The past few weeks, no matter who you are in America have been unsettling. Businesses and leaders have watched the circus in the media and in Washington waiting for a sign or as I call “waiting for a light in the forest”. The youth have watched adults make idiots of themselves and mom and dads every where have had to deal with the unsettling nature of what happens when adult supervision is absent in DC and the hell is causes on youth. Clearly “lord of the flies” is not just a book but a reality. I don’t comment on politics or news taking one position or the other, I just find the a sense of gravity portrayed in DC to be unsettling to the youth trying to figure out where they fit in to the world. Often I wonder how so many adults rely on the news to determine who the are or what is possible. I often scratch my head when any adult relies on who is president or who is speaker of the house to determine their particular future or happiness. No adult should determine their future and their day to day actions on a presidential tweet or a ripping of paper after a speech. Life YOUR live and raise your kids to be fearless no matter the debacle of DC or of social media trends. There are great men and women out there truly unconcerned with who is running for office and who cares nothing about what the new trends are on social media. I am constantly search for “diamonds in the rough” and find so many who are above all this nonsense. I know a couple in Minnesota who love the land and the environment and love their fellow humans. I remark about this because they left the grind of Chicago to live off the bounties of the land and without electricity and have for 35 years. They know only love and passion and compassion. They judge no one but for what that person brings to the table. I know of a business leaders and multi millionaires who don’t have a social media account even to this day because they select what information they want to process and select what types of people they associate with. And they are oddly not phased by the passed two weeks.
You know why,because great people seek simplicity in the complex world around them. They certainly don’t keep adding to the complexity of DC to throw them into a downward spiral regarding who is right and who is wrong. The don’t seek more chaos they do however lead people through the chaos by making things they do real and valuable.
But the whole process is still fun to watch for me because I have sick sense of humor. The DC shenanigans is hilarious every second yet is remarkable difficult to explain to our children when we just told the kids to be honest and strong and not to throw temper tantrums. But it is wicked fun to watch adults throw tantrums and hear my sons say dad that guy lies or that woman disrespected that adult. “Oh well, some adults are stupid son” is not a great parenting language.
Personally I stopped being effected by trends or the DC shuffle after I led men in combat. I think many outside influences stopped after combat because combat is a teacher of truth.
The truth combat teaches is life is short and the best things you can do is always be the best version of yourself no matter the circumstances. Combat also teaches that fear is completely the dumbest emotional response to any situation. Combat also shows that brotherhood is everything, look out for each other not just yourself.
Combat also teaches the critical skill called relentless pursuit.
Each of these great lessons from combat get obliterate when news and social media and lack of adult supervision supersede each lesson with some notion that the opposite lesson is actually true.
Brotherhood of combat falls prey to racism and sexism. None of these were felt in combat because everyone was equal.
No fear from combat is destroyed by watching one party project fear of another and the willingness to destroy each other out of fear.
What surprises me most is the complete loss of that relentlessness to live and be better everyday that I felt in combat. I am surprised I can hardly find that level of “drive” in the blame culture of DC and the perpetual news cycle.
You don’t have to lose heart. We have solved the complex and made three simple things possible. I am eager to share the new book with you all and the have discussions with you once you read it.
Jump on to amazon now and order three simple things: leading during chaos!