Ryan Holiday

But the German blitzkrieg was one of the most overwhelming and intimidating developments in modern warfare.

At the beginning of the war, these columns of Panzer tanks rushing into Poland and Belgium and France were unstoppable.

And part of the reason that they were so unstoppable was this perception that they were

unstoppable.

Many armies simply surrendered in the face of them.

And there was a real chance that this would happen to the allies, that order would break down and they would get thrown back to the sea.

And so it's here at this moment that I think Eisenhower is at his absolute best

And in a way, at his most stoic.

There's this magnificent scene.

He strides into his field quarters.

He has all of his generals gathered there, many of whom are rattled.

They're convinced they're outmatched.

They're not sure what's happening.

And Eisenhower says, look, I want this situation to be regarded not as a disaster, but as an opportunity.

He says there will only be cheerful faces at this conference table.

And what's he doing here?

Is this just, he's just trying to cheer people up?

Is he just, is it just wishful thinking?

Is this the opposite of the negative visualization from before?

Just positive manifestation?