Calmly Do Your Best

Abe Lincoln calmly did his best throughout his presidential terms.

“The preceding June the Republicans had nominated Lincoln for a second term. But they felt now that they had made a mistake, a woeful mistake. Some of the most prominent men in the party urged Lincoln to withdraw. Others demanded it. They wanted to call another convention, admit Lincoln was a failure, cancel his nomination, and place another candidate at the head of the ticket…

…Notwithstanding the vitriolic condemnation poured upon him, Lincoln went calmly on, doing his best and answering to no one.

‘I desire,’ he said, ‘to so conduct the affairs of this administration that if, at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be deep down inside of me …I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light I have.’”

“Lincoln the Unknown”, by Dale Carnegie