Celebrating Consecutive Blog Article #300

 

300 Weekly Blog Articles...

without a miss!

The FIRST Freedom Focused SAL blog article was published on October 8, 2013—over a dozen years ago.

Publishing was robust and regular at given intervals along the way, but overall it proved intermittent and sporadic over the first seven (7) years. That all changed on August 31, 2020, when I determined it was time to make the blog more CONSISTENT and predictable moving forward.  

From that day onward until TODAY, I have not missed a week—for 300 consecutive weeks—a practice that has helped to further define Freedom Focused as an organization by clarifying its features and sharpening its focus as we march onward confidently and courageously into the future.

Beginning in late 2008, I began taking interest in—and rooting for—Roger Federer, one of professional tennis's all-time great champions and sportsmen. It was an ironic point in time to begin cheering for Federer, because many of his greatest achievements were already behind him. Nevertheless, the "Swiss Maestro" still had many highlights to come and trophies to raise in his storied tennis career, which would last for another decade-and-a-half until his retirement in 2022. 

Roger Federer has many gaudy statistics and achievements to his name, including 103 professional tour-level tournament wins and 20 Grand Slam titles. Among these and other remarkable achievements as a professional tennis player stands a record that rises far-and-away above everyone else—including his greatest opponents, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal—in tennis history.

Indeed, it is a record that may never be broken in the future.

Federer was a grass court specialist, but
he had to be elite on hard courts and
clay courts to achieve his untouchable
feat of 237 consecutive weeks as world #1.

The record I speak of is the number of CONSECUTIVE weeks ranked #1 in the world. Federer holds this record at 237 consecutive weeks. He set this record between February 2, 2004 and August 17, 2008. This means that for four (4) years and six-and-a-half months, Roger Federer was ranked #1 in the world and no one was able to dethrone him. 

Second place to Federer in this nonpareil record is Jimmy Connors at only 160 weeks—not even close!  

I have always been inspired by this unique record of both consistency and dominance—and have striven diligently to emulate this same kind of elite performance in my own life and career. Unlike the mighty Roger Federer, I have no world championships to my name. However, it feels good—and is good for my self-worth—to practice and then achieve milestones of consistency in the work of which I strive to be my best.  

In all, Roger Federer spent 310 weeks as the number one #1 tennis player in the world, good for second place all-time to Novak Djokovic's otherworldy 428 weeks. But despite Novak's overall dominance as world #1, Djokovic's best streak of consistency was only 122 weeks at #1—not even close to Federer's extraordinary 237. 

So while Novak Djokovic rightly deserves the title of professional tennis "GOAT" (Greatest of All Time) for his overall achievements, which include 24 Grand Slam titles and 428 weeks as world #1, there is at least ONE area of measurable excellence where Roger Federer clearly surpassed him—and all other tennis players throughout history—and by a large margin.  

As a forever Federer fan, I take great pride in this unsurpassed achievement of his!  

No matter what activities or endeavors I have attempted and pursued throughout my life and career, I—like Roger Federer—have learned through experience the incredible importance and value of a simple consistency. 

Truly, CONSISTENCY is KEY to my mastery and success as a writer, speaker, organizer, and leader—just like consistency was key to Roger Federer's mastery and success on the tennis court. 

SAL Mantra

CONSISTENCY is KEY

 

This simple mantra is true of virtually everything in life for YOU and everyone else, including:

Academics and learning,

    Artistic, athletic, musical, and other performances,

        Financial interest and prosperity,

            Habit formation and breaking,

        Health, wellness, fitness, weight loss, and maintenance,

    Relationship building, cultivation, nurturance, and troubleshooting, and

Skill development of all kinds.  

Jim Rohn—that famous business philosopher of the 20th century—once noted the following about SUCCESS and failure...

"Success is a few simple disciplines practiced every day." 

—Jim Rohn

"Failure is a few simple disciplines neglected every day."  

            

Once you have developed a habit, consistency gets easier. The hard part is usually developing a good habit—or breaking a bad habit—in the first place. 

That's HARD WORK and can be temporarily discouraging!  

Habit formation (or breaking) really can be difficult. It takes a lot of up-front effort, energy, focus, will power, and accountability. But, if you are willing to push through these challenges, you will be rewarded with good, strong, and helpful habits that will bring you proficiency and success in whatever you set out to do.  

It feels really good to have exercised the discipline to have achieved the consistency of 300 consecutive weekly published articles on the SAL blog. At Freedom Focus this is definitely an achievement worth celebrating!

What is something in YOUR life or career that you would like to accomplish or achieve? 

