was indicated by a member of his staff who wrote at this time,
“[Eisenhower] was a living dynamo of energy, good humor,
amazing memory for details, and amazing courage for the future.”
Like Eisenhower, Billy Graham has had plenty to discourage
and exhaust him. Yet his colleagues are full of stories about Billy
that mirror Ambrose’s description of Ike’s shedding weariness and
pessimism when up at the plate. Billy has always been known for
communicating hope.
James Loehr, who coaches athletes and corporate executives,
has struggled with the paradox of leaders feeling emotionally
down but needing to personify optimism. For years he resisted
using the word “acting” because it seemed to suggest something
phony done on a stage. But once he understood how our
thoughts physically control our emotions, and that our chosen
“script” determines our feelings and bodily responses, the concept
of acting no longer seemed phony. In his book Stress for Success,
Loehr writes, “Each of us spends as much as 90 percent of our
days modifying, filtering, and adjusting our emotions and behav-
ior to fit the most appropriate scripts for particular moments—in
other words, we are acting.”
In one sense, everyone is “acting” all the time. Each day we
choose the “script” we communicate to our bodies, and our bod-
ies respond. Says Dr. Loehr, “The ON switch for an emotion can
be fully activated regardless of whether it fits reality as judged by
the rational brain.... Once the targeted neurons in the amygdala
are turned on, the corresponding physiology rolls out.”
So, do we just let our emotions rule us? Or do we choose what
we believe, how we want to feel and act, and what “script” we
want to personify and communicate? By those choices, we can
significantly alter our resulting emotions.
New brain research shows how mental training can literally help
to wire and rewire neurological circuits. Whether we are by nature
melancholic, choleric, or sanguine, the more we write and imple-
ment our own scripts, the more we become what we purpose to be.
Ronald Reagan, as an actor, understood this. He had deep con-
victions but was as subject to emotional fluctuations as anyone
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham