Posts Tagged ‘The Keys to Success II: The Best is Yet to Come’

Awaken the Sleeping Giant Within – The Abe Lincoln Way

Thursday, May 3rd, 2018

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.” Abraham Lincoln, 1854.
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In 1849, after serving one term as a US Congressman, and with no political prospects, it looked like Lincoln would be relegated to the dust bin of history. He resigned himself to the life of a travelling lawyer (a circuit rider). Although he was extremely good at his job, he probably felt despair that his desire for a life in politics was beyond his reach.

In 1854, Lincoln’s life changed dramatically. Under the guidance of his long-time rival,Senator Stephan Douglas, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, a law which repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and changed the way that slavery was dealt with in the United States. Under the Missouri Compromise, slavery was essentially bottled up and restricted to the 13 southern states.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed slavery to expand into the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska, as well as to any other state, based on a majority vote. Lincoln, and other residents of northern states, were outraged that the evil of slavery could now spread like cancer to other states.


Lincoln was awakened like a sleeping giant. To stop this injustice became Lincoln’s all consuming passion.

“The passage of the bill roused me as never before,” said Lincoln (Letter to Joshua Speed, 1855).

A carefully crafted speech delivered in New York City, in 1860, propelled Lincoln onto the national stage like a hurricane, and established him as a credible Republican candidate for the presidency.

What awakens the sleeping giant in you?

If you can tie your deepest feelings to the thing that you do with your life, then you are following in Lincoln’s footsteps, and your life has true meaning.

My Path

Deep inside, I knew that I was more than just someone doomed to spend my life working an 8:00 to 5:00 job. I felt I had untapped skills and potential to write books and to be a public speaker. I started writing books in 2007, in my spare time, while working my regular job. My big opportunity came when I was laid off from my job, in 2010, and I was able to channel my energies into a writing and speaking career.

Focusing on Abraham Lincoln was an easy choice for me. He had long been a hero for me. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras in 1987, I read Carl Sandberg’s epic book, “Abraham Lincoln.” It was the greatest book I had ever read about the greatest man who had ever lived. It awakened in me the desire to both, become a writer, and to draw closer to Lincoln.

A “Lincoln-ized” Life

I am a short, skinny, balding, hair color enhanced 63-year-old former Peace Corps Volunteer. Abraham Lincoln is a human quote factory. Everything he said is either inspirational, insightful, or funny. Connecting with Abraham Lincoln is the best thing that ever happened to me.

When a radio host asked singer Don McLean, “What is the meaning of your song American Pie?” He replied, “It means that I never have to work again.”

In my case, linking my life with Abraham Lincoln does not mean that I never work again. However, my job is doing what I love most, to help individuals to “Lincoln-ize” their existence. I exhort others to fuse their spirit to that of Lincoln, and in so doing, to live a life filled with passion and purpose.

Coming Presentations:

June 5, 2018. How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories to Touch Hearts, Minds and Funny BonesArizona Society for Professional Hypnosis. Scottsdale Senior Community Center,1700 North Granite Reef Road, Meeting Room 7, Scottsdale, AZ, 6:30 pm.

June 7, 2018, “How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories,” Tucson Veterans Toastmasters Club, Pima Downtown University Campus, Roosevelt Building, room RV136, Tucson, AZ. Noon to 1:00 PM.

October 20, 2018. How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories to Touch Hearts, Minds and Funny BonesPrescott Valley Public Library (7401 E. Civic Circle), 1:00 – 2:00 pm. Prescott, AZ.

February 16, 2019. “How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories to Touch Hearts, Minds and Funny Bones.” Church of the Nazarne in the Village of Oak. Sedona, AZ, 1:30-2:30 pm.

September 20, 2019. “How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories to Touch Hearts, Minds and Funny Bones.” Tucson Civil War Study Group. Tucson, AZ, 10:00 am.

February 12, 2020. “How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories to Touch Hearts, Minds and Funny Bones.” Sun City Anthem @ Merrill Ranch in Florence, AZ, 2:00 pm.

 

NOW AVAILABLE!!!

 

Amazon Link

 

Related Links

Like Abe Lincoln, Be Prepared with a “Quip” or a Bit of Humor

Emulate Abraham Lincoln: Make Each Day Count

The “Secret” Daily Affirmations of Abraham Lincoln

Always greet everyone, no matter what they look like

Employ an Affable Lincolnesque Persona

Be a Generous Listener, as Abe Lincoln Was

Deflect Criticism with Self-deprecating Humor

Always Say “Yes”

Be a Master of Disaster – Ponder the big picture

Nourish humor and tell stories, so people say — “I felt like I had known him/her my whole life and we had long been friends.”

RECENTLY RELEASED . . .

The Keys to Success II: The Best is Yet to Come

Amazon Link

Nourish humor and tell stories, so people say — “I felt like I had known him/her my whole life and we had long been friends.”

Thursday, April 26th, 2018

 

“From the first moment of my interview with him (Abraham Lincoln) I seemed to myself to have been acquainted with him for years. For while he was among the most solid of men I ever met he was among the most transparent.” Frederick Douglass, author and orator.

