In honor of memorial day, I decided to wake this morning and do some reading on Dwight Eisenhower. He was the primary armed forces general during World War II. He also served as the President of the United States. A rather unremarkable man that became through his life experience very remarkable. One of the more famous quotes attributed to him is that “what counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it is the size of the fight in the dog.”
Eisenhower, Ike as he is sometimes referred, was from Kansas. He lived as you would expect a family to live in Kansas during the early 1900’s. He was the younger of 4 brothers and often lived in the shadow of them. He would serve in the military in much the same fashion. Constantly overshadowed by people above him. He was wicked smart, and had an ability to deliver instruction in a way that people remembered. He was frequently used as a took to help other military officers to rise through the ranks.
However, he kept at it. He was a consistent man, constantly attacking whatever problems were before him. He never backed down from the most difficult assignments. He took on problems, creatively solved them and found himself in way over his head on many occasions. He spent years in the War Department Planning Division coming up with the plans that could allow the U.S to win a world war if one every occurred.
He appeared easy going, and very friendly but the people around him were sometimes afraid. He had a passion and intensity that would scare people if he every lost his temper. He did make friends, and he could play the politician if he had to – but intellectualism and talk meant very little to him. At the end of the day the friends he did have, his wife and his children all loved him intensely and spoke of him in the highest regard.
There are some awesome quotes from his writings and speeches. I have listened to a few – and knowing who this man was and his persistence and diligence it easy to consider that perhaps God prepared this small town Kansas boy to be the one who would take the reigns and lead the Allied Forces to victory in the war (that is if you believe that God was on our side, which is an interesting concept we can talk about later).
Eisenhower believed very strongly in a principle centered life. He cared little for privilege and that is demonstrated in how he reacted and treated those around him. He was the leaders leader and he was always encouraging people to do the right thing and before you knew it, you discovered that he had convinced you to do something and to take action on the course that he intended all along. He had a firm belief and passion in the American people and wanted us to always be the rugged individualists that would put freedom as our highest ideal.
Eisenhower valued the act of working out problems, creating plans, struggling to find the right path the best answer. He seriously contemplated his motives when looking at his decisions. He was not, however, bound by his plans. He was always willing to look at creative solutions, to hear what others had to say and to change direction if necessary. With all of this in context, spend some time and google “famous Eisenhower quotes” and see what inspiration you get.
The 365 commitment has taught me to value a different sort of person lately. The quiet, reserved person who wakes up everyday and keeps their commitments, and lives life by principle. So, in the spirit of the 365 commitment I will leave you with the quote from Ike that I liked the most:
“Accomplishment will prove to be a journey and not a destination.”
Guy Reams (142)
365 Member
