The Art of Sucker Duckin

How to End Toxic Relationships, Set Healthy Boundaries, and Reach God’s Purpose

By Tierre Caldwell

Growing up back in the day, I remember a saying: “You are judged by the company you keep.” Who are the people you surround yourself with? Do they lift you up, or do they stifle your growth? These are the questions Tierre Caldwell addresses in his book The Art of Sucker Duckin: How to End Toxic Relationships, Set Healthy Boundaries and Reach God’s Purpose.

The term Sucker Duckin can seem like one meaning at first, until you realize that it is actually an acronym: Sucker stands for Someone Ultimately Conspiring to Kill Everything Righteous, while Duckin stands for Demonstrating an Understanding of Conscious Knowledge Immune to Nothingness. Have you known people who don’t have anything going for them, whose life is shallow, and they don’t want to see you have or achieve anything either, like the old phrase “crabs in a bucket”? That is one definition of a Sucker.

Caldwell makes the distinction between a hater and a Sucker early on. Haters hate you, but they do so from a distance. Suckers hate what you represent, and they will do whatever it takes to get close enough to you to sabotage your life because of the lack in their own lives.

In practicing the Art of Sucker Duckin (ASD), Caldwell takes us on his spiritual journey, revealing the tactics Suckers use such as provocation, deception, manipulation, and “necessary illusions” to bind you closer and keep you from growing, all the while caring nothing about you. Most importantly, dealing with Suckers is spiritual warfare, and the biggest Sucker of all is the Devil.

The culture of Suckerizm is defined by the author as “the artificial principles you live by when you operate in the lower nature of yourself, or in a biblical sense, your fleshly nature. This is what keeps you blind to who you are, what you are, where you are, where you are from, and who God called you to be.” From his life, Caldwell illustrates what Suckerizm looks like and its traps and limitations to those who are, or have been, ensnared in it, as well as an action plan to become “Sucker free.”

This action plan puts God at the center of it—being real with who we are, self-care, knowing our purpose, mindful of who we surround ourselves with, setting boundaries, and replacing the wasted and negative energy of the Devil with the positive energy of God and God’s will for us. It is not the quick fix or instant gratification of Suckerizm; it is a process. Pride and EGO (Edging God Out) must fall away in the face of God, and we in turn can build a Circle of Elevation that lifts God up, as well as positive-minded people in it who encourage you to grow.

Thank you, Tierre, for teaching the discernment of recognizing Suckers in order to remove them from our lives, and to always keep God at the center. In your words, “To be aware is to be alive.”