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Lessons from History on Leadership and Personal Development

There are some great books and authors out there with amazing insights to offer on leadership and becoming the best possible person you can be. Some of them come from names you might immediately recognize, or titles shared over the years – Think and Grow Rich from Napoleon Hill, or Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. These books teach lessons you’ve heard and learned over the years. Their wisdom is undeniable, but for the most part, they are not going to bring you a new view of those lessons.

So, sometimes you just want something to expand your understanding, offer you a new way of seeing things to deepen your skills, and even bring excitement flowing into you because all of a sudden you see everything in a new way. That happens rarely in our world unless you are one of those people who has just fallen deeply in love and everything seems to be more colorful, more meaningful, and just plain fun. Or, of course, you may be a sci-fi junkie and love the new worlds created in those stories. But beyond those options, occasionally you come across a book or teacher who helps you find that new world.

A writer with a firm grasp of logic and science as well as an understanding of how people think, communicate, and bond. One who can take those skills and blend it with knowledge of history to create a new perspective. There are a few writers out there capable of such feats, but one you may not know about is Orrin Woodward. And in his first book without a co-author, Resolved: 13 Resolutions For Life (found at Amazon), you’ll find a book written by a man with a BS Degree in engineering from Kettering, one of the top 20 Leaders according to Inc Magazine, a man who loves to review and study history, as well as being extremely popular on the personal development and leadership speaking tour.

Resolves presents the reader with 13 resolutions to level-up becoming better as a person and leader, giving examples from history and decisions made by those leading to get society through difficult times. If you like the books that give you a number of different ways to change, teach you how to make those changes permanent, and why those changes bring you to a better place, than this one should be on your bookshelf. It should go right next to Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, John C. Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership, and Tony Robbins’ Inner Strength: Harnessing the Power of your 6 primal needs.

As one reader described Woodward’s Resolves, “It outlines 13 resolutions every person should make in our modern world, and give specific helps on how to turn them into habits. Indeed, this book could be titled The 13 Habits of Success and Happiness for Everyone.”

When looking at history and what great leaders can teach us, consider Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Harry S. Truman, Mother Teresa, MLK, Jr., and Steve Jobs. Each offers a unique view and had different lessons to teach about leadership, strength, personal development, courage, and overcoming obstacles. Each spent their lives making themselves and the world around them better.

Gandhi said, “The history of the world is full of men who rose to leadership, by sheer force of self-confidence, bravery, and tenacity.” Truman made his point that “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” And reminding us all that we can only start from where we are, is MLK Jr. when he said, “If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”