In the long-run, we all get what we are willing to sacrifice and work for.
In the words of the Good Book:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
—Galatians 6:7
In this concluding chapter of BOOK the FOURTH, I offer some advice and encouragement as you brace yourself for the next steps in your journey towards Existential Growth up the SAL Hierarchy.
If any of the following paragraphs strike a chord (or nerve) in you, that's good! I am always hopeful that something I say or write will nudge another to greater action, proactivity, and productivity.
In the short-run, life is often unfair.
But in the long-run, life has a way of being surprisingly fair for many (if not most) of us.
I believe that each of our individual life circumstances and situations are tailor-made to provide us all with those unique experiences we need to prove ourselves worthy of those blessings life has in store for all who are faithful and devoted to True Principles rooted in Universal Laws. In other words, we each have an opportunity to prove ourselves committed to and victorious over life's many battles—or to prove ourselves defeated thereby.
As the SAL Guy, I recognize that your circumstances and situation may be different, unusual, extra trying, and certainly not perfectly comparable to mine or anyone else's. But when you think things are bad, reflect back on Viktor Frankl's sufferings in Nazi concentration camps. Even amidst those unusually difficult and trying circumstances of his life, he was able to muster the courage to ultimately triumph.
Said he:
"Even though conditions such as lack of sleep, insufficient food and various mental stresses may suggest that the [concentration camp] inmates were bound to react in certain ways, in the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him—mentally and spiritually. He may retain his dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevski said once, "There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings." These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering in death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their sufferings was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom—which cannot be taken away—that makes life meaningful and purposeful." (1)
SAL is all about earning these "genuine inner achievements" in the name of continual and never-ending Existential Growth up the SAL Hierarchy. And the truth of the matter is that many (if not most) of those achievements will be attained in private when no one else is looking.
In the midst of the fiery trials that each of us must face, life itself—like a grindstone—will eventually determine what we are all made of.
"Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds you down
or polishes you up is for you and you alone to decide."
—Cavett Robert
When your time in this life is up and you pass away from this world, will you have become something beautiful and honorable for others to behold and admire, or will you have withered away into pathways of bitterness, remorse, revenge, and regret?
Will you be the kind of person your posterity seeks to emulate, or whose legacy they desire to hide away in the dusty pages of forgotten ancestral lore?
Will you be the victim of the external dragons and internal monsters you faced, or the victorious champion who courageously confronted and triumphantly conquered them?
Formidable forces will bear down continually in opposition to any attempts you make to earn Existential Growth and rise up the SAL Hierarchy. Indeed, Existential Gravity can and will bear down upon you immensely and intensely throughout your life. And existential crabs can and often will prove relentless in their wretched efforts to pull you down and break you underneath the weight of their pernicious pinchers.
But in most instances, you still have a choice.
In the final analysis, it is relatively rare to find someone who can honestly say: "I was irreparably broken by external forces beyond my control; I am a genuine victim of my circumstances."
There will always be, of course, some who can truly say this.
Nevertheless, for the most part—and as a general rule—those who break ultimately allow themselves to be broken. In the end, Existential Growth always atrophies from within, not from without.
Freedom Focused invites YOU to do everything in your power to rid your life of bad influences and obstacles—and then avoid becoming an obstacle yourself. Instead of criticizing and tearing down yourself and others, seek to build yourself and others up and continually affirm your (and their) worth.
In so doing, remember the words that Bryant Hinckley used to tell his son, Gordon: Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve. (2)
"Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve."
—Bryant Hinckley
One of the most amazing and remarkable things about human beings is our capacity for resilience. Never forget how much power and potential you have to endure whatever you may be called upon to face in your life. If you will square yourself to every challenge and duty that comes your way and courageously confront it, life will not produce any trial greater than your power to transcend it.
I promise you this in words of great seriousness, sincerity, and soberness.
YOU ultimately possess the power and potential to prosper in every area of your life over time. The greatest variable in your success will not be the challenges you face, but the desire, will, patience, and persistence with which you choose to confront those crucibles.
The Slaying of the Beast
What holds me back from casting off?
