Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly
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- Create Date：2021-06-19 05:51:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Evy Poumpouras
- ISBN：1982103752
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Former Secret Service agent and star of Bravo’s Spy Games Evy Poumpouras shares lessons learned from protecting presidents， as well insights and skills from the oldest and most elite security force in the world to help you prepare for stressful situations， instantly read people， influence how you are perceived， and live a more fearless life。
Becoming Bulletproof means transforming yourself into a stronger， more confident， and more powerful person。 Evy Poumpouras—former Secret Service agent to three presidents and one of only five women to receive the Medal of Valor—demonstrates how we can overcome our everyday fears， have difficult conversations， know who to trust and who might not have our best interests at heart， influence situations， and prepare for the unexpected。 When you have become bulletproof， you are your best， most courageous， and most powerful version of you。 Poumpouras shows us that ultimately true strength is found in the mind， not the body。
Courage involves facing our fears， but it is also about resilience， grit， and having a built-in BS detector and knowing how to use it。 In Becoming Bulletproof， Poumpouras demonstrates how to heighten our natural instincts to employ all these qualities and move from fear to fearlessness。
Becoming Bulletproof means transforming yourself into a stronger， more confident， and more powerful person。 Evy Poumpouras—former Secret Service agent to three presidents and one of only five women to receive the Medal of Valor—demonstrates how we can overcome our everyday fears， have difficult conversations， know who to trust and who might not have our best interests at heart， influence situations， and prepare for the unexpected。 When you have become bulletproof， you are your best， most courageous， and most powerful version of you。 Poumpouras shows us that ultimately true strength is found in the mind， not the body。
Courage involves facing our fears， but it is also about resilience， grit， and having a built-in BS detector and knowing how to use it。 In Becoming Bulletproof， Poumpouras demonstrates how to heighten our natural instincts to employ all these qualities and move from fear to fearlessness。
Reviews
Lae M
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one of the best and most useful self help books everI love Evy and she is such an inspiration。 i loved every word on this book。 learning from second hand experience is as useful as living it yourself when is so well explained and to the point 。
Stevie
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Loved all the swear words and appreciated the advice
Kelly 💜☕️
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I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book， but I LOVED it。 Part memoir and part self help。 The author shares her experiences as a secret service agent for various presidents and also being near the towers on September 11th。 She then gives practical advice on how we can be more safe in our own daily lives。 This would be a great book to read after a traumatic experience to process and become stronger。 Re: the title。 Many people suggested that this book be titled “Fearless”。 She doesn’t expect an I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book， but I LOVED it。 Part memoir and part self help。 The author shares her experiences as a secret service agent for various presidents and also being near the towers on September 11th。 She then gives practical advice on how we can be more safe in our own daily lives。 This would be a great book to read after a traumatic experience to process and become stronger。 Re: the title。 Many people suggested that this book be titled “Fearless”。 She doesn’t expect anyone to ever be fearless。 This is about how we handle our fear in a practical way。 Others also told her that “Bulletproof” might have negative connotations with guns。 And perhaps for some it would， she just liked the metaphor of being bulletproof。 Definitely want to re-read and get more based on where I am in life at that moment。 Thanks to San Diego County Library for the digital audio version via Libby app。 [Audio: 10 hours， 21 minutes] 。。。more
Lain
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Amazing and inspiring。 Loved the part about lie detecting。
Georgiana Marin
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Enjoyable listening， lots of good advice， however most of it is based rather on common sense。 Nevertheless a reminder is always beneficial！
Tiffany
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This was an awesome， pragmatic book that helps you… well， become bulletproof！ It was super interesting digging into the brain of someone like Evy Poumpouras。 She’s very relatable and is easy to understand。 She can have a potty mouth if that bothers you， but other than that， she wrote a fantastic book！
Denise
