Chapter 4
Universal Laws and True Principles
You are Free to Choose
Before going on, let's reiterate a vital point. If you do not want to change, you don't have to. And if you don't want to do what is right, you are free to do what is wrong.
The purpose of this Life Leadership textbook is not to try and coerce you to think, say, or do anything against your will. Quite to the contrary, there are few people or organizations on Earth that will respect your personal agency (freedom to choose) more than me and Freedom Focused.
Our purpose is not to tell you what to do or how to do it—that is your job. Our purpose is simply to teach you about the reality of Universal Laws and the True Principles and natural consequences that accompany them so that you might be empowered with as much accurate information as possible as you embark upon a lifetime of decision-making processes.
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| Universal Laws govern everything in the Universe |
Universal Laws are defined as:
Natural laws that define reality and govern all naturally occurring forces throughout the Universe (physical laws)
as well as all long-term consequences of individual and organizational decisions (metaphysical laws).
UNIVERSAL LAWS
Natural laws that define reality and govern all naturally occurring forces throughout the Universe (physical laws), as well as all long-term consequences of individual and organizational decisions (metaphysical laws).
Universal Laws frame the way things really are in life, the world, and the Universe. Universal Laws exist and operate omnipotently within the realms of their expansive domain. And they do so whether we know it, like it, or want them to—or not. Human beings—you and I—are completely powerless to alter Universal Laws.
They play an absolutely sovereign role in our lives.
We can learn about them and make choices in opposition to their edicts; but we cannot change, avoid, consult, or negotiate with them. They are universal, unchanging, and irrevocable. We can choose whether or not we will respect them, but the long-term consequences of our choices are out of our hands and governed by Universal Laws.
Self-action leaders seek out knowledge about Universal Laws in order to better understand
how they operate. This educational process involves discovering corresponding True Principles of personal conduct that, when adhered to, will allow Universal Laws to produce positive and constructive consequences in our lives instead of negative and destructive ones.
True Principles refer to: Fundamental truths that guide human beings to think, speak, and act in ways that lead to their long-term growth, happiness, success, fulfillment, and inner peace.
TRUE PRINCIPLES
Fundamental truths that guide human beings to think, speak, and act in ways that lead to their long-term growth, happiness, success, fulfillment, and inner peace.
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| Universal Laws are SOVEREIGN |
Bottom line: Universal Laws are sovereign—period.
Negative long-term consequences wreak havoc whenever and wherever human beings defy them. Conversely, happiness, prosperity, and even greatness ensue when human beings understand, respect, and abide by their concomitant True Principles.
Collectively speaking, mankind's natural condition is to perennially disregard and flout Universal Laws. Individually speaking, however, we as individuals can choose a different, better, and higher way.
There are many individuals throughout history who have chosen to learn about, honor, and adhere to True Principles that spring forth from Universal Laws. In fact, there are many such persons who presently inhabit our planet. These persons experience perpetual (not to be confused with omnipresent) happiness, success, fulfillment, and inner peace throughout their lives regardless of the challenges, difficulties, obstacles, or tragedies they may face along the way. Such individuals continually change, grow, prosper, and leave a lasting legacy of greatness that burns ever brighter with the passage of time. Along the way, these persons make many meaningful contributions to others and the environment in which they reside. They literally leave the world a better place than they found it. None of these folks are perfect; but as authentic self-action leaders they personify character and integrity and provide the rest of us with sterling examples of human goodness and possibility. It is from such people that we derive much inspiration to develop similar virtues within ourselves.
In the end, there are really only two kinds of people in the world: those who humbly bow before Universal Laws and True Principles; and those who try and get Universal Laws and True Principles to bow to them. And when all is said and done, all that will be left standing will be the Law and those who chose to bow.
SAL Mantra
In the end, there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who bow before Universal Law, and those who try and get Universal Law to bow to them. And after all is said and done,
all that will remain standing will be the LAW and those who chose to bow.
Universal Laws—and the consequences they engender—don't care about YOU, me, or anyone else; much less what any of us think about, say, or do. They are no respecter of persons and do not play favorites. They simply do their job—and in the long-run, they always do their job consistently and thoroughly.
Universal Laws completely follow through—always.
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| Gravity is an example of a Universal Law |
An example of a Universal Law is the
Law of Gravity. This law decrees that negative consequences will occur if you choose to jump off a cliff without proper equipment (e.g. parachute, hang glider, repelling gear, etc.). Gravity does not care
who you are. It will carry out its functions every time for every person regardless of one's background, nationality, race, culture, or socioeconomic status. We are completely powerless before its omnipotent edicts and consequences. We can
choose to respect and abide by the Universal Laws, or we can
choose to disregard and flout them; but in the end, the consequences will be what they will be—and we must make our
choices accordingly.