"Why nothing!" said I with a laugh,
"But won't they sneer and scorn and scoff?"
"Of course!" said I, "And that's but half
Of all the calumny they'll heap,
Cov'ring me knee, waist, chest deep."
"When covered all, what then of you?"
The skeptic asked, his motive true,
"Will not they smother all the good,
And spoil God's gift of daily food?
Will not your efforts yet prove vain,
Leaving you with naught but pain?
And 'pon your soul, will yet remain
The deepest, darkest, blackest stain?"
"Nay, not so, dear friend, you're blind,
And I'm bereaved you've yet to find
The one true light that lights the mind,
And with this truth I'll now remind
You of this elementary right:
That God's endowed me with a might,
That's free to those willing to fight.
And with pure weaponry so real,
I've got an everlasting sight
That cuts deep through this earthen plight,
And lifts me far beyond the night
They'd gladly cast me ever toward—
A death incurred by my own sword.
"The beauty of seeing clearly,
To recognize the foe 'tis me,
Not you, but me, yes yes, it's me!
To think that they're the enemy
Is fiercely falsified foolishness!
"And knowing now the facts—the sum,
There's nothing outside me to fear,
The real demon's much more near—
And clear—insidiously in my ear,
Yes! Each one plots their own dam fall,
But for those who come to see
That fiend alive in you and me,
Yet to make the choice—a firm resolve—
To kill the beast that doth evolve
Inside myself, then vict'ries won
In utter solitude... alone.
No shouts or cheers,
No joyful tears,
No thundering applause,
No commendation and no praise,
No rave reviews, no front page craze
Accompanies the slaying of
The beast inside myself.
"But once the demon has been slain
the onward march of time makes plain
The end of it's the start of me—
My pending public victory, (3)
And my eternal destiny."
—JRJ
Freedom Focused urges you to flee from the rife, repetitive, and uncreative voices that scream out all the reasons why you won't succeed.
Such are the crabs.
Ignore them!
Whatever it takes, find a way to escape the abysmal blandness of the bucket and the caustic clutches of its crass and crooked crustaceans.
You are, of course, always free to fail. But if you choose failure, remember that it is your choice, and in the end, you will ultimately have only yourself to blame.
In the past, I often felt my life was inordinately hard as I suffered under the yoke of OCD, depression, failure, and rejection. The truth is that everyone has it hard in a variety of ways. No one gets out of this life without facing serious challenges. But in many—and perhaps most—cases, how hard things are for you in the long-run depends on the choices you make and the habits you form in the short-run.
Every moment you spend complaining about life being "hard" or "unfair" is a moment you could invest in figuring out how you could create a better future for yourself and your family, neighborhood, team, organization, community, state, nation, etc.
It's time to come to terms with what you can and cannot control in your life and stop fixating on the former while sharpening your focus and energy on the latter.
What you currently have, and where and what you currently are in your life is at least partly (if not largely) a result of what you have earned by virtue of what you have (or have not) thought, said, and done in your life to date.
If you don't like what and where you currently are, you have the power to change both over time.
At Freedom Focused, we love a certain cultural definition of insanity: Doing the same things over and over again while expecting results.
That's INSANE!
If you want a different result (output), you have to invest in a different action (input). That's just the way things are. Physically or metaphysically speaking, this basic principle is a deeply rooted and surprisingly precise mathematical reality—especially when calculated over the long-run.
Like everything else in YOUR life, you will get out of this Life Leadership textbook what you put into it.
I'm continually impressed at how time has a way of evening the score and unveiling the true and authentic winners in life. The importance of patience and the passage of time cannot be underestimated in any discussion about existential fairness. Many people refer to this phenomenon as Karma—a Buddhist concept that means what goes around comes around. Christian Scripture calls it reaping what you sow.
At Freedom Focused, we call it getting what you deserve and earn over time.
I'm not here to tell you when your ship is going to come in, because it never will. No one's ship ever comes in all by itself. To varying degrees, we all have to work, suffer, stumble, struggle, and fail whilst attempting to swim out to our ship.
That's the bad news.