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Enjoyed this read。 It was interesting to hear about what she went through as an agent and her thought process through her experiences。 She had some good points and some great insights that were helpful。 A few of my fav quotes and notes from the book。 How we Fear: "More likely to see and remember social posts about unlikely tragedies rather than common Makes those unlikely threats feel more real and overrides our ability to logically assess the probability for those things to actually happen。" Re Enjoyed this read。 It was interesting to hear about what she went through as an agent and her thought process through her experiences。 She had some good points and some great insights that were helpful。 A few of my fav quotes and notes from the book。 How we Fear: "More likely to see and remember social posts about unlikely tragedies rather than common Makes those unlikely threats feel more real and overrides our ability to logically assess the probability for those things to actually happen。" Reflect on things you are most fearful of and look at them logically。 Mental Armor: "allows you to choose what you want to take in and what you want to leave out" many of the man and women who went on to leave normal lives after trauma used what he called the plastic shield - mental sovereignty - protected survivors from intrusion of others - like a sense of humor。 Provided a critical sense of perspective。 "You don't need to live your life in fear。 Your mental armor will absorb the impact of negative words or actions and protect you。 For any person who wants to take you down a peg， you can deny their ability to do so。" "Having strong mental armor requires repetition" Patience and practice。 "Kill fear while it's small""Sometimes it's better to stay away from those environments that are potential hot zones for you。 This includes people who can cause you a sense of harm whether done intentionally or not。 （not just physical harm） but harm that can undermine your sense of self-worth。 "Take inventory of who you surround yourself with" - do you feel mocked or diminished in your social circles？ Are the people closest to you good for your wellbeing？ Are they supportive of your decisions but stern and honest when you're headed down the wrong path？ How do you feel about yourself after spending time with certain people？ （Are they truly a friend or foe）ideas met with criticism or acceptance？feelings - dismissed or considered？last to know or first to be informed？in my absence do I go unnoticed or missed？feel like intruder or part of group？when leave interaction do I feel worse or better about self？"If you must fight then fight。"We are twice armed if we fight with faith" - Plato"The respect you seek must start with you""The path I walked was difficult at times and I faced many adversities along th way but over the course of my career I learned that I couldn't force others to respect me or see me as their equal。 once I came to accept that I no longer allowed other people's opinion of me to determine my self worth， my demeanor， or my performance。 I achieved。。。 and I let the results speak for themselves。 The measure of your success should not be respect。。。 [but] your resolve to carry out your particular purpose or mission in a way that brings you peace and satisfaction" 。。。more
Pisces
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3。8s
BARBARA VANTINE
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Poor readingThis is such a over rated book Instead if telling what a Secret service agent really does the author votes on her own accolades One is lead to think to will have some inside tales with past presidents but you really get nothing
Cristina Kiss
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A very good book in how to become stronger:'You are the hero you've been waiting for。You are the hero the world has been waiting for。' A very good book in how to become stronger:'You are the hero you've been waiting for。You are the hero the world has been waiting for。' 。。。more
Lindsey
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I really enjoyed this book， especially the parts that were more memoir than advice。 Poumpouras's career as a secret service agent is fascinating。 Her advice on safety and overcoming fear is practical and easily applicable。 I really enjoyed this book， especially the parts that were more memoir than advice。 Poumpouras's career as a secret service agent is fascinating。 Her advice on safety and overcoming fear is practical and easily applicable。 。。。more
Melinda Wilson
