her to be a very emotional woman, and I had no idea what to
do—and then the impulse. I don’t know where the impulse to
hug her came from.
“Now where did the impulse happen? Did it happen on the
walk to the tree? I don’t think so. I don’t think the impulse hap-
pened until I saw her. What does it represent in terms of prob-
lem solving? It represented a very efficient and quick solution
at the time, probably better than a lot of talk, or a lot of saying,
‘Well, think about the time something bad happened to you.’ If
I had come near her and said, ‘Look, I know you can do this, I
believe in you,’ she would have said, ‘Get out of here!’ That
would have just put more pressure on her. I think what hap-
pened was—and I’m guessing—that she felt a sense of real sup-
port, and that touched her. I think that moment was a simple,
emotional thing, that somebody was really on her side, and it
touched her, and that’s all.”
These leaders have proved not only the necessity but the
efficacy of self-confidence, vision, virtue, plain guts, and re-
liance on the blessed impulse. They have learned from every-
thing, but they have learned more from experience, and even
more from adversity and mistakes. And they have learned to
lead by leading.
Grace under pressure might be this group’s motto. None be-
gan life with an edge. Some began with genuine handicaps. All
have risen to the top because leaders are made, and made by
themselves. To quote Wallace Stevens, they have lived “in the
world, but outside of existing conceptions of it.” And they have
made new worlds, because they themselves are, each and every
one, originals. They have worn sombreros.
They would say themselves that they can teach you nothing,
but they have shown you the ways to learn everything you need
to know.
Operating on Instinct