TWENTY (20) Year Anniversary of the SAL Textbook

FIRST Edition of the SAL Textbook
Published by Booksurge 
2006

TODAY marks a very special anniversary in my professional career, and in the storied history of the SAL Life Leadership textbook.  

Twenty (20) years ago to the day—April 6, 2006—the first shipment of the FIRST Edition of this work arrived at my residence in Woodstock, Georgia (metro Atlanta) where I was living at the time. 

There were 565 copies of that original work, packaged neatly and tightly in 12 heavy boxes. Robbie Noble, my roommate, kindly helped me heft the dozen boxes up the three (3) flights of stairs to our apartment. 

That obscure event marked a very different place and time in my life and career than where I currently find myself. For example, I was still several months away from meeting—much less dating or marrying—my amazing wife and saving grace, Lina. 

Approximately 100 days previously, I had taken a bold leap of faith by moving back to Atlanta, Georgia from Utah for the second time to continue building my fledgling business as an intrepid (albeit sometimes foolish) entrepreneur. I was quickly running out of money and had few promising prospects on the horizon as either an entrepreneur or employee. It was a perplexing and embarrassing, yet concurrently adventurous and exhilarating period of my life.

I was certainly elated the day I received that first shipment of my first book.

A great deal has happened in the intervening 20 years, including the creation and/or publication of FIVE (5) more editions of the SAL Life Leadership textbook. The SAL Textbook—and my life—looks very different in 2026 than it did back in 2006. I now have a wife of 18 years and three (3) beautiful children. All of the awful debt I had incurred in the early days of Freedom Focused was paid off by 2012, and Lina and I have been diligently saving for our future ever since.

Suffice it to say, I no longer worry about being evicted from my housing, having my car repossessed, or being able to buy food. Indeed, after 20 years of studying and practicing SAL in conjunction with enjoying the rich and ongoing blessings of Serendipity, the portrait of my life looks very different now than it did back then—thus evincing the tangible and terrific life benefits obtainable through the focused study and diligent application of SAL principles and practices over time.

I am now several weeks removed from submitting the manuscript for the landmark SEVENTH Edition of the SAL Life Leadership textbook to its publisher, and the publication process has commenced with an anticipated release date coinciding with the 250th Anniversary of America's birthday—July 4, 1776.

I will continue to send out additional details in preparation for this exciting event. In the meantime, I invite you to join me on a journey down memory lane, as I showcase the SIX (6) succeeding editions of the SAL Textbook that have since grown out of that seminal work published 20 years ago, today.   

FIRST Edition of the SAL Textbook
Published by Booksurge 
302 pages

2006

SECOND Edition of the SAL Textbook
Unpublished Manuscript 
268 pages

2007

(Publisher dishonestly reneged on signed contract, leaving me in a lurch)

THIRD Edition of the SAL Textbook
JJ's Doctoral Dissertation

Fielding Graduate University

4-volume ~ 1,149 pages 
2013

FOURTH Edition of the SAL Textbook
Published by authorHouse 
800 pages
2013

FIFTH Edition of the SAL Textbook
Published by authorHouse 
740 pages
2015

SIXTH Edition of the SAL Textbook
Published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing 
2 Volumes  ~  1,295 pages
2019



Self-Action Leadership: A Textbook and Journal for Life

SEVENTH Edition of the SAL Textbook
Published by Palmetto
Currently in the publication process
Single TEXTBOOK-sized volume
1,680 pages (unpublished)
800 pages (published)
2026




PRAISE for the SAL Textbook...

Colonel Lee Ellis
U.S. Air Force, Retired
Business Owner and Leadership Expert

"In the SAL Textbook, Dr. Jordan Jensen has assembled a leadership masterpiece anchored steadfastly in true principles of philosophy and human behavior.

"In wonderfully written prose, Jordan reminds us of who we are and what it takes to live and lead with honor. Moreover, he challenges us to live up to the high calling of being human beings with a special mission on this Earth. To accomplish our mission, we must do two major things: grow in our sense of personal responsibility, and in turn, care for others and help them to do the same.

