In conjunction with ROMANCE, Self-Action Leadership (SAL) is my favorite poetic topic to explore as both a reader and writer.
My SAL Journey began when I was very young—just eight (8) years old (see picture to the right). As a human being, I have many weaknesses & shortcomings that make the journey difficult and onerous at times. Despite these challenges and obstacles, I have always had a deep and penetrating desire to grow, improve, overcome, and ultimately become the best and most highly developed person I can possibly become.
Poetry has played an important role in this journey.
As a teenager and young man, I derived incredible inspiration and motivation from poems in the self-help and personal leadership genre. For example, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Builders and A Psalm of Life are two of my favorites. Similar works by other poets, like Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Rudyard Kipling, George Washington Doane, and others whose work appear in Roy J. Cook's concise anthology, One Hundred and One Poems, lit a raging fire underneath me that has been fueling my own personal life, professional career, and poetic pen ever since.
It was therefore natural that I would eventually start plying my own pen in personal leadership-oriented topics and themes. My Muse has been very generous in providing me with inspiration in this regard. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I usually don't have to work very hard to create my best stuff because my finest work as a poet typically just comes to me, compliments of my Muse. In admitting this, I don't mean to imply that producing my best work doesn't require a measure of creativity and effort on my part—it does—but often that key first line or two—and vital other aspects of a given poem—are simply placed in my mind by an external, metaphysical Source.
Artists and writers have different ideas about the ontological and etiological nature of this Source. I'm a simple man and believe it comes from God. And I am most appreciative to my almighty Creator for blessing me so bounteously with inspiration as a poet, writer, thinker, and leader.
All major religions and philosophies promote the importance of self-mastery and leadership. Christ taught to check one's own eye for a beam before judging another for his or her moat. Muhammad explained that, "the most excellent [struggle] is that for the conquest of self." The Buddha expounded, "As an irrigator guides water to his fields, as an archer aims an arrow, as a carpenter carves wood, the wise shape their lives." In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu wrote of "the power ... [and] strength of character." (1)
The philosophy of Confucianism has influenced wide swaths of East Asia. In his fascinating book,
, T.R. Reid reported the following about his experiences in Japan:
Reid further explained the pervasive presence of this Confucian-moral ethic in his daughter's public elementary school.
Dr. James G.S. Clawson, an Emeritus Professor at the University of Virginia's prestigious Darden School of Business has "come to believe that one of the biggest leadership issues is the inability of people—even and especially managers and executives—to lead themselves." (4) Whether we are discussing executives and managers, front-line employees, new-hires, college students, teenagers, or children, the universal importance and need—nay, the necessity—of character education and moral instruction is self-evident and never diminishes. Ironically, this self-evident reality is largely ignored by public and other schools throughout the United States and Western World. That is where Freedom Focused comes into play. It has been our single-minded focus for the past 20 years to model, teach, and promote character education and moral instruction in the West. So far, the West is not very interested in what we are offering. But, I am an eternal optimist; moreover, all things must come to pass in their time.
One of the many exciting things about SAL is that "what we achieve inwardly, changes our outer reality." (5) In other words, we have the power to improve our external circumstances by virtue of our inward achievements of character, effort, and focus—regardless of the challenges we may face externally. This fact does not negate or diminish the presence, reality, and challenge of forces beyond our control; but it does spawn enormous hope for positive and productive personal change, both internally and externally over time.
~ Thomas Carlyle
Beyond the haze of what we face,
There lies the track on which we'll race;
But what we often soon forget:
It's also 'neath our current pace.
We always look beyond the mists,
Squint through the fog toward future lists,
And rarely opt to seize the day:
 |
In the best shape of my
life while running track
in college. Spring 2003. |
The here, the now—so often missed!
For what we fail to contemplate,
The present's where we carve our fate,
And future's bliss' only secured,
By mastering what's now on our plate.
But if we grasp on to what's ours,
That's how we'll break our prison bars,
And rise in ways we'd never thought,
To mighty deeds and distant stars!
O man, no longer cast your view,
On things that aren't in front of you,
Do your best now, and trust in faith
That all things in their time shall find you.
Note: this poem was written while sitting alone in the bleachers overlooking the Pope High School track in Marietta, Georgia, on a warm Sunday afternoon following church.
Progress Alas, my inmost heart breaks free,
From all that has been stopping me,
And I exult in all that will
Break forth into my life yet still.
There is still so much more to learn,
Things to achieve and things to earn,
Folks to meet—my heart doth burn—
As for it all I greatly yearn!
This anxious state amidst it all,
Oft seems to be my life's true call,
Yet spite the pain and petty pelf,
I'll still claim vict'ry over self.
And meantime I'll enjoy the ride,
And bask in the abundance here.
My life will be serene inside,
And outside I'll emanate cheer!
The Slaying of the Beast What holds me back from casting off?
"Why nothing," I said with a laugh.
But won't they sneer and scorn and scoff?
"Of course!" said I, and that's but half
Of all the calumny they'll heap,
Cov'ring me knee, waist, and chest deep.
"When covered all, what then of you?"
The skeptic asked, his motive true.
"Will not they smother all the good,
And spoil God's gift of daily food?
Will not your efforts yet prove vain,
Leaving you with naught but pain?
And 'pon your soul, will not remain
The deepest, darkest, blackest stain?"
"Nay, not so, dear friend, you're blind,
And I'm bereaved you've yet to find
The one great truth that lights the mind,
And with this truth I'll now remind
You of this elementary right:
That God's endowed me with a might
That's free to those willing to fight,
And with the weaponry so real,
I've got an everlasting sight
That cuts deep through this earthen plight,
And lifts me up beyond the night
They'd gladly cast me ever toward—
A death incurred by my own sword."
