In early 1898, days after the USS Maine was sunk in Cuba’s Havana Harbor, killing some 260 American sailors and marines, Theodore Roosevelt, who was still only the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, began doing all he could to prepare America for war. This included resigning from his desk job at the Navy Department in Washington D.C., and forming the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, known as the “Rough Riders.” What he did next came as quite a surprise to those who knew him, particularly given his extraordinary ambition. In this episode of Classic Influence, we’ll travel back to the period just before the Spanish American War to uncover a few of the key characteristics that contributed to Theodore Roosevelt’s striking success. This episode also reveals Theodore Roosevelt’s proven personal strategy for conquering fear.
