Thus, my own trunk and branches will continue to grow bigger and stronger as long as I am willing to humbly align my thoughts, speech, and behavior with the straightforward, common-sense edicts of their roots. And this same beautiful and prosperous process can play out in your life and career
Speaking of beauty and prosperity, we then have the "Fruit" of this "Tree of Life, which has proven to be perennially palatable and exceedingly nourishing to my mind, heart, and spirit. Such delectable fruit tastes like achievement, satisfaction, success, joy, fulfilment, enriching relationships, and inner peace.
Whenever you taste something delicious, it is natural to want to share it with others. The creation of this text is an outgrowth of my desire to share these "Seeds" with others, including YOU, so that you can begin to cultivate your own "Tree of Life" and harvest the same precious fruit I have come to enjoy in endless quantities and qualities throughout my life.
We all begin our lives as tiny little oak trees in embryo; in other words, we all start out as acorns. Unfortunately, not all acorns become majestic oak trees; but never forget that all human beings have the potential to become such. Whether or not we rise to the full measure of our creation depends in large measure upon the choices we make in our lives.
, scientific and technological advancements and developments and the advent of the Information Age and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have dramatically changed the world, making new "techniques" and "quick-fixes" more accessible and alluring than ever before. Collectively speaking, we live in an age of illusion in which vast multitudes of lonely, sequestered individuals increasingly inhabit virtual bubble worlds bearing little resemblance to the
Such developments have made it easier than ever for people to fall prey to the pernicious pitfalls of propaganda, problem avoidance, and procrastination—in conjunction with a litany of electronic illusions and allures, virtual realities, self-deception, substance abuse, and addictions of all kinds. This toxic cocktail of disinformation, diversions, and temptations is ruining our world, one individual at a time, and the postmodern "techniques" and "quick-fixes" that claim to provide
seeming alternative solutions to old-fashioned hard work, self-discipline, determination, patience, and persistence are only exacerbating the problem.
Second, 21st-century families, schools, and organizations generally misunderstand what actually needs to be taught—and how often—for children, students, and employees to become fully actualized individuals—people who consistently add value and otherwise make the world a better place by virtue of their brief habitation thereon. This is not to say that people in general don't value education; they do! In fact, education has perhaps never been more universally valued and accessible than it is in our postmodern twenty-first century world.
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| 1858-1919 |
The problem is not necessarily a lack of education. The problem is the
focus of that education, which too-often glaringly lacks the all-important character and moral components. Roosevelt's quote from the previous chapter bears repeating here:
To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.
"To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."
—Theodore Roosevelt
Families, schools, and organizations actually do a decent job teaching their children, students, and employees the basic knowledge and skills they need to get a job or otherwise survive in a basic sense of the word. What they mostly neglect is the emotional, social, character, and moral quotients that will largely determine one's success after they begin a job.
Getting a job and thriving in a career are two very different things and it is no secret that many of the so-called "smartest" people among us often flounder and fail upon leaving school and entering the real world. This failure is not the result of bad grades or a low IQ, but a result of inexperience, diffidence, and a low EQ, SQ, or CQ (emotional, social, or character quotient).
The "weightier matters" of emotional intelligence and resiliency, social finesse, courage, character, and conscience are only peripherally addressed, if they are addressed at all. Worse still, many leaders and persons of influence set a poor example for their colleagues and subordinates through their own atrophied moral compass, bad habits, and poor conduct. Indeed, many power-hungry, money-grubbing leaders live rapacious lives of opulent profligacy and duplicity and then wonder why their folds are folding right before their eyes!
 |
Geoffrey Chaucer and his famous
Canterbury Tales |
The cause-and-effect relationship of this poor leadership is not rocket science. The father of English poetry [3] clearly comprehended and eloquently expounded upon this basic principle over 600 years ago when he cleverly penned:
"This fine example to his flock he gave,
That first he wrought and afterwards he taught;
Out of the gospel then that text he caught,
And this figure he added thereunto—
That, if gold rust, what shall poor iron do?
For if the priest be foul, in whom we trust,
What wonder if a layman yield to lust?
And shame it is, if priest take thought for keep,
A shitty shepherd, shepherding clean sheep.
Well ought a priest example good to give,
By his own cleanness, how his flock should live.
He never let his benefice for hire,
Leaving his flock to flounder in the mire... [4]
Good leaders are essential in attracting and developing good followers, and both are needed to create great families, organizations, communities, and nations. But great groups are, and always will be, nothing more than a synergized conglomerate of quality individuals. To quote the great Theodore Roosevelt once again: the quality of the individual citizen is supreme. [5]
 |
| 1858-1919 |
"The quality of the individual citizen is supreme."
