Making The Connection

In the morning, I enjoy playing a game of Sudoku.  Sudoku is a popular logic puzzle that teaches about patterns and connections.  As I play this game, it tends to focus my mind and open it at the same time.  As I was playing it this morning I started to think about Abraham Lincoln.  Sudoku has a connection to President Lincoln?  Yes, let me explain.

In Sudoku, you start off with a 9 x 9 grid, which is further broken down into 9 smaller grids of 3 x 3.  The game comes partly solved with numbers randomly scattered throughout the larger grid (Fig. 1).  Your job is to find the missing numbers so that each smaller grid contains the numbers 1 through 9, while making sure the larger grid also gets filled with the numbers 1 through 9 horizontally and vertically.  No number can repeat horizontally or diagonally when finished (fig 2.)

Sudoku Fig1                       Sudoku Fig2

Fig 1: New Puzzle                                                             Fig 2: Completed Puzzle

Okay, you say, that’s interesting but what does Sudoku have to do with President Lincoln?  Okay, okay I’m getting to it.  Sudoku is about finding patterns, and like the game of chess there are known patterns that are sometimes discovered as you play though the game.  Once a pattern is established you start to make new connections to solving the puzzle.

Leonardo da Vinci wrote, “To develop a complete mind:  Study the art of science; study the science of Art, learn how to see.  Realize that everything connects to everything else.”

Abraham Lincoln was a master storyteller.  He gathered his stories from his past experiences, from other storytellers, from books, and from the Bible.  There didn’t seem to be a situation where Lincoln didn’t have a story to tell.  He is known for his stories that entertained, but he also excelled in delivering Strategic Stories that could change the direction of a river.

There are several examples on how Lincoln deflated his opponent’s arguments or diffused some opponents attack with just a quick story.  He used his stories to win arguments, votes, and to persuade changes that still affect us to this day.  Lincoln realized that when confronted with a daunting situation he would use a story to make a connection that would persuade his argument.

Newton Bateman, an educator and close friend of Lincoln, recalled that Mr. Lincoln “knew how to select and arrange the material, what to put in the fore-ground, what in the background, what to set up as the central figure, and how to make all converge towards the final climax. He knew how to whet curiosity just enough to hold the attention of all to the end, without giving the least clue as to the nature of the final explosion; and he especially excelled in that supreme generalship which enables an accomplished story-teller to keep his reserves out of sight till the opportune moment…”

Want to increase your visibility, leads, and profits?  Then tune in this week as I break down Lincoln’s storytelling patterns that will make successful connections for your business ventures.

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