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Smart， insightful， backed by research， and written in clear and easy-to-understand English， this book walks you through so many important topics。 It explains how our fight or flight responses （the F3 response） actually work。 It talks about simple ways to be prepared， become more resilient， listen and ask better questions of people to gather information。 Not only is it fascinating to get a glimpse into the world of a Secret Service Agent and the inside of an interrogation room， but this book also Smart， insightful， backed by research， and written in clear and easy-to-understand English， this book walks you through so many important topics。 It explains how our fight or flight responses （the F3 response） actually work。 It talks about simple ways to be prepared， become more resilient， listen and ask better questions of people to gather information。 Not only is it fascinating to get a glimpse into the world of a Secret Service Agent and the inside of an interrogation room， but this book also comes with simple and effective ways to use many of the same strategies to help you in every situation in life。 Establishing rapport with people and becoming your best self being only two of the many things this book has to teach。I think my favorite part is how intuitive and simple all the advice is。 Including her advice not to "self-edit" or become your own obstacle。 We all sabotage our own goals sometimes， the point is to actively try to minimize this behavior。 She boils all her advice down to hard-hitting and concise sentiments。 I will give you an example。"If you turn every obstacle into a wall you can't get over， you let yourself become the cause of your failures。 Knowing how to notice and navigate the self-editing process is the difference between trying or not， achieving or not。 The first "No" you hear should never come from you。"There was so much information in this book that I think I'm going to pick it up and read it again starting tomorrow。 。。。more
Harshita
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This book has connected me to myself， to the person who is strong 。 I have discovered some hidden powers inside me after reading this book 。 This book will just influence you by emotions as a self help book should do。 This book isn't just about intelligent facts proven by researchers ， there's a lot more you'll learn by being able to diving deep into all of them。 At last ， I'm feeling like I can conquer my fears （not at an instance but I know eventually I'll if I'll take all the notes that Evy h This book has connected me to myself， to the person who is strong 。 I have discovered some hidden powers inside me after reading this book 。 This book will just influence you by emotions as a self help book should do。 This book isn't just about intelligent facts proven by researchers ， there's a lot more you'll learn by being able to diving deep into all of them。 At last ， I'm feeling like I can conquer my fears （not at an instance but I know eventually I'll if I'll take all the notes that Evy has written in this book） 。 I have discovered many ways some people influence others and now I can do it too。 Thanks Evy ， thank you so much for writing this book 。 This is something I really needed to read 。 There was sooo much unknown for me in this book and now I'm knowledgeable about all of it 。。。more
Nonsensei
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~ Some of the information may already be familiar， if you used to read self-help books， but I think they become more valuable when presented by someone with such a strong character， being exactly the idea inspired by the book。 It is realistic， her personal experiences offer an fascinating perspective， and is setting the example that， with a powerful mindset and enough determination， it is possible for a woman to succeed in a male-dominated field， without giving importance to the aspect。 A realit ~ Some of the information may already be familiar， if you used to read self-help books， but I think they become more valuable when presented by someone with such a strong character， being exactly the idea inspired by the book。 It is realistic， her personal experiences offer an fascinating perspective， and is setting the example that， with a powerful mindset and enough determination， it is possible for a woman to succeed in a male-dominated field， without giving importance to the aspect。 A reality check in a world where we started paying less and less attention to details about the people and the environment around us。 。。。more
Lady Jane
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It was okay。。。 just okay。 I'm not really a big fan of self help books， but I thought this would be less of that。 It's also a bit of autobiography， which I enjoyed more。 It came at a perfect time because as I make big changes in my life， it's nice to hear pep talks against fear。 Also， I've been very busy lately， but the book is so easy to read I was able to squeeze it into my schedule。 It was okay。。。 just okay。 I'm not really a big fan of self help books， but I thought this would be less of that。 It's also a bit of autobiography， which I enjoyed more。 It came at a perfect time because as I make big changes in my life， it's nice to hear pep talks against fear。 Also， I've been very busy lately， but the book is so easy to read I was able to squeeze it into my schedule。 。。。more
Hazel Bright
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A rather haphazard collection of insights。 Well-presented and interesting， however。
Sophia Jackson
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This was such an easy read and a great book。 The author was in the secret service， so it’s full of interesting stories about her experiences。 The experiences tie into the theme of overcoming and pushing through fears， but it also provides a ton of insights on how to better communicate with people。 Loved it！
