Leadership - In Turbulent Times: Lessons from Ex-Presidents

This book chronicles the lives of four different presidents: Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lyndon Johnson. Each one of them had very different upbringings and paths to the White House. However, the one thing they all have in common is that they were able to rise to the occasion when they were called upon to lead the nation. 

Guys like Lincoln were a different breed. When I want a book, I go right to the Kindle store on my iPad and order whatever I need. The whole process takes less than 30 seconds. When Abe Lincoln wanted a book, he sometimes had to walk 20 miles to find the one he was looking for. Then he would stay up all night and read in between shifts at the local General Store to train himself on becoming a lawyer. Absolute savage.

Highly recommend this book. Getting a feel for how these four lived their lives is very valuable, especially under our current circumstances.

Lincoln: After a round of political defeats, he slipped into a deep depression and considered himself a massive failure. He wasn’t confident in his ability to provide for his family, as his law career had flat lined after his initial foray into politics. And it wasn’t until his early forties that he re-committed to a rigorous self-improvement curriculum to teach himself everything about the law as well as other random subjects like Astronomy and Mathematics.

After this period, his law career took off and he soon got back into the political ring. But if he didn’t have the grit to overcome this plateau then his ascension to POTUS would not have been possible.

Roosevelt: After his mother and wife died on the same day, he devastated and thought life would never be the same. He started to struggle politically, and ended up leaving everything to move out West and live like a Cowboy. He herded Cattle, and started to hunt big game and experience life through the eyes of the frontier man.

He often credits this time period as one of the most influential in his life. And living in nature ended up reviving his sense of purpose, as well as increasing both his physical strength and confidence. Once he returned home he was rejuvenated and began to succeed in his professional life, ultimately paving the way for his presidential future.

FDR: One day after waking, he noticed some strange aches and pains but wrote them off as nothing that a little exercise couldn’t get rid of. However, as the day progressed his symptoms worsened and he had to be rushed to the hospital. He was losing motor functions, and a misdiagnosis and ended up delaying the time it took to get proper care so his condition continued to diminish. Only after visiting a second doctor did they confirm that he had polio, and was at risk of being paralyzed forever.

Without the ability to move around or play sports, FDR was obviously crushed. His spirit and lack of purpose were shattered. However, he never gave up on his dream to become president. Despite having a weakened upper body and barely any movement in his lower half, he pushed himself through excruciating pain and built the a bullet-proof frame that enabled him to move around more independently. Overcoming this challenge gave him the confidence to believe he could achieve anything he set his mind to it.

All three examples above are just a small glimpse at how these leaders took poor hands and turned them into vehicles that led to their ultimate pinnacles in life. Being great means that when things go poorly, you use your grit and determination to make those situations beneficial for you.