Paul Johnson’s “Churchill” Offers Life Lessons

You would think that everything that could be written about Winston Churchill has, or could be, written. Wrong. The Churchill “industry” keeps pumping out new books each year. One of the latest is among the best.

British historian Paul Johnson has written a small volume, 168 pages, and has packed in essential analysis of this remarkable man that will benefit all our readers. Why? Because Johnson focuses on incidents that teach us critical life lessons we all encounter. It reminds of us why we read the stories of great men and their deeds. We need inspiration, encouragement and motivation that we too can pass through this life and make a difference and leave a legacy. Johnson’s short book reminds us why Churchill’s story will live on.

The chapter, The Lessons of Failure, alone is worth the read. In 1915, during World War I, Churchill devised and implemented an ill-fated attack in the Dardanelles, Turkey. The thought was to open a new front and break the tide of war against Germany and its allies there, thus shortening the conflict. It failed miserable with the loss of life in the hundreds of thousands. Among the Commonwealth nations, Australia and New Zealand suffered extraordinary loss of life. Though later exonerated, Churchill bore the brunt of blame for the attack.

How he bounced back from this personal defeat, and others to come, is well told by Paul Johnson. I will leave you to read it for yourself. But let me summarize the author’s lessons from Churchill’s life. They form a wonderful primer on leading a successful life. He offers five lessons.

1. Always aim high. As a child Churchill was ignored by his parents and given very little encouragement. A beloved nanny raised him. Once old enough he was sent off to boarding school. He craved his parent’s attention but received little from them during his formative years.  Nevertheless, he was not crippled by resentment or anger. He always revered his parents, especially Randolph, his father. He wrote and spoke of them throughout his life with the highest regard. This emotional factor alone likely set him on the path to the greatness he achieved.
2. There is no substitute for hard work. Working sixteen–hour days he turned out multiple millions of words in books, articles, directives and speeches. I don’t know whether any other man of letters wrote as much as Churchill. He taught himself painting and built walls and ponds on his country home, Chartwell. He traveled, observed, and governed. This last job is probably the hardest of all. Governing is no easy task at any level. Yet, Churchill did it under stress, against opposition and he did it well.
3. He never allowed mistakes, disaster–personal or national–accidents, illnesses, unpopularity, and criticism to get him down. I have already mentioned the Dardanelles disaster. Johnson writes, “…his whole career was an exercise in how courage can be displayed, reinforced, guarded, and doled out carefully, heightened and concentrated, conveyed to others. Those uncertain of their courage can look to Churchill for reassurance and inspiration.” (Page 164)
4. 4. He wasted an extraordinarily small amount of his time and emotional energy on the meanness’s of life: recrimination, shifting the blame onto others, malice, revenge seeking, dirty tricks, spreading rumors, harboring grudges, waging vendettas. I have read several Churchill biographies and watched many documentary dramas on his life. The stories that illustrate this truth are remarkable. He was not a saint, but the man had a remarkable ability to move on past a storm of conflict and seek reconciliation. Even with the Germans.
5. 5. The absence of hatred left plenty of room for joy. He lived an abundant life. A happy event brought him pleasure. He delighted in surprising people and sharing in good things with them. He kept the gates of his country home open so that neighbors could come and walk the gardens. He told many jokes and himself was the butt of more. Yet he had the rare ability to laugh at himself. Johnson writes, “Joy was a frequent visitor to Churchill’s psyche, banishing boredom, despair, discomfort, and pain”.

I recommend this book because more than any other biography I have read about this great man, it lifts and encourages me. It is a true story of a remarkable who lived a large life among some of the most tumultuous events of human history. In doing so he maintained his humanity. It is a good life to study.

Hank Paulson Gets Scared

Hank Paulson has published a book detailing what happened during the most intense hours of the financial meltdown of 2008. On the weekend of September 13-14, 2009 Paulson met with New York Fed Chairman Timothy Geitner and other banking execs to figure out how to save Lehman Brothers and the global financial system.

After Barclay’s in England backed out of a deal it was apparent nothing could be pieced together to save the over leveraged financial house. Paulson felt the fallout would have been catastrophic. He had no answers.

Walking out of the meetings, it was Sunday morning, he called his wife. “What if the system collapses? Everybody is looking to me, and I don’t have the answer. I am really scared.”

Paulson says he asked her to pray for him and the nation. He especially wanted prayer to cope with the fear he was facing. He writes, “She immediately quoted from the Second Book of Timothy, verse 1:7–”For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Fear has a way of focusing the mind. It is fascinating to see how people at the top deal with such a crisis as the one facing Paulson on that weekend. The stress and pressure can be crushing. Paulson’s wife showed wisdom in directing him to this scripture. Reliance on the power of God is crucial to navigating any period of trial.

Good advice for us all.

No Politics After 6 PM

Scott Brown, Massachusetts’ newly elected Senator, is being compared in many ways to ronald Reagan. There may be similarities in style and substance. time will tell whether Brown’s star is constant or a mere flash in the political heavens.

I did see one comment from Senator Brown that linked him to Reagan’s style. It he holds on to this one he might be the real thing. In a post election interview Brown called himself a pragmatist who new how to draw the lines between politics and good relations with people. “After 6:00 PM, he said, we should all be able to talk and get along and put politics aside to foster good personal relationships”

It was classic Ronald Reagan. Reagan had political differences with Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil. O’Neill called Reagan the most ignorant man who had ever occupied the White House. O’Neill also said that Reagan was “Herbert Hoover with a smile” and “a cheerleader for selfishness” and “an amiable dunce.”  Privately, O’Neill and Reagan were always on cordial terms, or as Reagan himself put it in his memoirs, they were friends “after 6PM.” It was said the two could enjoy a drink and tell Irish jokes. Reagan was realistic about what he would ultimately get on any of his initiatives. He understand the nature of politics that he would never get all he put on the table. History and human nature taught otherwise. He had the ability to stay true to his core principles while still maneuvering with others who saw things differently but who he respected as fellow travelers.

Good personal relationships. Working through sincere differences of opinion. This is what life is all about. If you and I can master the art of getting along we can go a long way toward peace and harmony.

The key is to show respect for those with whom you differ. Look on them as human beings created in the image of God. Seek to understand their motivations. Appreciate their sincerity. Find something you can admire and don’t lose sight of it. What could you discuss with them over a drink after hours? Put yourself through this exercise and you will keep yourself from the extremes that often find ourselves in the middle of unresolved conflict.