As I experience more and more of life, one concept that I've become enamored with is perseverance. Perseverance is defined as doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. Coincidentally, my word for the year, "faith," is defined as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews11:1). My mind sees obvious parallels. I hope I'm not the only one.
All that being said, I love a good story of perseverance and achievement. It serves as inspiration for those of us that are still pursuing our substance with no evidence in sight. Which is why I thoroughly enjoyed Lincoln Unbound: How an Ambitious Young Railsplitter Saved the American Dream-and How We Can Do It Again by Rich Lowry.
President Lincoln came from humble means. He worked hard and ultimately earned political and financial success. He had a number of setbacks though. Difficulty finding work. Lost elections. The book humanized someone that I think it's easy to assume led an easy, mistake free life that was pre-destined for greatness. Quite the opposite, he worked hard to achieve success. Who would of thought that one of the most successful presidents in history had a rocky professional start just like I did? What should I take away from that?
The answer is that the sky's the limit. The American Dream is real and it can be just as alive today as it was in Lincoln's time. Don't let anyone tell you that we have to settle for anything other than our dreams. Lowry lays out a nice call to action on recovering the "Lincoln Ethic." I highly recommend checking it out!
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