Lessons From Lincoln

After three months and a number of days I have finally finished reading two books on Abraham Lincoln. One is a biography titled “With Malice Toward None“, the other was a in depth look at the chase for John Wilkes Booth titled “Manhunt“. They took me longer than expected. Life ended up getting in the way a bit, but in a way I’m glad it did, reading slow allowed me to sit and reflect on Lincoln’s life and the things he did. I was able to glean a few ideas I know I want to practice in my life, so I thought I’d share them here.

Here they are, A Few Lessons From Lincoln

1. Always Be Quick to Listen to Advice
Lincoln’s quick rise to power had one downside: He didn’t have a lot of experience. What he did have was an open ear and the ability to listen to and even seek out advice. As the most powerful man in the nation he could have made any decision without listening to a soul, yet he knew the power of advice of others. He would seek out opinions from everyone, even those on the other side of the issue, and then ultimately make a decision himself, just as a leader should.

As I rise in my career, I know this is going to be essential. Just because I might be in a position of “power” doesn’t make me all powerful. Most of the time, a person at the top doesn’t know everything. That is why it is important to listen. As the saying goes, God gave us two ears and only one mouth so we would listen twice as much as we talked. Or something like that…

2. Always Be Slow to Judge Others
Not everybody Lincoln put in positions of power – state or military – worked out for him. Some were downright terrible, especially some early Union Generals. But Lincoln was patient; some would say too patient. I would say just patient enough.

You can not discount someone at the first sign of conceivable failure. It is important to allow them time to grow. Work with them and bring them along to where they need to be. If we judge on first impressions, and then discount the ones who don’t impress, we will be missing out on a bucket of talent in the end. At the same time, if the improvement isn’t coming, and the failures are risking mission success, you have to be bold enough to pull the plug. Lincoln was all those things. Patient. Bold.

3. Let God rule, Give Him Praise When It’s Due
Abraham Lincoln wasn’t a strictly religious man, but he did believe in a sovereign God. Many times in his letters or in his words to others he mentioned he felt as if he was in his position because God had put him there. He didn’t know it, but he felt it, and he trusted that whatever God wanted shall pass. He said at one point that he knew those who were against slavery felt it was right by God, yet hose who were for slavery also felt it was right by God. He knew and trusted that if God wanted the confederacy to win the war they would, and if God wanted the Union to win, they would. Lincoln was just playing his role, and when the Union won (or was about to, they didn’t officially win before Lincoln was assassinated), Lincoln gave all credit God for the victory.

4. History Really Does Repeat Itself
Ok, so I didn’t necessarily learn this from Lincoln’s life, but it is something I noticed more by reading his life story. So many of the things that were going on in the mid 1800′s are going on today. Democrats hated Republicans, Republicans hated Democrats. I suppose it is a never ending cycle. I couldn’t believe how many people actually hated Lincoln, despised him, even wanted to kill him. Evidently the hate and disgust that so many people (unfortunately) feel toward others with opposite beliefs…it’s been going on for a while.

When Lincoln became a Republican, it was the Republican party that was considered liberal and the Democrats that were conservative. The Republicans wanted to free the slaves, that was madness to the Democrats. Do you see where the same themes are making history today? I had of course always heard the phrase, but never seen it in action until I started reading political history. If you read about Lincoln’s life, or the political climate of that day (or any historical day for that matter), you’ll see how much history truly does repeat itself.

There were more lessons learned, lessons on honesty, faithfulness to a cause, family, and friends. But most importantly I learned that Lincoln was an incredible man. If you haven’t read anything about his life you should take the time to do it. You might end up better for it. I have a feeling I will.