The GOOD NEWS is that Serendipity, working in conjunction with SAL principles and practices, exists to provide the map and tools you'll need to successfully swim out to your ship, confidently climb aboard, and then sail off into the sunset of a brighter future for you and those you care about.
While your journey to meet and board your ship will take you through severe swells and terrifying tempests, it will also provide you with some sunshine and beautiful vistas. Indeed, you may even bump into a gorgeous and luxurious island paradise or two along the way.
It never ceases to amaze me how remarkably resilient, determined, and powerful human beings can be when they have a clear vision of who they are, what they want, and where they need to go. Thus, there is no doubt in my mind that YOU can and will succeed in your SAL journey if you want to badly enough and are willing to pay the high price that SAL success and Existential Growth demands.
What saddens me is when I see people who won't try, or who fruitlessly try to circumvent True Principles and Universal Laws.
That never works!
If you are currently pursuing this futile end, please make the choice today to stop, change course, and move forward in a new and more positive and productive direction. And if you need help getting there, seek out and get that help TODAY!
The BATTLES and the WAR
Lao Tsu—a famous Chinese philosopher of antiquity, founder of Taoism, and author of the legendary Tao Te Ching—lauded the self-controlled person when he said: He who conquers himself is mighty.
"He who conquers himself is mighty."
—Lao Tsu
Buddha, Muhammad, and the mountain conquering Sir Edmund Hillary commented similarly on this same subject, as follows:
"One who conquers himself is greater than another who
conquers a thousand times a thousand on the battlefield."
—Buddha
"The strong man is not the good wrestler;
the strong man is only the one who controls himself."
—Muhammad
"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."
—Sir Edmund Hillary
In his timeless self-help classic, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill identified 30 "major causes of failure" (4) among human beings. Twenty-four (24) of them are directly related to SAL-oriented deficiencies. That means that 80 percent of the major causes of failure fall within YOUR power to do something about—no matter who you are, where you live, or what your present circumstances may be.
Given this statistic, Hill rightly touched on a lot of different SAL-oriented principles and practices in his bestseller. After all, you cannot become wealthy—financially or otherwise—without a significant investment of SAL.
One of the most significant SAL statements in Think and Grow Rich is as follows:
"Before you can control conditions, you must first control yourself. Self-Mastery is the hardest job you will ever tackle. If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self. You may see at one and the same time both your best friend and your greatest enemy, by stepping in front of a mirror." (5).
—Napoleon Hill
Whether you, I and everyone else on the planet like it or not, we all have an enemy that lurks deep down inside our mind, heart, and soul.
We are at war with that enemy.
In the end, the inward battles we fight with our own worst impulses are usually more important than any external battles we may wage against other people.
If we are to claim ultimate victory in this ongoing internal war against self, we must lay siege to the worst within ourselves and reverse the corruption and rot inside our minds, hearts, and souls.
In the inspired words of Colonel Lee Ellis (retired)—an actual warrior during the Vietnam War:
"If you want to lead with honor, you must become a warrior. You must be willing to engage in battles against your fears, your ingrained habits, and your natural instinct to put yourself first and take the easy way out. You must be willing to endure suffering and sacrifice for the sake of higher values." (6)
Inspiration from a "Glow Worm" Warrior
.jpg) |
A Young Winston Churchill in dress uniform
at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst |
Known for his quick wit and humor, Winston Churchill once remarked that, "We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glow worm."
An unusually ambitious, focused, hard-working, persistent, and determined human being, Churchill was keenly aware of the unique and outlying role he played in world history. He seized life's opportunities for service and influence like few men and women who have ever lived.
In the annals of war, he is unsurpassed in both his oratory and the influence thereof.
Virtually every human being who has ever drawn breath since 1940 owes a debt of gratitude to this lion-hearted leader for his courageous and successful crusade against the diabolical forces of deception, tyranny, violence, and genocide.
Simply stated, his is one of the greatest voices for liberty and freedom the world has ever known.
Following the fall of France in June 1940, England was alone in its fight against Nazi Germany. All of her major allies had capitulated to Hitler's demands and the United States was still more than a year away from joining the fight.
