The battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) is considered the turning point of the American Civil War.
Had the Confederates won there, it is likely there would not be the United States of America. The North American continent would look more like Europe, with a dozen or so smaller countries instead of what we have today.
Why does this matter? If the United States of America was not one giant country, it is unlikely that there would have been any country to stop the Japanese in the Pacific and take on Germany in Europe.
The Importance Of Joshua Chamberlain
Who was Joshua Chamberlain, you might ask? Joshua Chamberlain, born September 8, 1828, in Brewer, Maine, was a professor of rhetoric and oratory.
You might still be asking yourself, who cares about a professor of rhetoric and oratory from Maine?
You would care if you knew that this man was a Colonel during the battle of Gettysburg, more specifically, at the battle to defend Little Round Top.
Chamberlain was in charge of the 20th Maine when wave after wave of Confederate soldiers tried to break through the line. Had they succeeded, they would have been able to take the Army of the Potomac from behind. If that happened, the Union would have lost the battle. According to many historians, had the Union lost at Gettysburg, they would have lost the war.
David Ponder Mets Chamberlain
Having already met President Truman and King Solomon, David Ponder travels to meet Joshua Chamberlain.
Like so many people today, David had no idea who Chamberlain was.
David knew that President Truman and King Solomon were significant figures in history. After finding out that he was at Gettysburg during the Civil War, David is confused about why he is meeting Chamberlain. David even asks Chamberlain if he is important.
What David sees is a man in action. Chamberlain will not, can not, retreat. Despite the long odds, Chamberlain decides to charge the Confederates.
This charge helped the Union win the battle.
Decision 3: The Active Decision
David was given a letter with the full text of the Active Decision.
As much as David wanted to flee the battlefield, he watched Chamberlain and the remnant of the 20th Maine charge the Confederates and capture them.
The first paragraph of the decision reads:
Beginning today, I will create a new future by creating a new me. No longer will I dwell in a pit of despair, moaning over squandered time and lost opportunity. I can do nothing about the past. My future is immediate. I will grasp it in both hands and carry it with running feet. When I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something, I will always choose to act! I seize this moment. I choose now.
The British band Rush knew this. In their song “Freewill” they wrote, “If you choose not to decide. You still have made a choice.”
Since not deciding is deciding, let us decide to act!
While we are imperfect beings that do not always make the right decisions, if we apply the First and Second Decisions with the Third Decision, we will have less to fear.
A person who takes responsibility, seeks wisdom and is a person of action is well on their way to greatness.
They will be a person of action that can say with confidence, “I do not fear opinion, gossip, or the idle chatter of monkeys for all are the same to me. I do not fear failure, for in my life, failure is a myth. Failure only exists for the person who quits. I do not quit.”
Exercises To Do
In the book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey, we are told that Habit 2 is, to begin with, the end in mind.
On page 58 of “The Seven Decisions,” Andrews challenges us to write our eulogy using the following questions as prompts.
- What was your life’s work about?
- Who was affected as a result of your actions?
- Who was made a better person because of you?
- What were the three biggest events that happened because of you?
- For what will you be remembered?
- How was the world different because of you?
This can be a humbling, exhausting, and emotional exercise to complete.
When I did this exercise, I realized I was not doing things today that would bring me to where I wanted to be by the time my eulogy would be given.
That realization helped me to refocus on implementing all seven decisions. I took responsibility for my shortcomings up to this point, sought wise counsel, began to take action, and the next four decisions we will look at soon.
[…] had been in Gettysburg, PA, nearly 4 months prior during the Civil War battle, where he met Joshua Chambers and received the third decision on a hot and humid July […]