Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 6: 5 "March hundreds of miles without tiring, by traveling where no enemy is."

Are you a parent? If so, let me ask, did you support your children in their resistance against your rules and requirements? Did you give your children chores, or let them control all their own time? Change focus. Are you a boss? Do you encourage your employee's resistance?

If you, like me, came up in a time when resistance was considered the right of children, the right of employees, then you too should convert. I've shared that I've been studying military leadership doctrine. In the military, they do not encourage resistance.

I know it's uncomfortable to think of children or employees as enemies, but realism demands that we face the following fact: he who opposes your will is, over that topic, your enemy. Sure, sometimes children and employees have the better part of wisdom. No question.

Wisdom, however, does not show up as resistance. It shows up as respectful questioning. And it shows up at the right time. Resistance does not. Resistance shows up due to the child's or employee's desires, in the moment, for no other reason. Discipline is difficult, not fun.

Have you traveled hundreds of miles with children? I have, countless times. Eventually, I learned how to do it. At first, tirelessness would have been the LAST term I'd use to describe it. I came to love traveling with family. It was a learned art. What about in business?

The long road in business is the journey from current capacity and potential to future realization of vastly greater capability. As a coach, I struggled through precisely the same learning curve I did as a parent. Who knew? Resistance is a type of war between friends.

With children, what I discovered was the two words, happy and unhappy. I learned to smile and frown, but ever so gently. That was NOT an easy lesson for my hot-headed Italian patriarchal mind to learn, I assure you. I won't say I mastered it, either. But I did learn.

Honey child, I love you with all my heart, but you're not making me happy right now. Or...WOW! You're doing such a fantastic job right now, you're making me SO happy! We human creatures cannot help but care about the happiness or unhappiness of our parents.

So, I came to believe in musical listening devices (back then called a Walkman). I came to believe in frequent rest stops and fast food and even, every once in a while, specialty restaurants along the way of our hundreds of miles of traveling without tiring.

I learned to stop at the hotel earlier in the evening and learned to find the better hotel swimming pools. And, I learned to pull over to the nearest gas station no matter how short the time was since the last potty break. Amazingly, the miles we logged grew more, not less.

Master Sun's counsel to traveling parents may take the form of, avoid full bladders and follow empty ones. Quietness may come from sleep, sleep from full bellies, and the empty road of sleeping children logs many miles in peace.

So, also in business. Employees know that they hate strong discipline. They know that they often make excuses and fail to complete the work required for victory. A career is a long time. Many hundreds of miles. How do you travel it without tiring, where no enemy is?

One answer is found in this question: whose goal is it? If the goal is the boss's, then the employee is the enemy, and the road will be short and difficult. If the goal is honestly the employee's, then hundreds of miles with no enemy in sight.

In the short run, there are always missions, and the boss has to lead the mission, and must determine if the employees are up to the task. Those not must be let go. Those who are must be rewarded. But this alone does NOT make for hundreds of miles of enemy-free travel.

The long haul demands agreement. Dishonesty and covered up disagreements are the real enemies. Hundreds of miles of road, years or decades worth of time spent together winning, these can only be built upon honest agreement, head, heart and soul-level agreement.

Let's turn again to @realDonaldTrump's rallies. The Progressive Left has poo pooed them. How? In part because Trump got rid of hecklers and resisters. "Get him out of here!" Why did he do that? People had traveled hundreds of miles and spent countless hours to be there.

In his rallies, @realDonaldTrump created an enemy-free zone. He created a place where patriotic Americans, previously forgotten, could rally together. Do you remember how many times he claimed that there was no safer, better nor more fun place to be than one of his rallies?

Look at it from the other point of view. Why does the Progressive Left go to such great lengths to make us uncomfortable, unsafe, to feel the discomfiting force of their perpetual aggression? Why must they destabilize and destroy peace? They know they must harry and harass us.

It's not easy to remember the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution when someone is throwing a bottle at you. In the #MAGA movement, we must learn how to be safe in every way. We must learn to travel hundreds of miles without tiring, traveling where no enemy is.

This highlights a critical principle in the #WarForAmerica2020. To save America for the long term, we must win hearts and minds from the other side. But that is NOT how you win elections. In elections, you win by getting those who agree to vote. Find and motivate agreement.

In 2016, I felt there had to be a sleeping giant in America, deep beneath the surface of our pop culture, waiting to awaken and act. I was not disappointed. I even found the data that showed his existence. Sleepy giants do, often, fall back asleep after an early rousing.

Our failure 2018 was in part due to the sleepy giant not fully realizing the nature of the challenge. Yet, that giant is still there, and he agrees with his leader. Those of us who support @POTUS are that sleepy giant, and we agree with each other.

Our many hundreds mile journey to retaking the House, and to reelecting @realDonaldTrump, begins with the realization that we must chart enemy-free travels, carefully. We must find all those millions who agree with us, and ensure their short miles journey to the voting booth.

Let me say that another way. We know from history that Reagan Democrats were key to his victories, and to righting the ship of America. I don't know if they'll ever be called by a similar name, but I promise you, there are Trump Democrats, and they agree with us.

That long road is filled with friends. Sure, enemies are many, and mighty. But they're not infinite in number and their powers are greatly more limited than they want us to believe. A safe journey can be planned and executed. Master Sun would not have us at risk on our travels.

To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21.

115 verses completed, 307 to go. And also, be sure to purchase John Minford's translation, here:

amazon.com/Art-War-Pengui…

The local MAGA leader’s library needs three other books. The first is by my great friend, hero, and today’s greatest constitutional scholar, @shestokas. His most important work so far is:

amazon.com/Creating-Decla…

The second is available free. It is the combined Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

uscis.gov/sites/default/…

Last is my own book. I'll give you the link here, and then conclude with its ten MAGA principles:

amazon.com/America-First-…

1. Remember The Forgotten Americans
2. Rule Of Law
3. American Jobs
4. Quality Of Life For Every American
5. Heal Our Cities
6. Build The Wall
7. Make America Wealthy Again
8. Make America Strong Again
9. Make America Safe Again
10. Make America Great Again