One of my favorite Abraham Lincoln quotes:President_abraham_lincoln_2

"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."

This quote is appealing even beyond the historical significance of slavery in our country.  It speaks to anyone and everyone who will tell you what you should and shouldn’t do, who will represent facts as though they have experienced them, who will give advice when they’ve not experienced what they describe, and who will dare to make the rules for a game they haven’t played nor intend to play.  As another quote says, "Talk is cheap, it takes money to buy whiskey."  Those who are "doing" should never be at the mercy of those who are "managing."  The best leaders are always those who can, and have, performed well at the endeavor.   

Slavery was propogated for years in our country because good people listened for too long to those who painted it with colors other than the truth.  Lincoln cut through all that with one elegant sentence.  As a matter of fact, his quote is timeless and can apply to anything we might consider.  Try this.  Substitute anything for the word "slavery" and see how the quote works. If thinking is asking questions to ourselves and then working out the answers, and quality thinking is the asking of quality questions, then this little trick ought to elevate the quality of our thinking just a bit!

Think. 

Act. 

Lead.

Then think some more.

 

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7 responses to “Lincoln Quote”

  1. dean clouse Avatar
    dean clouse

    Replace slavery with abortion…works perfectly. Great quote, thanks buddy.

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  2. Liz Avatar
    Liz

    Chris and Orrin,
    Hard to be uninspiring when flinging Lincoln’s nuggets. I am awfully thankful that the Lord chose to bless our nation with a man from whom the world can continue to learn even generations after he left the earth. Talk about the far-reaching effects of a leader who cast a vision. He personifies what makes me proud to be an American.
    The leadership power point (based on LLR)that I had ready for my National Guard unit in December got pre-empted by a group of visiting vets. I’ll be presenting “What a Leader Brings” in January and am looking forward to it. I’ve been sending random leadership quotes from the book to my platoon on a regular basis. I’m having a ball learning/discovering how to lead (finally) and I’m quite certain that my very raw enthusiasm, however misguided or mistaken it sometimes is, is making an impact. As a former choir director once said, “If you’re going to sing a wrote note, sing it loudly. No one’ll ever notice it wasn’t the right one.”
    It’s hard to find appropriate words to describe the impact the TEAM’s training system has had on my life as a mother, wife and soldier. Lately, it’s been just plain fun to get up in the morning. How do you put a price on that?
    I think your Caption Contest gave you a better idea of how many people plug into your book blogs frequently. We may not always respond but it doesn’t mean your columns are falling on dead ears. We are all listening! Keep talking!
    Liz

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  3. Chris Brady Avatar
    Chris Brady

    Liz:
    Again, thanks for your warm comments. I look forward to hearing how your presentation goes, and I have no doubt that you are leading effectively. Keep sharing, serving, and leading, and thanks again for your service to our country!
    God bless!
    Chris

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  4. Rick Hubbard Avatar

    I love your use of Winston Churchill in LLR. I made a little video of him endorsing your book. It’s on http://www.aleadershiprevolution.com Hope you like it.
    Rick

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  5. Chris Brady Avatar
    Chris Brady

    Rick:
    Very creative! Your website is good, too!
    Lead on!
    Chris

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  6. Staci Eibert Avatar
    Staci Eibert

    Chris,
    My workplace is full of people who take the Golden Rule in the context of, “If they’re being rude to me, then I can be rude back because that is how they want to be treated!”
    Thank you for this nugget from Abraham Lincoln. I love having one more piece of ammunition for use in the Media War.
    God bless!
    Staci Eibert

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  7. Jeffrey Mayville - Ontario Avatar

    Hey Chris and Orrin,
    Your approaches to leadership and being part of The Team, have had a tremendous impact on my family and my relationship with God. Thank you for instilling great morals and principles in my life, and many other lives, who can now share them through my influence. I truly understand you care.
    God Bless.
    Jeffrey Mayville.

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