Abraham Lincoln received over 10,000 death threats during his presidency. His secretaries kept a file of them. Lincoln read them, sorted through them, and kept the most credible ones in a large envelope in his stovepipe hat, labeled simply: "Assassination."
He carried the threats on his head wherever he went.
This is one of the stranger facts of American history. The man wore his own mortality like a hat. He knew the threats were real — multiple plots against his life were uncovered and foiled before Booth succeeded. And yet Lincoln refused to be guarded constantly, refused to stop shaking hands with strangers at the White House, refused to stop walking alone at night.
When asked why, he said he was not going to be a scared man.
He didn't pretend the danger wasn't real. He held it in his hands, read it, named it, and put it on his head. And then he went about his work.
Most of us carry our fears somewhere hidden — in our chests, our stomachs, our sleepless nights. Lincoln wore his. And he kept going anyway.
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