What is the key to success? To begin with, said Thomas Jefferson, "one must determine never to be idle." According to Calvin Coolidge, "Persistence and determination are omnipotent." For General Norman Schwarzkopf, successful leadership was, above all, a product of integrity. "Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy."

While the individual leaders profiled in this inspiring book had their own personal formula for success, all shared certain essential attributes. From Alexander the Great to Colin Powell, Sitting Bull to Ronald Reagan, these remarkable people possessed discipline, courage, tenacity and a willingness to take risks and learn from their mistakes. And despite vast geographical and cultural differences across far-reaching periods in time, these leaders' examples continue to teach us important lessons about achieving greatness. ,

Discover how:

• Tecumseh forged an Indian confederacy stretching from Missouri to Canada
• General Patton's formula for war --speed, simplicity, and boldness — led his troops to victory
• Queen Elizabeth I brought Britain into an age of unprecedented prosperity and growth
• Ulysses S. Grant turned the tide in the Civil War
• Winston Churchill led his nation through World War II and won the Nobel Prize for literature

• Winston Churchill's courage and take-action leadership stemmed the Nazi tide in World War II
• Patton's strategic discipline dealt the fatal blow to Hitler's Germany
• Norman Schwartzkopf motivated troops in one of the most successful ground assaults in U.S History