Develop a Leadership Style Like Lincoln’s and Gain Respect From Your Enemies And Rivals

A man’s true-to-life tortoise and the hare story

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

Lincoln’s ability to retain his emotional balance in such difficult situations was rooted in acute self-awareness and an enormous capacity to dispel anxiety in constructive ways.”
― Doris Kearns Goodwin

Have you ever gone through a rough patch in your life and later realized the experience prepared you for some future success?

Few people knew more about the benefits of hardships than Abraham Lincoln. At a young age, he endured the loss of family members and suffered a strained relationship with his father. However, these experiences only strengthened Lincoln’s resolve and ambitions.

In the 1840s, after Lincoln’s party, the Whigs split over the slavery issue, he joined the Republican Party. The outspoken statesman Salmon Chase, New York Senator William Henry Seward, and prominent St. Louis statesman Edward Bates were among the party’s high-profile members. These men all became rivals in the 1860 race for the presidency.

Lincoln quickly built momentum while his rivals rested on their laurels, thinking him to be no threat. After becoming president, however, Lincoln brought these disgruntled opponents together to create…