SAL is Not Only About YOU

 

Chapter 6

SAL is Not Only About YOU 

I am RESPONSIBLE.

        What does it really mean to be responsible? 

Freedom Focused suggests it means two basic things. 

FIRST, as Dr. Stephen R. Covey taught, to be responsible means you have developed "the ability to choose your response" to a situation—regardless how you may feel about it. (1) 

This ability gives YOU the FREEDOM and POWER to avoid becoming a complacent victim of your circumstances and other situational variables. It empowers you instead to rise above negative, painful, and even tragic events to ultimately choose your own destiny in life.  

SECOND, responsibility means you are accountable to others for your choices. This responsibility potentially extends to a dozen different potential persons, groups, or other entities, as follows:

1. 
   Yourself
2. Significant Other
3. Immediate Family Members
4. Extended Family Members
5. Friends
6. Neighbors
7. Colleagues
8. Other people around you—including strangers—that could possibly be affected or influenced by your choices
9. Organizations, including the Community, State, and Nation in which you reside
10. Global population
11. Planet Earth
12. God/the Universe/Serendipity, etc. 

In discussing the subject of Self-Action Leadership, we understandably talk a lot about self-improvement and personal development. In so doing, however, we must explicitly emphasize that SAL is about helping others as much as it is about helping yourself. 

SERVICE to others ensures that your efforts at personal change and growth don't evolve into narcissism—or worse, into evil. 

It is important, therefore, to ask yourself the question: Why do I want to help myself? 

There are many potentially noble answers to this question. At Freedom Focused, we suggest that the noblest answer of all is: So that you can more effectively help and serve others!

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once insightfully stated: Life's most persistent question is: 'what are you doing for others?'"  

"Life's most persistent question is: 

'what are you doing for others?'"

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As self-action leaders, it is important to acknowledge that our speech and actions impact and influence—for good or ill—others around us. This makes us ethically and morally accountable to others for what we think about, say, and do. 

It also creates, by default, DUTIES that we all have by virtue of our membership in the human race. As previously mentioned, we refer to these basic human responsibilities as Existential Duties.

The reality and presence of Existential Duties elevate the substance of our thoughts, words, and deeds into legitimate moral matters that each of us is duty-bound to continually address throughout our lives.

SAL may begin with YOU and you alone, but it immediately begins to extend outward to your relationships, familial responsibilities, organizational duties, and civic stewardships. Thus, we are all responsible to everyone we impact or influence in any way in our personal, organizational, civic, national, and global lives—and in this prioritized order. 

The order is important because you can only help others if you are in good working condition yourself. Similarly, families and organizations can only help communities, states, nations, and the global populace and planet if these entities themselves have integrity and can effectively work together on realistic long-term solutions.

Unfortunately, many mix up and therefore confuse this essential order.

Johann Wolgang von Goethe
1749-1832

As a result, they end up sacrificing their talents, education, relationships, and sometimes even their personal health and hygiene on pet projects aimed at theoretically "saving the world" while their own houses and lives are disordered and in disarray.

As Goethe once cautioned: Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.

"Things which matter most must never be

at the mercy of things which matter least."

—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

At Freedom Focused, we hold that all human beings have an Existential Duty to try their very best to develop nobler characteristics of SAL within themselves for the holistic, long-term benefit of themselves and others. This duty springs froth from the reality that, like it or not, we all live interconnected lives. Thus, our decisions always impact and influence other people, either directly or indirectly—whether we intend for them to, or not.

John Donne
1572-1631

In the ageless wisdom and eloquent prose of the poet, John Donne:

"No Man is an Island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away from the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a Promontory were, as well as if a Manor of they friends, or of thine own were; Any Man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee." (2)

Whether you know it or not, and whether you like it or not, Life has granted you the right to direct your own existence in this world. This right is accompanied by a solemn responsibility to conduct and direct your life in ways that contribute positively to the long-term growth, development, and freedom of yourself and others.  

This means that it is selfish, shortsighted, and ultimately wrong to live only for yourself.

Ethical and moral living involves carefully considering how YOUR actions will affect, impact, and influence other human beings and life forms, including the planet-at-large. This means you are responsible for cleaning up the messes you make; it also means you must sometimes take part in cleaning up messes you had no part in creating—with the humble recognition that others have taken part in cleaning up your messes over the years.  

To remind myself of this duty, I strive to pick up at least one piece of trash I didn't throw down every day of my life. While one piece of trash per day by one person (me) isn't going to make a considerable difference in the world's littering problem, the power of the paradigm and practice in my life—and my ability to share with and teach my practice to others—just might have a sizable impact in the end.

