If you have spent time around people who are very sick with Cancer or other type illnesses, one thing you hear occasionally is the advice “don’t let the bastard win”. This basically means to keep fighting, don’t give up and don’t let death prevail. The willingness to fight and win plays an even bigger part than the medicine and treatment. At the same time, there are many others who, under the same circumstances, give up hope and let the bastard win.

I actually heard this expression for the first time when I was much much younger on MASH when Hawkeye was fighting trying to save a patient and an observer asked Col. Blake afterwards what Hawkeye meant.I love that attitude. Never give up, never back down, never surrender.

In a work / political environment, a similar idea to that applies. There are so many know it alls, so many negative people and so many naysayers that if you aren’t careful, they will wear you down. If you let this happen, you are letting the bastards win.

These negative people aren’t trying to advance the organization. They aren’t trying to make things better. They aren’t trying to improve things, they are simply trying to wear you down so that they can control things. To them having control of what they paint has a bad thing is better than not having any control of a good thing. They constantly try to make you and the situation look bad under the guise it’s for the kids.

My advice is, keep fighting, keep pushing and basically, don’t let the bastards win. If you want to make a difference in the life of students and you care enough for them and the people who support you, be willing to fight and do whatever it takes to keep things going forward in the direction you feel is best while receiving support from those elected individuals who see the situation for what it really is.

When something matters to you, don’t let the bastards win

Have a great day!