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the best of us
Morning Reading for February 13
Abraham Lincoln once defined statesmanship as the art of “getting the best from men who all too often were intent on giving nothing better than their worst”.
It’s easy to read something like that and put ourselves in the very large shoes and top hat of the president, wanting to bring out the best of the people around us.
But how often are we on the other side of the equation? Bitter at how we’ve been treated, angry at the situation itself, worrying and wondering with reason itself on our side.
We talk to ourselves about how leadership doesn’t get it, about how the clients don’t understand, about how the situation is fucked for reasons beyond our control and we’re the ones stuck picking up the pieces. All of this is almost certainly true. And all of this represents a perfect path to making sure it stays that way.
Is it possible for us to find—within ourselves, brought out by others—something other than our worst to add to a horrible situation?
A little optimism, a little integrity, a little dream of things possibly going right?
Could we offer the world something better than the worst of ourselves?
Thank you. Let’s have a great day.