Tere Aguilar
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I expected a different kind of book， it's more an autobiography than a self-help book。 Perhaps it is better to expect a memoir rather than new knowledge to enjoy it more。 I think it was full of cliches and did not bring any value in terms of learning something new。 It has some good reflections， though。 I expected a different kind of book， it's more an autobiography than a self-help book。 Perhaps it is better to expect a memoir rather than new knowledge to enjoy it more。 I think it was full of cliches and did not bring any value in terms of learning something new。 It has some good reflections， though。 。。。more
Davina
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Very therowShe covers everything you need to consider， not only about yourself as a person， and what to identify in others， but also about how your home should be set up， including your door and landscaping， as well as what to look for when you're out。 It's definitely a great reference， and makes you think and reconsider some things。 Very therowShe covers everything you need to consider， not only about yourself as a person， and what to identify in others， but also about how your home should be set up， including your door and landscaping， as well as what to look for when you're out。 It's definitely a great reference， and makes you think and reconsider some things。 。。。more
Cav
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"Difficulties are things that show a person what they are。"—EPICTETUSBecoming Bulletproof was an interesting book that I really enjoyed。Author Evy Poumpouras is a former U。S。 Secret Service Special Agent， TV personality， host， and multi-media journalist with expertise in national security， law enforcement， crime and human behavior。 Evy Poumpouras: Poumpouras mentions in the intro to the book that she was in 7 World Trade Center on 9/11， and witnessed the horror of ground zero first hand。Th "Difficulties are things that show a person what they are。"—EPICTETUSBecoming Bulletproof was an interesting book that I really enjoyed。Author Evy Poumpouras is a former U。S。 Secret Service Special Agent， TV personality， host， and multi-media journalist with expertise in national security， law enforcement， crime and human behavior。 Evy Poumpouras: Poumpouras mentions in the intro to the book that she was in 7 World Trade Center on 9/11， and witnessed the horror of ground zero first hand。The audiobook version I have features dialogue in between a few chapters with her husband; a format that somewhat resembled a podcast。Becoming Bulletproof is a very readable book。 Poumpouras writes with an easy and engaging style that holds the reader's attention effectively。Poumpouras's writing style is also very straightforward and matter-of-fact。 The reader gets the impression that she shoots from the hip， and tells it like she sees it。 There was a level of authenticity that came across in her writing that really resonated with me。The writing in the book covers a lot of different ground。 In the first part， she focuses on talking about overcoming fear and other obstacles。 In the latter part， she talks about how to read people， and the importance of situational awareness to protect one's bodily safety。 Poumpouras also tells the reader a bit about her personal story and aspects of her life here。 She details her struggles in both the NYPD academy and the Secret Service training， as well as her struggles in learning Jiujitsu， and sparring against larger opponents。Poumpouras also opens each chapter with interesting quotes from many historical thinkers and philosophers such as Epicurus， Socrates， Epictetus， and others。 A nice touch！In the afterword of the book， she mentions （view spoiler）[ that her father was diagnosed with a horrible terminal cancer while she wrote the book。 She talks about her struggle to finish the book while her father was in hospice。 Adding to this， she says that fear is not something that people ever "get over"， but rather something that they must learn to live with。。。 （hide spoiler）]Some heavy shit， for sure。 Kudos to her for finishing the book under conditions as horrible as that。I wasn't sure what to expect from this one， to be honest。 Thankfully， I ended up really enjoying the writing and the content presented here。I would recommend Becoming Bulletproof to anyone interested。5 stars。["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]> 。。。more
Lia Keller
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Must go back and re-read all the parts I highlighted。 I have to pull out the sections the boys need to read and the parts I need to copy and put on my walls。
Cecilia
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4。5/5。 Really enjoyed this audiobook！ Interesting mix of facts （on topics I’ve never truly considered - like security and personal protection plans） and great stories。 Read by the author which brought a lot of life to the book。
Amber Childress
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Great read This book is very informative and engaging。 I had a hard time putting it down。 I really enjoyed it！ It gave great insight into self protection & reading others