Despite her many assets, which included the nonpareil Royal Navy and a still formidable overseas empire, the Royal Air Force and British Army were, on paper, no match for Germany's Luftwaffe and Wermacht. Logistically and practically speaking, it seemed to many—including many holding political power in London at the time—that it was "curtains" for the UK, and the only viable pathway to survival was to lay down, give up, and hope Hitler would be generous in his terms of surrender.
Fortunately—for the United Kingdom, the future of Western Civilization, and the world-at-large—capitulation was not only anathema to Churchill personally, but it simply was not an option. The word "surrender" was simply not a part of Churchill's lexicon. If he and his family had to literally face "the Hun" with kitchen knives in their own home, so be it; (7) but there would be no folding of cards so long as the cards were in his hand.
Gaining the support of his government took more than the steely resolve of his indomitable will—some adroit political maneuvering was also required—but he eventually prevailed and the rest is, as they say, history.
But the victory came neither easily nor quickly.
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Hawker Hurricane fighter planes
Royal Air Force (RAF) |
During the nearly 4-month long Battle of Britain, Germany's Luftwaffe (Air Force) pounded to pudding large sections of London and other British cities, with a human toll of 40,000 lives in London alone.
Out-planed and outmanned, the Royal Air Force fought back as though its life depended on it—and in fact, its life—and a lot of other lives—did depend on it.
As the British Isles stood on the brink of an even more frightful invasion by land, Churchill stood his ground like an Iron Lion, earning the admiration, respect, and fealty of freedom-loving citizens throughout the British Empire—and around the world—with his eloquent and stirring oratory brimming with clarity, conviction, courage, and resolve.
Perhaps never in all of human history has a single individual been so profoundly needed and influential in turning the tide of a terrible conflict.
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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
1874-1965 |
Churchill's primary weapon was, of course, his brilliant, cogent, and inspiring use of speech. His radio addresses, delivered with stirring patriotism, unmatched resolve, and an oratorical mastery that has rarely, if ever, been equaled, echoed across the British Empire and world with an unusual ubiquity made possible by his perfect personal placement along the historical timeline. This unique historical placement anchored him at that ideal juncture of technological development when radio was still new and exciting, yet still unrivaled by competing mediums which had not yet been invented. This empowered him to speak to upwards of 100% of the British populace at any given moment in time—a broadcasting achievement that had been impossible in the nineteenth century and would again prove untenable in the 21st Century, albeit for reasons of too much technology, rather than too little.
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President John F. Kennedy
1917-1963 |
When President John F. Kennedy awarded Churchill with honorary U.S. Citizenship in 1963, he rightly remarked that Sir Winston had "mobilized the English language and sent it into battle." (8)
I have always been an admirer and student of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill. Like anyone else in history, he had his flaws and he made his share of mistakes. But the good he championed at an unprecedented moment of worldwide peril and trial is indisputable and undeniable. For that alone, he has earned his place among the pantheon of human history's greatest and noblest actors and leaders.
Below you will find several quotes from Churchill's most poignant and stirring wartime speeches.
I offer this oratorical inclusion in hopes that you might find in these words motivation that will bolster your resilience and strength as you fight your own internal battles against the enemy within your own mind, heart, and soul.
I sincerely hope that you will draw personal inspiration—as I have—from these timeless lines of dignity, power, and resolve, spoken during some of the darkest hours in the history of Western Civilization and the world.
Speech delivered to the House of Commons on May 13, 1940
"We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. ... I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. ... You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny ... That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be." (9)
BBC radio broadcast on May 19, 1940
"Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict."
Speech delivered to the House of Commons on June 4, 1940
"I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. ... That is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government—every man of them. This is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and liberation of the old."
Speech delivered to the House of Commons on June 18, 1940
"The Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British way of life ... The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."
Speech delivered July 14, 1940—
Four days after the Battle of Britain had begun
"You do your worst—and we will do our best."
Speech delivered at the Harrow School for boys on October 29, 1940—
Two days before the conclusion of the Battle of Britain.
"Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."
