The Military Minds of Fuller and Liddell

Alright, gentlemen, if you'll indulge this old don and military buff for a moment, let's talk about something that hits home for many of us navigating the choppy waters of middle age: stagnation. That feeling of being stuck, of the campaign having ground to a halt, when the enemy isn't a foreign army, but the creeping malaise of predictability and routine.

Now, my notes here cover the military minds of Fuller and Liddell Hart, two blokes who, for all their differing quirks and controversies, were obsessed with breaking through the static, with finding ways to move, to disrupt, to achieve decisive points rather than just slugging it out in the trenches. J.F.C. Fuller, the advocate of pure mechanised thrust, believed in hitting the enemy where it hurts most, targeting the brain and the belly of the beast – their command and supply. Think of that in your own lives, chaps. Where are your personal command centres? Your sources of energy and fuel? Are they bogged down by routine, by the same old predictable movements? Fuller would tell you to bypass the strong points of your inertia and strike directly at what truly matters.

Then there's B.H. Liddell Hart, the chap who championed the 'indirect approach'. He argued that the most potent way to win wasn't always a head-on assault, but through manoeuvre, through disrupting the enemy's balance, causing confusion and forcing them into mistakes. Doesn't that resonate? When you feel stuck, charging headlong into the same old battles often just leads to further frustration. Perhaps the answer lies in a subtle shift, a change of angle, an unexpected move that throws your personal 'enemy' – be it apathy, boredom, or routine – off guard. Think about disrupting your own patterns, introducing something new and unexpected which causes a ripple effect, an 'expanding torrent' of renewed interest and engagement.

These chaps, though steeped in the grim realities of warfare, understood the power of adaptation and innovation. Fuller, with his Plan 1919, envisioned a completely new kind of army, one built for speed and penetration. Liddell Hart, in his writings, constantly analysed how to find the path of least resistance, the unexpected route to victory.

So, when you find yourself in that middle-aged funk, feeling like the campaign is stalled, look to these old strategists. Are you trying to grind out a victory through sheer force of habit? Perhaps it's time for a Fuller-esque mechanised thrust, a swift and decisive attack on a key area of your life you've allowed to stagnate. Or perhaps a Liddell Hart-inspired indirect approach is needed, a clever bypass of the obvious obstacles, a subtle shift in strategy that creates a new dynamic.

Rommel, that desert fox, didn't invent Blitzkrieg, but he mastered its application. He understood speed, surprise, and exploiting weaknesses. Just as Rommel’s forces were ultimately undone by logistics, your own stalled campaigns might be suffering from a lack of vital supplies – whether that's motivation, new information, or simply a change of scenery.

The Schlieffen Plan failed because it was too rigid, too reliant on a predictable outcome. Don't let your life become a failed Schlieffen Plan, rigid and unable to adapt to unexpected resistance. Be flexible, be ready to pivot, and remember that sometimes the most effective path forward is not the most obvious one.

So, fellow travellers in this middle patch of life, let's take a leaf out of these military minds. Analyse your 'battlefield', identify your points of inertia, and then decide: a direct, focused strike or a more subtle, disruptive manoeuvre? Either way, staying static, like a WWI trench, is a recipe for stagnation. It's time to move, chaps. The campaign isn't over, you just need to find a new way to advance.

Life is a constant evolution, a dance with change that shapes who we are and where we’re headed. And just like life, this site is transforming once more. I don’t yet know where this journey will lead, but that’s the beauty of it—each shift brings us closer to where we’re meant to be.

Change is not a sign of uncertainty, but of growth. It’s the path we must take to uncover our true purpose. And while we may not always understand where life is guiding us, it’s in the act of seeking, of embracing the flow, that we discover our direction.

Imagine life as a river, with its tides, currents, and eddies. If we fight against the current, we tire and falter. But if we surrender to it, letting it guide us, we might just find ourselves exactly where we’re meant to be.

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