CONSTITUTION Article IV continued: Corporate ANTHEM

Any Great Nation or Organization should have an ANTHEM

Today's blog post introduces the Freedom Focused Corporate Anthem. 

Our CORPORATE ANTHEM consists of an original 4-stanza poem written by Dr. JJ. This poetry is sung to music written by the German-Swedish composer, Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792), in the late eighteenth century.

Kraus, like Mozart, led a productive life, but died young at age 36. This coincidental lifespan, combined by his musical talent and production, has led to him being known as the "Swedish Mozart."

The date of Kraus's musical composition places it in the public domain, and has, in intervening years, been used by Christian Churches to accompany the Hymn, How Wondrous and Great, the lyrics of which were composed by Henry U. Onderdonk (1789-1858), an American Episcopal clergyman.

Click HERE to listen to Joseph Martin Kraus's music set to Onderdonk's Christian lyrics.

After listening to and viewing this YouTube clip, play the music again and see if you can fit Dr. JJ's Freedom Focused Corporate Anthem lyrics into the same melody. 

Or... click HERE to watch Dr. JJ SING THE ANTHEM himself.  

FREEDOM  FOCUSED  CORPORATE  ANTHEM

Verse 1

I'm Freedom Focused,
I love liberty!
I'm free from tyrants, terror,
Pride and jealousy!

I'm free from myself and the devil within:

A fiend far more fearsome

Than the author of sin!

Verse 2

Freedom in all

Of it's glorious

Pure, sweet, majestic, and

Liberating bliss—

Will be mine forever as I recall this:

I'm sovereign and serendipity

Takes care of all the rest!

Verse 3

I'll never give up;

I'll fight to the end;

I'll finish my mission,

Then be born again!

And all along my way I'll lift others high,

Empowering them to soar into the sky!

Verse 4

There's no greater cause

Than FREEDOM and GROWTH!

To live for this purpose

Is my solemn oath!

I'll ever prepare myself and e'er be one

Who honors and reflects the pure light of the Sun!  

Or... click HERE to watch Dr. JJ SING THE ANTHEM himself.  
 

Our presentation of the Freedom Focused Corporate Constitution will continue NEXT week with ARTICLE five (5): Organizational Pillars.

Freedom Focused Corporate Constitution  

1. Vision and Mission
2. Corporate Rules
3. Motto, Slogan, 
4. Corporate Colors, Flag, Salute, Oath of Office, Pledges of Allegiance, and Anthem.
5. Organizational Pillars
6. Values and Standards
7. Core Paradigms
8. Code of Conduct
9. Statues of Authority, Chains of Command, and Organizational Structure
10. Corporate By-Laws and Operating Procedures
11. Long-term Goals
12. Projected Growth Trajectories and Intended Revenue Streams
13. Dr. JJ's 13 Rules for Living

—Dr. JJ

June 22, 2022

Monticello, Utah, USA

Author's Note: This is the 272nd Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 101st consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 271 FF Blog Articles.  

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

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

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

Dr. JJ Returns to Therapy

Yesterday, I returned to professional counseling (AKA: psychotherapy) for the first time since 2018.

And I'm so glad that I did!

With my wife's work benefits, a little homework on my end of things, and by the Grace of Serendipity—I have been fortunate to find an outstanding counselor who I believe has the knowledge, skills, experience, intuition, disposition, and temperament to help me take additional steps toward the GROWTH and FREEDOM I seek in my life and career.

After just one session, I already feel my mind, heart, and soul trending back in a more positive direction than it has been going in recent weeks and months. More importantly, my therapist has already equipped me with some new ideas and skills that I have been able to apply immediately—to my benefit! Based on my past experiences, I feel confident I will continue to get out of therapy what I am willing to put into it in sessions to come. Therapy, after all, is a lot like everything else in life—we all really do reap what we sow in the end.  

Virtual Counseling Carries a Similar Dynamic to
in-person therapy, but with an added benefit of being
able to engage from the comfort of your own home.

For the first time in my counseling history, I am also experimenting with a virtual route. The idea of working with a virtual counselor over Zoom was new to me as I've always done in-person counseling in the past. But my wife's health benefits come with some great virtual counseling options, and I decided it was worth giving it a shot.

After one appointment, I really like it!

