--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't mind being called tough, since I…" description: "\"I don't mind being called tough, since I find in this racket it's the tough guys who lead the survivors.\" — Curtis LeMay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/curtis-lemay-23330_guy_i-don-t-mind-being-called-tough-since-i_1148154.png" --- # I don't mind being called tough, since I find in this… ![“I don't mind being called tough, since I find in this racket it's the tough guys who lead the survivors.” quote by Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/curtis-lemay-23330_guy_i-don-t-mind-being-called-tough-since-i_1148154.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/curtis-lemay-23330_guy_i-don-t-mind-being-called-tough-since-i_1148154.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/curtis-lemay-23330_guy_i-don-t-mind-being-called-tough-since-i_1148154.png) > “I don't mind being called tough, since I find in this racket it's the tough guys who lead the survivors.” [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Toughness is portrayed as essential for leadership among survivors in a chaotic environment. **In simple terms:** Being tough helps lead in tough situations. Key Takeaway Embrace resilience to guide others. Themes leadership survival strength strategy Mood determined serious Type motivational strategic When to use this quote - military command - business crisis - team management Key Concepts hardship authority resilience Questions to Reflect On - When does toughness become counterproductive? - How balance strength with compassion? A Different Perspective Toughness can alienate or suppress empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-tough-1494079/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Racket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racket/) [Racket Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racket-tough-3232627/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor/) [Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough/) [Tough guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-guy/) [Tough Guys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-guys/) [Tough Racket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-racket-3232626/) ## Related quotes > [There are no tough guys in wrestling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-savage/there-are-no-tough-guys-in-wrestling/) [Randy Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-savage/) > [I have a weakness for tough guys who read." - Izzy Spellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-have-a-weakness-for-tough-guys-who-read-izzy-spellman/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [All those tough guys who want to scare the world into seeing them as men . . . who don't know how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/all-those-tough-guys-who-want-to-scare-the-world-into-seeing-them-as/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [Movies portray men as tough guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-canada/movies-portray-men-as-tough-guys/) [Geoffrey Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-canada/) > [There have been a lotta tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/there-have-been-a-lotta-tough-guys-there-have-been-pretenders-and/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I mean, nobody's ever thrown a big rock at me or my friends, but we're all pretty tough guys and could probably handle it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/i-mean-nobody-s-ever-thrown-a-big-rock-at-me-or-my-friends-but-we-re/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [What's important is that you stay true to yourself. Because when you enter the real world, the most valuable thing you can bring is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/what-s-important-is-that-you-stay-true-to-yourself-because-when-you/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [He reached out, opened the glove compartment, and took out a gun. It was a Smith & Wesson .38 five-shot special. It looked a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/he-reached-out-opened-the-glove-compartment-and-took-out-a-gun-it-was/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [I've played a lot of tough guys in movies over the years, but you know what? Looking cool and saying lines that somebody else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-searcy/i-ve-played-a-lot-of-tough-guys-in-movies-over-the-years-but-you-know/) [Nick Searcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-searcy/) > [That Elvis, man, he is all there is. There ain't no more. Everything starts and ends with him. He wrote the book. 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They're not just praying for themselves; they're praying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-rule/after-doing-two-years-in-prison-trust-me-i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-tough/) [Ja Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-rule/) > [The American ideal of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity. This idea has created cowboys and Indians, good guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-of-sexuality-appears-to-be-rooted-in-the-american/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [People think of Jews as the Woody Allen stereotype, the nebbishy kind of thing, but that's not the kind of Jews I know. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-ian/people-think-of-jews-as-the-woody-allen-stereotype-the-nebbishy-kind/) [Scott Ian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-ian/) ## More by Curtis LeMay > [I'd like to see a more aggressive attitude on the part of the United States. That doesn't mean launching an immediate preventive war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/i-d-like-to-see-a-more-aggressive-attitude-on-the-part-of-the-united/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [We went over there and fought the war and eventually burned down every town in North Korea anyway, someway or another, and some in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/we-went-over-there-and-fought-the-war-and-eventually-burned-down/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [If we maintain our faith in God, love of freedom, and superior global air power, the future looks good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/if-we-maintain-our-faith-in-god-love-of-freedom-and-superior-global/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [Native annalists may look sadly back from the future on that period when we had the atomic bomb and the Russians didn't. Or when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/native-annalists-may-look-sadly-back-from-the-future-on-that-period/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [My solution to the problem would be to tell the North Vietnamese Communists frankly that they've got to drawn in their horns and stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/my-solution-to-the-problem-would-be-to-tell-the-north-vietnamese/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [There are no innocent civilians, so it doesn't bother me so much to be killing innocent bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/there-are-no-innocent-civilians-so-it-doesn-t-bother-me-so-much-to-be/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [Today, shooting wars are won or lost before they start. If they are fought at all, they would be fought principally to confirm which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/today-shooting-wars-are-won-or-lost-before-they-start-if-they-are/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [If we'd lost the war, we'd all have been prosecuted as war criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/if-we-d-lost-the-war-we-d-all-have-been-prosecuted-as-war-criminals/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [Don't like to do anything half-heartedly, even if it is a wicked and self-destructive avocation like smoking cigars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/don-t-like-to-do-anything-half-heartedly-even-if-it-is-a-wicked-and/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [Sometime in the future - 25, 50, 75 years hence - what will the situation be like then? By that time the Chinese will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/sometime-in-the-future-25-50-75-years-hence-what-will-the-situation/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [ My solution to the problem would be to tell \[the North Vietnamese Communists\] frankly that they've got to draw in their horns and stop… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/my-solution-to-the-problem-would-be-to-tell-the-north-vietnamese-2/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [Every soldier thinks something of the moral aspects of what he is doing. But all war is immoral and if you let that bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/every-soldier-thinks-something-of-the-moral-aspects-of-what-he-is/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [That's the reason some schools of thinking don't rule out a destruction of the Chinese military potential before the situation grows worse than it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/that-s-the-reason-some-schools-of-thinking-don-t-rule-out-a/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [You've got to kill people, and when you've killed enough they stop fighting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/you-ve-got-to-kill-people-and-when-you-ve-killed-enough-they-stop/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [That was the era when we might have destroyed Russia completely and not even skinned our elbows doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/that-was-the-era-when-we-might-have-destroyed-russia-completely-and/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) [Explore all 26 Curtis LeMay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) ## More Guy quotes > [There are guys who play lacrosse, and there are lacrosse players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-mundorf/there-are-guys-who-play-lacrosse-and-there-are-lacrosse-players/) [Brendan Mundorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-mundorf/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. 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