Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. She earned the nickname “The Iron Lady” because of her determination, courage, and unbending will.

These qualities did not depart her when she left office. Five years after vacating Number 10 Downing Street, the former Prime Minister was interviewed for a Swedish television program. The interviewer was TV journalist Stina Dabrowski. She was known for having the subjects of her interviews stand and jump. All of her interviewees, regardless of power, wealth, or prestige, had always agreed to do this.

Margaret Thatcher wasn’t like everyone else.

As the interview approached its conclusion, Dabrowski asked Thatcher if she would join the tradition by jumping. Thatcher’s response is immediate: “I shouldn’t dream of doing that. Why should I?” She explained, “I make great jumps forward, not little jumps in a studio.” “I think it’s a silly thing to ask. I think it’s a puerile thing to ask.”

Dabrowski had been successful in getting other famous people to jump, such as the Dalai Lama and George Soros. She thought she could convince Thatcher by telling her that Mikhail Gorbachev did it. Thatcher is unpersuaded: “You amaze me. I wonder what he thought of the politics of a free society.”

Thatcher, who famously warned about the dangers of standing in the middle of the road, would not be moved from her convictions through peer pressure, conventional wisdom, or relentless pestering. Regardless of one’s political leanings, all of us could benefit from the example.

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