I discovered in my first session that a highly personal face-to-face dynamic still exists in virtual counseling, but both the counselor and I have the added benefit of being able to enjoy the comfort and privacy of our own home offices throughout the process.

What an AMAZING world we live in!

Truly, the COVID-19 pandemic has done much to move our culture to increasingly embrace a variety of virtual experiences and opportunities, both personally and professionally. Some of these experiences and opportunities have been negative; but many of them are full of potentially positive and productive possibilities, and virtual counseling is clearly one of them.   

Dr. JJ has suffered from symptoms of OCD for most of his life.

As regular readers of the Freedom Focused blog are aware, I have struggled throughout my life with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) along with depression and other issues that have accompanied it.

I first started experiencing symptoms of OCD when I was in elementary school back in the early 1990s. Later, in 1997, as a junior in high school, I met with a psychiatrist for the first time and received an official OCD diagnosis.

Since that time, I have met with 12 different professionals and semi-professionals who were either college-aged, student-counselors-in-training (2), licensed therapists (3) psychologists (1), psychiatrists (4), or nurse practitioners authorized to prescribe medication (2). And that is to say nothing of the lay-counselors and spiritual leaders and mentors who have further assisted me with a variety of beneficial counsel, friendly encouragement, and genuine therapy along the way. I will always be grateful to this unofficial milieu of mental health laypersons as well.

A BIG thanks also goes out to my wife, Lina, and that Higher Power, since They have been the most supportive and helpful of all. There's an old saying that goes like this: "Your true friends are the ones who know all about you and still like and/or love you!" My wife is undoubtedly my best friend, greatest supporter, and closest confidante—and a real gem for knowing all about me and still liking/loving me! I'm so grateful God blessed me with her—and so many other Serendipitous graces and mercies along my often challenging and circuitous personal life and professional career.   

Click HERE to read about Dr. JJ's Lifelong Journey with Mental Illness

I just started counseling with my 13th therapist since 1997.
Thirteen (13) is my lucky number and has
special meaning at Freedom Focused.

This is the 8th time I have entered psychotherapy over the course of my life. My newest professional therapist marks number thirteen (13), which is cool because the number 13 is my lucky number. This unique number also has a special place and meaning throughout my construction of Freedom Focused as an organization, including its Corporate Constitution.

But I digress...

Why have I returned to therapy after four years of doing quite well with my mental and emotional health? 

Good Question!  

The answer is that I have found myself STUCK in a few patterns of behavior that have plagued and stymied me in the past—areas where I had made a lot of progress, but whose symptoms have returned sufficiently to motivate me to revisit that place where I have found so much help and hope (and made so much progress) in the past; namely, professional counseling or PSYCHOTHERAPY. 

Based on my past experiences, I had already accepted the fact—and to a certain extent expected—that I would most likely need to return to therapy at some point in the future. That had simply been the pattern of the past, and was therefore likely to continue. The question was always more a matter of when than if.  

Dr. JJ's right hand as of yesterday, with two fingers bandaged

and a third (pinkie) showing slight signs of wear and tear.

Click HERE to learn more about the RING on Dr. JJ's finger.

One of the more prominent areas I have struggled a great deal with lately, and which has motivated my return to therapy, is DERMATILLOMANIA. 

Dermatillomania is an OCD-related skin picking/pulling disorder that has afflicted me to varying degrees since grade school and with which I continue to experience great difficulty in managing, much less overcoming.

It's stressful and embarrassing to have multiple band-aids on my fingers at any given point in time because I just can't stop nibbling and picking away at them. It's a gross, puerile, and admittedly uncouth obsession and compulsion; but it's REAL, and I need help in overcoming it.

I am not alone in this affliction of dermatillomania. Many others suffer similarly.

In fact, I recently found myself in a highly formal meeting with a group of well-educated, experienced, and successful professionals and I couldn't help but notice that the highest ranking member of the group had the tell-tale signs of dermatillomania on at least four (4) of his digits! As I observed him in the meeting, I felt a genuine wave of compassion and empathy flow out of me and towards him because I am well acquainted with the misery and frustration he is likely experiencing with his own dermatillomania.

As for myself, I've had as many as nine of my ten fingers and thumbs bandaged at one time in just the past few months. While my affliction is good for makers of band-aids and neosporin (SMILE), the practice is a pesky affliction that I just can't seem to get a handle on by myself; therefore, the time has come to seek out professional help for the issue.