Under the leadership of Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, Marshall, Eisenhower, Zhukov and many others, the Allies eventually defeated Nazi Germany. The price in blood and treasure was unprecedented and took six years to secure. But with unyielding resolve and, in-time, overwhelming manpower and resources, these determined leaders—and the brave men and women under their command—pressed on to secure the unconditional surrender of their foes.
Like the Allied leaders, soldiers, and nations who defeated Nazism and subsequently opposed communism, YOU can likewise win your own personal battles to earn freedom and peace over time. Along the way, you have the opportunity to win the war by conquering the enemy within your own mind, heart, and soul.
Will you succeed?
Will you press on to victory?
Are you prepared to fight the good fight in the fiery midst of your life's most important conflicts? Have you resolved to "never give up" and "never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense?"
I hope so, because if you are, a marvelous victory parade and postwar peace awaits you on the other side of both the battles and the war.
Churchill Inspires a Young Man who Motivates a Boy
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Elder Hyrum Smith
Circa 1963 |
In the mid-1960s, at the tail end of his long, eventful, and colorful life, Winston Churchill gave a speech in his native England. In the address, he told his listeners how he had always been driven by a desire to make a difference in the world.
Sitting in Churchill's audience that day was a young American missionary in his early twenties named Hyrum W. Smith. The old Lion's words powerfully penetrated Smith's mind, heart, and soul that day as Hyrum recognized he felt the same burning desire to make a difference.
Twenty (20) years later, Smith was one of the originators of the world-famous Franklin Day Planning system. A decade after that, Smith's successful company, Franklin Quest, went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Five (5) years after that, it merged with Stephen R. Covey's company to form FranklinCovey, which, at its height, was making revenue in excess of half-a-billion dollars a year.
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Elders Hyrum Wayne Smith & Rex Buckley Jensen
London, England
Circa 1964 |
As a missionary in England, Hyrum met my dad, Rex Buckley Jensen, who was also in Britain doing missionary work. The two became close friends while working with each other on three different occasions in three different locations in three different calendar years (1963, '64, and '65).
Later, after both had returned to the U.S. to attend college, Hyrum introduced Dad to his little sister. Romance blossomed and Rex Jensen married Pauline Smith in 1966.
Thirteen years (13) later, I was born.
Just a few short years after my birth, in 1983, my Uncle Hyrum started the Franklin Institute with a few colleagues. At age eight, I attended my first Franklin Day Planning seminar in Mesa, Arizona—taught by Hyrum himself.
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Hyrum W. Smith
Circa 2000s |
The year Franklin Quest went public (1992) and again in 1994, I spent time working on Hyrum's desert ranch in southwestern Utah during the summers. From this obscure, menial, and dusty vantage point, I observed my uncle summit a significant pinnacle of success as one of the world's greatest time management teachers and personal development gurus.
I may have been just a ranch hand at the time. But nothing in Hyrum's life or career was ever lost on me, and the same deep desire to influence others and make a difference had already taken deep root within my mind, heart, and soul. Indeed, I knew at a very young age—seven or eight years old—that I possessed the same kind of drive, vision, and "fire in the belly" that had propelled Winston and Hyrum to great heights before me.
This desire was further enflamed by a relatively unremarkable—but memorable—incident in 1992 one Sunday afternoon on Hyrum's ranch—the same year that FranklinQuest had gone public on the NYSE.
Hyrum was at home for the weekend and the Smith family and my fellow ranch hands and I were eating a traditional Smith family taco dinner together. At the conclusion of the meal, Hyrum elevated his deep and sonorous orator's voice several decibels to make an announcement everyone could easily hear, whereby he proclaimed: I'm offering five dollars to anyone who will do the dishes.
Without blinking or thinking twice about the work involved or whether the amount was worth the time investment, my hand immediately shot into the air before anyone else, to which Hyrum approvingly replied, "Jordan, YOU are an entrepreneur; you will be a wealthy man someday."
I doubt Hyrum would even remember this brief exchange between the two of us, or that he even thought much about it five seconds afterward. Nevertheless, that simple statement of his has deeply resonated with me over the years. It was something akin to Hyrum's own "Churchill" moment, where one great man unknowingly, but assuredly, passes a torch of inspiration to a young lad with plenty of potential, energy, desire, and will to go forth and "make a difference" in the world.