SAL Mantra

Pick up ONE piece of trash every day

that you did not throw down.

While we do hold important duties to others and the world in which we live, we must never forget that our capacity to help others is rooted in our own health and well-being. In the grand scheme of things, you aren't going to be worth a hill of beans to anyone or anything—including the planet—unless and/or until your own life and house are in order. 

To wit: while caring for the Planet is vitally important, it should never trump caring for the humans who inhabit and care for it. Environmentalism happens naturally as a by-product of Existential Growth, Freedom, and maturity—after individuals have first cleaned up their own lives. The same principle holds true for family life, education, politics, and everything else. 

Self-action leaders must always remember the simple, yet profound lesson taught routinely by flight attendants the world over: Securely fasten your own air mask before assisting others with theirs. 

SAL Mantra

If you really want to help other people, then go work on yourself. (3)

In Your Journal

• What impact or influence do you currently have on other people (i.e. family members, friends, colleagues, etc.)?

• Is your current impact or influence on others positive and constructive or negative and destructive?

• What is something you could begin doing TODAY to contribute more positively and constructively to those with whom you live and work?

• What is something you could do to provide conscious and intentional service to one or more of the following groups: family, neighbors, school, organization, community, state, nation, or world?  

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 387th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 198th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

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Chapter 6 Notes:

1.  Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York, NY: Fireside. Page 71. Italics added.

2.  Booty, J. (1990). John Donne: Selections From Divine Poems, Sermons, Devotions, and Prayers. NewYork, NY: Paulist Press. Page 58.

3.  This mantra is derived from a similar quote by Mother Theresa of Calcutta: If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.

Life Leadership: The Textbook

Self-Action Leadership: A Textbook for Life

In intellectual and other pursuits,
there is no substitute for serious study.

If you wish to comprehend anything of real substance, you must spend a large amount of time and invest a great deal of effort studying that concept, subject matter, or skill.

That is why credible academic degrees, technical certificates, and journeyman apprenticeships of all kinds typically require years to complete.  Likewise, if you desire to become highly skilled in any substantive endeavor or field, hundreds or even thousands of hours must be invested before you will become an authentic professional.

It doesn't matter who you are, a significant price tag in time, effort, and painful refining exists to obtain authentic success as a professional in any field or endeavor.   Regardless how much innate talent and intelligence you may possess, no one becomes intellectually proficient or highly skilled at anything overnight. And if you want to find yourself at or near the top of your field, you've gotta invest even more time and effort.

In the development of any skill,
there is no substitute for
lots of dedicated practice.

In fact, in one of his best-selling books, Outliers, well-known contemporary author Malcolm Gladwell introduces what he calls the "10,000-hour rule."  In so doing, he quotes neurologist Daniel Levitin, who wrote that, "The emerging picture from studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert—at anything."  [1]

Despite how pop culture tries to spin it, there simply are no shortcuts to authentic intelligence, skills, achievements, relationships, or any other substantive success that lasts.

In light of these omnipresent realities about real life, is it any wonder that our nation and world finds itself intellectually, ideologically, and morally adrift?  While ambition is alive and well in some corners, and remarkably successful people populate virtually every field of human endeavor—from science and medicine to art and athletics—how much time, really, does the average person spend studying life itself, including how to become a better human being who effectively serves other people.

How much time and effort do you presently invest on understanding the principles and applying the practices that bring about long-term happiness, peace, and prosperity (financially and otherwise)?  In the hustle and bustle of our endless ambition to earn the almighty dollar and get ahead (of our own personal situation as well as our peers with whom we compete against), how many people do you know who really focus a significant amount of their time and effort on their own existential growth, welfare, and progress—and how they can help others do the same?

Historically, religion has taken a front-and-center role in the existential development of human beings.  In a "progressive" culture that increasingly denies the existence of a deity while openly mocking the perceived naiveté of those deluded enough to actually believe in something they cannot sentiently access, church-going has been collectively waning in many denominations for decades.  This is not to say that religion is the only way to focus on one's existential growth; it is not.  Nevertheless, the dwindling population of parishioners has left a certain vacuum of existential focus in the lives of many.

Churchgoer or not, moral philosopher or not, didactic poet or not, Freedom Focused affirms the vital importance of spending time and effort—a LOT of it—on the study and pursuit of one's existential welfare, growth, and prosperity.  We further declare that all human beings (religious or not) have a duty to attend to the same.  This duty springs forth from life itself, and the common humanity we share with each other, undergirded by the humble recognition that the choices of each individual on this planet either indirectly influence or directly impact other human beings that live here too.

