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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DJU9" data-source="post: 9930984" data-attributes="member: 44472">Top 7 life lessons from Napoleon                          Friedrich Hegel, the famous German philosopher, said, that 'the only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history'.   This  is true, when you consider the fact that the  greatest lessons are  taught by history. In spite of great strides  registered in science and  technology, the human nature, skills and  qualities required for fruition  of endeavours remain the same and this  is a domain in which lessons  from history are particularly timeless.   Hence, a study of great  men who made a mark in history  helps us fathom some of the timeless  ingredients of leadership. In this  article, from an in depth study of  Napoleon and his life, we identify  and present some of his qualities  which paved the way for his great  achievements. <img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/D.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D" data-shortname=":D" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/yes.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":yes:" title="Yes    :yes:" data-shortname=":yes:" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/D.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D" data-shortname=":D" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/D.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D" data-shortname=":D" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/yes.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":yes:" title="Yes    :yes:" data-shortname=":yes:" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/D.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D" data-shortname=":D" /> 1.Education is a continuous process                           Reading and learning from books  was the only  way one could continuously learn in those days. Ever since  his boyhood  days, reading was Napoleon's first love.   His quest for knowledge  continued with the same vigour  even at the height of his busy tenure as  Emperor and remained aglow  till his last days as a prisoner of war in  St. Helena.   Education, Napoleon believed, should be useful to  one's  position. As emperor, he knew that he could not afford to lack the   knowledge he needed.   Napoleon maintained a well-stocked home  library. In  1808, in the midst of hectic military campaigns, he sent a  memorandum  to his personal librarian to arrange for a portable library  of 1000  volumes, printed in small types with no margin, so as not to  waste  space and loosely bound so that the books would lay flat while he  read  them on campaigns. 2.There's no better way to learn in life than to read                           Continuous education was  personally important  to Napoleon. He never stopped educating himself at  any stage of life. He  was strongly influenced by works of Rousseau's  Confessions, and La  Novella Heloise. Many of his pioneering reforms in  education were based  on ideas gleaned from Rousseau's works.   During his last days of captivity in St. Helena, the golden day for him was when the ship arrived with wooden cases of books.   In St. Helena, he is said to have collected 3,000 volumes and they were arranged on the bare damp shelves.   How many of our leaders today continuously read and educate themselves? 3.Be selective in your reading                           Since Napoleon's reading was very  extensive, he  had to be compellingly selective. So he regularly skipped  many of the  pages (including Rousseau's) as 'useless treatises'.   He also  used to read so fast that a book hardly lasted  him an hour and the  assistant was kept busy carrying away armful of  finished books brought  from the shelves.   In today's world characterised by information  explosion  and overload, it is particularly important to be very  selective in what  we chose to read.   It is also critical to cultivate the art of reading and skip unwanted reading, like Napoleon. 4.Learn to manage your time better                           In modern managerial education, time management is considered a critical topic.   Time management, as we understand, however, focuses only on the optimal management of a calendar day.   But  Napoleon offers himself as a great role model by the  way he conducted  his 'whole life time management' in a masterly  manner.   His  gross life lasted 51 years, seven months and 20  days. He was taken as a  prisoner of war after his decisive defeat at  Waterloo and was deported  to the island of St. Helena, notorious for  its insalubrious climate and  remained as captive for six years till his  death.   His net active  life, therefore, was only 45 years.  Within this short span of his life,  he lived an extremely productive  life, leaving indelible footprints on  the sands of time.   Napoleonic era lasted only for 16 years from 1799 to 1815. In these limited number of years his achievements are extraordinary.   Compare this with our individual life and career.   With greater time at our disposal, we are unable to leave a mark. Napoleon used to admonish, 'space we can recover, time never'. 5.                Live in the present                           For Napoleon, the most important moment was 'now'.   When  an issue was taken up for consideration, he would  plug all the corners  and crevices in his mind, clear all other extreme  thoughts and  concentrate on the issue at hand. "It is in your moment of  decision that  your destiny is shaped". 6.Be thrifty                           In public, Napoleon loved dazzle, splendour and pageantry.   However,  he was a stickler to thrift in his own private  life. To his courtiers,  his advice was: "Be economical and even  parsimonious at home, be  magnificent in public".   Before he established a splendid royal  palace as Emperor  at Fontainebleau, his accommodation consisted of a  bedroom, bathroom,  study, dining room, conference room, audience chamber  and a large  antechamber.   His eating consisted of two simple  meals a day. His  wardrobe was limited. He would drink half-a-cup of  strong coffee twice  or thrice in a day. He had two (Napoleon trade mark)  velvet caps at a  time and everywhere he will put it on in a diagonally  tilted posture.   Savings from his personal income was a priority.  In his  last will and testament the entire cash apportioned represented  his  savings from his civil list payments for the last 14 years.   Other items, including items like furniture and pieces of art, were all purchased from his own savings. 7.Leave an impression                           Napoleon had the innate ability to create a favourable impression in the minds of people with disparate backgrounds.   Augustin,  brother of Maximilien Robespierre, fiery  leader of the French  Revolution wrote to his brother during early  spring of 1794, "I add to  the names of patriots, citizen Bonaparte, an  exceedingly meritorious  General in Command of the Artillery".   Sir Neil Campbell, the  English commissioner at Elba,  wrote in his recollections, "I have never  seen a man in any situation  in life with so much personal activity and  restless perseverance".   Even his rival British commander Arthur  Wellesley, Duke  of Wellington used to say of him, "His presence on the  field made a  difference of 40,000 men".   Napoleon Bonaparte is  not great by virtue of his words,  his speeches, his writings or by  virtue of a love of liberty; he is  great in that he created a solid  powerful government, a code of laws  adopted by various countries, courts  of law, schools and a strong  active and intelligent administration,  which forms the basis for our  living till today (Napoleonic Code is  adopted in all European countries  even today).   While Napoleon is  known for his military victories, his  enduring popularity, however, is  only due to his everlasting  contributions as an organiser, administrator  and manager of the French  state.   Many a lesson is in store to be learnt from a study of his life for today's generation. <img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/D.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D" data-shortname=":D" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/yes.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":yes:" title="Yes    :yes:" data-shortname=":yes:" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/D.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D" data-shortname=":D" /> <img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/wink.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)" data-shortname=";)" />                                                                                         </blockquote>

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