good afternoon Reader,
we're gonna take a trip down memory lane today.
i want you to think back to high school history class.
if you're anything like me, that might be a pretty painful thing to do.
you'll probably remember how boring it was…
hearing about all these old dead people who did some stuff, convinced that none of it would help you in the real world.
for 90% of the lessons, that was probably true.
but what if we were looking at it from the wrong perspective?
if you focus on the principles of history, there's actually a lot of things that can be applied to your own life.
i've found that a really good place to start is in the history of war.
in most battles, each side has primarily two types of people:
- the generals
- and the foot soldiers.
the generals are the ones who come up with a strategic plan to prepare their men for the battle ahead.
their main goal is to figure out how they can win as efficiently as possible using the resources they have.
the foot soldiers are the ones who carry out the general's plans by bringing them to life on the battlefield.
most times, the side who not only planned the best, but also executed, won.
in these victories though, it took both types of people to get the job done.
one cannot win without the other—they are inseparable.
one plans, one takes action.
something you need to understand…
your life is a lot like war.
there is a constant battle for your time and energy.
whether it's relationships, work, education, fitness, the list goes on…
there will always be responsibilities that you have to take care of.
the problem is that society has been designed to create these for you without even giving you a chance to think.
it can happen so easily that you might not even realize it until years later.
the way to break free from this though, is to take control of your situation.
and you do this by becoming both the general and the foot soldier of your life.
you must reserve some time to sit back and assess the battlefield.
pinpoint the enemies who are currently winning, and figure out how to conquer them.
plan the battles you want to win, the goals you want to achieve.
create the vision.
this might take a while—it's different for everybody.
but once you have it mapped out, you gain 100x more clarity on how you're gonna make it happen.
which makes your job as a foot soldier a whole lot easier.
it's like i said before—these two roles go hand in hand.
- you need to have a plan in order to take the right actions.
- and you need to take action in order to execute the plan.
you need to actually do the things that are gonna get you closer to your goal.
but as long as you take one step forward every day, eventually you'll win.
it's just a matter of time + patience.
think about it logically, too…
if it's been proven to work in countless wars throughout our history, then applying these principles to your life should be a piece of cake.
to make this tactical for you, i came up with some bullets to get started:
to become the general…
- pray for an open mind to receive God's plan for you.
- think about what you truly want out of life. don't limit yourself!!!
- journal the ideal life you want. get as specific as possible.
to become the foot soldier…
- research what you need to do to move towards your ideal life.
- reserve time out of each day to take action (even if it's 1 hour).
- focus on getting better. look at every outcome as a byproduct.
find any area where you can take control, and start from there.
looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
to your victory,
gabe
ps. i was a bad general this weekend bc i didn't plan well enough to have this email ready for monday, but the sun comes up in the morning. we keep movin.
