Honoring Lincoln on the Anniversary of his Death

In 1955, American Historian Roy Basler wrote the “Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln.” Basler’s eight volumes were the distinctive work of Lincoln and would inspire countless future historians and politicians, among them former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. Cuomo’s oldest sister knew her brother loved Lincoln and gave him the eight volumes as a present. Then, in 2004, Cuomo wrote his own book, “Why Lincoln Matters. Today More Than Ever.” 

On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. But, as Cuomo wrote, he still matters today. We read his words, marvel at his commitment, his big-picture view of the world. We extoll the virtues of his incredible intelligence and emphasize his leadership skills.  

If Lincoln were alive today, what would he be telling us to do during this pandemic?  He would not know about our advancement in technologies, or our ability to communicate; yet, his wisdom would still impact us. 

Lincoln would be practical in his advice. He would remind us to keep learning during this downtime. He would insist on expanding our knowledge beyond our self-imposed limits. He would want us to follow the advice of David Epstein’s book “Range.” Epstein believes the danger of becoming too specialized is that you become a person with a hammer where everything looks like a nail. Lincoln would take this time to find subjects he was curious to learn about. 

He would remind us that being popular because of an opinion does not make that opinion correct. He would urge us to not let popularity affect our thoughts or beliefs. He probably would have read best-selling self-help author Mark Manson’s book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.” Manson argues that we need to struggle, we need to overcome adversity and the resolution of those problems gives our life meaning.  Lincoln would wholeheartedly agree. 

Finally, Lincoln would recommend never accepting limitations in our lives, in our dreams. He would likely recommend we read “Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases and Transform Industries” by Safi Bahcall.

Lincoln would suggest reading, growing, and, most of all, being hard-fast in our resolve to cure this pandemic working together. He would tell us, “He is a slow walker, but he never walks back.” 

We can all honor his death today and spend time reflecting on why he still matters.

P.S. If you are in search of a book recommendation, our team at The Daily Coach highly recommends The Desire Map Experience: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul by Danielle LaPorte. So what if you first got clear on how you actually wanted to feel in your life, and then created some "Goals with Soul"? With The Desire Map, LaPorte brings you a holistic life-planning tool that will revolutionize the way you go after what you want in life. Unapologetically passionate and with plenty of warm wit, LaPorte turns the concept of ambition inside out and offers an inspired, refreshingly practical workbook.

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