Timeless Tips For Success From Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln was not a lucky guy.

At age seven, he was forced to make money for his family.

At nine, his mother passed, forcing him to work even harder.

At twenty Lincoln lost his seemingly stable job as store clerk ... and then by twenty-three he went into debt trying to become partner in a small store.

Three years later, just as his store was picking up speed, his business partner died, leaving him in even more debt.

At twenty-eight, after dating a girl for four years, he got up the gumption to propose. She said no.

Story continues below

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Later, when he did eventually marry, his son died at age four.

At thirty-seven, Lincoln was elected to Congress... but... well... that was on his THIRD try. (He then failed to be re-elected. )

At forty-five, Lincoln ran for the Senate. Again: no-go.

At forty-seven Lincoln ran for vice-presidency. But... well...You got it. More no-go, amigo.

At fifty-one, Lincoln was elected President of the United States... which, considering his life resume of consistent failure, was a very snazzy title.

How did he achieve this great success? By holding onto some positive Lincoln thinkin.'

Even in the midst of the Civil War -- a war which claimed more American lives than any war in history thus far -- Lincoln issued a positive proclamation:

"It has seemed to me fit and proper that [the gifts of God] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens . . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens."

How could Lincoln have made such a positive plea during a time of such suffering?

Because Lincoln recognized that even in the midst of tough times, there was always something to be appreciative about.

Lincoln had a naturally grateful heart.

As a career coach I've seen how the power of gratitude can not only change a person's mood, but their results.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Make it a habit to end each day talking with your loved ones about what you appreciated about your day. What made you happy? Proud? Excited? Feel loved? By talking about it with your loved ones, you get double the perky perks, because you're not only reminding yourself to keep a grateful heart, you're connecting heart-to-heart!

Oh....and here are some more goodies which Lincoln was thinkin'...

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."

"You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish, if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose."

And my personal favorite Lincoln quote:

"Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

And you can QUOTE ME when I say, "No matter what happens today, make up your mind to be happy, dammit!"

Karen Salmansohn is the best selling author of THE BOUNCE BACK BOOK - which has a snazzy symbolic red rubber cover on the outside and inside tips on how to thrive in the face of adversity, setbacks and losses -- a book generously praised by Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Peter Guber, Keith Ferrazzi...and then some.

Comments

[joebiz]

Good post Karen, as always.

[vagabond78666]

in response to PUPADUP,my similar story is
I was driving down a main thoroughfare and pondering, why am i depressed?
I mentally scrolled through my mind searching for anything new or out of the ordinary
that could be the cause of my stress and was at a loss to pinpoint anything...when I saw
a a younger man early 20s jogging on the sidewalk...he seemed to be on stilts!!...a quick closer inspection and i realized he was a triple amputee...his leg prosthetics were the curved running "type
(i dunno the actual name) and he was missing a hand. He had the biggest smile and was running with childlike abandon.
I instantly teared up and designated him my hero.
so now when i am down..i think of that guy...and feel that if he can live life that fully,after what he has obviously been through and still does, then so can I

[TheBigOpinion]

Thank you for another very inspiring piece, Karen!

And...to the person below....say this Lincoln quote is not so...well.... Lincoln is FAMOUS for his Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation.

Its available all over the internet

http://members.aol.com/calebj/proclamation.html

and here

http://www.classicallibrary.org/lincoln/thanksgiving.htm

and here

http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm

etc etc etc

[max08]

Lincoln was NOT the first to declare the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving was declared a holiday by congressional proclamation in 1782 by the first US President elected after 1776, John Hanson. Hanson designed the Great Seal of the United States. See the Library of Congress copy here.
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/thanks/thanks.html

From the Belcher Foundation (American Colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher)

"About seven years prior to Washington's 1789 proclamation, the United States Continental Congress' Thanksgiving Proclamation urged the newly-formed American states to observe Thursday, November 28, 1782 as a Thanksgiving Day. The Congress' Proclamation was signed by the President of the Continental Congress, John Hanson (1721-1783), and the Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson (1729-1824), the co-designer of the Great Seal of the United States and a man who might have had a link to American Colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher."

[TheBigOpinion]

Thank you for another very inspiring piece, Karen!

And...to the person above who says this Lincoln quote is not so...well.... Lincoln is FAMOUS for his Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation.

Its available all over the internet

for example...

http://members.aol.com/calebj/proclamation.html

and here

http://www.classicallibrary.org/lincoln/thanksgiving.htm

and here

http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm

etc etc etc

[TheBigOpinion]

To the person above -- you're misinformed... See below...

Lincoln's Proclamation of Thanksgiving
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders like this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She wrote, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution." The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise."

According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary that he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

[TheBigOpinion]

Lincoln is famous for his Proclamation of Thanksgiving
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders like this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She wrote, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution." The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise."

According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary that he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

[kindablu]

Thank-you for this post. Quite timely.

[Pupadup4oBama]

Karen....I LOVE your articles.
a little anecdote of my own:
I met a woman the other day - probably around 55-60 years old, well she had lost her husband and daughter a few years ago, she's been diagnosed with a brain tumor and ovarian or cervical cancer (can't remember which at the moment) she had broken her foot, her apartment building was burned down by a crazy woman living in the building...and the list seemed to go on and on..but she had one of the biggest smiles and most upbeat personalities I've ever seen.
I will never forget her and I will always remember that even when times are tough (and I've had a few myself) it's how I choose to face them that will bring me happiness.