Click HERE to buy THIS BOOK.

One of my all-time favorite authors is M. Scott Peck, M.D., the author of a world-famous book published in 1978 (one year before I was born) called, The Road Less Traveled. I have a half-dozen or so books by Dr. Peck in my personal library. I cherish his work and enthusiastically advocate it to others. Along with Dr. Stephen R. Covey's books, Dr. Peck's writing has profoundly influenced my own work as a writer and thinker.    

Click HERE to read A NextGen 7 Habits and Road Less Traveled—our blog about Drs. Peck and Covey's work and its influence on Dr. JJ's life and career.

In one of Peck's later books, The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety (Touchstone, 1997), he penned something that has always stuck with me (no pun intended).

Wrote Peck:

"People have frequently asked me, 'Dr. Peck, ... how do you know when [you need] to go into [or return to] therapy?'"

"My answer to them is: 'When you're stuck. There's no need for therapy when you're clearly growing well without it. But when [you're] not growing, when [you're] stuck and spinning [your] wheels, [that's when you need to seek out (or return to) therapy, a process which involves] striving toward a psychological and spiritual maturity that results in real personal power. ... [Thus] therapy's purpose is to help people become more aware so that they can think more clearly and live their lives more effectively and efficiently." (1)

Working with mental illness is typically quite
different than working with physical illnesses and injuries.

As is evident in my own lifelong experiences with mental illness, I have come a long way from where I once stood as an OCD-ridden, angst enflamed, woefully befuddled seventh grader at Poston Jr. High School in Mesa, Arizona in 1993—a lad who found himself gravely afflicted and utterly mystified by the unexpected and vicious mental malaise that had so suddenly and savagely invaded his brain.

Indeed, there is no doubt that I have made enormous progress with my mental hygiene over the years; that is the good news.   

But as I also made clear in my Personal Narrative about OCD and Depression, learning to manage mental illness is often quite different than caring for and rehabilitating a broken arm, leg, or other treatable physical malady. In the latter, physical examples, as long as you are properly treated and cared for, you will typically return to full health and strength in a timely manner following a physical illness or mishap.

Caring for one's mental health is usually a very different story. 

While total healing of a mental health issue is possible and does on occasion occur, a more common trajectory for psychological challenges involves a long-term journey that inevitably includes ups-and-downs, highs-and-lows, and ebbs-and-flows. Instead of labeling a mental issue or emotional struggle as being "over," "done," "finished," "healed," or "cured," it is usually wiser—and more accurate—to apply terms such as "improving," "progressing," "managed," and "under control" on the growth side of things and "declining," "relapsing," "revisiting," or "backtracking" when discussing backward steps, which are almost always part of the long-term growth process.    

It'd be nice and convenient if mental health issues could be
properly addressed by simply pushing the right button.
But that, of course, is usually not how it works.

Framing one's mental issues or struggles in this way is almost always the more realistic viewpoint to take. Moreover, it makes it easier to humble yourself and return to therapy when the need arises—and in my experience, the need to return to therapy has arisen (on average) every 4-5 years, no matter how much progress I may have made in the past.

As experienced and well-practiced as I am at seeking help for a wide array of challenges and difficulties in my life and career, it still isn't an easy thing to do. Doing so requires both COURAGE and HUMILITY; but it's the only viable option if you want to continue growing as an individual and team member and expanding your freedom both personally and professionally.

Because I love and value growth, freedom, and my family (and other) relationships, I really don't have any choice but to take this step whenever and wherever it is authentically required. I encourage YOU to do the same. Such actions and practices are, after all, a hallmark of authentic and proactive SELF-ACTION LEADERS.

If money is not an issue, don't be afraid to seek out appropriate and relevant professional assistance. And don't be afraid to interview your counselor as closely as he or she will interview you. Then, if you don't feel comfortable with who you are working with, seek out somebody else who will be a better fit.

Finding the right fit in counseling is an essential variable in maximizing optimal outcomes. Therefore, don't be afraid to let your therapist go and seek out another if he or she is not a good fit.    

