[May 14, 2026] You’ve got to be tough as nails to be a good person because you have to stand your ground when you need to stand your ground. And, you have to be able to say no when it’s time to say no, and you have to mean it. Grow a spine!
Develop your internal, physical strength, which requires confronting the evil that is inside your heart. Once that evil inside you is controlled, it is no longer evil; it’s strength, the strength of character, the ability to stand your ground. You have to cultivate that, in part, by telling the brutal truth that needs telling.
This means taking your place in the world as a good person and a decent citizen. Learn to be the rock in the stream. To be the one who folks go to when the chips are down and danger lurks nearby. The tyranny of the world is something to deal with; so are the catastrophes of nature and the malevolence and ignorance of others, including your own internal evils.
You have a choice. You can shy away from it and be fearful and be victimized by it, and be bitter, resentful, willfully blind, jealous, and cynical. Or, you can voluntarily run to the dangers of life, toward the most destructive evils, at the horrors that do exist, and to refuse to participate in the wickedness, the immorality, and the vileness that have plagued the world since the first human walked the earth. That ability and skill is courage despite your real fears.
“That which you most need will be found where you least want to look.” – Carl Jung
Face the darkness. If you look at the darkness enough, and you’ve brought everything within you to bear on it, you’ll find that there is more to you than you could imagine. Yet, doing so requires you to be all in; not partly, but give an all-in effort. Some light can always be extracted from the darkness. People admire those who can face that darkness and stand firm.
Don’t be a weak loser. Buck up. Grow a spine. And live.
NOTE: Many of these ideas today are from Dr. Jordan Peterson.
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Gen. Satterfield, thanks for reviving this series! 🫡. I salute you for it.
In a world of snowflakes melting at the first sign of truth, this Rule 64 hits like a double espresso. Finally, a call to ditch the therapy-speak and grow the spine liberals traded for safe spaces. Peterson’s wisdom reminds us: confront your inner demons before voting for more government nannies. Weak knees built empires that fell; strong backs built the West. Buck up, buttercup, tyranny hates a man who says “no” without a trigger warning. Face the darkness? It’s called reality, not a microaggression. Don’t be the victim; be the rock that sinks the entitlement boat. Virtue without vertebrae is just virtue-signaling. Conservatives knew this all along: freedom demands fortitude, not feelings. Time to trade participation trophies for calluses; America’s spine depends on it.
Strong call to courage and personal responsibility. Face darkness, build spine, stand firm … very solid advice. ✅
A lot of folks need to hear this message.