Prepare to be enlightened, fascinated and inspired
by the stories of some of history’s iconic men and women that show where
they were at near the age of 25. And how they overcame obstacles, defied
their critics and forged ahead to attain success.
Author Robert L. Dilenschneider tells
these stories of 25 men and women from around the globe who shaped the world in
his new book, Nailing It.
You’ll learn how these individuals:
- Came from modest means and went on to help
change the world. - Went on to do what put them in the history
books. - Used their unique personal traits to enable them
to beat all odds and persevere.
The stories offer some perspective on what
young people are experience now. The pandemic has turned young adulthood
upside-down. For millions of millennials, what should be a key transformation
period, full of adventure, freedom, and self-exploration, has been temporarily
halted. Key life events have been put on hold, delayed, or outright cancelled.
Now they have even more challenges ahead of them in figuring out their life
paths.
Fortunately, history shows, and Nailing It reveals, inspiring
examples of successful people who experienced delayed progress in their 20s,
forced to take circuitous paths to their life callings, even overcoming tragic
starts.
Nailing It includes the stories of:
- Maya Angelou
- Albert Einstein
- Steve Jobs
- Sally Ride
- Mary Shelley
- Jackie Robinson
- …and 19 more
Today, Dilenschneider shares these added insights with us:
Question:
How many of the 25 people you profiled in your book were on your original list
of landmark figures you planned to profile? If your original list changed, why
did it change?
Dilenschneider: We had well over 100 people on the
original list. We whittled it down to get to those who were cited based on what
they had to offer to readers.
The
idea is to inspire young people and help them recognize that they can make a
difference. For the more mature this book offers a snapshot of history in the
making.
Question:
Who might have been the few additional people you would have profiled in your
book if you had gone beyond 25?
Dilenschneider: There are dozens of individuals from
the world of politics, business and social services that could be profiled,
including Nelson Mandela,
Tony Blair and Mao
Tse Tung. There are many who fit into this category.
Question:
Among the 25 iconic individuals profiled, what were the couple common themes
that made them all awesome?
Dilenschneider: They had a determination and a focus
for what they did. And they had a plan, and they worked the plan. They kept
their head down and they did not deviate from their plan.
In
almost every case these men and women took prudent risks, were oblivious to
criticism, and exercised a laser-like focus on their objectives.
My
hope is that knowing where these people were in their lives at that age—whether
their acts were together, or not— will be informative and encouraging. Their
stories offer some perspective on what young people are experiencing now.
Question:
Of the 25, which one has impressed you the most and why?
Dilenschneider: I like Honoré Daumier because he not only offered
criticisms of the art establishment in France, but provided on a regular basis serious
look into the politics of what was taking place – almost as good as a
newspaper. He immediately grasped the implication of combining the relatively
new art form of lithography with political satire.
There
was another aspect to Daumier’s long
career. He eventually developed into a prolific portrait, landscape, and genre
painter. He produced around five hundred oils and watercolors that garnered
little or no attention from the public during his lifetime, to his
disappointment. Posthumously, though, critics saw in this work a foretaste of
impressionism, the art movement that had just appeared on the horizon, and
appreciation rose.
Every
era in history has needed artists, writers, comedians, graphic designers,
commentators, pundits, and others to pull the curtain aside, à la Dorothy’s dog Toto in The Wizard of Oz, and show us what’s really going on. Every era has had such people, and
Daumier occupies a notable place in the long line of political and social
satirists.
Dilenschneider is founder of The Dilenschneider
Group. Headquartered in New York and Chicago, the Firm provides strategic
advice and counsel to Fortune 500 companies and leading families and
individuals around the world, with experience in fields ranging from mergers
and acquisitions and crisis communications to marketing, government affairs and
international media.
Dilenschneider has authored 14 books, including Decisions: Practical Advice
from 23 Men and Women Who Shaped the World; A Briefing for Leaders; On Power,
The Critical 14 Years of Your Professional Life; 50 Plus!—Critical Career
Decisions for the Rest of Your Life, and Power and Influence: The Rules Have
Changed.
Thank
you to the book’s publisher for sending me a copy of the book.
