Lincoln wrote, "Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition,I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed by fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem" (Crowley, 2012, para. 14). From a life of hardships, Lincoln had developed the self confidence he needed to succeed. Historically, Lincoln had many setbacks such as: two business failures, lost eight separate elections, a nervous breakdown while President, and many personal losses (Pratt, n.d.). However, Lincoln did not let these setbacks define him, instead he used them to propel himself forward.
In Lincoln’s speech at Clinton, Illinois, on September 8, 1854, he said,
If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their
respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the
time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of
the people all of the time (Schwartz, 2003, p. 1). …show more content…
Additionally, “confidence in one’s ability gives the leader inner strength to overcome difficult tasks” (Manning & Curtis, 2012, p. 31). Ultimately, successful leaders remain calm under pressure because they have studied, planned, and dedicated themselves to the task at hand (Manning & Curtis, 2012). As mentioned earlier, Lincoln had many obstacles to overcome in his life. Indeed, he could have harbored and dwelled on the negative aspects of life. However, Lincoln chose to use his willpower and strength of mind to bounce back each time (Welch,
In Lincoln’s speech at Clinton, Illinois, on September 8, 1854, he said,
If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their
respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the
time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of
the people all of the time (Schwartz, 2003, p. 1). …show more content…
Additionally, “confidence in one’s ability gives the leader inner strength to overcome difficult tasks” (Manning & Curtis, 2012, p. 31). Ultimately, successful leaders remain calm under pressure because they have studied, planned, and dedicated themselves to the task at hand (Manning & Curtis, 2012). As mentioned earlier, Lincoln had many obstacles to overcome in his life. Indeed, he could have harbored and dwelled on the negative aspects of life. However, Lincoln chose to use his willpower and strength of mind to bounce back each time (Welch,