l e y
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DNF chp 4。 Maybe later。
Kevin Parkinson
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This is probably a 4。5， maybe 5-star recommendation for me。 To start: The author is a total BA， and although it's obvious that she could absolutely crush me， she doesn't come across as bravadoes。 She also feels inspiring in an old-school way （while concepts like loyalty or reverence/respect to authority have fallen out a favor a bit， she reminds us why these are truly virtues）。 She is humble， smart， courageous， and reflective。The book also feels very original （a fresh mix between memoir and self This is probably a 4。5， maybe 5-star recommendation for me。 To start: The author is a total BA， and although it's obvious that she could absolutely crush me， she doesn't come across as bravadoes。 She also feels inspiring in an old-school way （while concepts like loyalty or reverence/respect to authority have fallen out a favor a bit， she reminds us why these are truly virtues）。 She is humble， smart， courageous， and reflective。The book also feels very original （a fresh mix between memoir and self-help book）。 It is also incredibly gripping， particularly in the beginning and at the end。 Within the first 45 or 60 minutes of the audio book， I was thinking， "Whoah - I can already tell this is going to be my favorite book of the year， and I'm shocked I haven't heard much about it previously。" Unfortunately， as I progressed， it slightly lost some of the "wow" factor a tiny bit， and I no longer believe it's one of my favorites of the year。 But that doesn't mean it's a book to be skipped， and it remains an overall strong piece of work。Though the book is divided into three clear parts， its central theme remains clear throughout: That you cannot be unstoppable but that you can become hard to stop。 The experiences that the author has had in her remarkable life and career make her uniquely positioned to tell a story about how to protect yourself， and how to live a life worthy of being protected。 I'll admit that by virtue of my being a white man， I have the privilege of not having to obsess over my personal safety。 That meant that for some of the book， I thought， "Oh that's just going too far。" While I recognize that sentiment comes from a place of privilege， I do think one potentially legitimate criticism of the book is that it doesn't acknowledge the toll we have to pay in order to become bulletproof。 I'm not saying it's a deal we shouldn't take， but I would personally be more convinced if it were acknowledged。There are other tiny qualms I have with the book， too - but I also took notes on several key insights that she articulates very well。 She has a section on powerful versus powerless thinking that brilliantly describes how empowering it could be for us to own problems without selling the bogus idea of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps。" She describes what it means to be presidential in a way that could resonate with any leader。 And she speaks compellingly for the virtue of service。 It's a personal book that is deeply interesting and also helpful - I'm very glad I gave it a listen。 。。。more
SP
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I really， genuinely and thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can't wait to buy a paperback so I can read，highlight and mark all my favourite parts and go back to them。 I will certainly be reading this again，I LOVED the book。 I really， genuinely and thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can't wait to buy a paperback so I can read，highlight and mark all my favourite parts and go back to them。 I will certainly be reading this again，I LOVED the book。 。。。more
Emilie
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Clear， concise， applicable， powerful
Eva Alton
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Very interesting read。 Listen， actually。 I really liked it was narrated by the author。 This is a great autobiography and I find Evy's career and the things she's gone through as a female secret service agent fascinating。The tips in the book are mostly common sense， perhaps the title is misleading， but you can pick up one or two useful things。 In short: life is not about trying to be fearless， but being prepared for the things that might happen and face them the best you can。 Fear is not bad， but Very interesting read。 Listen， actually。 I really liked it was narrated by the author。 This is a great autobiography and I find Evy's career and the things she's gone through as a female secret service agent fascinating。The tips in the book are mostly common sense， perhaps the title is misleading， but you can pick up one or two useful things。 In short: life is not about trying to be fearless， but being prepared for the things that might happen and face them the best you can。 Fear is not bad， but you can fear things less if you have a plan laid out in advance。 。。。more
Karl
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Not normally a fan of these type of books but this was a great read and really enjoyable， most of all， I believed her 💪
Julia
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