Churchill

To become a leader, you must develop your character. For this, it helps to read biographies of great leaders. This has been recognized for thousands of years. Plutarch, a Roman politician and writer, wrote the Parallel Lives, in which he compared the characters of Greek and Roman leaders.

If you are interested in business, read a biography of a successful businessperson, such as Walt Disney. If you are interested in ministry, read a biography of a missionary, such as David Livingstone or Gladys Aylward. If you are interested in science, there are several good options, in particular, Michael Faraday. He is a true rags-to-riches story, and he changed the world. If interested in politics, it’s hard to beat George Washington and Winston Churchill.

Identify what they did well. If you observe a great habit, write it down and try to put it into practice. Note their mistakes and how they handled them. Also, note their vices and moral failings. (A definitive biography reveals the good and the bad.)

The best biographers are both entertaining and accurate, revealing what their subjects were like, what they were trying to do, and how things turned out.

Churchill quite literally saved Western Civilization during World War II. His rise, and fall, and rise is a fascinating story. Some consider him the most excellent leader of the 20th century. I recommend reading Paul Johnson’s short biography of Churchill.

Warning: once you start reading about Churchill, you may not find it easy to stop.