[June 30, 2023] I was a bit naïve as a child, perhaps too insulated in our small Southern town, tucked away in the rural forested flatlands of Louisiana. And school was a place you had to go; that’s how it was, and I lacked the motivation to do well academically. I liked running free, skipping through the woods, swimming in local ponds, fishing in streams, catching frogs with a flashlight, throwing rocks in the lake, and staring at the older girls. Despite my inclinations, I learned some important life lessons from childhood.
For today’s blog post, I selected five that I think are essential to be a ‘good’ young boy. These are not what I would choose as a kid because I learned them the hard way. I might have rejected them all for a more indulgent list if asked. For example, my favorite lesson was to run like the devil when you called the high school boys nasty names. They didn’t have much of a sense of humor, but I still liked to poke the bear, occasionally for the thrill.
- Tell the truth, always. Do this even if you are stupid or even if you don’t want to.
- Choose your friends carefully. They can help you in a fight and vouch for you being a good boy in a tight spot.
- Don’t pick on kids bigger and stronger than you. If you do, you better be a fast runner, but you can’t outrun them all.
- Obey your parents, especially when they are looking at you.
- Treat others with kindness, even if you don’t respect them.
Looking back, this short list is not as awful as I thought then. My parents and grandparents were good to me, helping keep me pointed in the right direction as best they could manage. These rules were reinforced often, plus the 10 Commandments, of course, which overlapped each other, and I did my best to adjust. The hardest one was telling the truth all the time.
Tell the truth, always. However essential it is, it is overlooked. The truth is the most fundamental building block of human interaction. We can only have true loyalty, respect, honor, integrity, and courage by speaking the truth. No truth, no civilization. No truth, no future. No truth leads to a road to hell. Hell, not so much in the Biblical sense, but hell (little”h”) on earth, tyranny, enslavement, government overreach, and darkness. The abyss.
Tell the truth, and you can escape hell. That is a good thing, a hard-learned lesson I learned early. And I never forgot that piece of sage advice my mom told me. This is why I write about it often.
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Please Gen. Satterfield give us a more thorough group of your childhood lessons. We all would love ❤️ to read them.
Excellent article and I loved it.
when you can sir please provide a long list
Jerome, I agree that it would be great for Gen. Satterfield to give us a long list of lessons from childhood. Maybe he is considering a new book on those very lessons. Having him write them out for us, gives us a chance to make comments and help him too. Good to see you back on the website, Jerome.
Excellent thinking here, Gen. Satterfield. Well done!!
Right, The Northeast. If you regularly read this blog, you will start to see a few patterns. One of them is that Gen. Satterfield is good at giving us lists of lessons and advice and also does his best to explain them too. This allows the most underdevloped person to catch up without a lot of effort. Ultimately we must put into practice what is written for us all and for free.
Please get a copy of “55 Rules for a good life” and you will see what I mean.
Soooooooooo many lessons.
Always read what Max has to say. And, read closely what Gen. Satterfield writes. You will never be disappointed.
Wendy, you and I have been on this site for years and are still here due to the great content and massive amount of sage advice, entertainment, and surprises we get each day. Hand in there Wendy. Keep on posting.
Gen. Satterfield does it once again. Great blog, sir. Keep it up. Oh, I also will be suggesting for those here to get a copy of your most recent book, “55 Rules for a Good Life.” If you are interested in making yourself a better person and helping others become what they can become, then read this book and pay attention to what Gen. S. has to say.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
1. Tell the truth, always. Do this even if you are stupid or even if you don’t want to.
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This is an important lesson. Note, everyone, that Gen. Satterfield made this his number one lesson. He did this on purpose, IMHO, and he has written on it often and been very blunt about it. The truth matters more than we know. When people start telling lies and let it go, then we fall into tyranny. Just like all of us saying it is okay for children to “transition” into another sex, we are saying okay if that is what you want. WRONG!!!!!! That is a lie. And, what will be the next step? Tyranny. I already see it in the Biden administration and his use of the DOJ, FBI, CIA, DIA, all of them as agencies to attack us who don’t think like him. Danger ahead folks.
Wow, Max, great content here. I do think most of us here in this forum think similarly to what you are saying. Keep up the truth or we are all ruined.
Yes, and Max is always nailing the heart of the matter.
Max and all who commented here, thanks for what you have to say. I will re-emphasize that the idea of NOT telling the truth can lead to some terrible consequences in not just your life but others too. Tell the truth, and tell the truth when you do not see any advantage to it Tell the truth even if it gets you into trouble. Tell the truth and you will win at life in the long run. Just my opinion here, guys. Thanks for reading my comments and thanks for read Gen. Satterfield and what he has to say.
Agreed and God bless General Satterfield
Right, tell the truth. ❤❤❤❤❤❤ … always.
Thanks Gen. S. for another great article. Also, this gives me more insight into what made you a leader. I see that you learned lessons you did not like. That is the way of the world.
I love this website, er …. I love the way Gen. Satterfield takes on the most simple things and makes them come out and making sense. Thank you sir.
Rarely do we find that such a person has the kind of insight you will find here on Gen. Satterfield’s blog. Loving all those suggestions he gives us to live better. Good thing that he is doing it again, and this time for younger children. I think he means for us to translate to our way of helping our kids or grandkids. Young and old need to understand this.
Pity that Gen. Satterfield hgas not written a book on this.
Ah, yes, childhood. The formative years. So many studies, yet too few folks paying attention.