Lincoln Leadership and Luck

This past week I had the opportunity to visit Abraham Lincoln's Tomb in Springfield, IL. It was a convenient detour and an opportunity to reflect on the period of Lincoln's Presidency. I like to contrast current events with the events of his period. One can imagine the amount of pressure on him as he listened and tried to reach a compromise between sides. One can also appreciate the amount of resiliency that it took to make a decision and steer a course, knowing well the consequences that would follow.

There are few other examples of such a long term commitment to a widely unpopular course of action. A few of my favorite quotes:

"Courage is not the absence of fear. It is going forward with the face of fear."

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

"Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did. On the contrary, if you falter, and give up, you will lose the power of keeping any resolution, and will regret it all your life."

"The best way to predict your future is to create it."

(I did rub his nose for good luck)