Levasseur - The Undercover Edge: Find Your Hidden Strengths, Learn to Adapt, and Build the Confidence to Win Life’s Game

The Truth

I have to admit, this is a surreal moment for me. Full disclosure: I never envisioned myself as an author. In my mind, Im just a normal guy who had the opportunity to work as an undercover detective at a very young age. Sure, Ive had friends and acquaintances tell me I should write about my career, my personal life, and my stint on reality television. But I wouldnt write a book just to talk about what Ive accomplished. The only reason I would take the time to put my thoughts on paper was if I felt I had something important to contribute, something that could benefit other people. After all, thats why I originally got into law enforcementto help others.

I can assure you that I dont do anything half-heartedly, so the fact that youre seeing my words on this page means that I do feel I have information that could be beneficial to you. About three years ago, I realized that my approach to interacting with people wasnt just who I was or Derrick being Derrick. The totality of circumstances throughout my life has led me to become the person I am today. Its also the reason I evaluate and communicate with others in the way that I do. My specialized law-enforcement training and on-the-job experiences, coupled with social encounters outside of work, have created an effective approach to dealing with people that I use every day. Going undercover taught me how to define my goals, lead my team more effectively, and build confidence in my actions both in the rarest and in the more common everyday challenges. This isnt a single tactic or technique I employ. For me, its a way of life.

So the question is, how do I teach you the same approach? Should I have you apply to the police academy? Become an undercover detective? Put you in life-threatening situations where the wrong choice of words could get you killed? No, I think I have a better idea, and its a whole lot safer. In this book, I have taken my thirteen years of training and experience and condensed it into a series of lessons that will show you how I applied this knowledge to all aspects of my life.

I should probably explain who I am and what I bring to the table before we get down to business. When I was officially sworn in as a police officer, I was only twenty years old, making me one of the youngest in my departments history. As soon as I graduated from the police academy and started my career as a patrolman, my supervisors noticed that in addition to being young, I had a way with words, so I was recruited to work undercover.

I remember getting the call from the chief of police for my first operation. This is the top guy in any department and not someone a patrolman like myself usually hears from personally. It was the morning after my twenty-first birthday. Now, Im not going to lie: I had a few celebratory drinks the night before, and I was a little under the weather. But as soon as I realized what he was asking me to do, I woke right up. Later that very day, I posed as a college student at a major university, and when it was all said and done, we made multiple arrests and seized a large amount of drugs.

After that experience, I was hooked. I knew I had found my calling. Undercover work came naturally to me, and I was able to adapt to most environments fairly easily. Over the years, I worked for multiple agencies, posing as a student, a drug dealer, a drug user, and several other characters.

You might be thinking, Wow, that must have been a lot of fun. Well, in many ways it was, but when you get right down to what the job actually entailedlike finding yourself alone in a room with a bunch of criminalsit was also very dangerous. I risked being discovered by the people I was trying to build a case against, and in many instances, these were bad people with a lot to lose. So it goes without saying that Ive been in some scary situations.

Im excited for the opportunity to explain what Ive learned during my time as a street cop, an undercover detective, and a sergeant. Very few people are aware of the information that investigators learn during the various schools we attend throughout our career. The purpose of this training is to keep us updated on the latest trends and techniques and how we can use them to our advantage. Im convinced that once you obtain the knowledge I have gained during my training, youll also enjoy many of the advantages it gave me both personally and professionally. The good news is that youre going to learn the same approach that I learned without exposing yourself to any of the life-threatening dangers that I facedallowing you to reap the rewards without the risk.

Police work is a lot like human chess. Of course, its not an actual game; its serious stuff and can have some real consequences. But still, the analogy holds true. In The Undercover Edge , were going to go over a lot of information that will help you understand where people are coming from and why they do the things they do. Some of this may also help you better understand yourself, and why you do some of the things you do, which can assist in planning your next move.

I know theres one question that a perceptive reader will have at this point, and that is, Why should I care about what youve learned as a detective or supervisor? What relevance could that kind of training have for me in the non-law-enforcement world?

First off, I cannot stress this point enough: this is not a book for someone who wants to become a detective. Yes, if you have aspirations to be in law enforcement, theres a lot of information in this book that will help you improve your skills. However, I have adapted this approach to work for whatever profession youre in. And a lot of the experiences I had while working as cop are in this book because the insight I gained during those interactions is just as effective in normal, everyday social encounters. Actually, some of the techniques I implemented at work, like visualizing my actions before carrying them out, were derived from my childhood, making them applicable in almost any situation. Without holding anything back, Im going to share all the details associated with these practices so that you can incorporate them into your life.