11th Anniversary of My Blog & Thoughts

[September 3, 2024]   After receiving my orders for mandatory retirement from the U.S. Army, I started this blog 11 years ago on this date.  I’m not celebrating my blog anniversary; that’s not my style, but I will put some of my thoughts on paper that may be of interest – maybe.  Here are some of the things I learned along the way.

1. Reading is more important than I figured. I discovered in these years that it’s important to carefully choose what I read and also think about how the ideas there are useful.  For example, I’m reading more of the Bible – not so much from a purely Biblical perspective – but trying to figure out how the Bible is a road map to being a better person.  The Bible teaches us the oldest and most profound human lessons.  That is why the Bible is more than truth; it is something bigger and better; it is a meta-truth.
2. Leadership is a catch-all idea that is vastly misunderstood because it is so broad. I’m often confused when people tell me that the results of a given decision would be better if that person were a good leader.  I don’t know what that means; vagueness does not communicate well.  I’ve written several articles on leadership for my blog; some are good, but some are not so “useful.”  One thing I’m not going to do is write a book on leadership since that would be similar to trying to explain how to achieve world peace.  It’s not going to happen.
3. To succeed is to sacrifice. Ancient texts are a window into the thinking of those who came before us.  A common theme is a sacrifice to the immortal gods.  If we are to look at these writings as a whole, the ancients were trying to tell us something.  They said that to be a better person; you must know what to sacrifice properly at the right time and place.  Make the right life choices, meaning what to sacrifice, and you will do well.
4. Values matter. When you know your values, then decisions, voluntary actions, and speech are more manageable.  Values provide us with independence and freedom of action; they anchor us to what is real.  We know where we stand, firmly planted in the predictable world.  Our highest value is the pursuit of truth, the mapping of reality to “see” what’s coming, fend off dangers, and pursue what is necessary.  This idea is why the freedom of speech is so important: to tell the story straight, or else we will error and die or injure or lose something we need or desire, to fall into turmoil.
5. Study “evil” and learn to “see” it. The challenges of understanding evil and how evil masquerades as benevolence while manipulating trust, truth, and morality is why we must learn to “see” Evil and understand it.  The foremost challenge to figuring out evil is that we are given a false view, making it challenging to recognize and overcome.  Evil comes to us best in the guise of benevolence, most often in the guise of compassion.  You don’t understand evil until you understand how you could be enticed by it.
6. Be accountable for your actions and demand it from others. We need for there to be accountability for there to be somebody responsible for enforcing standards and holding people’s feet to the fire.  That may seem harsh, but it is true, nonetheless.  Our decisions and actions come with consequences, and to deny that truth means we are in for a rude awakening.  Today, in the West, there is a concerted push to divorce accountability from our actions.  We are told whatever we do is okay because we all have our own “truths.”  Not so.  Be accountable if you want to have a good life.
7. Humor lubricates social negotiation. Through the years in the Army, I have always tried to remember that leadership is about people.  And, if you want to influence people, you need to have an attractive message.  Humor goes a long way toward making it a reality; humor is like the grease that keeps machinery going.  A good joke, self-appreciating humor, or telling funny stories can be a great vehicle for getting your message across.  Use humor skillfully and have an easier time as a leader.

I could go on, but I will stop here for now.  This coming year, I’ll be introducing at least one new book, probably on a story based on the letters I’ve written to my granddaughter which can be found here.

Please consider getting copies of my books, which are linked below.  Give them a chance and please write me an honest review on Amazon or whatever platform you may see my book sold.

Thank you and I’ll be on tomorrow with another article.

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Please read my books:

1. “55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon (link here).
2. “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).