Introduction
My guest this week is former United States secret service special agent, Evy Poumpouras. Throughout her 12 years of service, Evy has spent time in the Presidential Protective Division, was an undercover and criminal investigator, is specialized in polygraph interrogation and holds a U.S. Secret Service Valor Award for her heroic efforts as a first responder in the 9/11 terror attacks.
Recounting her previous experiences and talking about her current efforts in multi-media journalism, being an educator and an author, Evy shares how she learnt to read people, acknowledge fear, strengthen her resilience, and become “bulletproof”.
Evy’s book “Becoming Bulletproof: Life Lessons From A Secret Service Agent” is available now.
Show Notes
Evy joins Spencer and gives us an overview of her career as a special agent and criminal investigator. [1:42]
Evy shares how her career first commenced in public services in the New York City Police Department, with a passion to protect and support herself and her family and others. [4:00]
Evy discusses the importance of having confidence and self-belief, with reference to her personal journey and career. [10:21]
Evy explains how following her own intuition, and listening only to herself, helped her to maximize her opportunities and “live in her truth”. [15:20]
Evy recounts her experiences, thought processes and lessons learnt when responding in emergency situations, referencing specifically the 9/11 terror attacks. [20:26]
Evy discusses the political and social division faced in the United States today, and the difficulties any administration faces. [23:54]
Evy and Spencer discuss both the powers and dangers of social media, with reference to the Netflix documentary, “the social dilemma”. [26:01]
Evy shares her experiences using polygraph technology in interrogation, explaining the processes, accuracies and functions. [36:45]
Evy explains how she applies her analytical skills of people and their personalities, to her daily life as habit. [45:32]
Evy and Spencer share their experiences writing a book using similar frameworks, with Evy explaining the context of her release in detail. [51:11]
Evy closes the interview discussing her book title “Becoming Bulletproof”, chosen specifically to emphasize the fact that sometimes fear is inevitable [1:04:41]
Quotes
“Rather than becoming more afraid, I became more resilient.” [4:40]
“We tend to talk ourselves out of extraordinary opportunities.” [11:53]
“The language you use to talk to yourself, or think about yourself, matters.” [14:01]
“It’s who you are in your darkest moments, that truly defines you. And it is in your darkest moments that you must be your best.” [22:42]
“We move into a space where we don’t take accountability for ourselves.” [33:17]
“Through all my training, and through my exposure to strong individuals, I, by proxy, became stronger, more confident and braver.” [52:38]
“You’re never fully fearless … I don’t believe in being fearless, fear is good, it keeps you safe, it keeps you secure.” [1:05:04]
Social Links
Website: evypoumpouras.com
Instagram: instagram.com/evypoumpouras
Facebook: facebook.com/evypoumpouras
Twitter: twitter.com/EvyPoumpouras
