Vaughn Johnson Story
What is your daily focus, routine or ritual that you practice that starts your day off on the right foot?
My daily routine involves the act of getting dressed for work as well as the mental switch from being at home to preparing to go to work. I work as a plainclothes detective for a SE Wisconsin Sheriff’s Office, so getting dressed involves putting on weapons and gear that ensure my safe return home. In addition, no matter the time or what is going on, I make sure to hug and kiss my family and tell them I love them.
How do you feel when you wear the NDCQ Gear?
The only NDCQ gear that I currently own is a challenge coin that I carry whenever I have the means to. I continually tell my co-workers and new officers about the NDCQ coin and what it means to me and what it should mean to them, whether they have a coin or not. It is the mindset that is important.
What is your biggest NDCQ moment? And/Or how does Not Dead Can’t Quit motivate you?
I have a few. Every day I go to work it is with the NDCQ attitude, to concentrate on winning, to not give up no matter how awful things can be. One of my co-workers was diagnosed with colon cancer, I ordered one of the NDCQ coins for him so that he could look at it if he ever became discouraged about his fight with cancer. I told him about Mack’s story and encouraged him to never give up. He is back to work and doing well.
What is your next personal target? Do you feel that having an NDCQ mindset and using the Not Dead Can’t Quit mantra will help you in achieving that target? If no, how can we improve our message?
My next personal target is keeping my family in a spot where they take priority over my job. It is easy to lose track of this when things are good and taking for granted that it doesn’t impact any of your loved ones. It does, they just don’t verbalize it. Sometimes, family is more difficult and scary than anything that work can throw at me so keeping them the priority is my mission. I cannot lose them and I refuse to place them second.