“I really think that Mr. Lincoln’s propensity for story-telling has been exaggerated by his enemies. I had once the honor of conversing with him, or rather of hearing him converse, for several minutes, and in all that time he only told four little stories.” Sarah Jane Lippincott, author.

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If, like me, you are a stammering Neanderthal when it comes to small talk, the best way to connect with people is to tell a simple humorous story that reveals something about your life. That allows the other person see that you are open and friendly, and they feel comfortable responding to us with openness and friendliness.

The New Girlfriend

My son invited his new girlfriend over to our house for dinner. I made a batch of my heralded spaghetti. When we welcomed her into the house, her handshake was as limp as a wet fish. She only made eye contact with the spaghetti and responded with one syllable answers to the softball questions my wife and I lobbed to her.

To break the ice, I told a story.

I said, “I work as a substitute teacher in an elementary school. Wednesday I was walking my first grade class, in single file, to the library. Everything was going fine until one boy bent down to tie his shoe and all the kids behind fell over him, to the sound of bowling pins falling (in my mind).”

The girlfriend chuckled and the ice started to break. She smiled more, shared information about her family, and was more engaging. At least until our exceptionally friendly dog, Blackie, unexpectedly snatched the spaghetti off her plate.

Nobody saw that one coming.

Blackie, the Wonder Dog

Willie Lincoln – The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

Of all Lincoln sons, 11-year-old Willie Lincoln’s magnetic personality was most like that of Lincoln himself. Following Willie’s untimely death in 1863, Poet Nathaniel Parker Willis wrote the following article about Willie for The Home Journal. It provides a brilliant example of the prototypical friendly personality. I underlined key phrases.

Willie Lincoln

This little fellow had his acquaintances among his father’s friends, and I chanced to be one of them. He never failed to seek me out in the crowd, shake hands, and make some pleasant remark; and this, in a boy of ten years of age, was, to say the least, endearing to a stranger. But he had more than mere affectionateness. His self-possession—aplomb, as the French call it— was extraordinary.

I was one day passing the White House, when he was outside with a play-fellow on the sidewalk. Mr. Seward (Secretary of State) drove in, with Prince Napoleon; and, in a mock-heroic way—terms of intimacy evidently existing between the boy and the Secretary—the official gentleman took off his hat, and Napoleon did the same, all making the young prince President a ceremonious salute.

Not a bit staggered with the homage, Willie drew himself up to his full height, took off his little cap with graceful self-possession, and bowed down formally to the ground, like a little ambassador. They drove past, and he went on unconcernedly with his play: the impromptu readiness and good judgment being clearly a part of his nature.

His genial and open expression of countenance was none the less ingenuous and fearless for a certain tincture of fun; and it was in this mingling of qualities that he so faithfully resembled his father.

The vivid lessons we learn from Willie Lincoln are that he:

1) greeted others by shaking hands and making a pleasant remark;

2) displayed a graceful confidence;

3) had a genial and open countenance; and,

4) mixed fun and formality together.

Political Humor

There is a distinct difference between the self-confidence of Willie Lincoln and the self-centeredness of politicians. Yet, making fun of the excesses of their fellow elected officials, is a proven way that politicians connect with constituents. Senator Mo Udall, no exception to the rule, (Too Funny to Be President) illustrates this technique in his story about two congressional colleagues.

George Smathers was running against Claude Pepper in a Senate race. In a speech in rural Florida, Smathers did a euphemistic hatchet job on Pepper. Smathers said,

“Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that,” Smathers went on, “but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law, and he has a sister who was once a thespian in New York. Worst of all,” Smathers said mournfully, “it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper, before his marriage, practiced celibacy.”

Everybody can relate to the pompous and self-absorbed nature of politicians. Like the kitten that attacks its own image in the mirror, it is reliable approach to share humor and to connect with others.

As Will Rogers observed,

“About all I can say for the United States Senate is that it opens with a prayer and closes with an investigation.”

 

Upcoming Pesentations:

June 5, 2018. How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories to Touch Hearts, Minds and Funny BonesArizona Society for Professional Hypnosis. Scottsdale Senior Community Center,1700 North Granite Reef Road, Meeting Room 7, Scottsdale, AZ, 6:30 pm.

October 20, 2018. How Abraham Lincoln Used Stories to Touch Hearts, Minds and Funny BonesPrescott Valley Public Library (7401 E. Civic Circle), 1:00 – 2:00 pm. Prescott, AZ.

 

NOW AVAILABLE!!!

Amazon Link

 

 

Amazon Link

Related Links

Like Abe Lincoln, Be Prepared with a “Quip” or a Bit of Humor

Emulate Abraham Lincoln: Make Each Day Count

The “Secret” Daily Affirmations of Abraham Lincoln

Always greet everyone, no matter what they look like

Employ an Affable Lincolnesque Persona

Be a Generous Listener, as Abe Lincoln Was

Deflect Criticism with Self-deprecating Humor

Always Say “Yes”

Be a Master of Disaster – Ponder the big picture

Awaken the Sleeping Giant Within – The Abe Lincoln Way