One of Dr. JJ's discounted therapy receipts from his college-days

If money is an issue, do some research and see if you can find some more affordable counseling options in your community. For example, the most regular and intense therapy I ever engaged in was during my college years—when I was typically dead broke (and bouncing checks) financially. But I was able to find a counseling center at a local university that provided therapy for only $15 per session (or free if I couldn't afford the $15) if I was willing to work with some college-aged students who were in-training to become professional counselors. While these "Student Therapists" may not have been officially licensed yet, they were energetic, enthusiastic, and eager to help me—and they did help me a great deal. Having also worked with several licensed professionals, I can say from my own experience that the semi-professionals were nearly as good, if not as good (and sometimes better) than some of the professionals.  

If money is an issue and you cannot locate more affordable counseling options, then reach out to a trusted family member, friend, teacher, mentor, coach, or spiritual advisor. Over the years I have had even more lay-counselors than I have had professional counselors. From my parents and siblings to a variety of other individuals I trusted and held in high esteem, I have rarely shied away from seeking out help when and where I needed it. I credit these outreaches for helping me to get to where I am today.

We all need a helping hand and an upward lift
from time-to-time in our lives and careers.

I recognize that reaching out to someone else for help is not easy. In fact, it's hard! But it's sooooooooooooooooooo worth it for the growth and freedom that awaits you on the other side of COURAGE and HUMILITY.

Despite all my past experiences in counseling, I still felt anxious about seeking help this latest go-round. And I also felt nervous at the beginning of my first session with my new counselor. But like most nerve-wracking experiences in life, such anxiety tends to go way down once we are engaged in the process. Thus, my own nervous feelings about this latest round of therapy began melting away after the first few minutes of my first session. The rest of the time I found myself focused on getting to know my counselor, enjoying the process, and feeling better—and more hopeful—for thus engaging.   

All my life I have held a deep conviction that my life matters and that I am here on this Earth for a variety of important purposes and reasons. Since our beliefs absolutely drive our thoughts, attitudes and actions, you can imagine how powerful this belief has been in my life and career. 

Another conviction I hold deeply is that you and your life matters and that YOU are likewise here on this Earth for a variety of important purposes and reasons. It is my sincere hope and prayer that reading this blog—and any other blog that Freedom Focused ever publishes—will strengthen your belief of this same, great truth. 

We all feel STUCK sometimes.
When a self-action leader feels STUCK,
he or she proactively seeks out help to get unstuck.

I further hope and pray that if you are struggling and feel stuck—like I have felt so many times throughout my life and career (including at this present moment)—that you will begin TODAY to cultivate the courage and humility to do whatever it takes to begin becoming unstuck. And if that requires you seek out the help of another, and/or a professional, and/or a Higher Power, I encourage you to swallow your pride and stubbornness and seek earnestly after that help. I promise you that if you will, you will begin to experience a gradual transformation in your life that will be aided by a variety of powers both seen and unseen (Grace/Serendipity) that will greatly augment your personal and professional growth and freedom. This will, in-turn, enhance and improve the quality of your life and career in ways that seem unimaginable right now.

I know this is true because I have experienced it over-and-over-and-over again in my own life and career. And now I'm back in therapy myself—preparing myself to take another small step (or perhaps even a giant leap) in my own mental hygiene and existential growth.  And the possibilities of that growth and progress motivate and excite me!

What is possible for YOU in your own life and career as you apply Self-Action Leadership and seek out the help of others as needed? 

Only ACTION can tell that story.

     How is your story going to end?

          What are you waiting for?

Get moving TODAY!    

—Dr. JJ

June 22, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 271st Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 100th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.  

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 270 FF Blog Articles.  

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

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

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

Notes:

1.  Peck, M.S. (1997). The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety. New York, NY: Touchstone. Pages 76-78.  

CONSTITUTION Article IV: Corporate Colors, Flag, Salute, Oath of Office, and Pledges of Allegiance

Our presentation of the Freedom Focused Corporate Constitution continues today with ARTICLE four (4), which covers our Corporate Colors, Flag, Salute, Oath of Office and Pledges of Allegiance.

In memory of each other, our liberty and freedom, our personal
power and potential, and the Power of Providence that endowed
us therewith, we hereby hoist the Freedom Focused Corporate
Flag as a token of our never-ending pursuit of Truth,
Existential Growth, and Freedom.     

Corporate Colors and FLAG

The Freedom Focused corporate flag can be seen at right.

