Part 7: Inspiring People

InspirationalLessons:

Sir Winston Churchill never stopped learning. Churchill boosted his talents by

reading, travelling and writing. Whatever he took interest in – he would focus on

educating himself on. Churchill’s main interest was in Military and politics.

Although he was never one of thetop students at school, hegraduated near the top of his classat the Royal Military College.

Following 7 months of basicMilitary training, Churchill wasgiven his first leave. Instead ofusing the leave as a holiday,Churchill travelled to Cuba toobserve Spanish troops stop arebellion. He wanted to see actionand learn more – time spentrelaxing was time wasted.

Churchill’s desire to learn led to him being a correspondent for

various newspapers including The Daily Graphic and The Morning

Post.

Upon travelling to South Africa in an attempt to further educate himself during The Boer War

Churchill was captured and held as a prisoner of war. Escaping after a month of being a

prisoner of war, Churchill used his experienced to write his book “London to Ladysmith via

Pretoria”

As result of his constant thirst for knowledge, Churchill

continued reading and writing – becoming a well-known

author in England. This meant that, upon his return to

England, Churchill was accepted as a minister of Parliament

with ease.

Whilst in Parliament

Churchill’s positions varied

from Under-Secretary to Minister of Munitions and

finally, Prime Minister. Churchill tried to involve himself

in all aspects of the military, whilst he was only supposed

to be in charge of the Navy, stepping on other leaders’

toes. This was Churchill’s professional downfall; when

things didn’t go according to plan during World War I; he

was blamed.

As the Prime Minister of England, it was

Churchill’s responsibility to lead his nation

through World War II. He travelled to many

place to co-ordinate the Grand Alliance; an

alliance that was formed between the Soviet

Union and United States of America. During

this period he held the nation together and

inspired them with his magnificent speeches –

many of which are still quoted daily. Churchill

also inspired people with his insight and ability

to predict enemy movement – he knew what

Hitler had planned to do before it happened –

warning of the Iron Curtain. This instilled a

great sense of trust in Churchill as a leader.

Churchill was asked to take a break from Parliament. He battled to sit at home

and not do anything – ending up in a depressed state. Churchill then decided he

needed to learn to paint, a hobby he continued up until his death.

As a leader Churchill was equipped to lead from an early age with his interest and study of Military Tactics. He

led England through the Second World War, and fought the domination of Nazi Germany. Post the Pearl

Harbour attack Winston Churchill, together with Roosevelt and Stalin, led a successful Allied strategy.

Sir Winston Churchill went on to be knighted,

as well as winning a Nobel Peace Prize for

Literature. He continued reading, writing and

painting until he died in 1965.

Words of Wisdom: “Success is not final, failure is not

fatal: it is the courage to continue

that counts.”

“If you are going through hell, keep

going.”

“Success is stumbling from failure to

failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

“Never, never, never give in!”

“It is not enough that we do our

best; sometimes we must do what is

required.”

“Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.”

“The price of greatness is responsibility.”

“You have enemies? Good. That means

you've stood up for something, sometime in

your life.”

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every

opportunity; an optimist sees the

opportunity in every difficulty.”

References:

http://www.biography.com/people/winston-churchill-9248164http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/a/Churchill.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_churchillhttp://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/biography/the-war-leader