Becoming wealthy for wealth's sake is not a primary motivator for me. However, being an influence and making a difference in what is arguably the noblest career of all (Education) has been an incessant—even an obsessive—motivator and driving force for me all of my adolescent and adult life. Indeed, since I was just a "lad" (10) I have powerfully and repeatedly felt "the call" to serve; thus, it was no surprise that my bosom burned within me that day when Hyrum perfunctorily, yet prophetically proclaimed my possibilities to everyone in the room.
Despite this and other powerful life influences along the way, it took me several more years to gain clarity about specifically how I intended to "make a difference" in the world. But by 2003, I had a pretty clear vision of that how, at least generally speaking. The detailed particulars, would, of course, take another 20-plus years to sort out, but by the fall of 2003, I had begun my "MISSION" to actualize that vision.
This Life Leadership textbook is a tangible outgrowth of those poignant and pulsating desires planted deep in my mind, heart, and soul so long ago.
A Personal Revolution to Transform Character
Throughout history, there have been a variety of voices clamoring for "REVOLUTION" to bring about a desired change in an organization, community, region, state, nation, or even the world-at-large. Some of these voices have amounted to little more than pontificating parlour prattle. Other, more penetrating, persuasive, and powerful voices have managed to foment actual revolutions in the form of widespread movements or national wars.
Not all revolutions bring about the change desired by the revolutionaries who call for and initiate them. Many, in fact, tend to merely replace one problem or dilemma with another. A good example of this is Revolutionary France, which, in 1789 violently overthrew a centuries' old monarchy only to replace it with a de facto dictator just a decade later—and an officially crowned Emperor five years after that.
Don't get the wrong idea about Napoleon Bonaparte. He was a remarkable genius and transformational leader who changed the course of world history in more ways than perhaps any other except for the founders of the great religions. He even remained true to the ideals of the revolution in some particulars.
But he completely abandoned those same principles in other ways and left a broad and bloody wake of death, destruction, and disarray all along his endlessly ambitious pathway.
Similarly, the Russian Revolution replaced 300 years of Czarist rule with a communist dictatorship, which itself would crumble less than eight (8) decades later.
Other revolutions have been more successful.
Perhaps the most successful revolution in world history was the American Revolution, which not only cast off the hegemony of the world's superpower at the time (Great Britain), but successfully initiated the first modern experiment in democracy. More importantly, that experiment, despite facing severe tests and trials along the way, would grow into a thriving superpower itself and last for 250 years—and counting.
As great and remarkable as the American democratic experiment has proven to be, it is still not as powerful as the character revolutions that can occur within the heart, mind, and soul of an individual self-action leader—including YOU and me. In fact, the famous historian—Will Durant—goes so far as to call this "the only real revolution."
Says Durant: The only real revolution is the enlightenment of the mind and the improvement of character, the only real emancipation is individual, and the only real revolutionists are philosophers and saints.
"The only real revolution is in the enlightenment of the mind
and the improvement of character, the only real emancipation is individual,
and the only real revolutionists are philosophers and saints."
—Napoleon Hill
In other words, the only way a collective revolution can be successful in the long-run is if the revolution includes the transformation of individual character in fealty to True Principles and Universal Laws. In the absence of this kind of individual transformations, precise patterns of the past will play out predictably over and over again in the future.
As noble as any revolutionary "cause" may be, if its revolutionaries are not personally committed to the purification of their own character, their cause will ultimately fail. Thus, the greatest and most important revolution of our time (or any time) is the revolution that calls for the purification of individual character and the perpetuation of individual integrity and virtue—even a revolution of SAL.
This Life Leadership textbook is a clarion call for just this kind of national and worldwide personal leadership revolution that transforms individual character.
Freedom Focused invites everyone within the sight of these words or the sound of our voice to join us in this revolution of personal leadership and character development. This revolution has the power to not only transform individual lives, but positively impact and influence the healthy and productive transformation of homes, schools, organizations, communities, regions, states, nations, and in due time—the whole world.
