Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) was thrust into the Presidency of the United States on November 22, 1963, after John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  He was a seasoned leader with many years of experience but was still unprepared to step into the presidency the way it happened.

As soon as the flight from Dallas got back to Washington, he called all of his national advisors and the whole cabinet together and made a statement that reverberates even today. It also offers an example of what true leadership looks like.

He looked at everyone in the room, and said, “mistakes will be made, but inaction will not be one of them.” He basically told them to get ready because while the sadness of that day was ever present, there was no time to shut down. The US had to still lead the world.

When I think about us today and how to put this into practice in our own lives, I think about the mountain tops and valleys of life. When we are walking through the low points of life, (the valleys) it is easy to get scared, afraid and complacent and want to just get under the covers and turn the lights out and hope things will change on their own. In the real world, those reactions are simply not an option for people who are not ready to quit life.

Harmon Born was my mentor and passed away several years ago. He owned the Ford Dealership in Downtown Atlanta and for many years, his dealership was the highest volume Ford dealership in the nation. He used to say, “you just have to chin-up and move forward.”

I think this is the message for all of us, regardless of the stage of life you are in. Inaction just isn’t an option; we must keep moving forward. You just can’t camp out in the valley of life, you have to get back to high ground. As LBJ said, “mistakes are going to be made, but inaction will not be one of them.” KT