Home > Author > James B. Stockdale
1 " A properly educated leader, especially when harassed and under pressure, will know from his study of history and the classics that circumstances very much like those he is encountering have occurred from time to time on this earth since the beginning of history. He will avoid the self-indulgent error of seeing himself in a predicament so unprecedented, so unique, as to justify his making an exception to law, custom or morality in favor of himself. The making of such exceptions has been the theme of public life throughout much of our lifetimes. For twenty years, we've been surrounded by gamesmen unable to cope with the wisdom of the ages. They make exceptions to law and custom in favor of themselves because they choose to view ordinary dilemmas as unprecedented crises. "
― James B. Stockdale
2 " Epictetus: "The judgment seat and a prison is each a place, the one high, the other low; but the attitude of your will can be kept the same, if you want to keep it the same, in either place. "
― James B. Stockdale , Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior
3 " After ejection I had about thirty seconds to make my last statement in freedom before I landed in the main street of a little village right ahead. And so help me, I whispered to myself: "Five years down there, at least. I'm leaving the world of technology and entering the world of Epictetus. "
4 " So what Epictetus was telling his students was that there can be no such thing as being the "victim" of another. You can only be a "victim" of yourself. It's all in how you discipline your mind. Who "
5 " Work with what you have control of and you'll have your hands full. "
6 " So make sure in your heart of hearts, in your inner self, that you treat your station in life with indifference, not with contempt, only with indifference. "
7 " Epictetus: "Look not for any greater harm than this: destroying the trustworthy, self-respecting well-behaved man within you. "
8 " Do what you will, reputation is at least as fickle as your station in life. Others decide what your reputation is. "
9 " don't let "reputation" get mixed up with your moral purpose or your will power; they are important. Make sure "reputation" is in that box in the bottom drawer marked "matters of indifference "
10 " If you want to protect yourself from "fear and guilt," and those are the crucial pincers, the real long-term destroyers of will, you have to get rid of all your instincts to compromise, to meet people halfway. You have to learn to stand aloof, never give openings for deals, never level with your adversaries. You have to become what Ivan Denisovich called a "slow movin' cagey prisoner. "
