There is only one 'retirement plan' for terrorists.
Jim MattisRead
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!
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the balance between decisive action and thoughtful consideration.
Jim Mattis reflects on the lessons learned from his experience in the military, highlighting the importance of combining strong action with careful thought. This philosophy encourages individuals to make decisive choices while remaining reflective and strategic, fostering effective leadership that values both courage and intellect.
In practice
In a leadership workshop, this quote can be used to inspire attendees to balance action with thoughtful planning.
There is only one 'retirement plan' for terrorists.
There are hunters, and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience, and alertness, you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim.
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.
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.
Policy makers who have never served in the military continue to use the military to lead social change in this country.
It's very hard to live with yourself if you don't stick with your moral code.
Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs _x000D_ _x000D_ of those who would be affected by it
When news of the surrender first reached our lines our men commenced firing a salute of a hundred guns in honor of the victory. I at once sent word, however, to have it stopped. The Confederates were now our prisoners, and we did not want to exult over their downfall.
The one thing I was always told is you absolutely have to tell truth to power. Whether you're a second lieutenant working with a captain and a lieutenant colonel, or a four-star general working with the Office Secretary of Defense and the White House, the decision makers have got to have ground truth.
In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should 'have his head examined,' as General MacArthur so delicately put it.
What is most important of this grand experiment, the United States? Not the election of the first president but the election of its second president. The peaceful transition of power is what will separate this country from every other country in the world.
I know what I do for my team and what my teammates expect of me on both ends of the floor.
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