What "simple (or not so simple) disciplines" will YOU need to "practice every day" and what new habits will you need to develop in order to realize your vision, accomplish your mission, or achieve your goal?  

We encourage you to begin doing whatever it takes to develop this habit, beginning TODAY!  

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 517th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 300th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 516 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

.........................

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

If you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to bookmark this blog to access a new FREE article every Wednesday.

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

About Freedom Focused

About Freedom Focused

Freedom Focused was founded in 2002 and incorporated in 2005 by Dr. Jordan R. Jensen. 

It is an educational, training, and promotional organization dedicated to championing and proliferating the principles and practices of the Self-Action Leadership philosophy, theory, and model as contained in the SAL Life Leadership textbook, entitled—Self-Action Leadership: A Textbook and Journal for Life. 

Freedom Focused exists to transform Western Culture and beyond by influencing its citizens to more fully embrace personal responsibility and character development. It accomplishes this broad and general aim through continual education and training initiatives rooted in Self-Action Leadership, Existential Growth, and FREEDOM.  

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 516th 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 515 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

.........................

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

If you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to bookmark this blog to access a new FREE article every Wednesday.

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

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 into 12 heavy boxes. Robbie Noble, my roommate at the time, 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

.........................

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

If you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to bookmark this blog to access a new FREE article every Wednesday.

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

About the Author

 

About the Author

Dr. Jordan R. Jensen

Jordan R. Jensen, Ed.D. is the Founder, CEO, and Master Facilitator of Freedom Focused LLC—The Center for Self-Action Leadership—and the promotional and training vehicle of the SAL Life Leadership textbook located in Palm Beach County, Florida.  

Jordan earned a bachelor's degree in English from Utah Valley University in 2003 and a Doctorate in education from Fielding Graduate University in 2013.

A skilled writer and educator, Dr. JJ is the author of 12 books and nearly a thousand articles that have appeared in blog format, newspapers, peer reviewed academic journals, college textbooks, and other periodicals. 

A talented orator and seminar facilitator, Dr. JJ has addressed or trained tens of thousands of people in nearly a thousand audiences in 44 U.S. States, 9 Counties of Great Britain, 5 Provinces of Canada, two U.S. Territories, and Washington D.C. 

He has traveled to all 50 U.S. States and 10 different countries.  

A former athlete and amateur triathlete, Dr. JJ is a high school State Champion and collegiate All-American who has completed 13 marathons, many half-marathons and other road races, two 70.3 Half-IRONMAN triathlons, and one 140.6 Full-IRONMAN triathlon. 

Of his many accomplishments, Jordan considers his 18-year marriage to his wife, Lina—and being a stay-at-home Dad to their three children—his greatest life achievements.   

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 514th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 298th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 513 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

.........................

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

If you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to bookmark this blog to access a new FREE article every Wednesday.

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

AFTERWORD

 

AFTERWORD

By: David G. Anthony, Ed.D. 

Former Superintendent of Cypress-Fairbanks (Cy-Fair) Independent School District (ISD)

Former CEO of Raise Your Hand Texas

When Jordan originally invited me to review an 802-page manuscript of a previous version of the SAL Life Leadership textbook, I balked a bit, wondering when I would possibly have time to review such a tome. It is interesting to note how some of life's most important, rewarding, and ultimately enjoyable tasks initially appear so uninviting. 

In the end, I opted to set myself to the task, and I am so glad that I did. 

As I poured through the pages, my mind soon became flooded with memories, thoughts, and experiences from my 40-plus year career as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and CEO. From then on, there was no way to put the work aside. As I reflected further on Jordan's Pedagogy of Personal Leadership and Character Development, I found myself wishing I had enjoyed access to the book when I was a 21-year-old teacher working with high school seniors, and when I was a 25-year-old principal working with teachers and students. 

As I continued to read, clichés like, Leaders are born, not made, were removed from my gray matter and discarded. Instead, I thought of Shakespeare's To thine own self be true and discretion is the greater part of valor.

Shakespeare got it. 

Furthermore, my mother's admonition of: How do you ever expect to be loved by others if you don't love yourself, could just have easily been: How can you expect to lead others if you can't even lead yourself?

In short, Jordan has eloquently articulated the need for, and importance of, leadership, character, and life-skill education in schools, businesses, and homes. More importantly, he has outlined an explicit theory, model, and pedagogy to provide leaders, educators, parents, and individuals with a realistic roadmap and tangible toolbox for immediate application. 

As I delved deeper into Jordan's book, the passages called up a memory of an interview where I was asked, "What are the most important things you hope your students learn?" I was Principal of a school at the time, and I said: "My hope is that all of our students are highly literate and numerate and understand the importance of self-discipline, responsibilities, and consequences. Then, no matter what goals they set, they will have the recipe for success." 

