Chapter 13
Famous Examples of
Self-Action Leadership
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| Napoleon Bonaparte, Emporer of the French 1804-1815 A controversial figure, Bonaparte brought about as much destruction and death as he did progress. As such, he is not, in the aggregate, a classical or ideal self-action leader. Yet, there remain many SAL-oriented lessons to be be learned from his remarkable life and career, which changed the world, and in some ways, positively so. |
These well-documented narratives tell the tales of men and women who have overcome significant challenges to accomplish meaningful goals that positively influence other people.
Some of these stories are "rags-to-riches" tales.
Others tell of rich men and women who made good and productive use of their resources for the benefit of their fellowman.
All such stories include the transcendence of personal adversity through courage, determination, and endurance. These persons reached unusual heights of success to positively influence large numbers of people that sometimes trigger/ed world-changing events and movements.
Such biographies illuminate many SAL characteristics and values, including: character, integrity, hard work, consistence, determination, resilience, a positive mental attitude, persistence, self-awareness, self-reliance, and the establishment of and adherence to a personal vision, mission, values, goals, standards, etc.
Anecdotes from the lives of these men and women have provided insights and inspiration to billions of men and women throughout history. Below, you will find a sampling of the kinds of people to whom I am referring.
In reviewing this list, it is vital to note and essential to remember that any such compilation will be filled with imperfect individuals who were not always completely circumspect in exemplifying the moral component of SAL.
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| Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968 |
In an imperfect world filled with flawed folks, we can still rely in good measure on the examples of leaders who, although imperfect, nevertheless strive/d to exemplify goodness, rightness, and excellence in the balance of their lives.
In the words of one of my favorite movie characters: There are no perfect [people] in this world—only perfect intentions. (1)
Some of those listed below were better, and certainly more moral, self-action leaders than others. Nevertheless, all of them exhibited positive qualities worth admiring, studying, and replicating. While perfect beings may not exist in this world, good men and women and boys and girls unquestionably do inhabit our planet. Such persons live/d their lives in ways that, on the whole, produce/d long-term benefits to self and others.
At Freedom Focused, we encourage self-action leaders everywhere to seek out and study the lives of these great men and women in order to learn—from both their strengths and their weakness, their successes and their failures, their virtues and their vices—how to better lead your own life.
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| Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865 |
There are several criterion for making this list.
The first is that the person must be A-list famous. This ensures that a majority of educated readers will readily recognize most persons on the list and what those persons accomplished in their lives. There are, of course, plenty of obscure examples of SAL—as the previous 12 chapters have so richly illustrated. The purpose of this chapter, however, is to highlight high profile examples.
The second criterion is that I be familiar with and/or have independently studied or observed the persons listed. Many different lists could be compiled with many different names of persons both famous and obscure who have lived throughout human history.
No one is an expert on everyone; I certainly am not.
As the author of this book, I therefore put forth a list of those with whom I am either most familiar and/or those whom I have come to most admire—and this list is, to that extent, biased. There are, of course, many others that could have qualified, and we at Freedom Focused encourage all readers to compile their own list in conjunction with the one provided below.
Lastly, I have attempted to make the list diverse and inclusive. Many—and perhaps most—will argue that I at least partially failed in my attempt to so do. I will not quibble over any such accusations. As I have already acknowledged, this list carries my own biases and limitations. For any who may chagrined about any prominent person or persons who are not on my list, I enthusiastically encourage you to compile your own SAL celebrity wish list.
Jim Thorpe
Jackie Robinson
Sebastian Coe
Mia Hamm
Roger Federer
Danica Patrick
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| Henry Flagler 1830-1913 "Father of Modern Florida" |
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| Florence Nightingale 1820-1910 |
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| Joan of Arc 1412-1431 |
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| Abigail Adams 1744-1818 |
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| Mary Shelley 1797-1851 |
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| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756-1791 |
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| Confucius 551-479 BC |
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| General George Washington 1732-1799 |
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| Aristotle 384-322 BC |
- Pick someone from the lists above.
- Read a substantive (250+ page) biography or autobiography of the life of the person you picked.
- Write a journal entry describing what you learned from their example (good or bad, positive or negative) and how you can apply what you learned to your own SAL journey.
- If an author were to someday write a book about YOU, what would you want the book to say about your life's character, achievements, contributions, relationships, and legacy?
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 491st Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 279th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 490 FF Blog Articles
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL QUOTES
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL POEMS
Click HERE to access the FULL TEXT of Dr. JJ's Psalms of Life: A Poetry Collection
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