Chapter 23
Taking ACTION
CONSTRUCTION STAGE 3: BUILDING the SUPERSTRUCTURE
SAL MODEL STAGE 3: TAKING ACTION
"The simple act of commitment is a powerful magnet for help. The moment we commit and quit holding back, all sorts of unforeseen people, events, and circumstances will rise up and assist us."
—William James
"A person's business is to work—to surmount difficulties, to endure hardship, to solve problems, to overcome the inertia of his own nature: to turn chaos into cosmos by the aid of system—[to act]—this is to live!" (1)
—Elbert Hubbard
Once a firm foundation has been laid, builders can begin the process of erecting the superstructure itself—one floor at a time.
Doing so requires all kinds of different ACTION—gradual, steady, continual, and ultimately never-ending ACTION.
Action is absolutely indispensable to any and all progress in construction or in life. Even with the very best laid goals and plans, the truth is the
nothing moves until YOU move; nothing goes until YOU go; and nothing happens until YOU start happening.
SAL Mantra
Nothing moves until YOU move.
Nothing goes until YOU go.
Nothing happens until YOU start happening.
CONSTRUCTION STAGE 3: BUILDING the SUPERSTRUCTURE
- Punctually showing up to the work site
- Concrete, steel, wood, glass, brick, mortar, and drywall
- Plumbing, electrical wiring, insulation, and HVAC.
- Carpet, painting, woodwork, and interior decorating
- Landscaping
Having developed an integrity-based character, you are now prepared to begin building the kind of life you designed in your SAL Constitution. As you adhere to these blueprints and appropriately amend them as you grow and mature, you'll notice your life coming together in highly attractive and wonderfully satisfying and fulfilling ways.
SAL MODEL STAGE 3: TAKING ACTION
- Self-discipline
- Self-ACTION in public
- Self-ACTION in private
- World-altering strategies (1)
- Self-Rewards and Natural Rewards (2)
YOUR POWER as a self-action leader lies in taking ACTION in the present moment.
 |
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803-1882 |
In the words Emerson:
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift—
that's why they call it the present." (4)
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift—that's why they call it the present."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
This statement cleverly and memorably captures the importance and value of each and every "TODAY" throughout your life. After all, today is really the only day you'll ever have.
So carpe diem...
SEIZE it!
As a kid growing up in Monticello, Utah, I spent countless hours at my Aunt Nedra's home playing with my cousins. Aunt Nedra was an amazing cook and I was further blessed to partake of many delicious meals in her kitchen.
On the wall of Aunt Nedra's kitchen—just to the right of the bar stools—hung a plaque with a silhouette of President Thomas Jefferson and his famous self-designed, Roman-columned home, after which my hometown was named.
 |
Thomas Jefferson
1743-1826 |
Written on the plaque were Jefferson's Ten Rules of Life. One of these ten rules read: Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today."
—Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson understood the Power of the Present. His penchant and passion for ACTION led to his becoming an extraordinarily accomplished person—a true outlier in the history of the United States and World.
All self-action leaders would do well to take his advice to heart within a framework of their own unique intellect, talents, and circumstances.
 |
Thomas Carlyle
1795-1881 |
Don't wait until tomorrow to start pursuing your dreams; begin the painstaking process of patiently painting your life's masterpiece TODAY! In the incisive and inspiring words of another great man named "Thomas," in this case the great Scottish Philosopher, Thomas Carlyle: Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
"Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance,
but to do what lies clearly at hand."
—Thomas Carlyle
In the fall of 2003, I had recently moved across my Country from the State of Utah to the State of Georgia.
I was living my personal dream of relocating to the American South and was in the midst of experiencing an adventure of a lifetime to-date. One Sunday, in the middle of the day immediately after church, I drove to a local high school (Pope High School in Marietta), went around back to their track and field complex, and sat down in the vacant visitors' bleachers, facing northwest. My trip to Pope's track that day was motivated by a personal hobby and tradition I have of visiting different track and field complexes around my nation and world and then recording a list of them all in my journal.
As I was thus engaged in privately pondering there at the Pope track, my poetic Muse endowed me with a flash of inspiration, which led to my quickly penning the following poem.
The Power of the Present
Beyond the haze of what we face, There lies the track on which we'll race;
But what we often soon forget—
It's also 'neath our current pace.
We always look beyond the mists.
Squint through the fog toward future lists,
And rarely opt to seize the day,
There here and now's so often missed!
For what we fail to contemplate,
The present's where we carve our fate,
And future's bliss's only secured,
By mast'ring what's now on our plate.
But when we grasp onto what's ours, That's how we'll break our prison bars,
And rise in ways we'd never thought,
To mighty deeds and distant stars.
O man, no longer cast your view,
On things that aren't in front of you,
Do your best now, and trust in faith,
That all things in their time shall find YOU.
—JRJ
"Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance,
but to do what lies clearly at hand."
—Thomas Carlyle
As a self-action leader, YOURS is the opportunity of a lifetime to take full advantage of the power of your own present and take ACTION—today, tomorrow, and forever into the future on a never-ending quest to become all you are capable of becoming and to rise to the highest levels of the SAL Hierarchy over time.
What are you waiting for?
Get moving and take ACTION!
"What you are to be you are now becoming."
—Carl Rogers
EXERCISE #21
What is something you've been procrastinating? Complete this task TODAY, or before the end of the week.
I have completed the SAL Master Challenge EXERCISE #21
Your initials:__________ AP initials:__________
—Dr. JJ
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
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Chapter 23 Notes
1. Hubbard, E. (1946). An American Bible. Edited by Alice Hubbard. New York,
NY: Wm. H. Wise & Co., Inc. Page 141. Note: the original quote used "man" instead of person and did not include the bracketed word "act."
2. Neck, C. P., & Manz, C. C. (2010). Mastering Self-Leadership: Empowering
Yourself for Personal Excellence (Fifth Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Pages 15-16, 27-30, and 38-51.
See also: Neck, C.P., Manz, C.C., and Houghton, J.D. (2017). Self-Leadership: The Definitive Guide to Personal Excellence. Los Angeles: SAGE. Pages 33-37.
3. Neck, C.P., Manz, C.C., and Houghton, J.D. (2017). Self-Leadership: The Definitive Guide to Personal Excellence. Los Angeles: SAGE. Pages 49-52 and 65-72.
4. This quote by Emerson has multiple author attributions.
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