I was under 30 years of age at the time and my comments were crude compared to Dr. Jensen's polished presentation, but not considerably off target.  

If Jordan's career had preceded mine and I could have used this textbook as a teacher, principal, and superintendent, I would have positively impacted more students and teachers during my 37-year career in education by providing them with a key to potential success and significance. 

It is highly encouraging to see that this book has now been written for a new generation of leaders, educators, professionals, parents, and students to use as a guide to their personal leadership and character development. It is even more encouraging to know that its author exemplifies the principles he promotes.  

I thank Jordan for inviting me to read this work. He has earned my endorsement. Reading this textbook may be the most worthwhile thing you do this year. I hope the message of Self-Action Leadership 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 country—and world.  

—Dr. David G. Anthony

About David G. Anthony, Ed.D. 

David Anthony grew up in rural Louisiana (Florien) USA. He graduated from high school in 1970 and then attended college at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, where he played on the basketball team. He later completed a bachelor's degree in English and history at East Texas Baptist College in Marshall, Texas. In 1977, he earned a master's degree in secondary education from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. 

From there, Anthony got his first job as a Principal of a K-12 school in Converse, Louisiana, where he began a 9-year journey that included leading his school from "worst-to-first" in a variety of metrics. Along the way, Anthony earned his Doctorate of Education in Administration, also from Northwestern State, in 1986, prior to landing his first job as a Superintendent.

His initial stops as Superintendent included smaller districts in High Island, Texas; Mount Pleasant, Texas; and Texas City, Texas. From there, he was hired to lead McKinney ISD (suburban Dallas), where he headed up a period of significant growth (nearly doubling the student body from 9,800 to 18,000) during his five-and-a-half years of service.

Anthony's successes in McKinney caught the attention of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in northwest Houston, where he was hired in 2004. With over 110,000 students, Cy-Fair ISD was (and still is) the third largest school district in the State of Texas and ranks among the top 25 largest school districts in the United States.  

Anthony served at the helm of Cy-Fair ISD for seven (7) years before stepping down to accept a new position as the CEO of Raise Your Hand Texas, a non-profit educational advocacy organization working to strengthen public education by training public school leaders to lead transformational campus-level changes. It also advocates for public policies aimed at improving the education of all Texas students.

Anthony served in this position from 2011-2016. 

After leaving Raise Your Hand Texas, Anthony served as a consultant for FutureSpark, where he was involved in leadership development, coaching, and school improvement. He then served as the Director of the East Texas Center for School Based Research and Instruction at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Anthony is a graduate of the Aspen Institute and Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. A husband, father, and grandfather, Anthony resides in Tyler, Texas.  

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 513th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 297th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 512 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

.........................

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

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POSTSCRIPT

    

POSTSCRIPT

A Formal Invitation to Join Us at Freedom Focused in a 

Global Self-Action Leadership REVOLUTION (Reformation)

This postscript was first added to the SAL Textbook for its SIXTH (6th) Edition. Its comeuppance was the result of a poignant, personal experience I had while traveling internationally in the summer of 2019, and led directly to the composition of this capstone essay, which I pen by way of invitation in the form of a postscript to the textbook's manuscript.  

Back in July 2019, my wife and I took a week-long international trip together. It was a nice trip abroad and we enjoyed visiting our destination country. I was especially impressed by the airport we flew in and out of. It was clean, organized, efficient, and well-run.  

To my chagrin and embarrassment, however, the airport I arrived back home at—in my own country (The United States of America)—was dirty, musty-smelling, disorganized, inefficient, and sported a lackluster milieu of unmotivated employees who clearly lacked leadership, management, direction, and incentive to put forth their best efforts.

On behalf of the city and state where the airport was located, and to a lesser extent my nation as a whole, I was—as an American citizen—embarrassed. 

Then, to make matters worse, we missed our connecting flight—despite having two-and-a-half hours (150 minutes) with which to process our baggage and make our customs declaration, which was ample time to complete these two, straight-forward tasks. There were, after all, no weather-related issues or mechanical snafus. Nevertheless, the airport's staff was so incompetent and inefficient with their (and our) time that they embarrassingly failed to get the job done.  

As a result, Lina and I had to stay overnight in our connecting city and then arise in the wee hours (3:45 a.m.) the following morning to catch the next available flight to our destination city. As you can imagine, it was not an ideal travel experience; nor was it my idea of fun.  

