Abraham Lincoln’s Success Secret
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“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.” - Abe Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln’s Track Record:
- Lost job in 1832.
- Defeated for state legislature in 1832.
- Failed in business in 1833.
- Elected to state legislature in 1834.
- Sweetheart died in 1835.
- Had nervous breakdown in 1836.
- Defeated for Speaker in 1838.
- Defeated for nomination for Congress in 1843.
- Elected to Congress in 1846.
- Lost renomination in 1848.
- Rejected for land officer in 1849.
- Defeated for U.S. Senate in 1854.
- Defeated for nomination for Vice President in 1856.
- Again defeated for U.S. Senate in 1858.
- Elected President in 1860.
Action Summary:
- It doesn’t matter how many times you fail.
- What matters is how quickly you stand up after falling down.
- The most important factor to success is: making up your own mind and being confident that one day - you’ll reach your goals.
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I love inspiration like this. Another person who perservered through “failure” was Theodor Seisel (aka Dr Seuss). He showed his work to 27 publishers before someone finally said yes.
Posted 01 Sep 2007 #
Very Inspiring! you should find about Honda as well (the guy who started Honda corporation as well!!)
Posted 02 Sep 2007 #
This is worth printing out for my class. Thanks for a great post!
Posted 02 Sep 2007 #
That’s interesting. I never knew about all that stuff. I’m gonna show it to my father-in-law.
Posted 02 Sep 2007 #
This is pretty interesting since when I was growing up my dad always encouraged me to read biographies and always cited Abraham Lincoln’s biography as an example.
Raymond
Posted 04 Sep 2007 #
Another point worth mentioning is that few people remember Lincoln’s failures, but many remember his successes. Even if you do fail, you won’t be defined by that failure. Your successes have the potential to define you. If you try and fail again and again until you eventually succeed, chances are people will only remember the success.
Thanks for sharing the list, Ankesh. I found it quite thought-provoking!
Posted 04 Sep 2007 #
Nathania: Thanks. I love Dr. Seuss’s work. Will see if I can find his autobiography / biography.
Raj: Thanks about the Honda tip. Feel free to share with me what you know about him.
Bloggrrl: Thanks. It gives me an idea: this would make a great poster. I’ll see if I can get it made once my workload reduces a bit.
Jenny: Thank you for commenting.
Raymond: I love Abe Lincoln’s story. Quite a few good books have been written on him. I recommend “Team of Rivals.”
Skellie: Thanks for making a very good point.
Posted 04 Sep 2007 #
[…] Riporto i punti salienti della vita di Lincoln: […]
Posted 04 Sep 2007 #
But wasn’t he shot dead at the end?
Perhaps he should have just kept his head down and kept a lower profile.
LOL!
Posted 12 Sep 2007 #
Douglas:
Thanks for jesting. William Wallace is asked why is he willing to fight when the chance of being killed are astronomically high? His answer: “Everyone dies. Not everyone truly lives!”
Lincoln could have kept his head low and no one would have remembered his name today. By persevering, he changed the world for the better! Isn’t that worth his tragic end?
Posted 12 Sep 2007 #
[…] does not happen overnight. Napoleon uses Abraham Lincoln as an example here. (Read this terrific post by Ankesh about President Lincoln’s journey.) Another person Napoleon uses here is Mahatma […]
Posted 13 Sep 2007 #
Usually i wont like to do make comments. ( was searching wp plugins ) Though just two things impressed me to do comment on your blog.
1. That was awesome Post. It inspire me alot, like what i was looking for.
2. You are Indian and you running a your blog great way. Thumbs up. seems like you living at Mumbai ??, i suppose.
Posted 20 Sep 2007 #
sagbee: Thanks for your kind words. Yes - I’m currently living in Mumbai.
Posted 24 Sep 2007 #
Lincoln’s life was absolutely fascinating. There is a biography of Lincoln written by Dale Carnegie (the “How to Win Friends and Influence People” guy) called “Lincoln, the Unknown”. It was published in like 1959, so you could probably get a copy at your local library. Anyway, this post just barely scrapes the surface of how unbelievable Lincoln’s life was. If you are at all interested, I’d check out that book.
Posted 03 Oct 2007 #
Justin: Thanks for the book recommendation.
Posted 03 Oct 2007 #
[…] Abraham Lincolna_Ts Success Secret […]
Posted 06 Dec 2007 #
..gosh! i really like it! thanks to you i can pass my project now…
Posted 13 Nov 2008 #