'Lincoln told a story to an audience of generals and admirals about a man who had approached him for a high-ranking government appointment. First, the man asked if he might be made a foreign minister. Upon being turned down, the man asked for a more modest position. Upon being turned down again, he asked for a job as a low-level customs officer. Finding he could not get even that, he finally just asked for an old pair of trousers. Ah, Lincoln laughed as he concluded the story, "it is well to be humble”. '
From The Daily Stoic, by Ryan Holiday
