IWS in Practice

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Quotes and Insights on History

…with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Martin Luther Had NO IDEA!

Martin Luther wasn’t trying to be a great leader or famous or even influential. He just had something to say, that needed to be said.

So he said it.

Martin Luther TOOK A STAND; not by doing something heroic, but rather because he simply had something important to say. He probably thought what he was doing was no big deal and wouldn’t amount to anything. He committed thought to action. After that… God did the rest. And history was changed.

Martin Luther was no hero. He was a regular guy, for a theologian. And like all normal guys who end up becoming entrenched in history, I like to believe that he didn’t have a clue that by thumbtacking his thesis to a wall for others to read (this was how one posted their ideas before Facebook came along) he was going to change the course of religious and Western culture forever.

The unspoken truth
about heroes:

Every great leader or hero never thought what they were doing was great, or heroic. (Just try to tell a veteran what a special hero he is/was.)

But all people who history eventually looks back on usually share one trait: they all took a leap of faith and did something right because it was the right thing to do; not because what they did was going to make them famous, or heroic or powerful. Humility seems to be the birthplace of those whom history remembers. History.com illustrates this phenomenon by repeating a well-worn myth about how Luther’s “95 Theses” came to be:

Legend says Martin Luther was inspired to launch the Protestant Reformation while seated comfortably on the chamber pot. That cannot be confirmed, but in 2004 archeologists discovered Luther’s lavatory, which was remarkably modern for its day, featuring a heated-floor system and a primitive drain.

Whatever the origin, it’s hard to deny that many of the great heroes and influential people throughout world history started out humbly saying, “I Will Stand…” then they did it. History takes over from there.