[December 6, 2025] Many years ago, when I had just finished high school, I knew a guy who was a big blabbermouth, a prankster, and someone not to be taken seriously. What he told me one day was that his life had turned around after graduation; he was on an upward trajectory in his life because he learned about how to become a better person. He worked as a gas jockey.
Jimmie lived two blocks away, so we’d occasionally run into each other on the streets. He came from a dysfunctional family—his dad an alcoholic, his mom was nuts, and his older brother was in jail. Being a gas jockey (like I was in high school) isn’t an occupation that attracts the brightest and best.
For Jimmie, he had made up his mind to do his best at his new job. The older man he replaced was a miserable old coot, prone to outbursts of anger and sometimes stealing items from the gas station. Jimmie promised himself he wasn’t going down the same path. He knew it would be easy to make himself miserable in the job; there were no promotions or raises to be had.
“I’m going to act like a civilized man.” – Jimmie, 1970
Jimmie recognized that in any job or place we might be, there is always the chance to experience its richness and complexity. While being a gas jockey isn’t the best or even a great job, he knew he could make it the best by maintaining the right attitude and humility.
He would get along with the other gas jockeys and the station owner. He refused to gossip behind their backs. He would treat all his customers with kindness, regardless of how he was treated by them. That’s what he started doing, and the world became a better place for him. He became the glue that held his family together. He was the one who convinced his dad to go to rehab and his mom to get treatment. He managed to find a girlfriend who was kind to him and understood that Jimmie needed peace in his life.
I was amazed at the transformation of his family, a slow but nonetheless obvious success they were having. And he accomplished this in under six months. Jimmie was on an upward trajectory, and that’s what he figured out. He understood that to be in a better place in life, the most valuable thing was to be moving forward and uphill. That’s what he wanted, and that’s what he was getting from this new philosophy of life.
Jimmie was headed somewhere better than where he was now. To me, it was obvious. To Jimmie, it must have been obvious as well. He was taking responsibility for his life. He stopped doing all the stupid things that he knew were stupid, like smoking, drinking, and using drugs. And he started doing things he knew he should be doing, such as getting in better physical shape, learning more about the Bible, and hanging around respected people in the community.
Jimmie was happy to tell me that he was thrilled about how his life had changed in just a few short months. He shared his story with me, and I could see it with my own eyes. I was excited for him and grateful that he would share his life’s transformation. I felt honored. It was great to see Jimmie replace some things that weren’t good with better ones.
I saw something in Jimmie that also helped me become a better person. A person can improve things if we truly aim for it. This was an example of how to live properly, accept responsibility for what we can, and make the right sacrifices needed to do so. Everything starts to thrive.
Alternatively, a person can choose a different path. This is the route of resentment, bitterness, rejection, murder, and other evils. If you see the right way, then humble yourself to take the small steps needed to do good, and you can be on that upward journey. Jimmie was not about to give up those small, foundational steps. His success was right there in front of him.
There was a choice for Jimmie here. He could have taken his miserable life and family and made everything much worse. That’s definitely a common route. Jimmie knew that he might not be much, nor did he have a lot to offer, but he decided to give himself a try, even with what little he had.
Jimmie was facing an uncertain future. He was no hero. He was scared. He was staring into the abyss of a possible terrible scenario where he could become like his dad or mom. But, he chose to stand up—despite his fear—to face that different future, and he did something about it.
He was frightened of his weaknesses and inadequacies. Jimmie was convinced that no matter where he was, he could make it a better place. “Doug, I opened my eyes and saw what needed to get done,” he told me one day while I was getting gas. “So, I did it.” And, what he did was not trivial.
Jimmie’s lesson was to always move forward and upward. That’s the secret to being a good person. Jimmie was a hero to me.
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Please read my books:
This is a good one, folks, much like today’s article (12/10/2025) “Find Your Compass in Life” https://www.theleadermaker.com/find-your-compass-in-life/
This is a practical pathway to improvement. And, if you really want to get a more detailed list, then read my book “55 Rules for a Good Life.” Now that is where I lay out how to find your compass in life.
A classic from Gen. Doug Satterfield. This is what this site used to do, more often. And I loved it then and I love it now. It’s okay that Gen. S. is writing about current events, in particular as he compares those events to the classic psychology that he educates us on. This one is a dr. Jordan Peterson special, if I read it correctly. It’s about knowing the future, looking out a week, a month, a year, five years, until you are 75 years old, and making a plan that is both consistent and works across your age groups. You can always change the plan, but integrate it across your lifetime. That is the message here. Learn it. Live it. You are in charge of yourself.
Exactly what I was thinking.
This is an important point that Gen. Satterfield is making. Psychologists will tell us whenever we have a goal, our entire being rests on headed toward that goal. That becomes something that makes our biological part of us work overtime, and also gives us pleasureable motivation. I know that Gen S hasn’t sad anything about that, yet, it is still there.
Soon we will be in the Christmas season (well, maybe we are right now). And with that in mind, like I recommended in another leadership forum, please buy a copy of Gen. Satterfield’s books. That is how he can keep this website going. My favorite is “55 Rules for a Good Life” and of course, there is “Our Longest Year in Iraq.” Get them both as gifts.
I second that recommendation, Good Dog. 👍
My FAV book:s
“55 Rules for a Good Life”
“Our Longest Year in Iraq”
— and yet so many people make bad choices, and keep on making bad choices. Why?
In the following quote, Gen. Satterfield tells us that Jimmie, his friend, had figured out how to be a person who was happy (or pleased or satisfied) with his life. Jimmie learned not only how to make his own life better, but the lives of others too. That is what a “good person” means. Here is the heart of his aritlce, “Jimmie was on an upward trajectory, and that’s what he figured out. He understood that to be in a better place in life, the most valuable thing was to be moving forward and uphill. That’s what he wanted, and that’s what he was getting from this new philosophy of life.” – Gen. Doug Satterfield
Oh, I almost forgot. Please get copies of Gen. Satterfield’s books before Christmas. You can give them away. Those you give them to will appreciate that gift more than you might imagine. Links to them in Amazon are at the end of the article.
Yep, don’t be a clown 🤡 like those in the mentally ill Democrat Party. Learn that you don’t always have the right answer, and that it is better if everyone has the freedom to make their own decisions.
Nice observations by a young Gen. Satterfield. If only all of us could ‘see’ what he saw and use it to help our own lives.
If you’re getting better in your life, not every day but most days, then you are on the right pathway. Look up at your best aim. Target that aim. And, put all your effort into it. Adopt responsibility. Oh, now I’m starting to sound like Gen. Satterfield. I wonder what it would have been like to work for him.
NY. Yankee Fan, all you have to do is read his book “55 rules for a good life” to get a good understanding of how he operates and his general philosophy of life to understand better how it might be to work for him. I see Gen. Satterfield as someone who would allow you, as a leader, to do pretty much what you wanted as long as you kept him informed and you were betting yourself and those who work for you, also better. That’s the very definition of being on the right side of life. Having his friend “Jimmie” was a benefit for Gen. S as a kid, because he could see what “right” looks like.
Love ❤️ that book.