Sixty-seven years ago today, on October 16, 1953, Winston Churchill learned that he had won the Nobel Prize. To his surprise and at least mild disappointment, he had not won the Nobel Peace Prize. Instead, his mastery of the written and spoken word was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Literature. Here’s a fascinating article that’s packed with stories about his previous nominations, the amount of money that accompanied the award, why this Nobel was not for his landmark memoir The Second World War, and why his wife Clementine accepted the award on his behalf while the Churchill was in Bermuda.
 

*          *          *

One of the countless charms of Chartwell, the Churchills’ family home in Kent is the meandering presence of Jock, a marmalade cat who is named after John “Jock” Colville, one of Sir Winston’s private secretaries. When the Churchill Family turned Chartwell over to Britain’s National Trust in 1966, the family requested that a marmalade cat with four white paws would always reside on the grounds. When my wife Barbara and I visited Chartwell, Jock V sat me down for this interview to ensure that I was researching and writing my story with the very best intentions. Here’s a charming article about Jock VII, the very latest in the line of Chartwell felines, and the legacy of the cats of Chartwell.

*          *          *

Ron Pruett of The Boston Associates (who also happens to be my cousin) was kind enough to interview me about my transition from selling software to writing about Nobel Prizes, marmalade cats, and the clash between the British and French fleets in 1940. This was an interesting opportunity to expound upon my reverence for Winston Churchill, as well as how some lessons from my business career have helped me organize my research and writing. Titled "From Software to Storytelling: What Winston Churchill can teach us today," the entire interview is at this link. Here are seven key takeaways:

1. Just as I once started a business based on my passion for a software program, my writing career evolved as I became fascinated with an incident from early in Winston Churchill’s first term as prime minister. In both cases, if I had not followed my passion, I would have regretted not doing so.

2. The process of researching, writing, marketing, & working to publish a book has much in common with running a business.

3. After struggling at first, I finally began to make steady progress with my research and writing once I found a way to apply lessons from my business career to meaningfully quantify my progress.

4. I also evaluate my writing on a five-point quality scale, ranging from 5: “Absolute slop” to 1: “I can’t wait for someone else to read this.”

5. I wasn’t surprised that the rigor & discipline of writing a book helped make me a better writer, but I was surprised when I realized it had also made me a much more confident writer.

6. In reply to the question “Are we overlooking great leaders like Churchill today?“ … I answered unequivocally.

7. For me, Churchill’s most ever-lasting traits are his mastery of language, his sense of humor, & the strength of his character.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Be safe. Stay healthy.

Bill