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Credit: Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP
Admiral James Stockdale, naval officer and erstwhile vice presidential candidate, endured seven and a half years of brutality and torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
His name is synonymous with the Stockdale paradox, which describes the need to balance realism and optimism when we face adversity.
“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal of your current reality,” Admiral Stockdale declared.