Saturday 7: Teddy Roosevelt

7 lessons from an American hero

Author

Nolan Wilson
November 23, 2024

I read ‘The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt’ by Edmund Morris and did a podcast on the 800+ page biography on the American hero(watch here). Here are 7 quick takeaways:

  1. Get action

TR was constantly acting. He outpaced his doubts, fears, anxieties, worries, sorrows, opponents, and lower self. He believed action was a cure. Thinking is important, but nothing comes from thinking alone, we must act!

  1. Train hard

Our physical bodies are where the quality of our life begins. A healthy man has 1000 wishes, a sick man has 1. TR grew up severely asthmatic and sickly; he trained relentlessly to build his body into a machine that could keep up with his mind.

  1. Believe in yourself

TR believed in himself as much as a man can. He believed he could accomplish great things that would benefit his fellow Americans. He believed he would bravely and courageously lead soldiers into battle. He believed he was capable, he acted accordingly, and he brought forth his vision. “Whether you believe you can or cannot, you are write.”

  1. Utter unselfconsciousness

TR knew he was quirky in ways most of society found odd, but he did not care. He knew who he was and he let the rest of society mold themselves to his unique form, not vice versa. He would talk about what interested him with anyone and everyone, he dictated his words uniquely, he worse spectacles in a time when doing so was far from common, he would shake hands vigoursly and do many other things people found odd… and he didn’t care at all. He lived his life and had Faith that the cards will fall in his favor.

  1. Intense focus

While at Harvard, TR was known to spend significantly less time at his desk than his peers while he maintained good grades. How? Because he was intensely focused on what he was doing, when he was doing it. We can do the same. Focus on the task at hand until it’s completed, move on and repeat. This allowed TR to get good grades at Harvard while training for hours per day, frequenting several social clubs, courting his would-be wife, read his own materials, and writing letters and books. Focus on the task at hand to exclusion of all else.

  1. Exceedingly curious

TR was remarkably curious and he followed that curiousity. He let his interests guide his focus. This led him to far corners of the world and dark, dusty corners of libraries reading obscure books about obscure topics. He learned anything and everything he could about the topics that interested him.

“Go for freedom. Freedom allows you to control what you work on. If you control what you work on, you’ll work on what you love. If you love it, you’ll do it for a long time. If you do it for a long time, you’ll get really good at it and if you get really good at it, money will come.” - Sam Zell.

TR lived this way.

  1. Charismatic

TR was so charismatic that men would often write or speak about him being one of the most remarkable and memorable people they’d ever met. His huge smile, firm and energetic handshake, combined with his genuine interest in other people allowed him to connect deeply and quickly with many people. Something we can all do. Look people in the eyes, shake hands firmly, smile, and express genuine interest in their lives.

Bonus:

He was a romantic. He believed in the higher ideals of man and decided to bring forth as much of that ideal as humanly possible. In the pursuit of those ideals, he was exposed to deep sorrow, hurt, loss, and even depression; he equated those to the price one must pay to bring forth a positive vision in the world. He gladly paid that price. You and I have the power to change the world. You and I have the power to impact our community in a positive way. You and I have the ability to bring forth the True, Good, and Beautiful to the world. Let’s get to it.

Onward & Upward,

Nolan

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