John Donne, English Poet
1572-1631

As the English poet John Donne so eloquently taught centuries ago:

No Man is an Island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away from the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a Promontory were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends, or of thine own were; Any Mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. [2]

When the bell of duty tolls in your life—and in truth, it tolls daily, even hourly, for us all—it is incumbent upon each of us to answer the call of conscience to think, speak, and act in conformity to universal laws of Truth (yes, that is Truth with a capital "T") in order to promote peace and perpetuate hope in the preservation of a bright future.

Each of us, of course, possesses free will.  We can therefore choose to disregard this duty.  Nevertheless, let no man or woman ignore nor forget the ever present and persistent reality that choices carry consequences beyond our capacity to immediately control.  While we are always free to act as we choose; we are never free to fully choose the consequences of our acts.  And the consequences of our actions always influence and impact others (for good or ill).

The often elusive goal of Inner Peace is attainable
through the efficacious exercise of Self-Action Leadership

If you are interested in happiness, inner peace, and long-term success as a human being, you must spend thousands of hours studying and practicing the art and science of Existential Growth (holistic personal development that spans the spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, social, moral, and financial realms of life).

How can you accomplish such a feat, especially if you prefer not to go to church or otherwise nurture your existence on a regular, intentional basis?


The answer is similar to what you would do if you wanted to become a professional at anything else.  You must buy the textbook on the subject, study it long and hard, get a mentor (or mentors) to help guide you through the process, and then practice, practice, practice as you seek after opportunities to teach it to others.

Amidst the millions of books in this world,
where is the secular Textbook for Life?

"But," you many ask, "where is the secular textbook for life?"

There are a LOT of texts and other reading material out there that provide great insights into the subject.  Up until now, however, a single, comprehensive, secular textbook for life itself has not existed in its entirety.  That is why I spent the last three decades of my life studying (and the last 13 years of my life researching) the subject—so that I could write the book myself.

The TEXTBOOK  FOR  LIFE has now been published.  I invite you to buy this book and begin a serious study of life itself, including your own life.  There is hardly a grander quest than the understanding of your own mind, heart, spirit, and the relationship of these things to your life's grand journey—as well as how that journey is continually affecting others.

Click HERE to buy your own copy of Self-Action Leadership, The Textbook for Life today.

After getting your copy of this 700+ page tome, you may wonder, "why is it so long and detailed?" How can you expect me, or anyone else for that matter, to read, much less study such a heavy text? Didn't you know, Jordan, that this is the age of the 140 character sound byte?

Many people have suggested that a book of this length could never interest an audience of any considerable size.

I respectfully disagree.

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbook, Volume I

Think about it... if an authentic, secular TEXTBOOK on a subject as deep, broad, and substantive as life itself really did exist, and if it really did possess significant answers to some of life's most perplexing questions and dilemmas, would you really expect it to come in a blog post or pamphlet? Furthermore, would you really feel like you got your money's worth if you paid $30 for a "Textbook for Life" and you received a flimsy little 75-page cursory commentary on the subject? I seriously doubt it—no matter how colorful or entertaining it might be.

I argue that our intellectually and morally starved culture desperately needs something long and substantive and, yes, even a little bit arduous if we are to individually and collectively combat the 140-character fluff that persistently clutters our phones, desktops, and lives. The time has come to return to the basics, and the basics have always required hard work and sacrifice to truly master.

Yes, Self-Action Leadership is a deep subject of inquiry, and YES, Self-Action Leadership will stretch your mind and require a great deal of study and effort to fully appreciate; but is life itself any different? I think we all know the answer to that question, so it follows that the TEXTBOOK FOR LIFE, especially one nearly 30 years in the making, should offer a bit more to the thoughtful student of one's own existence.

SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP is the key catalyst for initiating transformational leadership that lasts in any organization. The truth of the matter really is that simple; and the transformation of organizations through the holistic development of individuals really is that difficult—yet altogether possible for anyone willing to invest the time, effort, and sacrifice required to achieve authentic, transformational results.

Unlike any training program that has ever preceded it, Self-Action Leadership provides a single vehicle wherewith individual self-leaders can discover—and then act—upon the great truth that HOLISTIC personal development and growth spanning the mental, moral, spiritual, physical, emotional, social, and financial elements of our individual natures lies within the grasp of each one of us.

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbook, Volume II

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Notes:

1. Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York, NY: Little, Brown. Page 40.
2. Booty, J. (1990). John Donne: Selections From Divine Poems, Sermons, Devotions, and Prayers. 
New York, NY: Paulist Press. Page 58.