Cover Photo Credit: Winston Churchill in 1941 Wikimedia Commons
I don’t pretend to know all about Winston Churchill. But as many people, I’ve been inspired by some of his quotes.
I’m sharing with you here 5 lessons I learned over the past few weeks reading various pieces on such an important figure of history:
Be Perseverant, Be A Better Person
“Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential” — Winston Churchill
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill
I don’t consider myself a particularly strong or intelligent person. However, I’m able to accomplish a lot because I’m consistent in acting towards my goals.
But it wasn’t always so.
The day I decided to learn 3 new skills every month and continually practice every day is the day I unlocked my potential in so many areas I didn’t know I could actually do.
What good is it to think that we don’t have the strength or intelligence to do something?
A lot of times we don’t even give ourselves the chance. We don’t even try.
I challenge you to try something you don’t think you have the strength or intelligence to do. Deconstruct it. Plan how you’ll be able to achieve it in a month. Or something longer, it doesn’t matter.
You’ll notice that if put continuous effort, you will eventually accomplish it.
Be Courageous
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill
In the face of defeat, finding the courage to move forward is all but easy.
In order to achieve some of our higher goals, we will have failures. These failures defeat us. We need not let that happen.
That’s one thing I like about reading biographies. We all know how great people are in their peak, yet we forget all the hardships they had to go through to get where they are today.
They had the courage to press on during hard times. I don’t know of anyone who achieved great things without failing, many times, but picking themselves up and having the courage to move forward.
Be A Giver
“We make a living by what we get, but we make life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
This is a very powerful quote for me personally.
After traveling the world for a year, I realized that life is all about giving back.
There’s nothing more satisfying than helping others achieve their goals.
I want to make giving a part of my life going forward.
Back when I was a kid, I didn’t understand why my mother gave everything she had for everyone even though she had nothing. She has always been a giver, yet never seemed to get anything back in return.
I was wrong. Happiness from others is more than enough.
Genuinely give and you’ll get genuine love back.
Be Forward-Thinking
“What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?”— Winston Churchill
It’s not by chance that a lot of people see Elon Musk as their role model. He’s one of the few entrepreneurs who is willing to risk all his assets in order to move humanity forward.
Not everyone agrees with his ideas, yet no one can deny that at least he’s one of the most forward-thinking entrepreneurs of our time.
And I’m not comparing Musk’s achievements, with Churchill’s, I’m just giving a more recent example.
Just yesterday, I was watching “Daughters of Destiny” on Netflix. It’s a documentary about Shanti Bhavan, a school that educates kids of the lowest cast so they have a chance at accomplishing great things in life. It’s more complex than that, so I encourage you to watch it also to have a better understanding.
What I’m coming at is: Dr. George started that school with the future in mind. He recognized that to bring change to a country with deep traditions, it has to start from a new generation. They onboard kids from the age of 4.
Imagine.
To see the results of their labour, they have to wait 14 years until the kid is ready to make their own space in the world!
I personally feel like he’s on the right track and it resonates very well with Churchill’s quote.
Conclusion
Apply continuous effort, become a better person, have the courage to withstand failure, give back and make the world a better place.
These are 5 great lessons from one of Britain’s most influential figure.
Any of these quotes or lessons resonate with you?
Thanks for reading! :)