Historical Example: Winston Churchill

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (Blenheim Palace, November 30, 1874 – London, January 24, 1965) had the physical complexion of a Self-Preservation 9 and an eternal relationship with cigars. As a child, he was often alone and had to learn to manage life on his own. In fact, he found himself involved in numerous life-or-death situations, from which he emerged unscathed.

Churchill was both a conservative, traditional person and an original, daring individual, with an adventurous spirit. He loved going to war—not for the war itself, but for the opportunity to travel and write. It was a true vocation for him to experience events firsthand and then tell the stories. He acted on instinct, and once he set his mind to something, he was quite daring in pursuing it.

His grandfather was the viceroy of Ireland, and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, held important government positions, eventually rising to Chancellor of the Exchequer, before dying young from syphilis. His mother was a beautiful woman, the daughter of an American billionaire who married three times. Winston was born in the family palace.

Churchill held various political positions throughout his life, including Chancellor of the Exchequer under the Conservative government of Baldwin, Secretary of State for Trade, Minister of the Interior, and First Lord of the Admiralty under the Liberal government of Asquith. He served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in two periods: 1940-1945 and 1951-1955. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and was named an honorary citizen of the United States by President Kennedy. He became known as a controversial figure: "He had noble blood, but had to earn a living through his work."

Churchill’s first and only novel, Savrola (1898), was a political fiction and adventure story set in Laurania, an imaginary country ruled by a corrupt tyrant and liberated by a hero. Some have suggested that the protagonist was meant to represent Churchill himself during that time.

When he talks about himself, he does so with humor, and his writings are laced with a fine irony that often hides deep pain and effort. He rarely discusses emotions—except in life-or-death situations—and tends to narrate events or speeches, keeping the reader in suspense until the conclusion of war stories or parliamentary dramas. His prose is fluid and carefree, peppered with references to customs, historical events, and literary works.

As a Self-Preservation 9, Churchill struggled with loyalty and finding his place. Although his fame came as a leader of the Conservative Party from 1900 to 1904 and again from 1924 to 1965, he also spent time in the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.

His childhood was marked by loneliness. His parents were neglectful; his father was often absent, and his mother was preoccupied with numerous affairs. Churchill described his mother as a fairy tale princess: "A radiant being possessed of limitless wealth and power. [...] In Ireland, my mother was always dressed in a riding outfit, tight as a second skin, often romantically splattered with mud. Both she and my father were constantly hunting on their huge horses. Sometimes, we worried because one of us would return home several hours later than expected. [...] My mother always made the same extraordinary impression on me. She shone like the evening star. I loved her deeply, though from a distance. My confidant was my nanny. Mrs. Everest took care of me and attended to my every need.”

Mrs. Everest, his caretaker, took him to Ventnor, where his sister lived, married to a jailer who would tell him stories of prison riots. She also spoke of the Zulu people, who were at war with Britain. Churchill was opposed to the Pope, so his education did not follow Catholic principles. He fondly remembered Mrs. Everest, especially upon her death in London: "Although aware of her illness, she only cared about me. A good downpour had fallen, and my jacket was wet. When she felt the wetness, she feared I might catch a cold. I had to take off my jacket and dry it thoroughly to calm her. Her only wish was to see my brother Jack, but that was not possible. I went to London to find a good specialist, and two doctors diagnosed her with peritonitis. When I returned to Mrs. Everest’s bedside, she still recognized me but was gradually losing consciousness. Her death came sweetly. She had led such an innocent and loving life of service to others, and she had kept such a simple faith, that she neither feared death nor cared too much. She had been my dearest and closest friend for the first twenty years of my life.”

Churchill was sensitive to the hardships of older women, many of whom had no one to care for them in their later years. He expressed his gratitude for having contributed to the creation of a pension system that no other country could rival, offering invaluable support to these people.

The first episode of survival for Churchill came early. He suffered a concussion after falling from a donkey, which became nervous after seeing some soldiers parading. At the age of eighteen, while on vacation, he fell from a bridge railing, jumping a nine-meter gap to reach

a fir tree. He spent three days unconscious and three months immobilized in bed. Another close call occurred when he swam in a lake in Switzerland. While he was swimming, the boat he was in was carried away by the wind, and he nearly drowned from exhaustion.

