{ "type": "quote", "site": { "name": "Leafy Quotes", "language": "en", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com" }, "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/general-stanley-mcchrystal/my-share-of-the-task/self-discipline-manifests-itself", "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/general-stanley-mcchrystal/my-share-of-the-task/self-discipline-manifests-itself.json", "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/general-stanley-mcchrystal/my-share-of-the-task/self-discipline-manifests-itself.md", "id": "4644250d-2b1e-4861-b2f4-ebbf5d77a4fa", "slug": "self-discipline-manifests-itself", "text": "Self-discipline manifests itself in countless ways. In a leader I see it as doing those things that should be done, even when they are unpleasant, inconvenient, or dangerous; and refraining from those that shouldn't, even when they are pleasant, easy, or safe. That discipline that causes a young lieutenant to check soldier's feet for blisters or trench foot, will also carry him across a bullet-swept street to support a squad under pressure.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "General Stanley McChrystal", "slug": "general-stanley-mcchrystal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/general-stanley-mcchrystal" }, "book": { "title": "My Share of the Task", "slug": "my-share-of-the-task", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/general-stanley-mcchrystal/my-share-of-the-task" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 394, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "leadership", "slug": "leadership", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/leadership" }, { "name": "self-control", "slug": "self-control", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-control" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal#My_Share_Of_The_Task_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:18", "more_from_book": [ { "id": "fbe2efc0-8725-4037-a1fa-a2a52fdce6dd", "slug": "as-visible-symbols", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/general-stanley-mcchrystal/my-share-of-the-task/as-visible-symbols", "text": "As visible symbols, soldiers often receive praise or condemnation, and both reactions feel curiously undeserved.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 13, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal#My_Share_Of_The_Task_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:18" }, { "id": "e96333a2-aeb0-4779-b29e-5efad5eda35e", "slug": "in-the-end", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/general-stanley-mcchrystal/my-share-of-the-task/in-the-end", "text": "In the end, leadership is a choice. Rank, authority, and even responsibility can be inherited or assigned, whether or not an individual desires or deserves them. Even the mantle of leadership occasionally falls to people who haven't sought it. But actually leading is different. A leader decides to accept responsibility for others in a way that assumes stewardship of their hopes, their dreams, and sometimes their very lives. It can be a crushing burden, but I found it an indescribable honor.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 394, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "responsibility", "slug": "responsibility", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/responsibility" }, { "name": "leadership", "slug": "leadership", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/leadership" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal#My_Share_Of_The_Task_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:18" }, { "id": "9792edf8-88a6-4b00-b686-26408f50cdd7", "slug": "people-are-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/general-stanley-mcchrystal/my-share-of-the-task/people-are-born", "text": "People are born; leaders are made. I was born the son of a leader with a clear path to a profession of leadership. But whatever leadership I later possessed, I learned from others. I grew up in a household of overt values, many of which hardened in me only as I matured. Although history fascinated me, and mentors surrounded me, the overall direction and key decisions of my life and career were rarely impacted by specific advice, or even a particularly relevant example I'd read or seen. I rarely wondered What would Nelson, Buford, Grant, or my father have done? But as I grew, I was increasingly aware of the guideposts and guardrails that leaders had set for me, often through their examples. The question became What kind of leader have I decided to be? Over time, decisions came easily against that standard, even when the consequences were grave.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 393, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "leadership", "slug": "leadership", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/leadership" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal#My_Share_Of_The_Task_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:18" } ] }