Could You Have As Big An Impact On The World As Churchill, Lincoln, Mandela and Jobs?

I’ve been thinking about history’s great men.

It’s usually during December that I have time over the holidays to read a biography. Churchill, Lincoln, Mandela, Jobs.

Of all the hundreds of books I read, these tend to linger with me the longest. It’s easy to guess why. These people have achieved great (GREAT) things during their lifetime. Naturally they’re remembered for this and as a result we, as those who remain after them, hold them in the highest regard.

We put them on a pedestal.

Reading their biographies, for many, would reinforce that position. For me, I tend to look for all the things that would effectively take the subject down a peg or two.

That’s right! In my world, I would like histories greats to be taken down a peg or two and you should want that too.

It’s for completely selfish reasons. Here is why …

Could you imagine yourself having as big of an impact on the world as Winston Churchill?

What about fighting an initially unpopular cause, sending boys and young men to fight and die on your doorstep, in order to preserve the Union and in so doing, abolish slavery?

How about being stuck in a tiny jail cell, being terribly mistreated (Mandela wasn’t even allowed to play football/soccer, with the other prisoners), only to be released 27 years later to preach a message of reconciliation and peace?

Or simply, having the vision to reimagine (see what I did there Apple?) products and create markets where there were none before?

No! Of course you can’t imagine it. With the partial exception of Steve Jobs, these acts are those of unselfish men, serving a purpose far greater then their own need.

Let’s take each of them down a peg or two…

Winston Churchill the apparently decisive, visionary man, didn’t have all the answers. He had sleepless nights wrestling with decisions. Trouble dealing with the choices set out before him. He also at times, while in the thick of the war, felt as though all hope may be lost. The evidence shows he was a terrible bricklayer (which he loved doing) as well as an alcoholic.

Honest Abe, wasn’t so honest. In his early political career he was known to bad mouth others from the soap box to anyone that would listen. He was also known to go back on agreements and allegiances whenever it suited him.

In Nelson Mandela’s case, he was head of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Also known as MK, this was the armed wing of the ANC. The man who later became histories greatest reconciliatory leader, was instrumental in planning guerrilla insurgency (where have you heard that word lately) type warfare that affected South Africans beyond just the institution he was fighting against. (In fairness to Mandela, he did support peaceful protest as the first step before taking more extreme measure).

Steve Jobs, may have been a visionary when it came to products and crafting new markets, but he didn’t treat people well in his early career. He was a selfish man, who acted like a spoilt child when he didn’t get what he wanted. Seriously, when last did you see your boss cry and lose their temper when things didn’t go their way? Some may argue that he got the best out of people, but there is nothing good about “riding the hero to shit-head roller coaster” every single day of your working life.

Side Note: Far too many entrepreneurs who read the Jobs biography chose to treat their people the same way as Jobs did in the early days. To those entrepreneurs; I wish you all the opportunity to be on the receiving end of that treatment in the very near future. I hope it gets the best out of you too.

Now that they’ve been taken down a peg or two, I feel much better.

You see the problem is that if these men were so great, if the pedestal is too high, our opportunity to aspire to deeds that equal or exceed theirs will be lost. We’ll trick ourselves into thinking that they were super-human and had abilities that far exceed our own, which would be a lie. We’d use knowledge of our failings as evidence that excuses us from rising to the occasion.

These greats were all born far from perfect. They made mistakes. Had regrets. Went through a journey of self discovery. And in the end, used the learning from their experiences, and rose to the occasion when it was presented.

Will you?