Life Leadership: The Textbook

Self-Action Leadership: A Textbook for Life

In intellectual and other pursuits,
there is no substitute for serious study.

If you wish to comprehend anything of real substance, you must spend a large amount of time and invest a great deal of effort studying that concept, subject matter, or skill.

That is why credible academic degrees, technical certificates, and journeyman apprenticeships of all kinds typically require years to complete.  Likewise, if you desire to become highly skilled in any substantive endeavor or field, hundreds or even thousands of hours must be invested before you will become an authentic professional.

It doesn't matter who you are, a significant price tag in time, effort, and painful refining exists to obtain authentic success as a professional in any field or endeavor.   Regardless how much innate talent and intelligence you may possess, no one becomes intellectually proficient or highly skilled at anything overnight. And if you want to find yourself at or near the top of your field, you've gotta invest even more time and effort.

In the development of any skill,
there is no substitute for
lots of dedicated practice.

In fact, in one of his best-selling books, Outliers, well-known contemporary author Malcolm Gladwell introduces what he calls the "10,000-hour rule."  In so doing, he quotes neurologist Daniel Levitin, who wrote that, "The emerging picture from studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert—at anything."  [1]

Despite how pop culture tries to spin it, there simply are no shortcuts to authentic intelligence, skills, achievements, relationships, or any other substantive success that lasts.

In light of these omnipresent realities about real life, is it any wonder that our nation and world finds itself intellectually, ideologically, and morally adrift?  While ambition is alive and well in some corners, and remarkably successful people populate virtually every field of human endeavor—from science and medicine to art and athletics—how much time, really, does the average person spend studying life itself, including how to become a better human being who effectively serves other people.

How much time and effort do you presently invest on understanding the principles and applying the practices that bring about long-term happiness, peace, and prosperity (financially and otherwise)?  In the hustle and bustle of our endless ambition to earn the almighty dollar and get ahead (of our own personal situation as well as our peers with whom we compete against), how many people do you know who really focus a significant amount of their time and effort on their own existential growth, welfare, and progress—and how they can help others do the same?

Historically, religion has taken a front-and-center role in the existential development of human beings.  In a "progressive" culture that increasingly denies the existence of a deity while openly mocking the perceived naiveté of those deluded enough to actually believe in something they cannot sentiently access, church-going has been collectively waning in many denominations for decades.  This is not to say that religion is the only way to focus on one's existential growth; it is not.  Nevertheless, the dwindling population of parishioners has left a certain vacuum of existential focus in the lives of many.

Churchgoer or not, moral philosopher or not, didactic poet or not, Freedom Focused affirms the vital importance of spending time and effort—a LOT of it—on the study and pursuit of one's existential welfare, growth, and prosperity.  We further declare that all human beings (religious or not) have a duty to attend to the same.  This duty springs forth from life itself, and the common humanity we share with each other, undergirded by the humble recognition that the choices of each individual on this planet either indirectly influence or directly impact other human beings that live here too.

John Donne, English Poet
1572-1631

As the English poet John Donne so eloquently taught centuries ago:

No Man is an Island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away from the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a Promontory were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends, or of thine own were; Any Mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. [2]

When the bell of duty tolls in your life—and in truth, it tolls daily, even hourly, for us all—it is incumbent upon each of us to answer the call of conscience to think, speak, and act in conformity to universal laws of Truth (yes, that is Truth with a capital "T") in order to promote peace and perpetuate hope in the preservation of a bright future.

Each of us, of course, possesses free will.  We can therefore choose to disregard this duty.  Nevertheless, let no man or woman ignore nor forget the ever present and persistent reality that choices carry consequences beyond our capacity to immediately control.  While we are always free to act as we choose; we are never free to fully choose the consequences of our acts.  And the consequences of our actions always influence and impact others (for good or ill).

