Feeling Hopeless? Take Inspiration from the Hero of the American Revolution

George Washington was a great leader. He commanded the revolutionary forces to victory against the British.

But Washington was actually a terrible military strategist and tactician.

Right from the start of his military career, Washington showed that he was prone to military blunders, and he failed to recognize good military advice when others provided it.

Washington actually lost more battles than he won during the revolutionary war.

And it took him 8 years (1775-1783) to finally prevail.

What made Washington a great leader was his persistence.

Setbacks, defeat, betrayal, and failure did not deter Washington. He kept hope alive against all odds. Even when it seemed like all was lost, he persisted.

As I have frequently written, we never know when our efforts will bear fruit. Even when it seems like our years of struggle our futile and that our enemies have overwhelming power and resources, something we have done may suddenly and unexpectedly win the battle.

Remember, Washington did not even realize that he had won the Revolutionary War after prevailing in the Battle of Yorktown. People had to explain to him and convince him that the Americans had actually won the war.

The reason we overestimate the enemy's strength is that we do not know about his weaknesses (he tries to project total strength and so tries to hide his weaknesses).

Never give up. Your struggles for truth and justice may just be the thing - or one of the many things - which turns the tide.

This is not to say that we should keep doing the same thing over and over even if it isn't working. We should frequently re-assess our tactics to see if there is something more effective we can do instead.

And things are admittedly bleak right now, given the economic crisis, the looting of the Treasury and taxpayer and the transfer of trillions to the giant banks, and the unresponsiveness of the government to the wishes of the American peole.

But as George Washington showed, we must keep persisting even during the bleak times like the American troops' winter at Valley Forge, because - if we never give up - we will eventually win.

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