John continues his conversation with Trenton Miguez about how intelligence skills can help people make better decisions in everyday life and business. Trenton explains the difference between real danger and perceived danger, and why we need to question our assumptions before reacting to a situation. They also discuss the importance of information literacy in a world full of social media, news, and propaganda, and how to become information literate. About Trenton Miguez Former Military Intelligence Officer | Intelligence Educator | Corporate & Government Advisor Trenton Miguez is a former Military Intelligence Officer who provides organizations and leaders with practical intelligence education to solve real-world challenges across business, security, leadership, and decision-making. Drawing on more than a decade of operational and instructional experience, he equips public and private sector clients with intelligence-based frameworks that improve performance in complex, high-stakes environments. During his Army career, Trenton operated in contested regions throughout the Middle East, supporting counterterrorism, threat reduction, de-escalation, and protection missions. His work combined intelligence collection, analysis, and operational decision-making under uncertainty, an experience that now forms the foundation of his approach to solving problems where information is incomplete and risk is constant. As the lead developer for the Army's Military Intelligence Officer Leader Course and the Information Collection Planner Course, Trenton built the core training programs used to prepare the Army's newest intelligence officers. His curriculum design emphasized operational realism, human behavior, and measurable performance outcomes, producing mission-ready intelligence professionals capable of sound judgment in ambiguous conditions. Trenton brings intelligence tradecraft into the business world, helping corporate leaders, sales teams, security organizations, and government partners sharpen decision-making, reduce risk, and lead through uncertainty. His work focuses on the intersection of sales, trust, security, leadership, and human behavior in competitive environments, enabling organizations to protect reputation, drive revenue, uncover vulnerabilities early, and make confident strategic choices when the stakes are high. Listen to this episode to learn more: [00:00] - Real danger vs. perceived danger [05:27] - Preparing for risks in your area [07:38] - Becoming information literate [09:14] - How to consume news/information [14:35] - Exegesis vs. Isogesis [18:26] - How to identify your ideal client [28:20] - Trenton's definition of success [30:44] - Will books disappear in the future? [33:25] - #1 daily habit [35:10] - Traits of a great leader [37:47] - Legacy Trenton wants to leave behind [42:06] - How Trenton invests in his growth [43:13] - Love as an action [45:26] - Best way to connect with Trenton [48:54] - Wrap-up NOTABLE QUOTES: "A lot of times, people have a foundational understanding of things that's going to hurt me, but they don't even evaluate their own thoughts on how they're thinking about the danger itself." "The fact that you're already agreeing or disagreeing with what you see on Instagram or Facebook, or what they claim to be news media with no journalistic standards. As soon as you feel an emotion, a red light and a red flag should go off inside your head. Pause and reflect on your own internal belief. Don't come to a conclusion. Operate in the world of assessment, meaning an open-ended way of thinking." "People think data, information, and knowledge are all the same thing because they don't have information literacy. They're all separate things. Information is data plus context." "A lot of people don't understand the world that they're currently living in, in the world of information, because the average person isn't trained. They don't have an understanding, a conceptual understanding of how information truly works." "Become information literate." "If you repeat something often enough, people will start believing, regardless of whether it's true or false. Just through repetition, and that's just one component that ties into the larger spectrum of information." "You can't get rid of personal biases. You can only account for them." "If you do the hard work up front, very rarely do you have to fire a client." "You can't truly love another person until you love you." "In order to understand someone else deeply, you must understand yourself just as deeply." "Take a lot of data compared to pattern recognition, your experiences, and then quickly make a determination on what you need to do." "When I choose to love someone, I do that regardless of how I feel." USEFUL LINKS: Explore Spy School: https://everydayspy.com/ Find your Spy Superpower: https://yt.everydayspy.com/45cuYfY Listen to the podcast: https://youtube.com/@EverydaySpyPodcast Learn from a CIA Spy: https://youtube.com/@Andrew-Bustamante Email: trenton@everydayspy.com CONNECT WITH JOHN Website - https://iamjohnhulen.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen X - https://x.com/johnhulen YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@iamjohnhulen EPISODE CREDITS Intro and Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/
