One of the things I love about life is that we never stop learning new things. 

The sentiment behind that 5 P’s phrase I was familiar with, but I had never heard it until I read it recently in a book by former Secretary of State James Baker.  It was a phrase his father drilled into him from an early age and he took it to heart.

The version I was more familiar with was that “chance favors the prepared mind” or that “when opportunity knocks be prepared to open the door”.  

With the 2024 election less than a month away, I find myself getting more quiet, more within myself, more contemplative, more calm, more centered, awaiting the much anticipated results, focusing on what I can control, and not on what I can’t.  

I’ve heard that commanders have a weight lifted off their shoulders once the decision has been made to begin a battle, and yet it is quickly replaced by another burden, that of worrying about the outcome. 

When Dwight Eisenhower was Supreme Allied Commander for the D-Day Landings in June 1944, after he gave the “go” order he sat down while he was waiting for everything to be put into action and wrote two different statements, depending on how the operation went. 

In one he resigned after the landings failed and took sole responsibility for their failure.  In the other he applauded the efforts of the men who made the landings successful.  

I always found that so interesting that someone who was always so prepared, which is why he was so successful, would still be prepared for the possibility of defeat. 

Most leaders and competitors will tell you that they have a mindset of “failure is not an option” and therefore they don’t give a moment’s thought about it. 

It takes a truly humble leader to be willing to admit that even in spite of their best efforts to prepare, that failure can still happen.  

On November 5th, despite billions of dollars and countless hours of preparation, one of 3 possible scenarios will take place….either a complete Democratic failure, a complete Republican failure, or some mix of the two where both sides claim some partial victory.  

So in the days and weeks after the election, depending on how long it takes to get results, as Sean Connery’s character says to Elliot Ness in The Untouchables, “what are you prepared to do?”

Are you prepared to do the hard work to ensure that our democracy survives and thrives?

Are you prepared to work with people you might not agree with to accomplish something greater than yourselves?

Are you prepared to not go back to sleep until the next election?

Are you prepared to turn your focus to helping push for and educate the public about nonpartisan reforms that put voters first and give us all more and better choices across the board in future elections?  

Leading up to the election, are you prepared to go vote?  Are you prepared to help get others to the polls if they need a ride?  Are you prepared to help encourage people who don’t usually vote to get out and have their voices heard?

And if you’re not prepared for any of the above, I would ask you to think about 5 other P’s and what you would say to them:

to the brave young American boys and men who fought and died to defend our young country in Plattsburgh in 1812,

to those who fought and died to keep our republic whole at Pittsburg Landing and Pea Ridge during the Civil War,

to those who fought and died for freedom from tyranny at Peleliu in World War 2, and

to those who fought and died at Pleiku in Vietnam so that others may enjoy the same freedoms, choices, and opportunities as we have.