"I grappled with these two areas in a primal way during more than five years as a POW in Vietnam. Now I'm thrilled to see how Dr. Jensen has laid out SAL by using the vehicle of story to illuminate his own unique journey of transcending adversity. In so doing, he has inspired us all to become who we are capable of becoming. 

"Bravo!"

— Colonel Lee Ellis
U.S. Air Force (retired)
Founder & President of Leading with Honor, 

Leadership Freedom LLC, and FreedomStar Media.
Author of Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton

"There is no more important contributor to your own effectiveness than how you lead yourself. If you want to learn a great deal about the latest thinking on self-leadership, read this comprehensive work."

— Charles C. Manz, Ph.D.
Nirenberg Chaired Professor of Business Leadership, University of Massachusetts
Father of the self-leadership field in academe
Co-author of Self-Leadership: The Definitive Guide to Personal Excellence

Dr. Chris Neck

"Jordan Jensen has accomplished a task that is very difficult for any author to achieve, and that is to produce a single text that is highly relevant to multiple audiences at the same time. Because of the universal applicability of basic self-leadership principles, his message is germane not only to persons struggling with OCD, depression, or other forms of mental illness, but to civic leaders, administrators, business professionals and workers of all kinds, educators, students, parents, and students—in short, to everyone. Indeed, I do believe that virtually anyone who reads this text will be able to take something away from it that will improve his or her life in a significant way."

— Christopher P. Neck, Ph.D.
Professor of Management, Arizona State University
Co-author of Self-Leadership: The Definitive Guide to Personal Excellence

David G. Anthony, Ed.D.

"Reading this book may be the most valuable thing you do this year. I hope the message of SAL makes its way into the minds and hearts of students, parents, and business professionals everywhere. Its presence in the literature is a service to our nation and world."

— David G. Anthony, Ed.D.
Former CEO, Raise Your Hand Texas
Former Superintendent, Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (Houston, TX)

Elizabeth & Bradley Chappell

"Jordan Jensen's empowering book shares candid personal insights into the challenges of living with OCD and the broadly applicable process he has been using to continually overcome it. We have read about several different mental health challenges, but never as a first-hand account written in such a detailed and self-disclosing fashion. The compelling narrative chapters make this self-help guide read like a page-turner novel that is coupled with a powerful process of improving one's ability to self-lead. Jordan's explanation of Self-Action Leadership is applicable to all. 

"Thanks, Jordan!" 

— Brad and Elizabeth Chappell
Husband, Father, Award-Winning Financial Advisor, and Business Owner (Brad) and Wife, Mother, Writer, and Entrepreneur (Elizabeth); Spring, Texas, USA

Dr. Bruce Jackson
Business Owner & Flow Expert

"Most of us have challenges that we seek to explain through our genetic predispositions. It is the select few who consider their internal resources and make the choice to master those challenges. Dr. Jensen, through his own experiences and research, has taken the latter path—The Road Less Traveled. Anyone who seeks greater insight into their inner struggles, and desires the tools to overcome those struggles—to master self—will find this work a must read!"  

— Bruce H. Jackson, Ph.D., MBA, MPA, Ed.M., MA 
Founder & CEO of the Attentional Leadership Institute
Author of Finding Your Flow

"Since I was crowned Miss America in 1984, I have had the opportunity to travel all over the world to meet with countless leaders, educators, and families. In doing so, I have noticed that the attributes that factor most greatly in the long-term success of individuals and groups—like personal character and the ability to lead and influence others in positive and productive ways—are not taught in homes to the same degree that they were when I was growing up.

 
"If students don't learn these things in their homes, schools become the "Next Defense" and maybe even their "Last Best Hope" to obtain them before entering the professional workforce. Unfortunately, schools these days often shirk their duty in this regard as well. As such, I am thrilled to see that Jordan has dedicated his career to bridging this glaring pedagogical gap and meeting this much-needed character component in schools, universities, and organizations. I heartily endorse Dr. Jensen's work and encourage leaders, administrators, and educators everywhere to embrace Self-Action Leadership in their states, districts, schools, and organizations."