The often elusive goal of Inner Peace is attainable
through the efficacious exercise of Self-Action Leadership

If you are interested in happiness, inner peace, and long-term success as a human being, you must spend thousands of hours studying and practicing the art and science of Existential Growth (holistic personal development that spans the spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, social, moral, and financial realms of life).

How can you accomplish such a feat, especially if you prefer not to go to church or otherwise nurture your existence on a regular, intentional basis?


The answer is similar to what you would do if you wanted to become a professional at anything else.  You must buy the textbook on the subject, study it long and hard, get a mentor (or mentors) to help guide you through the process, and then practice, practice, practice as you seek after opportunities to teach it to others.

Amidst the millions of books in this world,
where is the secular Textbook for Life?

"But," you many ask, "where is the secular textbook for life?"

There are a LOT of texts and other reading material out there that provide great insights into the subject.  Up until now, however, a single, comprehensive, secular textbook for life itself has not existed in its entirety.  That is why I spent the last three decades of my life studying (and the last 13 years of my life researching) the subject—so that I could write the book myself.

The TEXTBOOK  FOR  LIFE has now been published.  I invite you to buy this book and begin a serious study of life itself, including your own life.  There is hardly a grander quest than the understanding of your own mind, heart, spirit, and the relationship of these things to your life's grand journey—as well as how that journey is continually affecting others.

Click HERE to buy your own copy of Self-Action Leadership, The Textbook for Life today.

After getting your copy of this 700+ page tome, you may wonder, "why is it so long and detailed?" How can you expect me, or anyone else for that matter, to read, much less study such a heavy text? Didn't you know, Jordan, that this is the age of the 140 character sound byte?

Many people have suggested that a book of this length could never interest an audience of any considerable size.

I respectfully disagree.

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbook, Volume I

Think about it... if an authentic, secular TEXTBOOK on a subject as deep, broad, and substantive as life itself really did exist, and if it really did possess significant answers to some of life's most perplexing questions and dilemmas, would you really expect it to come in a blog post or pamphlet? Furthermore, would you really feel like you got your money's worth if you paid $30 for a "Textbook for Life" and you received a flimsy little 75-page cursory commentary on the subject? I seriously doubt it—no matter how colorful or entertaining it might be.

I argue that our intellectually and morally starved culture desperately needs something long and substantive and, yes, even a little bit arduous if we are to individually and collectively combat the 140-character fluff that persistently clutters our phones, desktops, and lives. The time has come to return to the basics, and the basics have always required hard work and sacrifice to truly master.

Yes, Self-Action Leadership is a deep subject of inquiry, and YES, Self-Action Leadership will stretch your mind and require a great deal of study and effort to fully appreciate; but is life itself any different? I think we all know the answer to that question, so it follows that the TEXTBOOK FOR LIFE, especially one nearly 30 years in the making, should offer a bit more to the thoughtful student of one's own existence.

SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP is the key catalyst for initiating transformational leadership that lasts in any organization. The truth of the matter really is that simple; and the transformation of organizations through the holistic development of individuals really is that difficult—yet altogether possible for anyone willing to invest the time, effort, and sacrifice required to achieve authentic, transformational results.

Unlike any training program that has ever preceded it, Self-Action Leadership provides a single vehicle wherewith individual self-leaders can discover—and then act—upon the great truth that HOLISTIC personal development and growth spanning the mental, moral, spiritual, physical, emotional, social, and financial elements of our individual natures lies within the grasp of each one of us.

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbook, Volume II

Click HERE to learn more about the Self-Action Leadership Theory & Model.

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Click HERE to read more about Dr. Jensen's book, Self-Action Leadership, and to review what experts in the leadership field are saying about this groundbreaking new personal development handbook.

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan R. Jensen.

Click HERE to visit the Freedom Focused website.

Notes:

1. Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York, NY: Little, Brown. Page 40.
2. Booty, J. (1990). John Donne: Selections From Divine Poems, Sermons, Devotions, and Prayers. 
New York, NY: Paulist Press. Page 58.