My uncle, Hryum W. Smith, cofounder (with Stephen R. Covey) of FranklinCovey Company was fascinated by and enthralled with the concept of Natural Law, which is synonymous with Universal Laws.
He once wrote the following on this subject:
"[Universal] Laws have consistent, predictable consequences. They exist whether or not we recognize them. And they exert their effects on us without our consent or awareness. ... If we internalize [them] ... we can significantly increase our personal productivity and happiness. ... If you apply them, you will find inner peace, perhaps the most desirable gift you can obtain in this life." (1)
American philosopher, Elbert Hubbard, put it this way:
[People] are under the domain of Natural Law as much as bees. [We] succeed only by working with other[s] ... and for other[s]. (2)
"We are under the domain of [Universal] Laws as much as bees. We succeed only by working with others and for others."
—Elbert Hubbard
In the long run, natural consequences will determine all of our destinies based on what we choose to think about, say, and do throughout the course of our lives. In the end, we are all powerless to alter the omnipotent consequences of Universal Laws. Our only liberty and power lies in making choices. After we have made a choice, consequences rooted in Universal Laws begin a process of taking over to determine the long-term results of our choices.
This is why it is so important to make RIGHT choices and avoid WRONG ones. Human beings disrespect Universal Laws at their peril. And as their name implies, Universal Laws are, well—
universal. That means they don't apply to just some people some of the time. They are equally applicable to everyone, everywhere—all of the time."But JJ," I hear you say... "I know people who get away with all kinds of bad behavior; sometimes they are even rewarded for it. It seems to me that there are endless 'exceptions to the rule' of what you are saying about Universal Laws."
That is an excellent point!
There are seemingly endless exceptions to this rule. However, the reason for these exceptions is because, as my Uncle Hyrum so cogently pointed out: Results take time to measure. (3) The reality is that seeming 'exceptions to the rule' do not stand the test of time. In the end, the proverbial "hens" always "come home to roost." In the long-run, what goes around really does end up coming back around; we all ultimately reap more-or-less precisely what we sow.
It is true that people do seemingly get away with a lot in the short-run; sometimes they may even literally get away with murder! But given enough time, consequences always end up having their full-sway eventually. In the words of Abraham Lincoln: You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time. But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
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Abraham Lincoln
1809-1865 |
"You can fool some of the people all of the timeand all of the people some of the time.
But you cannot fool all of the
people all of the time."
—Abraham Lincoln
An overriding purpose of this Life Leadership textbook is to outline those True Principles rooted in Universal Laws that, if understood and honored, will lead YOU to achieve growth, happiness, achievement, fulfilment, and inner peace in your life and career in the long-run.
Below are three examples of Universal Laws in action in real life. Accompanying these laws are some of the True Principles that, if respected, pave a pathway for you to succeed in a given undertaking.
- If you want oranges, you must plant orange seeds, not apple seeds. Moreover, you must plant the seed in the right place at the right time and provide it with the right care and nutrients (e.g. sunlight, water, fertilizer, etc.) if you are going to eventually have a supply of fresh oranges to eat and juice.
- If you want to be consistently healthy, fit, and energetic, you have to get off the couch, exercise regularly, monitor your diet for nutritional purposes, and abstain from substances destined to harm you over time (e.g. alcohol, tobacco, harmful drugs).
- If you want healthy, mutually satisfying relationships that stand the test of time, you are going to need more than good looks and money. You must dedicate the time required to cultivate, nurture, and perpetuate those relationships. You must also develop key character traits aimed at becoming a kind, honest, empathetic, forgiving, listening, and service-oriented person of integrity.
True Principles understood and applied will, in the long-run, create predictably positive results in your life just as surely as they have in mine and anyone else's who has diligently practiced them. Remember: Universal Laws and True Principles are no respecter of persons. They are what they are and anyone who abides by their incontrovertible and irrevocable decrees will receive naturally occurring and justly allotted positive consequences over time. Likewise, those who disregard and flout them will receive naturally occurring and justly allotted negative consequences over time.
It is worth noting that there is nothing inherently special about me or anyone else in this world. But everything is special about Universal Principles and the True Principles that accompany them. If you are willing to learn about and then abide by them, your life will be commensurately blessing in the long-run. If, on the other hand, you choose to ignore and defy them, you life will be predictably troubled in the long-run.
Of these great truths I am absolutely certain.
Now that YOU know these truths, how will you choose to lead and live your life moving forward?
Where do True Principles Come From?