In Your Journal
SAL Master Challenge
Exercise 6
Self-action leaders FIGHT the GOOD FIGHT within
Official Declaration of Intent
I, ____________________________________, hereby issue an official declaration of intent to confront and conquer the inner forces of moral atrophy and entropy, and the outer forces of Existential Gravity and crabs attempting to destroy my noble birthright.
As the sovereign ruler of my life and world, I pledge my total effort in challenges to come. In so doing, I authorize all necessary knowledge, desire, willpower, hard work, determination, persistence, and patience required to identify and then expel all enemy intruders—both physical and metaphysical—from my life and world now and forevermore.
To help me in this just, noble, and worthy cause, I will seek out help from friendly allies, including any and all Serendipitous forces willing to aid, bless, and magnify my virtuous and good-faith efforts.
Come what may, I will never surrender, but persist until the war against the enemy within me has been defeated.
I recognize this will entail a life-long journey that I will, at best, pursue imperfectly. Nevertheless, I declare my everlasting intent to always do my imperfect best, pick myself up every time I fall, and never, ever, ever give up striving to reach the highest levels of the SAL Hierarchy.
I further declare my commitment to encourage, help, and support other self-action leaders to do the same.
Signed this ____ day of _______________, _______.
___________________________________________
Signature
"The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul."
—David Oman McKay
This concludes BOOK the FOURTH, the Self-Action Leadership Theory.
With a clear understanding of the SAL Theory now firmly embedded in your mind, heart, and soul, it is time to introduce the second key construct in the SAL Philosophy: the Self-Action Leadership Model, or the SAL Model.
While the SAL Theory is heavy on theory, the SAL Model focuses on practice. It will provide you with a host of actions to take, disciplines to develop, practices to perfect, and habits to form in pursuit of the highest levels of Existential Growth.
Are YOU ready to begin making the SAL Theory real in your life, career, and relationships?
If so...
Read on!
—Dr. JJ
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Author's Note: This is the 423rd Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 232nd consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
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Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.
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Chapter 29 Notes
1. Frankl, V. (1984) Man’s Search for Meaning. New York, NY: Washington
Square Press. Page 87.
2. Hinckley, G. B. (2000). Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues that
Will Heal our Hearts and Homes. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press. Page 118.
3. Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful
Lessons in Personal Change. New York, NY: Fireside. Page 183.
4. Hill, N. (1960). Think and Grow Rich. New York, NY: Fawcett Crest. Pages 120-126.
5. Ibid. Pages 121-122.
6. Ellis, L. (2012). Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton.
FreedomStar Media. Page 210.
7. This is a reference to an oft-told story by Churchill's Grandson, Winston S. Churchill (1940-2010) as follows:
"Soon after the fall of France, during a silent and gloomy dinner with his wife, Clementine, and my mother, Pamela, who was 8 months' pregnant at the time, Churchill suddenly sat up, looked at the women, and said, 'If the Hun comes, I'm counting on each of you to take one with you.' My mother looked at him and said, 'But Papa, I neither own a gun nor know how to use one.' My grandfather gazed at my mother, and said, 'Then you can go to the kitchen and get a carving knife.'"
The Palm Beach Post. 1 March 2010. Sir Winston's grandson: war correspondent, author, politician, part-time Palm Beacher. URL: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/nation-world/2010/03/02/sir-winston-s-grandson-war/7436257007/
8. Aside from his immense admiration and appreciation to the United States for their help in winning World War 2, Winston Churchill already was technically half American, as his mother—Jennie Jerome—was a born and bred U.S. Citizen from New York City. In his remarks to a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress in the Capitol Building on December 26, 1941, following its Declaration of War on Japan, Churchill remarked to hearty laughter from the Chamber: "If my father had been American, and my mother British, instead of the other way around, I might have got here on my own."
9. All Churchill quotes are from speech transcripts available at The Churchill Centre
and Museum at the Churchill War Rooms, London. URL:
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/speeches/speeches-of-winston-churchill
10. "Lad" is what Hyrum usually called me. He would use this term of endearment in place of my own name. It bugged me a little at the time; but now that I am well into my 40s, I proudly pass along the appellation to other youngsters.
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