Before Abraham Lincoln was President, he lived in a small town in Illinois where he would run for local office on multiple occasions.

At the time, he was just a small fish in a big pond. And so, he took time out of his day to go from house to house, farm to farm, introducing himself and asking for peoples votes.

One day, Lincoln stopped at a rural farm and noticed the landowner and some other men tilling the land. He walked up in his suit, and asked for their support in the upcoming election.

The farmer didn’t send him away, but he wasn’t impressed. In his eyes, here was a man standing in a suit, who looked like he’d never seen a hard working day in his life. Why would he vote for someone who doesn’t know the level of discipline us common folk know?

That’s where he was wrong.

Lincoln understood pretty quickly what he intended, and so, he took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and offered to help. And so he did.

For the rest of the day, Lincoln split rails, lifted longs, helped with chores, and chopped wood alongside the farmer and his hired hands. By nightfall, the farmer turned to Lincoln and said, “Any man willing to work like that is worthy of my vote.”

This is one of my favorite stories of Abraham Lincoln because it’s a lesson on proving yourself. To know no bounds when it comes to earning what you want.

Whatever it is that you want to do, take a page out of Lincolns life and remember that sometimes you might have to validate yourself. It might not be hard labor, but it might be just as difficult. But know that it’s the effort of doing so that makes the end result that much more worth it.

Until next time,
Isaiah Taylor

Dive Deeper

What I’m Currently Reading - I’m still in the middle of reading CinderGirl by Christina Meredith. A biography on Christina’s life and how she got past the foster system and made the best out of her life after being homeless.

Quote Of The Week - “Not to assume it’s impossible because you find it hard. But to recognize that if it’s humanly possible, you can do it too.” — Marcus Aurelius