Abraham Lincoln could have authored self-help books. He not only knew how to organize and lead, but he knew how to put his ideas into simple, clear, and concise language.
Take his remark, “Things may come to those who wait. But only the things left by those who hustle.”
It’s clever, it’s short, and it shows that idle folks have everything to lose.
The four quotes I’ve selected get at the heart of Lincoln’s wisdom and also his ability to say a lot without saying much. We can learn from Lincoln’s ideas and from his economy with words.
4 Lincoln Quotes Every Leader Should Know
1. I’m a slow walker, but I never walk back.
2. Whatever you are, be a good one.
3. I fear explanations explanatory of things explained.
4. Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
There are those that say: “I work well with others when they leave me alone.”
The following presentation isn’t for them.
Partnerships can drain, dilute, and deplete creativity and innovation. Ernest efforts to ‘work’ side-by-side, turn into long hours of hanging out, making jokes, and producing little.
Yet some partnerships can energize, enliven, and excite visions and agendas. Just look at the following three examples:
There is some contention as to the originality and authorship of said rules. The 14-or 15-year old Washington might have copied or paraphrased them from other sources. Still, it’s remarkable that he should care about his mannerisms and presentation so keenly. He must have felt that these things mattered and could, with attention, help him rise economically and socially.
It goes without saying that all leaders would be wise to follow the above rules.
3 George Washington Quotes Every Leader Should Know
1. “Be careful not to let saliva escape with your words, nor any spittle fly into the faces of those with whom you converse.”
2. “Put not off your Cloths in the presence of Others, nor go out of your Chamber half Drest.”
3. “Do not pare your nails in public, much less gnaw them.”
When people think about pretzels and beer—they probably imagine a sports bar. Mitchell Greenberg thinks about marshmallows.
Mitchell’s marshmallow mania begins a year and half ago. After 15 years of production design he was tired—and also curious. He wanted to know how to make marshmallows.[1]
So Mitchell took to the kitchen with no culinary experience and made his first batch of marshmallows. To his shock he discovered that handmade marshmallows aren’t like their fluffy, flavorless, manufactured brethren. They’re in a different country all together. They are chewy, packed with flavor, and they possess a real, interesting texture.
“I shared them with my friends and family and they loved them,” Mitchell says over the phone. “I had a positive reaction from everyone. When they taste the marshmallows you can see the smile on their face.”
Buoyed by the wide smiles Mitchell spent six months refining his marshmallow recipe and creating original flavors. Yes, he has created a Pretzels and Beer marshmallow. And a Ginger -Wasabi one was well.
This is when Mitchell decided he would open up MitchMallows. “Candy,” Mitchell explains, “is memories…Everyone has a good feeling about candy.” He knew he had a product that could sell and he knew there would be a market.
But having an idea is one thing—implementing it is something else entirely. Luckily for Mitchell he learned the pragmatics of opening his own culinary business with help from Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
Putting his time, assets, and energy into marshmallows was a big step—but it wasn’t a forced decision. “It felt right,” Mitchell says. “I agonize over details, but ultimately I go with my gut.”
The process of opening a culinary operation in New York City took Mitchell another half year and he eventually found a rental kitchen space through the Queens Economic Development Corp’s Long Island City’s entrepreneurial space
Now, Mitchell spends about half of his time making MitchMallows and the other half keeping his business in order from behind a computer.
“Making marshmallows,” Mitch says, “is a Zen moment for me. I even lose track of time when I’m making them.”
I’d also wager Mitchell probably loses track of all his adventurous ideas. Right now MitchMallows has around 36 flavors and the list is growing. “My goal,” Mitchell says, “is to create a whole meal in marshmallow form.”
But Mitchell isn’t exactly a mad, whimsical, Willy-Wonka character. He has a chef’s love of food, creative new ideas, and the guts (and patience) to take them through a test run.
His ideas would make any molecular gastronomist jealous. Consider his Tomato MitchMallow. After roasting it over a flame he puts it between bread and adds lettuce and a piece of bacon. It’s a BLT crossed with a s’more. It’s weird—but it works.
At the core MitchMallows is about new ideas and passion. “Where my mind takes me,” Mitchell says, “my marshmallows go.” But there’s also something else. Mitchell has the energy to try out new ideas, regardless of how far off the map they may seem and he has the political skills to enlist support from local organizations geared to help small businesses. He’s a pragmatic leader who pushes an agenda, gets things done, and makes marshmallows.
[1] For those of you who don’t know how to make marshmallows: it’s not a new recipe. In fact, it’s 4,000 years old and can be traced back to the Egyptians who made the chewy treats from marsh mallow plant sap mixed with honey.
Isaac Asimov woke up at 6 A.M. everyday. By 7:30 A.M. he’d be at his typewriter. He wouldn’t leave it until 10 P.M.. According to Harlan Ellison, Asimov “Had writers block once. It was the worst ten minutes of his life.”
Asimov was prolific, but it was largely due to his hard working nature. He wrote in his autobiography, “It is a point of pride with me that though I have an alarm clock, I never set it, but get up at 6 A.M. anyway.”
Asimov figured he worked so hard because his father expected him to help out at his Brooklyn based candy store long before and long after school hours. “I am still showing my father” Asimov has explained, “[that]I’m not a folyack.”
Asimov can teach us a great deal about leadership, initiative, work-ethic, and learning from failures.
Following are some of the leadership lessons Asimov would have taught were he given the chance:
Abraham Lincoln could have authored self-help books. He not only knew how to organize and lead, but he knew how to put his ideas into simple, clear, and concise language.
