There is only one 'retirement plan' for terrorists.
Jim MattisRead
I can't tell you the number of times I looked down at what was going on on the ground, or I was engaged in a fight somewhere, and I knew within a couple of minutes how I was going to screw up the enemy. And I knew it because I'd done so much reading.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Knowledge and preparation are crucial for success in challenging situations.
In this quote, Jim Mattis emphasizes the importance of knowledge and experience in achieving success during conflicts or challenges. He highlights that rigorous reading and preparation have equipped him with the foresight to anticipate outcomes and devise effective strategies, illustrating how intellectual engagement can profoundly impact practical scenarios.
Themes
KnowledgePreparationReadingStrategyExperience
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the importance of education, one might invoke this quote to emphasize the value of reading.
More from Jim Mattis
All quotes →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.
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!
Jim MattisRead
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.
Jim MattisRead
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.
Jim MattisRead
Policy makers who have never served in the military continue to use the military to lead social change in this country.
Jim MattisRead
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When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won.
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All that is gold does not glitter,_x000D_ Not all those who wander are lost;_x000D_ The old that is strong does not wither,_x000D_ Deep roots are not reached by the frost._x000D_ _x000D_ From the ashes a fire shall be woken,_x000D_ A light from the shadows shall spring;_x000D_ Renewed shall be blade that was broken,_x000D_ The crownless again shall be king.
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The only way to escape the corruptible effect of praise is to go on working.
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Spending plenty of time on something can be the most sophisticated form of revenge.
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Age only matters when one is aging. Now that I have arrived at a great age, I might as well be twenty.
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I write from my knowledge not my lack, from my strength not my weakness. I am not interested if anyone knows whether or not I am familiar with big words, I am interested in trying to render big ideas in a simple way. I am interested in being understood not admired.
Lucille CliftonRead