not a genetic trait, but a learned skill built over time and helps you see a problem for what it is before working towards an effective solution for it.
The next chapter shows you how you can develop a secret service mindset to protect yourself. Here, you will learn to think about things that can likely go wrong before they happen. You will also learn about different safe houses you can stay in case of emergencies.
In chapter six, you will learn how to be your shift agent, and it will show you different strategic seating positions in various places to protect yourself in case of emergencies come up. This chapter also offers you many reasons why you need to trust your instincts, especially when your safety is involved.
The two last chapters in part one encourage you to fight if need be, and it also provides you with practical ways to bulletproof your life. If you are genuinely committed to becoming bulletproof, then it's your responsibility to find out where your limitations are when it comes to physical combat. As soon as you discover your weaknesses, it will be easier for you to improve and grow. And self-improvement doesn't just strengthen your physical armor but your mental armor too. In the last chapter of this part, you are also given several ways to bulletproof your home, doors, windows, security system, empty nest, go-bag, wallet, and social media.
The ninth and tenth chapter shows you how to become a human lie detector, spot certain behaviors and ask the right questions. Here, you will learn how to read body language, verbal cues, so you will understand what people are saying even when they are not talking to you. You will also learn that everyone lies, the different reasons they lie, and how they lie.
The following two chapters clearly show you how to read people through their body language, facial expressions, and eye contact with pictures to elaborate more. Here, you also learn how to spot a liar.
Chapter thirteen and fourteen provide you with ways of how people read you. It shows you how to master a poker face so people can't easily guess what's on your mind and what your body language says about you. It also shows you how you say things matters and not only what you say. It makes you see how others hear you even when you are silent.
In the last two chapters in the second part of this book, you will learn practical ways to detect deception.
The first two chapters in the last part of this book show you how to influence people. This chapter reveals the truth about influence, how powerful your words are, and how you can use them to make people give you what you want. It also teaches you why you need to stop trying to change people and be strategic. This chapter also shows you how to make people feel special by giving them undivided attention and the need for you to remember people by their names.
The last chapters of this book show you how to command respect instead of demanding it, the need for you to give people their privacy, how to ask the right questions, questions you should avoid asking, gives you the principles of rapport, how empathy is very crucial, and how to keep your ego in check. It also provides you with various tactics of influence, how others influence you and how you can be presidential.
Key Lessons from the book
Lesson 1: People lie, don't let it affect you more than it should.
Everyone lies, and we lie pretty often. So, we should learn to take people's lies less personally because that way, we can easily read people.
Lesson 2: Dress Confidently.
Your clothing can have a powerful impact on how others perceive you, so always consider your audience when picking out your wardrobe.
Lesson 3: Command respect, don't demand it.
Influence and respect are garnered organically. Demanding respect is often tacky and will get you the opposite reaction. Carry yourself with respect. Respect others and you will find yourself a respected and honoured person.
Review of the book Becoming Bulletproof
I have always been interested in people's story and I love how her story is told. I found the story-telling very vulnerable. I think we can all learn lessons from this wonderful woman here. I like that the book went straight to the point. I wonder if it was just me, but I would've loved for the author to be a littler gentler on herself and us at times! However, all-round good read.
Conclusion
This was a fantastic read. It's real, honest, and incredibly educational. It's difficult to put this book down. I can't wait for the next book to come out. I'm going to tell everyone I know about this book!
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