This company flag sports our corporate colors, which include crimson and tan as primary colors. Black and white are also employed as secondary colors.  

The double "F" stands for Freedom Focused, of course. The arrow and target symbol is used to remind Freedom Focused Agents (and everyone else) that self-action leaders are always focused on a given target, and more specifically on the bullseye of that target. In general, our "target" involves things such as Truth, Freedom, Growth, Character, Productivity, and Results. More specifically, our "targets" can be any kind of long-range, mid-range, and short-range goal or daily task in which we are aiming to achieve.

Dr. JJ demonstrating the
Freedom Focused Corporate Salute

Corporate Salute

In or out of uniform, Freedom Focused Agents may salute each other as part of a formal or informal greeting or farewell (departure). 

The official Freedom Focused salute is similar to a right-armed, closed-fingered military salute. However, instead of a 20-30 degree horizontal right-hand/arm extension to the forehead, Agents employ an 80-90 degree right-armed, closed-fingered extension to one's right temple. At full extension, the tip of an Agent's index and/or middle finger rests squarely on one's right temple. 

Corporate Oath of Office

In military, governmental, and some other public and private offices, it is common for individuals to take an OATH of OFFICE as part of a swearing in ceremony upon assuming a new function or position in the organization.

Upon being hired, all Freedom Focused Agents are required to take an oath of office whereupon they swear their personal and professional allegiance to the SAL Theory and Model and the Freedom Focused Constitution. At Freedom Focused, we faithfully adhere to this practice, which includes the following actions:

At the beginning of a new term of service, an Agent (or Agent-to-be) raises one's right hand to the square and rests one's left hand on a copy of the SAL Textbooks, which contain the SAL Theory and Model as well as the FF Corporate Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and repeats the following after initially stated by the swearing-in Agent:

"To my utmost capacity, and on the sacred altar of my honor as a human being, self-action leader, and soldier of freedom, I solemnly swear to magnify the role of ———State Position———in a never-ending quest to preserve, protect, defend, uphold, and exemplify the principles and practices of the Self-Action Leadership Theory & Model in my life and career.

"I further swear to preserve, protect, defend, uphold, and exemplify the Freedom Focused Declaration of Independence and Constitution. This I do of my own volition in a committed and never-ending quest to seek after Truth, hearken to conscience, build and maintain order, and discipline my mind, body, and spirit in the faithful attendance of the duty I hold to myself, my faith, my significant other, my family, my friends, my team and organization, my community, my state, my country, and the world-at-large, so help me God (or "Serendipity" -- Agents may choose between these two terms for one's personal swearing-in ceremony)." 

Pledges of Allegiance

Freedom Focused is an American Company headquartered in the Southeastern United States. All FF Agents who are American citizens are encouraged to swear allegiance to the United States of America, and so pledge that allegiance at official company meetings and other designated corporate events (including official work days) where the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance will be individually or collectively recited as follows:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 

Freedom Focused is a Florida Company based in Palm Beach County. All FF Agents who are Florida residents are encouraged to swear allegiance to the State of Florida, and so pledge that allegiance at official company meetings and other designated corporate events (including official work days) held in Florida, where the unofficial Florida State Pledge of Allegiance will be individually or collectively recited as follows:

Honor the Florida flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Florida, one state under God, one and indivisible.

As a token, reminder, and renewal of one's oath of office, all Agents are expected to continually pledge their personal and professional allegiance to the Freedom Focused flag at official company meetings and other designated corporate events, including official daily work days. At all such times, the FF Pledge of Allegiance will be individually or collectively recited as follows:  

The Freedom Focused Corporate FLAG

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United Corporation of Freedom Focused; and to our Constitution, for which we stand, one organization, Providentially endowed, indivisible, with endless growth and freedom for all.   

At present, Freedom Focused consists of only one Agent—Dr. JJ. Nevertheless, ONE is all that is required to start an organization and/or a tradition. As such, I have already begun a practice of regularly reciting all three pledges of allegiance in my home office.

Pledging allegiance... to the U.S., Florida, & Freedom Focused

Pictured at the right is the place setting on my desk that includes the United States' flag, the Florida State flag, and the Freedom Focused corporate flag flanked on the left side by the SAL Textbook, Volume I, and on the right side by the SAL Textbook, Volume II. This is appropriate, since the SAL Theory and Model and the Freedom Focused corporate Declaration of Independence and Constitution is contained within the pages of these two volumes.  

