You’re to be excused if you feel like you live in a world under siege. From wars and violence to natural disasters and man-made financial and governing catastrophes, these are most definitely challenging times.

Winston Churchill, the remarkable wartime leader of Great Britain, served as a source of strength and motivation for an entire nation with his dogged determination to survive and ultimately succeed in the face of incredible adversity.  And while perhaps today’s situation doesn’t quite rival that of the early 1940’s, a little dose of Churchill seems appropriate at this interesting point in time.

Churchill on the Need for Forward Movement:

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

Fear and frustration overwhelm individuals, teams and organizations. While it might seem appropriate to just plop down and call it a day, the only way out of the mess is to march forward. There is no chance of success without movement.

Politicians Take Heed:

Of course, action without context and understanding can just be wasted energy. In particular, our politicians will be well served to heed his advice here:

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. It’s also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

And again for our politicians, Churchill’s unyielding faith in Americans was balanced with a clear sense of reality:

“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing—after they’ve tried everything else.”

On Attitude:

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

The most successful people I know look for the opportunity in every problem. The world has enough whiners…it needs more people with the fortitude and tenacity to keep marching towards solutions.

On Determination:

As his nation stared at likely extinction, he offered the following to Parliament:

“We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be.”

Good words of inspiration to remind us of the need to face up to our economic, social and governing challenges.

On the Thought of Giving Up:

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Get up, keep marching, take time to listen, keep fighting and don’t for a second think of giving up.

—

About Art Petty:

Art Petty is a Leadership & Career Coach helping motivated professionals of all levels achieve their potential. In addition to working with highly motivated professionals, Art frequently works with project teams in pursuit of high performance. Art’s second book, Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development, will be published in September of 2011.

Contact Art via e-mail to discuss a coaching, workshop or speaking engagement.