— Sharlene Wells Hawkes

Business Executive, Community Leader, and former Miss America (1985)

SAL has never been short of PRAISE
from EXPERTS and others
who have read the work.

"While a number of books and articles have been written on the topic of self-leadership, Jordan Jensen's Self-Action Leadership textbook goes deep below the surface of basic self-leading strategies and their accompanying examples. It provides an in-depth examination of how self-leadership processes can be woven effectively into the fabric of one's life. A deeply personal and richly emotive narrative, SAL takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery, providing one of the most detailed and applied treatments of self-leadership concepts currently available." 

— Jeffery D. Houghton, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor of Management, West Virginia University and leading self-leadership scholar in academe

"Jordan Jensen has written a thorough, intense, and illuminating autobiographical volume about how to lead oneself. His story, compounded by OCD and a determination to improve, will help others reflect on how they might best lead themselves—given whatever genetic endowment or mimetic inheritance they may have received. Jordan's depth of analysis and self-insight will inspire others to take a similarly in-depth review of who they are and who they want to be—at least once before they die—a journey well worth the effort." 

— James G.S. Clawson, Ph.D. 
Emeritus Professor of Management, Darden Graduate School of Business at The University of Virginia
Author of Level 3 Leadership: Getting Below the Surface

 

Dr. JJ's Bachelor's Degree in English from UVU
signed by President Matthew S. Holland

"The model of SAL is a thought-provoking read of a topic vital for our day. While Dr. Jensen draws upon multiple disciplines, he manages to produce a broadly accessible book that shows how this type of leadership is attainable for anyone willing to accept responsibility and work at it."

— Matthew S. Holland, Ph.D.
Former President, Utah Valley University 

"As a high school English teacher who also facilitates a student leadership class, I was thrilled to learn about this insightful guide to self-leadership that can be used as a resource in classes just like mine. As an educator, it is encouraging to know that there are people out there like Dr. Jensen who are working hard to support administrators, teachers, parents, and students alike. I am confident the message of Self-Action Leadership will help to provide the guidance our youth so desperately need to become effective self-leaders and productive members of society.

"Thank you, Jordan!" 

— Shannon Lindholm
High School Teacher, Texas, USA

Josh Rohatinsky
Healthcare Administrator
and Champion Distance Runner

"Dr. Jensen shares insightful stories and powerful principles to create an incredibly solid foundation of self-leadership knowledge, but he doesn't stop there. The reader is also guided through the same process of self-discovery Dr. Jensen himself went through to become an effective self-action leader. The combination of sound philosophy and guided self-exploration make this work a truly unique and powerful tool in creating principle-centered self-leaders." 

— Josh Rohatinsky, MPA 
Administrative Director, Utah Valley Hospital
NCAA Division-1 men's cross-country champion (2006)
Former professional runner (Nike)

"Dr. Jensen, through his experience teaching, brings to light the importance of teaching leadership and character inside the classroom. Teachers will feel empowered to impact outside of prescribed curriculum through an understanding of Self-Action Leadership." 

— James Fraser
High School Teacher and Coach, Texas, USA

"If you find yourself in Hell, you might be lucky enough to come across this book. Psychotherapists like myself can show you a pathway to healing, but Jordan outlines individual footsteps you can follow to personal freedom.

"Jordan approached his OCD and depression with unusual determination and proactivity. His story offers an inspiring model of a patient's full acceptance of responsibility for one's own condition and treatment, which is paramount to a successful outcome.

"His Self-Action Leadership Theory and Model—the result of keen self-awareness, reflection, and study—offer hope for those who struggle with mental illness and other life challenges. He has demonstrated the courage to take the first steps, as well as the commitment to keep going." 

— Irene Tobis, Ph.D. 
Retired Professional Counselor and former President of OCD Texas, an affiliate of the International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation (IOCDF)

—Dr. JJ

Monday, April 6, 2026

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 515th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 299th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 514 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

Click HERE for a complete listing of Self-Action Leadership Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Fitness, Heath, & Wellness Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Biographical & Historical Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Current Events, Cultural, Philosophical, & Miscellaneous Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Dr. JJ's Autobiographical Articles

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Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.  

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