Churchill had many war exploits. Although not a combatant, he rescued the wounded from an armored train during the Boer War, exposing himself to crossfire without being hit. This event also illustrated how, although he obeyed orders, he always questioned higher command when he disagreed. He was captured by the Boers and, while imprisoned, tried unsuccessfully to convince them to release him due to his status as a war correspondent: "When I look back on those days, I always feel real pity for the prisoners and captives. What it can mean for any man, especially an educated man, to be caged for years in a modern prison is beyond my imagination."

During his time in captivity, Churchill experienced moments of despair and prayed. "My prayers were quickly and wonderfully answered," as he managed to escape after carefully planning his getaway. In his memoirs, he recounts the emotional toll of constantly being on the run: "The risks faced on the battlefield, the dangers posed by bullets or grenades are one thing. Having the police hot on your heels is another. The need to hide and deceive fosters a feeling of guilt so intense that it gradually undermines morale."

Until the age of five, Churchill lived in Ireland. He had a governess who taught him to read and do simple math, but they were strict and punished him. Despite these challenges, he considered his childhood happy, as is typical for a Self-Preservation 9: "I was happy as a child with all those toys in my room, and I've been happier since I became a man. However, this school period cast a dark shadow on my life journey, involving negligible concerns and efforts that were never rewarded—an unpleasant time of restrictions and monotony without purpose."

At the age of seven, Churchill attended a prestigious boarding school preparing students for Eton. He was both excited and apprehensive about this new chapter, fearing he'd make a bad impression. "I was worried about spilling my cup or making a bad first impression. The thought of being abandoned among strangers in that huge and imposing place depressed me. After all, I was only seven years old and had always been happy at home, surrounded by my toys."

He struggled with Latin and Greek at St. James' and, after falling ill, was moved to Brighton, a smaller, more agreeable school run by two women. This was a common Self-Preservation 9 behavior—seeking comfort and care from a motherly figure. After suffering from double pneumonia, he spent three years at Brighton before moving to Harrow. There, he developed an interest in history, poetry, and writing, though he still struggled with subjects like Latin and mathematics. He was placed in the lowest academic

group after failing the entrance exam, but his love of English literature helped him excel in that subject.

His first leadership role came as head of the rookies in his dorm. He quickly learned math and began to form his belief that free will and predestination were the same. He also excelled at fencing, oratory, and memorizing lectures.

At Sandhurst, he began his military career, facing strict discipline but developing an interest in tactics and fortifications. He and his comrades spent all their money renting horses from local stables, racking up bills they hoped to pay off with future salaries. This love for horses would later diminish when he dislocated his shoulder, leading to a more sedentary life and lifelong pain. He would also suffer a few heart attacks due to excesses with food, tobacco, and alcohol.

He greatly admired his father, which does not contradict his remarks at school.

"The first time I visited the Empire Theater was in his company. He also took me to important political meetings, where most of the leaders of the Conservative Party and a good representation of its most select members met frequently. In addition, he allowed me to accompany him when he met his friends at the horse races, where we enjoyed different company and new topics of conversation that were equally entertaining. In fact, it seemed to me that he held the key to everything—or almost everything worth knowing. However, if I began to show even the slightest hint of camaraderie, he immediately took offense.

Once, I suggested that I could help his private secretary with the correspondence, and he gave me a look that left me transfixed. Now I know that it was just a passing phase. If he had lived another four or five years, he couldn’t have managed without me. But those years did not come. Just when the friendship relations were maturing and taking the form of a cordial entente, of an alliance, my father disappeared forever."

His father died on January 24, 1895, and Winston Churchill would die on January 24, 1965.

"He had a peaceful ending, without pain. All my dreams of camaraderie together, of entering Parliament with him and helping him, vanished. All I could do was fight for his goals and reclaim his memory. From that moment on, I became the master of my destiny. My mother was always by my side offering help and advice, but since I had already turned twenty-one, she never tried to exert control over me. Moreover, she soon became my most fervent ally, supporting my projects and taking care of my interests with all her influence and inexhaustible energy. She was forty years old and still beautiful and fascinating. We worked together as equals, more like brothers than mother and son. So it seemed to me, and so it remained until the end."

