A Study in the Power of Self-Reliance

Back to Ron Eibensteiner. He too comes from humble beginnings. He was raised on a farm outside of Sauk Centre, where his brothers still work the land. I’ve met the brothers. They are Lake Wobegon farmers to a T. Garrison Keillor would be pleased to know they are all diehard Democrats . . . most of the time. Eibensteiner likes telling the story about how his brother Joe called him and said he and every Democrat he knew were going to vote for Moe. Ron said, “Wait a minute. Get those DFL farmers in a local bar, and I’ll get Pawlenty to swing by.” Which he did. After sharing a beer with Pawlenty at the local Lake Wobegon–esque bar in Sauk Centre, every one of those Democrats voted for Pawlenty.

Eibensteiner’s theory goes something like this: “The best political leaders are policy smart and politically smart.” However, the really successful ones—and “this applies to people who are successful in politics, business, sports, entertainment, you name it—are the ones who have humility. The higher you go up the ladder, the more people are telling you how great you are.” Remember where you came from. Check.

“Because the more successful you get, the more you need to thank God, because humility requires a belief in God or a higher power, because then you know it’s not about you.” Belief in God, check.

“The other two things are a sense of humor—the ability to not take yourself so seriously—and the ability to connect with people, to communicate so that the average Joe gets it.” Croatian Hall, Lake Wobegon bar, check.

Eibensteiner surprised me then by quoting Rudyard Kipling, right there at Zelo over a bowl of chicken soup. From Kipling’s “If”:

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

I surprised Pawlenty when I told him Eibensteiner was loftily quoting Kipling in describing him. After showing him the poem, Pawlenty paused for a long moment and asked if I’d read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. I told him I had, but not for years. Then he asked me if I remembered the first line of the book, which I did not.

“The first line reads, ‘It’s not about you.’”