I have also included the Freedom Focused pledge of allegiance since I am still working to memorize it myself. In due time, after I have these words singed deeply into my long-term memory, I will remove the words and leave the flag by itself. Then, a little ways down the road, the second person will begin pledging allegiance with me. And then the third, and then the fourth, and eventually the hundredth, then thousandth, then ten thousandth, etc.  

That's how great organizations, movements, developments, changes, and quests always begin... as one energizing and illuminating idea inside of a single person's head, heart, and soul. And I'm honored and privileged beyond measure to be the one to have had this idea so deeply and firmly planted in my head, heart, and soul, and to have been further favored with the focus, will, and determination to see it through to fruition. Bit-by-bit, step-by-step, everything is coming together in its time.  

Our presentation of the Freedom Focused Corporate Constitution will continue NEXT week with ARTICLE four (4): Corporate Anthem.

1. 
   Vision and Mission
2. Rules
3. Motto, Mascots, Slogan, and Corps Symbols
4. Corporate Colors, Flag, Salute, Oath of Office, Pledges of Allegiance, and Anthem.
5. Organizational Pillars
6. Values and Standards
7. Core Paradigms
8. Code of Conduct
9. Statues of Authority, Chains of Command, and Organizational Structure
10. Corporate By-Laws and Operating Procedures
11. Long-term Goals
12. Projected Growth Trajectories and Intended Revenue Streams
13. Dr. JJ's 13 Rules for Living

—Dr. JJ

June 15, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 270th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 269 FF Blog Articles.  

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

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

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

The Undisputed GOAT in Men's Tennis

Phllipe Chartrier Court at The French Open,
also known as Roland-Garros, is the only tennis
Grand Slam event held on a red clay surface.

Special French Open (Tennis) Edition

Last September, on the eve of the U.S. Open tennis final in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York, I composed a rough draft of a blog where I was preparing to declare Serbia's Novak Djokovic the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all Time) in men's professional tennis. At that time, Djokovic was tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 20 Grand Slam Titles to his name.

Click HERE to read BLOG #229: An Unprecedented Era of Athletic Greatness  Published Sept. 13, 2021.

I ended up having to edit my draft when "The Djoker" surprised me and the rest of the tennis world by losing the final to Daniil Medvedev of Russia, leaving him tied with Fed and Rafa at 20-20-20 apiece for Grand Slam titles.  

Earlier this year, Rafael Nadal finally broke the three-way tie when he lifted the Norman Brooks Championship trophy for the second time in his career after winning the Australian Open in Melbourne, Victoria, in January.

Then, this past Sunday, Rafa won an absolutely ridiculous 14th French Open title to widen the gap on his rivals by a Grand Slam score of 22-20-20.

Wimbledon, a Grand Slam tournament played at SW19
in London, England, sports a grass surface.

To put in perspective how remarkable Nadal's recent achievement in Paris is, consider the fact that as recently as 2009, American great Pete Sampras held the total Grand Slam titles record at 14. Rafael Nadal now has 14 titles at the French Open alone. His other eight titles were claimed, of course, from the Australian Open (2), Wimbledon (2), and the U.S. Open (4).  

Rafa has now broken the all-time record for Grand Slam titles for the second time in less than six months—and boasts two more than either of his greatest rivals. Add to that his winning record against Roger Federer (24 wins to 16 losses), his virtual career draw against Djokovic (29 wins to 30 losses), and the fact that all along the way he has had to battle through more injuries than both Roger and Novak, I really don't see how an objective observer doesn't give the nod, however slight, to Rafa over his unparalleled rivals, Federer and Djokovic—their own extraordinary greatness notwithstanding.  

The Australian Open and the U.S. Open
Grand Slam events are held on hard courts.

Now... if I were a Rafa fan, it would be more difficult to stake this claim with authenticity and objectivity. 

But I am not a Rafa fan. 

Don't get me wrong... my admiration for Rafa's determination, grit, relentlessness, and class knows no bounds. But at the end of the day, I am—and always will be—a Roger Federer fan.

