One of the best reasons to study biographies is to observe how people acted in difficult circumstances. They were imperfect people (like you), living in the context of their times (like you), facing uncertainties and risks (like you). What worked for them? How did they choose to relate with people (and enemies)? How did they analyze opportunities and frame problems? Where did they make strategic and tactical mistakes, and then what did they do next? What did they learn to do differently over time?
Some have characterized this approach as having a pantheon of great people to emulate. When you’re faced with something similar, you can ask yourself, “What would this person do and say?” You combine what you know from their history with your current context and your imagination to make better decisions. You can also explicitly avoid bad decisions made in the past. It’s been well-said that the most underutilized assets in the modern world are history books.
Here are some members of my pantheon, in no particular order:
Teddy Roosevelt
Perry Marshall
Charlie Munger
Margaret Thatcher
Indira Gandhi
Dwight Eisenhower
Robert E. Lee
Barnabas the Apostle
Clara Barton
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jocko Willink
Frederick Douglas
Barbara McClintock
Helen Keller
Winston Churchill
Golda Meir
Richard Feynman
My dad
I’m not listing a few living individuals whom I’m close to, who have mentored me. You’ll have your own list of those people.
