This podcast is a reading of the text of the Declaration of Independence, one of the keystone documents of the American Revolution.

One of John Paul Jones's leadership principles was this: don't accept "half-confidences" from people. This means that if you are in charge, you have a right to expect people to give you a reasonable chance at doing the job. If you are being constantly questioned, undermined, micromanaged, and doubted, then your superiors or your people are not giving you their full confidence. You need to take steps to assert your control.

There are some who see themselves as twigs spinning endlessly in mighty rivers, or as tufts of grass being blown around by the winds. There are also some who see ambiguity in everything, and refuse to draw meaningful conclusions about events right in front of their noses. This view is not only crippling to morale, it is also destructive, because it leaves you open to suggestion and manipulation by hostile forces. Those who refuse to take charge of their own destinies, and who allow themselves to be crippled by resentments, inevitably allow their fates to be shaped by others.

This podcast is a reading of the short story "Silence: A Fable" by Edgar Allan Poe. Published in 1838, it is a very short, mysterious prose poem with evocative imagery and dark symbolism.

After the reading, we discuss a possible interpretation of the tale.

Some guys look upon knowledge with a purely utilitarian view. They think that if something is not helping them that very instant, then it has no value. This view is shortsighted and terribly wrong. You never know what life has in store for you, and if you're presented with an opportunity to learn, you take it and soak it up. We use a recent incident to discuss this point further.

Most people never realize that good fortune can be suddenly and brutally replaced by bad fortune. What once seemed like heaven can quickly be transformed into a hell. The reverse is also true: a man can find himself in terrible straits, but can extricate himself through great efforts, and reach a kind of "heaven."

This observation leads us to make five (5) important conclusions. We list and discuss them.

The military theorist Carl Von Clausewitz used the term "coup d'oeil" to describe a special, innate ability to grasp the military possibilities presented by a specific situation. We may broaden this idea to describe an instinctive talent in some field of endeavor. Each of us possesses a special skill that distinguishes us from others; too often, however, those talents languish, or remain undiscovered. It is our responsibility to try to discover where our own "coup d'oeil" lies.

In this podcast we discuss the importance of focusing on what matters, not on what does not matter. We illustrate this principle with a few anecdotes.

A young reader from Britain has a question about his relationship with his girlfriend. He wants something long-term, but has some nagging doubts as to whether his girlfriend is the right one. He's not certain how to proceed.

I read his email, and offer my thoughts.

In this podcast we discuss Alexandre Moratto's 2021 film "Seven Prisoners." The movie describes the experience of a young man named Matheus, who is basically sold into a modern form of industrial serfdom in Sao Paolo. He tries to rebel at first, but quickly learns the futility of resistance. And being ambitious, he gradually begins a series of accommodations with his oppressors that strip him of his honor. What is the price of one's soul? What is the price of one's humanity? The loss of one's moral base happens slowly, gradually, and almost imperceptibly.

A brilliant, morally profound film, and one that we should all reflect on.