Leadership in Turbulent Times

The Formative Years

Though vastly different, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson shared many things in common. Each possessed surpassing intelligence and resilience. All sensed their destiny early in life.

• Lincoln – Lincoln’s intelligence and photographic memory inspired ambition beyond his humble origins. He nurtured his oratory skills and ability to explain complicated matters with simplification and stories. When he was a boy, Lincoln’s height, strength and athleticism gained him respect. He endeared himself to people though generosity, kindness, and a curious and sociable demeanor. But he believed his memory and skills were a function of hard and persistent work, not gifts. Lincoln had little formal education; his overbearing, sometimes abusive father believed it was a waste. Lincoln taught himself by reading widely to feed his curiosity. He seems to have been born with unusual compassion and amiability, for example, refusing to harm animals despite his frontier upbringing. Despite setbacks, Lincoln built humble self-confidence. Before he...