The valley Washington picked for a defensive position was so poor that his Indian allies wouldn’t agree to fight there, and his vastly out-numbered troops were routed and he surrendered to Louis Coulon de Villiers. At just 22, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in full command of a Virginia Regiment sent to battle French forces in the wilderness regions of what is now Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. The Battle of Fort Necessity on July 3, 1754, was a disaster for Washington. Here are three things I gleaned from the book that stick out to me about Washington when he was a young leader: He didn’t let defeats define him. But you also could write a book on lessons learned from his life before he turned 25.Ĭhernow provides an excellent book version, so I’ll stick with a blog. His defining moments during the Revolutionary War and during his tenure as president provide all sorts of relatable lessons. I’m a big fan of biographies, and George Washington is one of my favorite subjects. This came to mind frequently as I read Washington: A Life, Ron Chernow’s 800-page biography of America’s first president. Every now and then, however, we find a few jewels in the journey – the priceless examples that shaped leaders in their younger years and prepared them for more significant moments. Like many students of leadership, I enjoy looking at how other leaders responded in their defining moments so that I can understand what they did well and replicate it in my life.
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