Photo by navycrackerjack74

It’s funny how most people believe the late Abraham Lincoln is one of the best examples of perseverance. It’s true, he’s an incredible success story. A kid born in backwoods Kentucky worked hard, became educated and eventually became the President of the United States. Pretty incredible.

However, most people think that the most fascinating aspect of Lincoln’s was that he constantly failed at life, but kept pushing on despite his circumstances. This is partly true, Lincoln did face many challenges in his life that he overcame. However, Americans have somewhat glorified the image of Lincoln as a symbol of perseverance. It turns out Lincoln didn’t have as many disastrous failures as folklore would let us believe.

The most compelling part of Lincoln’s life isn’t that he was constantly persevering. There are tons of examples of people who overcame obstacles to find success.  No, the most fascinating aspect of Lincoln was how he consistently put himself in a position to succeed.

Many people overlook this trait when it comes to success. They attribute Lincoln’s being elected as President as circumstance, that he was in the “right place at the right time”. This is 100% true. However, how did he get to that place? Successful people do things every day to put themselves into a successful position.

“I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” – Abraham Lincoln

So in order to learn from the master, lets look at ways Lincoln lived that put himself into a successful position.

1. Carry your notes with you

Lincoln was famous for his large top hat, perched on top of his towering 6′ 4″ frame. His top hat was also famous for another thing: keeping notes inside of it. Lincoln was constantly scribbling notes to himself and stowing the notes in his top hat, so as not to forget his thoughts.

Ideas never seem to come at the most opportune time, and Mr. Lincoln must have known this well. Keeping track of ideas and managing idea capture is essential to any entrepreneur. Take Mr. Lincoln’s advice and always keep some device handy for capturing ideas: a scrap of paper, an iPhone, or a moleskine. Anything that allows you to save the idea long enough to revisit it later.

Source: Wikipedia2. Learn the value of hard work

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” – Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln was an incredibly hard worker throughout his life. Not only did he understand the value of hard work, he also realized that it’s not necessarily the best part of life. “My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it.” Many times entrepreneurs look to find the quickest way to make a buck. This kind of success only happens 99.9% of the time. It takes working hard at something for a long time before you start to see success.

3. Didn’t fret about formalities

The President had a hard time with formalities, especially when it came to fashion. He despised dressing up in things like suits and gloves, and was much more comfortable walking barefoot around the White House (a social no-no). For this behavior Abe was constantly called names like “ogre” from the more genteel folk of the time.

So many times we’re worried about the formalities of creating a startup: hiring lawyers, moving to The Valley, thinking about scaling, getting staff in place… the list could go on. Instead of worrying about what everyone expects you to, just start creating. All of the formalities and will fall into place later.

4. Live fearlessly

Directly after the Union had taken the Confederate capitol of Richmond Virgina at the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln marched with a handful of men into the capitol city, the heart of the enemies territory. The night of his assassination at Ford’s Theatre, Lincoln denied a large security detail to accompany him to play. Even though he knew he would probably be assassinated at some point, he wasn’t about to live his life in fear because of it. It was this same attitude that allowed a relatively unknown politician to run and win the office of the President.

Fear is a crippling thing, especially to the entrepreneur. There are always a billion things that could go wrong. You just might fail. But you’ll never know until you try.

5. Don’t be afraid to laugh and play

If Lincoln knew how to work hard, he knew how to play even harder. Abe always made time to play with his children, even while commanding the most stressful and gut-wrenching war the U.S. has ever seen. There are many tales of the President playing with his children on the White House lawn or chasing the children through the White House.

If you can’t have fun working on your own ideas, then why bother? Many times entrepreneurs take themselves way too seriously. It is, after all, just work.

6. Brush off criticism

Even compared to the current President, Lincoln was criticized considerably more. It seemed like everyone had problems with his policy. Yet Lincoln still managed to brush off criticism like a seasoned pro. For example, once Lincoln was accused of being two-faced. In response, he simply stated “If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”

Entrepreneurs get plenty of criticism for their ideas. Yet we can’t take it personally. Sometimes the best way to handle of criticism is to either ignore it orbrush it off with a quick joke. At the same time, we have to be open to constructive criticism. These criticisms will help us shape and fine-tune our ideas into something better.

Source: Wikipedia7. Spend time with friends and family

Often we entrepreneurs get so caught up in our own little worlds that we forget to spend time with those closest to us. So many entrepreneurs do anything (yes, even drugs) to stay awake and work hours Chuck Norris himself couldn’t live up to. Lincoln was one of the busiest men in the country during his presidency, yet he still made friends and family a priority. Lincoln knew the importance of disconnecting and interacting with the people who care most about us. Hanging with friends and family helps refill your tank and keeps us grounded.

8. Don’t be afraid to fail

While this may be one of the most trumpeted aspects of Lincoln’s life, he still did fail quite a bit.    “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” Failure is essential to any entrepreneur. It builds character and allows you to see what won’t work. Another famous president Teddy Roosevelt once said that “There is no effort without error and shortcoming”. It’s not until you fail that you show your true colors.

9. Keep Reading and Learning

Everyone knows the story of Lincoln doing his schoolwork by candlelight in his boyhood home, taking his schoolwork into his own hands. Yet many may not know that Lincoln was an avid reader and took time out his stressful day to read Shakespeare and other classic literature. During the Summer of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, Abe could be found with the Iliad in his hand. He knew that staying sharp meant learning about things unrelated to politics.

