Verified Knowledge Is Leverage

Today’s lesson didn’t come from a book or a podcast. It came from a question.

A junior enlisted Soldier asked me whether retirees are still subject to the UCMJ. I gave him the straight answer: sometimes. Then I encouraged him to go look it up himself. Not because I doubted my answer—but because knowing something and confirming something are two different levels of ownership.

That’s where the phrase clicked for me:

Knowledge is power. Verified knowledge is leverage.

Power lets you speak.

Leverage lets you stand on solid ground and apply the knowledge when it matters.

Later in the day, I was reviewing documents for our upcoming construction loan closing. Pages of legal language, obligations, timelines, and consequences. It would have been easy to skim, sign, and trust that everything was “standard.” Instead, I slowed down. I cross-checked terms. I verified assumptions. Because once your name is on the line, ignorance isn’t innocence—it’s liability.

That applies far beyond contracts.

Too many people operate on inherited knowledge: things they were told, things they heard, things that were correct for a specific situation, things that “everyone knows.” That kind of knowledge feels comfortable, but it collapses under pressure. Verified knowledge holds. It gives you options. It gives you confidence without arrogance.

That mindset carried over into today’s sketch and how I am developing my tattoo skills.

I sat down and drew a classic Springer Harley-Davidson. No shortcuts. No stylizing my way around understanding the mechanics. Springer front ends don’t forgive lazy observation—you either understand how the springs, rockers, and geometry work, or the drawing falls apart. You can’t fake it. You have to study it, confirm it, then commit ink to paper or skin.

This is the type of motorcycle I used to ride. That motorcycle represents something I respect deeply: mechanical honesty. Everything is exposed. Everything has a purpose. If it works, it’s because someone understood it—not because they hoped it would.

Leadership is the same way. So is business. So is art. So is life.

If you’re going to get a tattoo, speak with authority, build something that lasts, or guide others, don’t stop at knowing. Verify. Read the source. Ask better questions. Do the work. That’s how knowledge becomes leverage—and leverage, used well, becomes freedom.

If you’re going to carry something on your skin for life, it shouldn’t be based on assumptions or shortcuts. At Honor and Ink™, every design starts with listening, understanding, and doing the work—because stories, like ink, deserve to be verified before they’re committed.