SO much can happen in a year...

October 16, 2025 was my last day as a police officer.

Listen to this instead: HERE

As you're reading this, it's been a full year since I left a career I thought I'd spend 30 years in. I didn't want to spend those 30 years there, but I didn't feel like I had another choice.

BUT... I did believe I was meant to do bigger things. So in the background, for those 10 years, I experimented. I tinkered. I chased a lot of shiny objects.

So if you don't read any further, read this. It's worth it to chase those shiny objects.

It's worth it to experiment, try new things, stretch yourself and get uncomfortable. I can say that from the other side of the fence now. Every one of those things felt insignificant at the time, but they compounded, and eventually they made it possible for me to step away from a career that very few people leave.

And honestly, you played a huge part in where I am today. For whatever crazy reason, you show up every week, read my emails and follow along. That gives me purpose. It gives me a reason to share, to build, to test and to fail without fear, because I know even my failures will give you something useful.

But I know you're tactical. So let's talk numbers.

As a cop in Southern California, before taxes and without overtime, I made close to $120,000. That doesn't include the benefits, which matter a lot. The pension, the medical, all of it adds up to a pretty sweet gig that you only work three or four days a week.

Now when you're on, you're REALLY on. Not everybody likes you, and some people want to kill you. You show up on calls to people on their very worst days, and they don't want to see you. You break families apart. You wrestle people to the ground and chase people down the street. You put hands on people who are absolutely disgusting, and sometimes, unfortunately, you might have to take somebody's life to protect others.

It's a really good middle class (or upper middle class) salary with benefits that keep you comfortable. But the job itself is gnarly, and I genuinely believe cops don't get paid enough. That's beside the point though.

If I really loved what I did, I'd still be doing it.

And some people do love it.

One of my best friends from the academy was born to be a cop. When we rode together, I'd feel inadequate because of how good he was. And I wasn't a bad cop! I cared about people and I cared about doing a good job. I just wasn't passionate about the job, and he was. That made a huge difference.

What that taught me is that it doesn't matter how much you get paid or what benefits you have. If you're not passionate about what you're doing, you're going to be unhappy doing it. Forget passionate... if you just don't like what you're doing, you won't be good at it, and it won't last.

I realized that almost immediately. It still took me 10 years to make the move. More than anything, I want to provide for my family, and that's why I got into that career in the first place. It took me 10 years to build the skills outside of law enforcement to provide for them another way.

I'd love to tell you that when I stepped away, I'd built a nice little bridge, money wasn't an issue and it was an easy transition. It wasn't.

I took a 50% pay cut. I stepped into a position that could be taken away at the drop of a hat. I gave up medical benefits and a pension. My wife took on more hours at work to make up the difference, and even then we weren't where we needed or wanted to be.

But we've been responsible with our money. We save. We tightened our belts a little and we made it work. I genuinely believe we made it work because my wife believes in me and in the vision I have for our family. We're a team in what we do. She also knew how unhappy I was as a cop, and that was a huge factor. Beyond all the business logistics and details, this happened because we were a team about it.

Regardless, money still needed to be made, and there wasn't any room for complacency. I needed to hit the ground running and jump at every opportunity put in front of me, because who knew where they might lead?

It started with me writing tweets and managing a community. Then bit by bit, things came up and I said yes, even when I didn't feel ready, confident or capable. I wanted the experience, and I wanted everyone to know I'd do anything and everything it took to grow the business.

As the year went on, I ended up in roles I'd only dreamed about:

• I became a producer of Chris Koerner's podcast
• I was given equity in TKOwners, the community I run
• I started taking on other clients, some connected to Chris's ecosystem and some on my own
• I started building other businesses based on what I've learned this year

Most of what I do still revolves around the community, Chris's content and his ecosystem. But now I'm building branches that connect to all of it and expand my own ecosystem further.

I'm creating content on multiple Instagram pages. I partnered with a buddy who has the @Runner handle, and we're relaunching it and building that brand into what it should be. I'm sharing more publicly about the AI work I do. And I'm deeply passionate about sharing day in the life stuff about being a dad, being an entrepreneur, chasing competitive fitness goals and living by you can just do things.

As for our finances, we're in a much better place. Before taxes, I now make more than I did as a cop. There are a lot of other variables, though, like how crazy expensive health insurance is when you don't work for a government agency. Who knew, right?

We're definitely on the right track, and I've got so many things on the stove right now that are close to done (and close to tasting really good).

I'm working with multiple clients on their personal brands. They already have businesses and a following, but they need help with distribution and understanding branding and content.

I'm building two communities right now. One is an add-on to TKOwners for people who want to help local businesses with AI but don't know where to start. I'm helping them start and building the system for them to make money. And on the back end, I make money too.

It's a business!

The other is for small business owners who need help understanding AI and putting it to work. There's so much out there and it gets confusing fast. These owners are focused on running their businesses, so they need help with the big picture and the fine details, and we can handle that part.

I'm also continuing to grow TKOwners, Chris's podcast, his Twitter, his YouTube and the rest of his social channels. And I have my own podcast, The Jump, which you might be listening to right now. I talk about everything it takes to make the jump from your W2 into entrepreneurship, and how you can do it too.

I'm loving every bit of it. I get to work from home. I get to take my kids to school and pick them up. I get to do work I love, and then I get to do it again the next day.

Yes, some days are stressful. There are a lot of balls spinning, and I don't have the security I used to have. But I'm more excited to get up every day than I've been in the last 10 years. I'm excited to work, build and share. It's SO fun. I feel like I found a life hack, but it's not really a hack. It's something we all know deep down and very few of us live.

Find what you're passionate about and lean into it.

It's not possible for everybody to make a career out of their passion. But I think more people should find it and do it, even if it's just on the weekends. Maybe eventually it turns into something lucrative and you leave the career you hate. Either way, you'd have a creative outlet doing something you love.

It just so happens that what I love is business and entrepreneurship and all the creativity that comes with it. If you do it right, it can be really lucrative, and the sky's the limit on what I want to build.

This last year has been life changing. I'm writing this as an update on everything I've done, but also as a call to action. A manifesto, if you will. It's so possible for you to do the same thing.

The dream life, the ideal day, being excited to get up every morning and the success you want are all on the other side of fear. I know that sounds cliche, but it's true. It's scary to take the jump. But if you're led by the stuff you love, even if you fail, I believe you'll love the process. I want that for you.

I appreciate you more than you know. You're part of the reason I get to do this, and I'm so grateful. If you want to leave your 9 to 5 and build something of your own, hit reply and let me know. I'd love to help.

Until next time... Stay in the fight, Kevin