Chapter 1
Now What?
 |
| It is Time to Celebrate Nearing Your Completion of the SAL Life Leadership Textbook. |
You have made it to the EIGHTH (8th) and final book of this comprehensive life leadership textbook.
If you are reading this chapter because you have already read all the previous books and chapters and completed the SAL Master Challenge exercises along the way, I doubly and triply congratulate YOU, because doing so is an impressive accomplishment that takes a lot of time, effort, discipline, diligence, focus, and persistence.
Achieving this triple-feat is your KEY to officially becoming a self-action leader. It proves that you have what it takes to move forward confidently in the direction of continued growth and progress up the SAL Hierarchy indefinitely into the future.
Now that you have come to the end of your initial journey through this text, you may be asking yourself the question, what comes next?
Good question!
The next step is three-fold.
STEP ONE is to move forward in your life and career boldly, confidently, and prepared to demonstrate in action that you have indeed become a self-action leader. You will, of course, make mistakes in the future—many of them. But, you are better equipped than ever before to learn from your mistakes, make restitution where necessary along the way, and then strive for never-ending improvement forever into the future.
Dr. Stephen R. Covey famously taught that, "to learn and not to do is [really] not to learn." (1) In other words, the most authentic kind of education is an applied education. Reading this book is a worthwhile pursuit. But, applying the book's principles and practices is better, wiser—and infinitely more useful—than reading alone.
STEP TWO is to share and teach SAL principles and practices with others as opportunities arise. Nothing will implant and imbed your own learning more deeply and firmly than teaching what you know to others. Moreover, few things will bring you more personal and/or professional satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment than sharing your own wisdom and experiences with others.
STEP THREE is to continue to re-read and study the this Life Leadership textbook over and over and over again—and otherwise refer back to it as often as desired or needed throughout the rest of your career and life.
There are many books for which a single reading may suffice for your immediate desires and needs. There are some books, however—such as holy scripture, great and/or classical literature, and other enlightening and inspiring works—which can (and should) be read (and studied) repeatedly throughout your life to provide perpetual edification, inspiration, and reminders of your deepest held values and sincerest held desires.
Moreover, it has been my personal experience that you will always glean new insights each additional time you read a book again for a second, third, fifth, tenth, or twentieth time. There is one book in particular—a book of holy scripture—that I have read 24 times since my first reading of the volume at age nine (9). As you can imagine, I nearly have the entire book memorized from my past readings; and yet, I still continue to gain additional knowledge and wisdom as I pore over its pages in the present.
Discovering Your True VOICE
Many years ago, I attended a multi-day "Train the Trainer" course conducted by a seminar company with whom I contracted to teach their all-day courses. At the conclusion of the training—after they had taught us all of the logistical and technical "nuts and bolts" about how to facilitate a successful all-day seminar—our trainer said that everything they had taught us was secondary to one thing and one thing only.
Any guess what that one thing was?
Answer: personal authenticity.
In other words, the single most important thing to remember if you want to be a successful public speaker is to simply be yourself and reflect your true inner VOICE.
I suppose the same thing could be said about many other life endeavors.
As my uncle, Hyrum W. Smith once wrote: True success in life can only come when you are true to the uniqueness in you.
"True success in life can only come when you are true to the uniqueness in you."
—Hyrum W. Smith
And as Leo Buscaglia once noted: You are the best you. You will always be the second best someone else.
"You are the best you.
You will always be the second best someone else."
—Leo Buscaglia
There are over eight (8) billion human beings currently residing on Earth. Isn't it extraordinary to consider that no two persons have the exact same combination of genetic, cultural, religious, educational, experiential, and existential variables? No matter how similar two persons might appear on the outside, we are all singularly unique and original—an absolutely irreplaceable masterpiece of existential engineering. Your ever-present and ongoing challenge as a self-action leader is to figure out how to efficiently, effectively, and joyfully operate—and continually refine and polish—the masterpiece that is YOU.
Indeed, one of life's greatest opportunities—and challenges—is to figure out who YOU really are and then live true to your best self with as much authenticity and integrity as possible. In the words of the late leadership guru, Warren Bennis: Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult.
"Becoming a leader [or self-action leader] is synonymous with becoming yourself.
It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult."
—Warren Bennis
In this particular case, "who you are" does not refer to your genetic makeup, background, or upbringing. It is never primarily about your last name, zip code, bank account, or raw intellect or talent. Neither can you be defined exclusively by your natural inclinations, or even your past or present actions (although such variables may provide helpful hints).
We are talking more about your future potential—the pinnacle of your existential possibilities—and your unique capacity to achieve extraordinary things along your journey throughout life. As you grow existentially and rise steadily up the SAL Hierarchy, you will come to better understand who you are, the unique contributions of which YOU are capable, and the kind of personal relationships you would like to form and nurture with others throughout your life.
The unique achievements and contributions of your life will most likely be very different from mine. They will evince who YOU really are and what your gifts and potential entail.