10. Simple is almost always best

The Gettysburg Address is one of the best examples of simplicity in politics. Given at a dedication to the Soldier’s National Cemetery, Lincoln followed a 2-hour speech by orator Edward Everett. The Gettysburg Address clocked in at just over 2 minutes, yet became the most quoted speeches in U.S. history.

More often than not, the simplest solution is the best solution. Don’t spend13,000 words on a speech, when you can say it more effectively in 271 (in the case of Lincoln and Everett).

11. Don’t fear adversity

Lincoln never shied away from controversy. He was once quoted as saying “No matter how much the cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.” And he was exactly right.  You’ll never please everyone. There will always be critics to what you do. Sticking to your guns and following your heart is what defines who you are and will shape your success in the future.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.” – Abraham Lincoln

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Looking at the same boring things everyday can really stifle imagination and ultimately turn your brain into lifeless mush. (Well, it’s not that bad, but close.) Fortunately, the internet can help with this dilemma. By checking out sites that promote creativity, you can counteract the effects of having to look at the same boring things every day and get those brain juices pumping again.

The beauty of creativity is that random things can trigger it, without it making sense. Looking at creative things can stimulate more creativity. Here are some sites that I’ve found that spark my own creativity, with the aide of art, music, or information. You may not view these sites as creativity boosters at first blush, but they can really help inspire in times of need.

• Muxtape – Oh baby. It’s becoming less and less obscure, but this little website allows people to upload up to 12 songs, creating a digital mix mux tape. However, the real beauty is that the homepage of Muxtaple.com features random muxtapes. And they tend to be just eclectic and awesome. So many genres, so many different artists… you can’t help but feel a little inspired when perusing the muxtapes on the homepage. For example, I’m listening to a great blend of music on this muxtape as I write this post.For a little added bonus for Mac users, there’s a way to view the muxtapes in coverflow fashion.
  
• Quotations Book – Quotations Book is the most polished-looking quote site I’ve found, and even has
  a dashboard widget to boot. I find that looking at quotes from people much smarter than me is a great way to think creatively. Tapping into wisdom is a great way to evaluate ideas, and also gives inspiration. I’ve written whole posts based on being inspired by a single quote.
• Flickr Interesting – Great photography is a perfect place to find some inspiration for ideas. Fortunately, Flickr’s editors have taken care of digging through massive amounts of photos to showcase some of the best
  images.
• neat-o-rama – Neat-o-rama finds some of the most interesting links from around the web.
  You won’t find anything practical here. For example, one of today’s posts is about
  an Orangutan that spear fishes. Hrm.
• logopond – You might think that corporate logos may not seem that interesting or inspiring. And you’d quickly change your mind after visiting logopond. They feature some of the most beautiful and inspiring logos that will simply blow your mind. A great stop for any designer looking for some inspiration.
• Del.icio.us Interesting Tag – Popular bookmarking site Del.icio.us is a great place to find inspiring content, and a great place to look is the interesting page. The Popular page is great for interesting finds as
  well.
• 43 Things – Reading about other people’s goals and aspirations is an incredible creativity booster. Seeing what other people aspire to do and how they’re working towards them really helps define your own goals and dreams.
• Damn Interesting – The name says it all. This site is much like Neat-o-rama, except it tends to focus more on historical bits of interesting, as opposed to interesting news.
• Behance – A great online magazine about how artists, musicians and entrepreneurs use creativity in their work. Incredibly well written, the Behance guys know just how to fuse creativity with productivity. (They’re also a member of LifeRemix, the blog network I co-founded.)
• Wikipedia Random Article – If you’re looking for something interesting in a pinch, look no further than Wikipedia’s random link. Each time the link is clicked, a random Wikipedia article pops up. Incredibly
  interesting, and fun to use.
• Post Secret – Slightly more bizarre than the other mentioned sites, Post Secret allows people to anonymously mail their secrets on a homemade postcard, which are then posted to the site. For some reason seeing homemade material really brings out the creative side in me. Which brings me nicely
  to the next site…
• Etsy – Etsy is a site that features homemade crafts. You can find just about anything here, but I recommend looking at the gift guides for the really inspiring stuff. Need a Zune
  sweater? How about dolls of the members of the Ramones circa 1977? Creativity at it’s crafty
  finest.
• WebUrbanist – WebUrbanist is a great little blog that showcases some of the most interesting articles about urban art, architecture, and anything interesting about urban culture. Here’s an article that might inspire
  you: 7 abandon wonders of the former Soviet Union.
• Webupon – If you’re looking for interesting but helpful news around the web, Webupon is a great resource. A lot of great how-to guides and news for generating ideas.
• NPR’s “Day to Day” Show – Ok, NPR is not that obscure. But the “Day to Day” show is an incredible way to find interesting tidbits from society. For example, Friday’s show featured a San Francisco bar who was just certified as a green business. Each of the drinks is made from all sorts of organic ingredients.
  How can that not inspire?!
• FFFFound – Aside from having an odd name, FFFFound showcases some of the best photography and artwork from around the web. The site is similar to Flickr Interesting, but isn’t limited to just the Flickr site.
• Del.icio.us Popular: Creativity and Inspiration – Last but certainly not least, the Del.icio.us popular pages for inspiration and creativity are great resources for finding stories that have been recently inspiring other people and yielding creativity. Using crowdsourcing to find creativity-igniting content is always a great idea. If it’s inspiring to other people, odds are it will inspire you too.

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