As I reflect back on this experience—and many others like it in my home country—I am disappointed with, depressed by, and even a little aghast at the disorganization, incompetence, laziness, and lack of cleanliness, initiative, and leadership I so often observe when frequenting public places throughout my nation. I especially feel this way when I visit the airports of major cities, which should serve as crown jewels and atmospheric ambassadors of the United States as a whole.  

If only airports were the only offenders!  

I am continually troubled by the negative performance patterns of countless organizations throughout the United States and beyond, of which this airport's manifold issues were merely emblematic. While many positive and productive examples concurrently exist among these negative samples, our work remains cut out for us—speaking both individually and collectively. 

As I found myself brooding somewhat miserly over the melancholy engendered by the sorry state of this airport—any my inability to directly do anything to change or improve the situation—I realized more than ever how desperately SAL is needed throughout our deeply troubled nation and planet.  

I recognize and acknowledge that an inconvenient airport experience is among the least of our troubles in the United States and throughout the Western world and beyond. Obviously, far greater challenges permeate virtually every corner of the globe. By comparison, my petty airport drama is an extremely minor issue. 

Why then, does it matter?  

The answer to this question is found in the fact that the seeds of our nation and world's biggest problems are not germinated in ruined marriages, corrupted corporations and governments, murderous dictatorships, prison cells, skid row back alleys, or even troubled airports.

The seeds of our deepest issues are implanted in the minds, hearts, and habits of individuals who, in-turn, infect relationships, homes, neighborhoods, schools, businesses, communities, states, nations, the world-at-large, and yes—even airports—with preventable obstacles and self-inflicted adversity and wounds—one neglected duty and responsibility at a time.  

I don't know about you, but I've grown tired of it. In too many cases, we are failing to live up to our personal possibilities and potential—our noble birthright.   

We can do better—both individually and collectively. 

And we must do better if we are to transform cultures and change the world.  

Human beings possess vast storehouses of capacity, creativity, talent, and potential. We also possess extraordinary opportunities to change, grow, and improve. The time has come for all of us to start digging deeper within ourselves to tap more fully into these deeply imbedded existential endowments.  

How tragic it is when we abandon our noble birthright and settle for less than we are capable. How unfortunate it is when we choose to exhibit a version of ourselves that is a mere shadow of our massive potential. What sorry and sullen depths the human race often allows itself to sink into despite possessing the capacity to rise to unspeakably majestic heights.  

Emerson once noted that: a healthy discontent is good. 

"A healthy discontent is good." 

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Properly channeled, a healthy discontent can inspire the human spirit to transform one's environment in enlightened, positive, and productive ways. After all, it was out of a measure of my own discontent that I have felt such an obsessive and passionate yearning to create this comprehensive Life Leadership textbook—and have then persisted in refining, polishing, and perfecting it over and over again (now in its SEVENTH Edition) until it finally fills the measure of its creation in benefitting my billions of brothers and sisters throughout the world.  

I sincerely love my country—the United States of America—and I deeply care about this world of which I am but the minutest slice. I truly value all of its inhabitants—every last one of us—and I seek earnestly to do my part to make it a better place. 

Someday, when my spirit is finally set free of my earthen tabernacle and my body is set to rest six feet under the surface of the Earth's crust, I hope that this planet will be a better place—if only in some small way—because I lived here for a while.  

I hope the same for YOU. 

My native countrymen and women, my fellow citizens of the world, and my dear friends: we have got to do better and we have got to be better in the future than we have done in the past. Our future—and that of our posterity—depends upon our commitment to excellence, improvement, positive change, and productive service to each other.    

I therefore invite YOU to join me—and us at Freedom Focused—in a REVOLUTION. Not a violent political revolution, nor an awkward social or unnecessary cultural upheaval; but a personal reformation of CHARACTER and WILL—an entirely peaceful movement that positively and productively transforms the human mind, heart, and spirit into all it is capable of becoming. 

After all, according to Will Durant—that great historian of the 20th century—that is the only real revolution that mankind can authentically and successfully foment.

"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." (1) 

—Will Durant

 

Join us, and TOGETHER we will make the world a better, brighter, and more beautiful, peaceful, and pleasant place to live—a place where we can mutually nod our heads in an affirmative acknowledgement of our accelerating ascent, rather than shake our heads in despairing disgust at our deepening decline.  

We can do this...

    Here's to a Freedom Focused and Self-Action Leadership REVOLUTION / Reformation.

        Huzzah!  

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 512th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 296th 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.  

If you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to bookmark this blog to access a new FREE article every Wednesday.

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

Postscript Notes

1.  Durant, W. & A. (1996). The Lessons of History. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. Page 72.