The beauty of seeing clearly,
And recognize the foe 'tis me—
Not you, but me! Yes, yes, it's me!
To think that they're the enemy
Is fiercely falsified foolishness.
And knowing now the facts, the sum,
I've nothing outside me to fear,
The real demon's much more near,
Insidiously inside my own ear,
Yes! Each one plots their own dam, fall,
But, for those who come to see,
The devil's alive in you and me,
And makes the choice: a firm resolve,
To kill the beast that doth evolve
Inside ourselves, then vict'ry's won
In utter solitude... alone!
No shouts or cheers,
No joyful tears,
No thundering applause,
No commendation and no praise,
No rave reviews,
No front-page craze
Accompanies the slaying of
The Beast
Inside
Myself.
But once the demon has been slain,
The onward march of time makes plain,
The end of it 'tis the start of me,
My pending public victory, (6)
And my eternal destiny.
Change Yourself Try not, my friend, to change what's life,
For life cannot be changed,
And trying only brings you strife,
And leaves your mind deranged.
Instead, work hard to change YOURSELF,
And as you do, you'll find,
Your life will gain all kinds of wealth,
Including peace of mind.
 |
My first book on SAL, published in 2005,
carried this phrase I am so passionate about. |
I Am Sovereign I Am Sovereign.
Today I affirm that
I am the captain of my own life.
As such,
I am fully responsible for:
My attitude,
My decisions,
My life's results, and hence—
My life's long-term direction.
No one can take this power away from me,
Though I can give it away to
Someone, or something else.
This I will never do,
For there is but one me in all history,
And I will not waste
My one shot at life!
In the past I have
Blamed,
Named,
Gamed, and
Shamed.
No more!
For now I know that I cannot control
Anyone but
Myself.
Yet, in that control
I create my world,
Design my destiny, and
Conquer the enemy within.
I Am Sovereign.
I Am Sovereign (Classroom Version) I Am Sovereign.
As the Captain of my life,
I understand that I am responsible for
My thoughts,
My words,
My decisions,
My grade, and ultimately,
My future.
Knowing this gives me power—
Personal Power—
To make good choices,
Do the right thing, (7) and
Be successful at school and beyond.
No one can take this power away from me,
Though if I choose, I can give it away
To someone, or
Something else.
This I will never do.
For their is but one Me in all history,
And I will not waste
My one shot at life.
I will respect myself by respecting:
My school,
My teachers,
My classmates, and
By doing my best to master
What I am supposed to learn.
I know that I cannot control
Anyone or anything
But myself.
Yet, in that control,
I create my world,
Design my destiny, and
Conquer the enemy within.
Today, I choose to be successful
In school
And in
Life, because...
I Am Sovereign!
 |
Thresa Brooks
Middle School English Teacher
Mableton, Georgia, USA |
The above poem was inspired by another, similar poem, entitled
I Am Special, written by Thresa Brooks, an English language arts teacher at
Tapp Middle School in Mableton, Georgia. Mrs. Brooks would teach her poem to her students who, in-turn, would memorize and then recite it every day before class would begin. A consciously-crafted series of positive affirmations, her poem would set the tone for a positive and productive learning environment for her students each day. I have not, before or since, observed a teacher of any age-group (much less middle schoolers) who commanded more respect from her students than Ms. Brooks. It was remarkable to observe the power of poetry effectively employed in the daily lives of her fortunate students.
I Am Special
By: Thresa Brooks
I am somebody,
I am very special,
I am here today because
I want to learn something that I did not know.
I promise I will not cause problems for my teachers,
classmates, school, friends, or myself.
I will let nothing stop me from achieving my goals.
I will not let you stop me from achieving my goals.
I will help you to achieve your goals.
I will achieve the goals that I have set for myself.
With you or apart from you my friend.
Freedom Focused
I am Freedom Focused—
Focused, that is, on Freedom.
Freedom from tyrants,
And evil and terror,
Freedom from bias,
Injustice and error,
But most of all...
Freedom from myself,
And the devil within—
A fiend far more fearsome
Than the author of sin.
Freedom in all its glorious majesty
And liberating bliss
Will be mine forever
If I'll remember this:
Universal Laws exist and govern
Outside of all human opinion or arbitration,
And Serendipity
Has my back and yours—
As long as we do our part.
Therefore:
I truly
Am
Sovereign
And by extension—
FREE—
To be
The kind of Man
I want to be
In this life,
And throughout
Eternity.
I am, therefore, Freedom Focused—
Focused, that is, on
Freedom—
Now,
Tomorrow,
&
Forever.
—Dr. JJ
August 9, 2023
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Author's Note: This is the 339th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 159th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
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Notes:
1. Dreher, D. 1997. The Tao of Personal Leadership. New York, NY: HarperBusiness. Pages 15, 27.
2. Reid, T.R. 1999. Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches us About Living in the West. New York, NY: Vintage Books. Page 129.
3. Ibid. Pages 152 and 143.
4. Clawson, J.G.S. 2008. "Leadership as Managing Energy." International Journal of Organizational Analysis. Volume 16, Number 3, page 174.
5. Quote attributed to both Plutarch (AD 46-199) and Otto Rank (1884-1939).
6. Public Victory refers to a term Dr. Stephen R. Covey used to describe the external accolades, rewards, et cetera, that follow Private SAL victories inside our minds and hearts as self-action leaders.
7. This phraseology borrows from Kehl Arnson's mantra: "Make good choices, do the right thing, and have a great day at Campbell!" Arnson was Principal at Campbell High School in Marietta, Georgia in the early 2000s.
