TOUGHEN UP: Oath of Allegiance

Part two of Claude Hamilton‘s new book TOUGHEN UP covers three more of Claude’s strengths.  These three principles are essential for long-term success and are only mastered through a long-term commitment to pursuing greatness in them, just as Claude has done.  As you are reading through TOUGHEN UP I encourage you to really study its principle’s and apply them to your life, not just read the book to say you did.  There are so many great lessons that can be learned throughout the entire book that can be used to improve your life in so many areas.

Part two of TOUGHEN UP outlines the second three strengths:

1. Attitude
2. Courage
3. Character
4. Duty
5. Honour
6. Relationships

Here are some of my favourite sections of Part Two: Oath of Allegiance

• Duty

“Success means doing the right thing no matter what.”

“I am a firm believer that love, not hope of reward or fear of bad consequences, is the real reason people do their duty.  I learned this in the military, and I believe it holds true in other areas of life as well”.

“This is duty to God, family, and country – because when you are your best self, your truly excellent self, you serve God, family, and country at the highest level!  This is real.  Anything less than excellence means you aren’t quite doing your duty”.

• Honour

“Be the kind of person who always honours those who deserve it.”

“Without honour, nothing else really matters in our lives.  George Bernard Shaw wrote, ‘The most tragic thing in the world is a man of genius who is not a man of honour’.”

“Honour, on the other hand, is all about enthusiasm!  When we have honour, we do the right things because we really, truly feel passionate about them.  We don’t necessarily have to do them to be a good person, like we do with out duties, but we choose to do them because we care.”

“As Lana and I started experiencing real success, we felt overwhelming gratitude for Orrin and Laurie Woodward and the others who showed us the way.  We felt great respect and a profound sense of honour toward them.  We knew we simply could not have accomplished what we did without their help.”

• Relationships

“Let them see me cry.  It’s okay.  I cry sometimes when I cuddle my son.  I’m soft with him and tough about pursuing my life purpose.”

“Monday morning I put on my search-and-rescue jacket and combat boots, stashed three samples of the vitamins and other products I sold for my business into my pack, and put my pistol in my belt, and I walked to the highway and started hitchhiking.”

“This means spending a lot of time with those you care about most.  Time builds depth, if you approach it with the right attitude.  As I already mentioned, I hated that my military work kept me too busy to spend as much time as I wanted with my family.”

“They say the word sacrifice as if it’s something bad.  But my military background taught me a different way to think about sacrifice.  For me, sacrifice is the production of sacred things.  I sacrificed my twenties for my business, but I got the rest of my life with financial freedom.”

I hope everyone is enjoying reading this book as much as I have and learning more about what it takes to TOUGHEN UP!  Maybe you know someone who needs to TOUGHEN UP a little in some area of their life, or maybe you know someone who would just really enjoy what Claude has to share.  Either way, this book could make an awesome gift for Christmas or any occasion.

Make sure to check back next week for the third and final instalment of my TOUGHEN UP series.

God Bless,

Wayne