As such, and while it pains me slightly to have to give the nod to my guy's greatest rival, I really don't see any way out of it—objectively speaking. Thus, FREEDOM FOCUSED is making the declaration definitive and explicit...

RAFAEL NADAL of Spain is the GREATEST TENNIS PLAYER OF ALL TIME. 

 

In making this claim, I recognize my use of the term "Undisputed"—as I did in the title of this article—will not go unchallenged. Others will surely counter my logic for staking this claim—and that's okay. Nay; that is more than okay—that is half the joy of the discussion and of the sport in general.  

But for me and my company (since my company presently consists of just one [me]), the conversation is over—at least until someone else matches and then exceeds Rafa's Grand Slam total of 22 victories.

What is the probability of that happening?  

The Tennis world may never again see three players the likes of
Rafa, Roger, and Novak all competing in the same generation. 

The chances of a nearly 41-year old Roger Federer catching and overtaking Rafa in the twilight of his career are slim-to-none. And considering the fact that every other serious competitor in the world at this point in time is a full 21 Grand Slams behind Rafa (Djokovic excepted), it is highly unlikely that any current tennis professional not named Novak will ever catch him either.  

Records, of course, are made to be broken, and you never know who may grace men's professional tennis in the future.

However, one of the unique aspects making Nadal's singular achievement so extraordinary is the fact that he had two virtually equal competitors (Roger and Novak) playing in the same era as him. This blessing (or cursing?) of timing, unquestionably elevated (or inhibited?) Rafa's unprecedented career trajectory. In other words, for another player to pass him in the future, that player would probably need not only a once-in-a-generation talent himself, but a competitor (or two) who are likewise once-in-a-generation talents—like Fed and Djoker—to push him upward towards the kind of rarified air that only the Big THREE (Rafa, Roger, and Novak) have breathed in the history of men's professional tennis.

Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, is younger than Roger and Rafa, making his ascent toward and/or past Nadal still possible. If that happens in the future; if Djokovic manages to win 23 Grand Slams, I'll pass the torch to him. But until then, Rafa is professional tennis's new GOAT.  

CONGRATULATIONS  RAFA! 

I love tennis not because I am personally good at it.
I love tennis because of its beauty when played well—
and because of what I learn about REAL LIFE
from those who play it best.

Perhaps you may be wondering: "Why is Dr. JJ so enamored by tennis? He has never even played competitively himself." 

Good Question! 

It is true... I can probably count on two hands how many times I've actually played tennis in my entire life. And when I do play, I am no good at it. In fact, before I met my wife, Lina, I once went on a tennis date with a young lady and she beat me soundly! I have also lost matches to brothers and nephews. I openly confess I lack the quickness, coordination, and reflex speeds to obtain any notable success on the tennis court. 

But that's okay. I have enough experience succeeding in other sports and life activities to be able to deeply appreciate and respect those who have elite abilities in any undertaking, athletic or otherwise—and perhaps especially in those endeavors where my personal proclivities and talents are wanting.  

As such, I hold a deep and abiding respect—almost a reverence—for athletes like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic. While there is no mistaking their obvious talent for their craft, I have come to learn that true champions of anything always invest far more than mere talent in whatever they undertake. And there are few things more beautiful in life than beholding the performance of an individual or group where stellar talent meets epic desire, study, vision, and hard work.

After all, it is just those kinds of attributes and character traits that we are all about here at FREEDOM FOCUSED.   

—Dr. JJ

June 8, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 269th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 268 FF Blog Articles.  

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

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

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

TOP Flight Entertainment & Inspiration

It is rare in life to have sky-high expectations about something and then have those same expectations exceeded.

That is what my wife and I experienced last Friday evening as we joyfully savored every minute of the highly anticipated, newly released Hollywood Blockbuster film — TOP GUN: Maverick. 

Freedom Focused sends a sincere shout-out and heartfelt kudos to Jerry Bruckheimer, Joseph Kosinski, TOM CRUISE, and all the rest of the cast, crew, and production companies that have brought us a once-in-a-generation action flick that is as entertaining as it is inspiring—at least that was my experience! 

I've been an admirer of Tom Cruise's professional work for the past 30 years. For me, it all began with the historical fiction period piece, Far and Away, starring Cruise and his then-wife, Nicole Kidman, and directed by Ron Howard.

