Quote: “People have a greater tolerance for evil than for violence. If crooked gambling, thieving and robbing are covered over folks will tolerate it longer than out right violence, even when the violence may be cleansing.” Louis L’Amour, The Daybreakers

Summary: Do you want to lead? I hope so. If that’s the case, put being “good” before being popular...and even before winning. Because those external things will damage your character. Luckily, there are ways to fight back. Here’s one attitude change that will help you fight other people’s expectations.

Notes:

Quote from The Daybreakers, by Louis L’Amour, found here: http://amzn.to/2mW4CdQ

Inspired by A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, by Edwin H. Friedman, found here: http://amzn.to/2np4pgP

Quote from The Man Called Noon, by Louis L’Amour, found here: http://amzn.to/2molhUb

“Nobody has ever gone from slavery to freedom with the slaveholder cheering them on.” -Edwin H. Friedman

Summary: Directness in communication clears out all kinds of confusion. Unfortunately, lots of people benefit from that confusion. And even though their explanations are very logical, they’ll sound very reasonable. It takes a leader with directness and a lack of concern for what seems reasonable to cut those people off at the knees and get the culture moving to a healthier place.

“You can survive without help from others. But to get stronger at a faster rate, reach out to the right guys with the expectation that they can and will make you stronger.”

Summary: To move forward faster, you need to reach out and let guys know how they can help you. This is a summary for how to reach out in a way that’s not needy, and how to help in a way that doesn’t disrupt your life.

“The search after the great men is the dream of youth, and the most serious occupation of manhood.” Thoreau

America has a manhood problem. Society has shifted gears to advantage those who wield dishonesty and use passive-aggressiveness like a weapon, elevating evil and disparaging good. You can join ‘em, or you can beat em’. The only way to win back our country for our families, brothers and society is through becoming stronger individuals who grow into leadership. The Combat Veterans Brotherhood begins teams in May to make each other stronger, get educated and get effective. And we want you to join. Visit forum.combatbrotherhood.com and set up an account to start the conversation.

“Initiative, when it fills your heart, becomes an irresistible force, carrying you to victory.”

Bold, focused action gets results. But doubt makes it tough to believe in your plan, and it can kill initiative. If you can find a good plan and give yourself reasons to believe that you can trust that plan--if you can remove doubt--you can build the momentum to strike hard, strike fast, and move toward victory with conviction.

Don’t look for “victory at all costs;” focus on “integrity at all costs.”

Summary: Focusing on things you can’t control weakens your resolve and puts you at the mercy of others. But boldness comes when you focus on your own integrity and your own effectiveness, regardless of what others are thinking and regardless of the severity of their emotions and outbursts.

Quote: “One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

Summary: Some people complain. Others worry. We’re interested in acting. And Martin Luther King Jr. provided an example of skillful action, demonstrating discipline and focus in his approach to combating a government and a society that held a skewed view of truth. He exercised what you might call “intelligent extremism” to shake a society back into reality. Here, in his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail, MLK expressed his sense of justice, and explains his reasoning and his tactics.

“One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

Summary: Some people complain. Others worry. We’re interested in acting. And Martin Luther King Jr. provided an example of skillful action, demonstrating discipline and focus in his approach to combating a government and a society that held a skewed view of truth. He exercised what you might call “intelligent extremism” to shake a society back into reality. Here, in his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail, MLK expressed his sense of justice, and explains his reasoning and his tactics.

“A man must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.”

Summary: Marcus Aurelius, author of “Meditations,” gave us an instruction book on how to be the strongest version of yourself. Smart, capable and ready to take on life’s challenges, working from the inside out. You want lasting life change? Then it’s time to start thinking differently.

“May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.”

Resolutions fail when the excitement of the new year fades. Accountability will make it last.