What Happens When Your Job Is Your Identity (And Then It’s Gone) - with Patrick Faulkner (Part 1)

What happens when the job that shaped your identity disappears overnight?In Part 1 of this conversation, Patrick Faulkner shares the moment his law enforcement career ended — not with ceremony, but with a quiet reality check. After being cleared to return to work following an off-duty injury, he was told his sergeant stripes had been given away, his K9 reassigned, and there was no position waiting for him.What followed was a decade-long reckoning.Patrick walks through the identity loss many first responders experience after leaving law enforcement or military service, the overwork mentality reinforced by first responder culture, and how habits built for survival don’t simply disappear when the uniform comes off. We talk about reinvention through entrepreneurship, the illusion of freedom in hustle culture, and how unprocessed experiences from military and law enforcement careers often surface years later — quietly and destructively.This episode explores:Identity loss after leaving law enforcement or first responder careersWhy overwork is rewarded in high-stress professionsHustle culture inside military, law enforcement, and EMSEntrepreneurship as a second grindWhat happens when identity is stripped before you’re readyThis is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.Part 2 continues tomorrow, diving deeper into leadership failures, inherited beliefs about work, questioning authority, and what rebuilding actually looks like after being forced to pivot.Guest & LinksGuest: Patrick FaulknerFormer LEO | USAF Veteran | Podcaster | Small Business Operator🎙 Podcast: Knock and Talk Show - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/knock-and-talk-show/id1589492648LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/knock-and-talk-show/posts/?feedView=all🔗 LinkedIn: Charles Patrick Faulkner - https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlespatrickfaulkner/🏢 Business: Faulkner Endeavor Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/faulkner-endeavor-group/Support the showFind more info on how to work with Renae - [ Wayward Wellness Coaching ]CONNECT ON SOCIALS:LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/waywardwellnesscoaching/Website → https://www.waywardwellnesscoaching.orgInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/wayward_wellness_coaching/Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/p/Wayward-Wellness-Coaching-61566792351111/