His hedonistic and anti-moral spirit led him to collaborate with a League for the Protection of Amusements. At the age of twenty-two, his desire to learn was awakened, and while stationed in Bangalore, India, he dedicated himself to reading Socrates, Gibbon—everything that fell into his hands in history and philosophy. "After all, a man's life is only valuable if it is devoted to knowledge or action. Without work, there can be no pleasure."

This is how he rethought his religious ideas:

"For a time, I was indignant because, as I saw things then, the teachers and clergy who had guided my youth had told me many lies. I went through a violent and aggressive anti-religious phase that, if it had lasted a little longer, would have transformed me into an unbearable person. My balance was restored in later years thanks to frequent contact with danger. I found that, whatever I thought, I did not hesitate to ask for special protection when I was about to enter under enemy fire, nor to feel a sincere gratitude when I came home safely to have tea. I even asked for more insignificant things, like not dying too soon, and almost always, in those years, and of course throughout my life, I got what I wanted.

This practice seemed completely natural, and as strong and real as the rational process it contradicted so violently. Practicing it was comforting, and logic led nowhere. I acted according to my feelings without worrying about adapting my behavior to the conclusions of my intellect."

Regarding his fondness for alcohol, as a Self-Preservation 9:

"I didn't understand how so many of my fellow officers so often asked for a whiskey with soda. I liked wine, both red and white, and especially champagne; and on very special occasions, I could even have a glass of brandy. But I had never been able to face that smoky taste of whiskey."

His military profession led him to be appointed war correspondent in Sudan and in other conflicts, which was what he initially aspired to. He became a correspondent for the Morning Post in 1899 to cover the Second Anglo-Boer War. This allowed him to devote himself to literature and painting: "I thought I could try a novel. I found that writing it was much easier than writing the exact chronicle of an event. Once started, the story flowed by itself."

His first book was titled The Story of the Malakand Field Force. His hobby often brought him the hostile gaze of his colleagues and superiors, of which he was very aware, since he feared that he would be annulled from the appointment he needed on each occasion. This is where his pessimistic fantasy, that of Self-Preservation 9, comes in:

"Yet I was haunted and haunted by a deep, unrelenting fear. I had not heard a word in Cairo about how Sir Herbert Kitchener had tolerated the War Office going against his will in

regard to my appointment. I imagined his telegrams of protest to the Ministry that would have tested the resolution taken by these... I expected at any moment a revocation order... Every time the train stopped at a station, every time the steamer approached a landing stage, I scanned the crowd with the eyes of a hunted animal; and when I saw a staff officer's badge, I immediately concluded that the worst was about to come."

When he returned from India, he left the Army because he didn't want to be a burden to his mother. He planned each and every one of his expenses. This is his concept of himself back then:

"I felt just like a clay pot among fine porcelain tableware."

In the midst of the colonial era, he publicly declared himself against Chinese slavery in the mines of South Africa. He dedicated himself professionally to giving rallies for the Conservative Party and gained more confidence in himself. He spoke of the need for the liberation of Sudan and the colonies, and the need to ban foreign goods that came from prison labor.

He soon warned of the danger posed by Hitler and opened a wide range of arguments to avoid war and promote negotiation after Hitler occupied Austria. Faced with the inevitable, going to war, his position was always against surrender.

On September 12, 1908, he married Clementine Hozier (1885-1977), the daughter of a soldier and the granddaughter of a count. He was thirty-four years old, and his bride was twenty-three. They had only known each other for six months, although there had been an earlier relationship between their families. He was always faithful to her, as he had a very romantic vision of love and sought her unconditional surrender. They had five children: Diana, Randolph, Sarah, Marigold (who would die prematurely of sepsis), and Mary. Before getting married, he had had other relationships, among which the actress Ethel Barrymore stands out.