A key purpose of this Life Leadership textbook is to outline and explain a comprehensive list of Universal Laws and True Principles aimed at guiding you toward growth, progress, success, happiness, fulfillment, and inner peace in your life. Such an audacious undertaking bears noting where these stated principles come from, meaning from where they originate. I certainly cannot claim to be their inventor, or even their discoverer for that matter. Nay, my only rightful claim is that of ascertainer, discerner, organizer, and articulator.
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The Universe and everything in it operates according
to Universal Laws and True Principles |
All of the Universal Laws and True Principles presented in this textbook are rooted in the collective wisdom literature and historical records produced by mankind's sagest historians, philosophers, psychologists, pedagogues, scientists, poets, writers, prophets, theologians, and other leaders. These Laws and Principles have been further corroborated in the crucibles (and the transcendence of those crucibles) of my own life—and the lives of countless others throughout history.
In learning about and then discerning these Laws and Principles, I have delved deeply into the pages of history, philosophy, psychology, pedagogy, science, literature (including poetry), and scripture. Without this veritable treasure trove of history and wisdom literature, and minus the countless favors of Serendipity along the way, I could have never accomplished my objective. For no human being in any generation could ever hope to discern all pertinent truths related to Existential Growth and progress all by oneself—no matter how gifted and intelligent. The wisest among all peoples throughout history have been favored beneficiaries of all those who came before and then left their knowledge and wisdom behind for others to discover and follow. In the famous words of the English Poet, John Donne, No man is an island.
As the famous historians, Will and Ariel Durrant, once put it:
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Mount Vesuvius (background), Ruins of Pompeii (foreground)
History teaches us that conservatism must serve
as a counterbalance to liberalism, and vice-versa |
"Intellect is ... a vital force in history, but it can also be a dissolvent and destructive power. Out of every hundred new ideas ninety-nine or more will probably be inferior to the traditional responses which they propose to replace. No one [person], however brilliant or well-informed, can come in one lifetime to such fullness of understanding as to safely judge and dismiss the customs or institutions of his society, for these are the wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory of history.
"So the conservative who resists change is as valuable as the radical who proposes it—perhaps as much more valuable as roots are more vital than grafts. It is good that new ideas should be heard, for the sake of the few that can be used; but it is also good that new ideas should be compelled to go through the mill of objection, opposition, and contumely; this is the trial heat which innovations must survive before being allowed to enter the human race. It is good that the old should resist the young, and that the young should prod the old; out of this tension, as out of the strife of the sexes and the classes, comes a creative tensile strength, a stimulated development, a secret and basic unity and movement of the whole." (4)
I therefore express my sincere and soul-felt gratitude to the men and women—and Serendipity—for making possible a work that, in the end, is less of an original contribution and more of a unique synthesis of the combined contributions of many of mankind's choicest minds, hearts, and spirits. I have undertaken this work in an effort to further illuminate the brilliance and light that echoes forth majestically from the artistic renderings of their creative, scientific, and visceral genius that has passed down to us throughout the ages.
Natural Laws of Acquisition
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Everything has a price; if not in money, then in
time, effort, sacrifice, endurance, patience, etc. |
Everything in life that can be earned comes with a price tag set by Universal Laws. At Freedom Focused, we refer to these price tags as: Natural Laws of Acquisition, or NLAs for short. NLAs are defined as: prices set by Universal Laws that must be paid to acquire any physical or metaphysical accoutrement or accomplishment.
NATURAL LAWS OF ACQUISITION
Prices set by Universal Laws that must be paid to acquire any physical or metaphysical accoutrement or accomplishment.
Whether it is graduating with honors, winning a race, getting a promotion at work, losing weight, building a meaningful relationship, or earning growth in any area of your life, a price in time, effort, sacrifice, and sometimes money must be paid for the acquisition of anything of worth. In order to maximize their achievements and growth, self-action leaders learn everything they can (as fast as they can) about Universal Laws and then do their best to obey the the True Principles and edicts that follow therefrom.
Unfortunately, many people too often misconstrue Universal Laws and True Principles as being akin to a bunch of austere rules that hem you in and crimp your style. This is a very shortsighted perception to hold. In the words of Cecil B. DeMille, the director of the famous Academy Award-winning movie, the Ten Commandments: We are too inclined to think of law as something merely restrictive—something hemming us in. We sometimes think of law as the opposite of liberty. But that is a false conception. [The law] is meant to govern and it is also meant to educate. (5)
"We are too inclined to think of law as something merely restrictive—something hemming us in. We sometimes think of law as the opposite of liberty. But that is a false conception. [The law] is meant to govern and it is also meant to educate."
—Cecil B. DeMille
Consistently respecting Universal Laws leads to personal and professional achievement and growth. It also leads to freedom; but that does not make it easy to do. Our natural desires and inclinations are sometimes oriented to disregard, or even flout the rules of law entirely. Fortunately, the rewards of growth far outweigh the price of earning them—as difficult and high as the price may seem when you are in the protracted midst of paying it.
Universal Laws and True Principles apply to more than just earning growth. They also apply to maintaining it. Indeed, maintenance is just as important as initial (and continued) growth.
One of my own life's greatest anxieties stems from a fear that I will someday allow success and/or temptation to seduce me into choosing thoughts, words, actions, and attitudes that are not in harmony with the very principles that created my happiness and success in the first place. In fact, I sometimes picture myself having to stand before family, friends, and others to apologize for embarrassing and hurtful behaviors that explicitly contradict the SAL principles and practices I champion in this textbook. It is not a pretty picture, and one I zealously desire and strive to avoid ever painting.
History is littered with preachers (religious and secular) who have hypocritically disregarded the very doctrines they've declared. I ardently seek to be an exception to this tragic pattern, which has ensnared so many of the world's otherwise greatest men and women. Nevertheless, a deep anxiety resides in my heart from the recognition that I am not exempt from the seductive precariousness of life's endless allurements and temptations; nor have I completely conquered my remaining capacity for capitulation. I am painfully aware of my own potential for hypocrisy, and it terrifies me sometimes.
No one is perfect.
I certainly am not!
But I ardently believe that adhering to SAL principles and practices can empower all of us to learn from minor errors in order to avoid major blunders. They can also help us overcome whatever mistakes (minor and/or major) we do make, as well as the sins (minor and/or major) we choose to commit.
It is worth noting here that there is a difference between a MISTAKE and a SIN. The difference lies in the nature of our intentions. Mistakes are innocent errors that accompany a learning curve. Sins are errors committed consciously in violation of known moral laws.
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| Mistakes and Sins are not the same thing |
MISTAKE
An innocent error that accompanies a learning curve.
SIN
A consciously committed error in violation of a known moral law.
Self-Action Leadership is designed to help you to avoid costly errors and gross iniquity by learning from small mistakes and petty sins.
SAL Mantra
Avoid costly errors and gross iniquity by learning from small mistakes and petty sins.
Choices, Consequences, and College English
When I think about my liberty to choose and the irrevocable consequences of choices decreed by Universal Laws, I am reminded of an experience I had with my first college English teacher. At the beginning of the term, our teacher said the following to us students: "You can take my criticism and shove it, but the results will be what they will be."
This big-hearted, colorful professor, who was by far my favorite college teacher, made this flippant comment somewhat tongue-in-cheek, and we all had a chuckle when he said it. Nevertheless, his remark contained an important lesson for anyone enrolled in his classes, and we all caught his drift loud and clear.
In this analogy, the professor represents Universal Laws. As the teacher, he would instruct us in true principles of English prose composition. While we were free to reject his instruction and advice, we were not free to arbitrarily select the grade he would give us at the end of the term; that was dependent on our chosen performance in his class.
Yes, YOU are free to choose to change, or to choose to remain as you are. You are also free to think about, say, and do as you do—or do not—desire. But always remember that all choices carry commensurate consequences in the long-run. This is just the way things are—whether you know it, like it, or care about it, or not. And never forget that most consequences in life don't immediately follow a decision; they come weeks, months, years—and sometimes even decades, generations, or even centuries later.
Therefore...
Choose wisely!
- What is an example of a Universal Law and its accompanying True Principle that you are good at respecting?
- What are the positive consequences of respecting that particular law and principle?
- What is an example of a Universal Law and its accompanying True Principle that you tend to disregard and/or flout?
- What are the negative consequences of disregarding and/or flouting this law and principle?
- Think of a long-term goal that is very important to you in your personal life or professional career. What "price" have Natural Laws of Acquisition set for the achievement of this goal?
- How willing and prepared are you to pay the price to achieve this goal?
—Dr. JJ
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Author's Note: This is the 370th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 182nd consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
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Chapter 4 Notes
1. Smith, H.W. (1994). The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management: Proven Strategies for Increased Productivity and Inner Peace. New York, NY: Warner Books. Page 14-15.
2. Hubbard, E. (1946). An American Bible. Edited by Alice Hubbard. New York, NY: Wm. H. Wise & Co., Inc. Page 141.
3. Smith, H.W. (1994). The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management: Proven Strategies for Increased Productivity and Inner Peace. New York, NY: Warner Books. Page 145.
4. Durant, W. & Durant, A. (1996). The Lessons of History. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. Pages 35-36.
5. This quote was part of a speech given by DeMille at a 1957 Commencement Address at Brigham Young University.
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