Have you already made any contributions of which you are particularly proud? If so, what are they? And if not, then what do you desire to contribute before your time in this world expires?
Discovering who you really are, and then getting busy making the contributions you most desire and are best suited for is a wonderfully adventurous and satisfying—yet difficult—pathway to pursue. The sooner you begin this journey and the harder you work at achieving Existential Growth, the quicker you will develop inner security, self-confidence, and patience; and you will need all of these qualities in great supply to realize your full potential and help others to realize theirs.
When all is said and done, nothing is more satisfying than knowing you have done your best, given your all, and maximized your potential. On the other hand, knowing you could have achieved and become more than you actually did has certainly been a source of significant sorrow for many human beings throughout history.
In the poetic parlance of Whittier: For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: "It might have been!" (2)
"For of all sad words of tongue or pen
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"
—John Greenleaf Whittier
Self-Action Leadership is a vehicle for achieving greatness. But what does it really mean to be GREAT? What does greatness constitute?
This is a deep and profound question to which many different answers may apply—depending on who you ask.
At Freedom Focused, we believe that true greatness lies less in external accoutrements and attainments and more in the internal development of knowledge, wisdom, and character.
One of my all-time favorite movie lines comes from the 2013 film: Oz the Great and Powerful, starring James Franco in the titular role. In the beginning of the movie, the Wizard of Oz laments his lack of greatness and exclaims: "I don't want to be a good man; I want to be a great one!" (3)
Later on, near the movie's end—and following the passage of a series of important, life-altering and character-shaping events in the Wizard's life—he learns the great truth that goodness actually is greatness. Thus, the audience is left to conclude—or at least I was left to conclude—that if you want to be GREAT, then YOU should strive with all your heart to be good, and greatness will inevitably follow over time.
As a former athlete, I find sports metaphors relevant and useful to life.
As a former thespian, I also like the imagery of life as one, long, grand play or movie—in which each of us plays many different parts.
As the Immortal Bard so eloquently and timelessly put it:
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances, and one man, in his time, plays many parts." (4)
There are perhaps as many different roles in this world as there are people, and there is no question that some are better suited to certain roles than others.
At times—such as in the case of selecting a college major or career field—you will be at liberty to select or reject a given role or pathway. At other times—in the case of accident, illness, natural disaster, or other calamity—you may find yourself thrust into a certain role whether you like it or not.
Nevertheless, all along the way, you always possess a great deal of choice over how you will choose to play whatever roles you end up filling. At Freedom Focused, we are firm believers that we all have a duty to ourselves, others around us, and our planet as a whole, to do our duty—whatever that duty may entail—to the best of our ability with our eyes and hearts ever focused on righteousness. As our pal, Abraham Lincoln, once proclaimed: Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. (5)
"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith,
let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."
However, as self-action leaders, our responsibility goes beyond merely doing our duty. It is certainly in the best interest of ourselves and others to discover those roles we are best suited for and then fill them to the best of our imperfect abilities—and extract as much joy therein as possible.
In other words, life is not only about doing what you should. It is also about paying the price to do what you like that is good—and benefits others. In the final analysis, the very best self-action leaders end up spending a great deal of time doing both what they should and what they want.
On the other hand, less effective personal leaders end up spending a great deal of time doing what they should not do and what they don't want to do. As the devil in C.S. Lewis so cleverly explained in his theological classic—The Screwtape Letters—a poor self-leader confesses in the end that he or she: "spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked." (6) Self-action leaders, on the other hand recognize—to their great joy and satisfaction—that, despite the inevitable hardships along the way, they still spent most of their lives doing what they ought and what they wanted.
True self-action leaders recognize that it is not enough to merely be yourself; YOU must strive continually to become your best self.
This means that you cannot act foolishly and then blame your behavior on "being yourself." The "this is just who I am" trope is an excuse—a copout used by less effective personal leaders. Self-action leaders avoid going down that well-worn, but ignominious road built and maintained by those who sell themselves short in life.
At Freedom Focused, we firmly believe—and hold—that all human beings have unlimited Existential Potential. Assuming this is true—and we'll go to our graves defending its veracity—do not sell yourself short!
Be yourself—YES... but more importantly; be your best self.
In words once emblazoned in stone on the side of a building in Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom: Where 'ere thou art, act well thy part.
"Where 'ere thou art, act well thy part."
SAL MANTRA
Don't just be yourself.
Be your best self!
- What do you believe your true role or voice in life is, or will eventually be?
- Are you moving in the right direction to properly cultivate the maturation of that role and/or voice? How do you know?
- How can you better discern and discover what your true role and/or voice in life is, or will eventually be?
- If you were to paint a mental picture (or create a collage) of your best self in the future, what would that picture look like?
NOTE: For more information on how to discover YOUR OWN VOICE, and help others to discover theirs, we encourage reading Stephen R. Covey's book: The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness.
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 504th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 290th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 503 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
.........................
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.