"His idea of fun was late-night dinners, with liquor, cigars, and good conversation on political issues. A more masculine universe of camaraderie in which she was at ease. The need for marriage only arose at the time of reaching his ministry goal. Once the decision was made, he acted with his usual energy, as if planning a battle or an election campaign: there was hardly any courtship, and he was late for the marriage settlements."

The meaning of marriage in his life could be summed up in one of his most famous phrases: "I got married and have lived happily ever since."

At the age of twenty-six, he was elected to the House of Commons. He criticizes himself for not being good at improvising. He gradually drifted to the left and felt himself going against

the tide within his own party. He disagreed with both parties and felt naive, focusing on denouncing abuses of power.

"Churchill began to show unmistakable signs of his independence of judgment from the Conservative Party. Following in his father's footsteps, he soon flirted with the idea of revitalizing the old Fourth Party. To this end, he joined with other Tory troublemakers, led by Lord Hugh Cecil. For their ease, they called themselves hugbligans (for Hugh) or simply hooligans (for hooligans). His sentences were brilliant, bombastic, and cutting. His pose was also bombastic. He seemed very sure of himself when he spoke. However, he continued to memorize the speeches, and an interruption could make him lose the thread. He used to rehearse in front of the mirror. To improve his diction, he repeated all kinds of tongue twisters. Rarely have such ambition and tenacity been seen together."

He was Minister of Commerce (1908-1910), and from then on, various social measures were adopted: labor exchanges were created, conciliation boards between employers and workers were established (England was the cradle of trade unionism in the 19th century), media parties were organized weekly in commercial establishments, and working conditions and minimum wages were set in various industries.

His greatest efforts were directed, above all, towards rescuing children from exploitation and those who fell through the cracks of modern life: the unemployed, the sick, and the elderly.“ National Insurance, proposed by Lloyd George, was later approved. It was a system supported by the employer, the worker, and the State, offering certain protections to workers in the event of illness or unemployment. If this attitude was understandable in the posthumous son of a teacher—Lloyd George—it was not in the case of Churchill, the grandson of one duke and the cousin of another.

In 1910, Churchill was promoted to Home Secretary. He passed new work safety measures for mining and pushed for prison reform. An example of his stubbornness and his shadow was his position during the Sidney Street siege, which involved police clashes with an anarchist group. A fire broke out, and he did not allow the firemen to put out the flames, thus forcing the surrender. The episode reflects his authoritarian spirit. On the Irish question, however, he showed more of a negotiating spirit.

In October 1911, at the age of thirty-seven, he became First Lord of the Admiralty, overseeing the most powerful Navy in the world. His strategy reforms in weapons and aviation were decisive in Great Britain’s intervention in the First World War. He also played a significant role in the reshaping of Europe and the Middle East, with the dismantling of the colonies, for which he had a friend and collaborator in Lawrence of Arabia.

Later, Churchill warned of the dangers posed by the rise of Nazism and worked to prepare the country for war. In the Second World War, he generalized the use of radar, as well as tanks and submarines.

Quotes:

“Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our full potential.” “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, sweat, and tears.” “We must draw from the heart of suffering itself our source of inspiration and survival.” “Nothing in life is as exhilarating as being shot at without result.” “The first quality needed is boldness.” “I am sure of this: you just have to persist to conquer.” “I am an optimist. It doesn't seem too useful to be anything else.” “I never worry about action, but about inaction.” “It is more pleasant to have the power to give than to receive.” “Lonely trees, if they grow, grow strong.” “Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” “Never trust a man who doesn't have a single redeeming vice.” “If you have something important to say, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit on your argument. Then go back and hit again. Then I hit it a third time, tremendously.” “Let our concern become occupation and planning.” “A politician must have the ability to predict what will happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And then, to explain why it didn't happen.” “Never yield, never, never, never, in anything great or small, vast or insignificant, never yield except to your convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force or the seemingly insurmountable power of the enemy.” “Although I was prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed.” “I have gotten more out of alcohol than alcohol has ever gotten out of me.” “My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite the smoking of cigars and also the consumption of alcohol before, after, and, if necessary, during all meals and the intervals between them.”