Far and Away featured Cruise as a poor potato farmer named Joseph Donnelly living in late nineteenth century Ireland. In the movie, Donnelly serendipitously procures a ticket on a cruise ship bound for America. The source of his good fortune is a rich, snobby, and naive (albeit beautiful and ambitious) young female Irish aristocrat played by Kidman. After arriving in the United States, Kidman's character is robbed, leaving her penniless in a large, dangerous sector of Boston. From there, she must rely on Cruise's street smarts and brute strength to survive. Their tumultuous adventures, gilded by their tender love story, climaxes after the two travel west and participate in the Oklahoma Territory's "Great Land Race" of 1892.

From the rich storyline and thrilling action to the stunning scenery and hauntingly beautiful musical score composed by the incomparable John Williams, few movies, before-or-since, have had a greater impact on me than Far and Away, placing it right up into the upper echelon of classics such as First Knight—an epic tale of King Arthur, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table—as well as the BIG THREE (3) Kevin Reynold's directed films I have previously blogged about. 

Click HERE to read about the Kevin Reynold's directed film: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Click HERE to read about the Kevin Reynold's directed film: The Count of Monte Cristo.

Click HERE to read about the Kevin Reynold's directed film: Risen and lessons in HUMILITY.

TOP GUN: Maverick was incredibly entertaining and inspiring. Aside from the remarkable flight action—"a love letter to aviation" as Executive Producer Jerry Bruckheimer affectionately refers to it—the flick's storytelling is engaging, emotive, and highly reminiscent of its 1986 prequel. Even the quality of the acting—something action pictures are usually not known for—was noteworthy. Is it any wonder then, that the film's $170 million budget was surpassed (and then some) in its worldwide opening weekend box office totals?  

Among all these wonderful elements that make the film exciting and entertaining, what really stands out for Freedom Focused Agents is the PASSION, DISCIPLINE, EXCELLENCE, and implicit PATRIOTISM that thematically pervades the film from beginning to end. 

Click HERE to learn about the PATRIOTISM PRINCIPLE heralded at Freedom Focused.  

In other words, everything about the film carries the potential for motivating and inspiring audience members to aim higher in their lives and careers than they have in the past. Nearly everything about the story, action, and scenery influences viewers to strive a little harder (or perhaps even a LOT harder) to do and be their very best selves.

FIRST KNIGHT: Another
Freedom Focused Favorite

From our perspectives at Freedom Focused, that is the most valuable aspect of this new chapter in the TOP GUN cinematic saga. After all, being my/your/our best is our never-ending goal at Freedom Focused and the primary purpose of the Self-Action Leadership (SAL) philosophy, theory, and model. And that is why TOP GUN: Maverick is one of Dr. JJ's new favorite movies—in conjunction with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Count of Monte Cristo, Risen, First Knight, and Far and Away.

Businesspeople, entertainers, artists, writers, leaders, teachers, parents, neighbors, friends, and anyone else who inspires their fellow citizens to be better than they were before, or who provide worthy employment and other life and career opportunities are valuable citizens indeed. For this reason, we admire people like Tom Cruise and his colleagues who brought us TOP GUN: Maverick, and other inspiring movies like it.

Additionally, it is no secret that Freedom Focused admires the discipline, order, and uniformity that marks the U.S. military. This is another reason we are such big fans on TOP GUN: Maverick. We look forward to the day when we begin sporting our own sharp uniforms at work and while presenting or consulting for other organizations. In the meantime, we keep plugging away with this blog in an effort to promote the SAL Theory, Model, and Philosophy as contained in the SAL Textbooks, Volume 1 & Volume II.  

We encourage all of our readers to obtain copies of the SAL Textbooks, read and study them, and then complete the 25 SAL Master Challenge exercises strewn throughout the textbooks to earn their diploma, certificate, and medal to become a Self-Action Leadership MASTER.   

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks, Volumes I & II.  

But in the meantime, we encourage you to go out and see TOP GUN: Maverick.  We guarantee you will not be disappointed, and who knows... maybe it will even motivate you to follow our advice to buy, read, and study our TEXTBOOKS and complete the SAL Master Challenge... or do something else that is challenging but worthwhile in your personal life or career.    

—Dr. JJ

June 1, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 268th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 267 FF Blog Articles.  

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

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

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks