Words, Will, and Winston Churchill

“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.” - Winston Churchill

How will history remember you? Consider asking instead, “How will you be remembered by history?” This is a powerful change in semantics that unlocks you as the creator of your story and it is one of the most powerful lessons we can learn from one of world history’s greatest leaders.?

Winston Churchill was a passionate student of history and he carried that knowledge with him throughout his life. He made it his mission to remain present in creating a legacy through every opportunity that he was confronted with, be it large or small. Winston Churchill captured this point of view in his own words when he said; “Everyone can recognize history when it happens. Everyone can recognize history after it has happened; but it is only the wise person who knows at the moment what is vital and permanent, what is lasting and memorable.” Churchill’s obsession with history enabled him to project into the future and manifest his own destiny.

So how did he do it? How did Churchill write his own history? Well, he used his words and his will.?

Our words live long after we are gone. Churchill was very conscious of that reality. He said. “It was my ambition, all my life, to be a master of the spoken word.” He knew the power of words, once saying, “Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king.” Winston Churchill grabbed hold of that power and left us with words that will endure forever.?

He used words to literally write his own history and, as a result, he is remembered as a master communicator. John F. Kennedy once said that Churchill, “mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.”

The fact that Churchill was so skilled with words is even more remarkable when we consider that he had to overcome the physical challenge of a distracting lisp and the emotional challenge of the self-consciousness that came with it. He conquered that impairment by preparing his speeches meticulously in writing before delivering them orally. Triumphing over that adversity is one of many examples that serve as a testament to Churchill’s incredible will.??

It has been said that “fortune favors the bold”. This statement would be an appropriate epitaph for Winston Churchill. He was not without failures and weaknesses. He was stubborn and audacious and he made mistakes in judgment that resulted in the loss of thousands of lives. Mistakes that he anguished over to such an extent that his wife once said that she thought he “would die of grief”. Still, Churchill persevered because he had an intense aversion to quitting, so much so that he would sometimes march onward even in the face of what seemed rational at the time. He once said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” More famously, he left us with the quote; “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” He taught the world to “never, never, give up” and courage is the word that has become almost synonymous with his name.

History remembers Churchill most for his unwavering determination, and his unconquerable grit.???

Anthony Storr, a famous English psychoanalyst and author, captured the collective memory of a country when he said, "The more one examines Winston Churchill as a person, the more one is forced to the conclusion that his aggressiveness, his courage, and his dominance were not rooted in inheritance, but were the product of deliberate decision and iron will.”

Love to Lead. Lead With Love.

This essay was written by Blair Albright