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Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.
Jim Mattis
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Think critically before taking action, especially in serious situations.

This quote emphasizes the importance of thoughtful consideration and strategy before resorting to force or aggression. Jim Mattis highlights that true leadership involves using one's intellect to assess situations comprehensively to make informed decisions rather than impulsively acting on instinct or emotion.

Themes

Critical ThinkingLeadershipStrategyDecision MakingWar

In practice

Example use cases

During a team meeting about a potential project, you might say, 'Remember, engage your brain before you engage your weapon' to encourage thoughtful discussion.

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Now from a distance, I look back on what the Corps taught me: to think like men of action, and to act like men of thought!
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I believe that many of my young guys lived because I didn't waste their lives because I didn't have the vision in my mind of how to destroy the enemy at least cost to our guys and to the innocents on the battlefields.
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For whatever trauma came with service in tough circumstances, we should take what we learned - take our post-traumatic growth - and, like past generations coming home, bring our sharpened strengths to bear, bring our attitude of gratitude to bear.
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Policy makers who have never served in the military continue to use the military to lead social change in this country.
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