[October 25, 2022] I have wanted to be in the U.S. Army since I was a child. Doing so required a lot of sacrifice; that goes along with being successful as a Soldier. Being a Soldier is a noble life aim. My family and other people supported me socially because they thought it was an honorable enterprise, and all my needs (like a home, family, and friends) were satisfied by my military career.
I didn’t realize at the time that by going into the Army, I was following a proven life model; sacrifice, discipline, honorable service to others, social support, and fulfilling my life.
It is strange that the maximum freedom comes from pursuing and attaining a skilled career and then the adoption of responsibility that the career demands. And this is certainly not restricted to a career but to other noble aims that require great sacrifice, study, training, and experience to be successful. That is what frees us up and everyone around us.
We’ve all been fed, especially in the last 50 years in the West, a never-ending diet of rights and “freedoms” to do as we wish, which will make us happy and fulfilled. Most people immediately know this is not true, and if you explain this to them, they can intellectually understand it. People are free only when they adopt responsibility. Most of the meaning we experience in our lives is the consequence of adopting responsibility. People are starving for this message.
People know this to be true but often do not have the words to say so explicitly. They know it deep down (Christians say they know it in their souls), and as soon as they hear someone explain it, they have an aha moment. “I knew that,” they will say, “I just didn’t have the words to say it.”
When people adopt an aim for their life and try to tell the truth, they learn that their lives begin to go way better. They now have a purpose; their life has meaning. And that means so much, it is amazing the improvement in people’s lives, and those lives simultaneously are shouldering greater responsibilities than ever.
These same people are also trying to make their immediate environment better. They are not out to “change the world.” They are first out to change themselves. This is a positive message. Don’t waste your life; adopt responsibility and tell the truth.
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Only a very few have figured this out, Gen. Satterfield. Let’s hope and wish this article will wake a few folks up soon before they are down the tyrannical path and are lost.
Nailed it.
A concept that is, at first, hard to understand but the more I think about it, the more I undersatnd it.
Sadly, young people won’t believe you. They think FREEDOM comes from the government.
Jerome, you nailed it. Young being defined mostly as those younger than 40. I hate to say it but too many today are raised to be a victim and dependent upon daddy govt. Sad is an understatement of the feelings we should have for those in this trap.
Why is Gen. Satterfield so successful in his blog and in the army? He wanted to be in the army since he was a child and pursued that goal. He is telling us here that he stumbled upon the right life’s model and once he figured it out, he stuck with it despite the massive sacrifices he had to make. Well done, Gen. Satterfield.
hard to understand but good
Powerful statement, “These same people are also trying to make their immediate environment better. They are not out to “change the world.” They are first out to change themselves. This is a positive message. Don’t waste your life; adopt responsibility and tell the truth.”
That is why I read this blog every day and also try to make a comment that makes sense. I find this blog to be an eye opener in many ways. One of them is that Gen. S. gives us all hope. He has said that it matters not our looks, our age, sex, where we are from, our race, intelligence, or luck. Our success comes from adopting responsibility and telling the truth. That is a hard message but it is true.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1737915529/
Well said, General Satterfield. Thanks and BTW, great book “55 Rules for a Good Life.” Started reading it and loving it all. Every rule is a blessing.
Great article ….. had to read it twice.
That is what we have to do sometimes. While Gen. Satterfield is usually pretty clear in what he writes (most of the time I say he succeeds), sometimes it is a bit obtuse and this article is tough to understand. Thanks sir for such a great article, maybe it should have been longer. So much packed into so little space.
Yes, got it. Thks JT.
Gotta be smart enough to absorb the content. Otherwise there is not much hope for you.
Whoa baby. Great article, yes. Clear? Mostly. On target? Yes. Love this leadership website.
… and almost everyone things the opposite and that is they think that uncontrolled pleasure is the route to freedom but that is a straightjacket that will never come off.
RED, big fan here, your comment is right. I will add that those who believe that protesting for “rights” are on the path to a horrible life full of hate, resentment, envy, and that all is perpetuated by a narcissism that has infected many Millennials.
We are all FANs of Sadako Red, aka RED.
Hey, RED, love you. We are wishing for another article soon!!!!! 😀😀😀😀😀
Hi Sadako RED, just a big big big fan of yours and hoping that u write another article for Gen. Satterfield’s blog. We’ve all enjoyed your hard-hitting pieces and would love to hear from you again. Keep up the great works you are doing and I look forward to hearing from u again soon.