—Theodore Roosevelt
SAL exists to teach, coach, develop, mentor, inspire, and multiply QUALITY CITIZENS!
Talk to any effective and successful executive and they will tell you their single most valuable organizational asset is not tools, technology, or cash, but rather human capital—the PEOPLE. If you have great people, you can eventually overcome any ancillary issue regarding money or things. But no surplus of cash and no surfeit of holdings or resources or real estate can compensate for a dearth of character, competence, social and emotional intelligence and resiliency, and integrity. You simply cannot put a price on the value of someone who is honest, trustworthy, dependable, capable, kind, teachable, cooperative, punctual, loyal, intrinsically motivated, hardworking, and socially and emotionally mature and secure.
Such persons are worth their weight in GOLD; and like gold, they are relatively rare.
This book aims to make such persons less rare. We call these people SELF-ACTION LEADERS, and we aim to build a peaceful army of them and then send them out into the world to positively infect everyone they meet with the kind of character that they themselves possess and exhibit, and which all of us ought to be striving to develop and exemplify throughout our lives.
While knowledge, skills, and techniques are important and valuable, their long-term utility depends on the character holism and SAL-capacity of individuals. This fact is true in the same sense that paper currency is only as valuable as the precious metals and/or economy that backs it up. Without such backing, it's worth no more than the paper and ink with which it is printed.
Despite this reality, nearly everywhere you look there is a breakdown of self-awareness, self-discipline, self-restraint, and integrity. It's sad—and often leads to tragic ends. In the words of M. Scott Peck, M.D., it is "in the solitary mind and soul of the individual that the battle between good and evil [and success and failure] is waged and ultimately won or lost." [6]"The effort to prevent group evil—including war—must therefore be directed toward the individual. It is, of course, a process of education. And that education can be conducted most easily within the traditional existing framework of our schools. ... Children will, in my [vision], be taught that laziness and narcissism are at the very root of all human evil, and why this is so. They will learn that each individual is of sacred importance. ... And they will finally see it as each individual's responsibility to continually examine himself or herself for laziness and narcissism and then to purify themselves accordingly. They will do this in the knowledge that such personal purification is required not only for the salvation of their individual souls but also for the salvation of their world." [7]
The good news is that no matter where a person currently finds oneself, SAL can be learned and developed. Moreover, it is not only for those labeled with "Type A" or "Red" personalities. In the words of Dr. Charles C. Manz—the father of self-leadership in academe: "Effective self-leadership can be learned ... [it] is not restricted to people we describe as 'self-starters,' 'self-directed,' 'self-motivated,' etc. ... Self-leadership approach[es] are relevant to managers and nonmanagers—that is, to anyone who works." [8]
Parents, leaders, and educators throughout the West have largely failed their charges by putting the proverbial "cart before the horse" in the contemporary classroom. Endless training on facts, skills, techniques, and/or cultural and political ideology cannot replace the teaching and modeling of character, emotional intelligence, integrity, and prudential judgment.
Even worse than these educational omissions, many educators and leaders fail to exemplify such attributes themselves. World renowned leadership expert James G.S. Clawson, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Leadership at the prestigious Darden School of Business Management at the University of Virginia underscored this point when he humbly acknowledged the following in an academic paper.
"I remember when [Charles] Manz (1983) first came out with his work on self-leadership. At the time it seemed odd to me. I will admit I am a slow learner on some things. I have come to believe that one of the biggest leadership issues [throughout the world today] is the inability of people—even and especially managers and executives—to lead themselves." [9]
That's quite a statement when you really start thinking about it.
In Clawson's lucid line of thinking, SAL is, or at least should be, as important a topic to presidents and principals as it is to kindergarteners and new hires. We, of course, agree with him! Moreover, since trickle-down character is inevitable in organizations—as Chaucer so eloquently pointed out—the responsibility for modeling good character should weigh even more heavily on authority figures; and the higher up the command structure, the greater one's personal responsibility should be to exercise oneself circumspectly in all matters both public and private.
Organizations obviously need to teach facts, skills, and techniques in the same way that schools need to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, science, and history, and parents need to teach children how to get dressed, tie one's shoes, and help with family chores. But if that is all they focus on, they are building mansions upon the sand. [10]
If all parents and teachers developed SAL and good character and then passed that legacy on to their children, thereby sending them into the world with excellent work ethics and strong ethical and moral foundations, we wouldn't have such a pressing problem. But, of course, not all parents and teachers do so, and not all children hearken to their teachers and parents.
 |
| 1874-1936 |
Even those who do enter the workforce with strong SAL foundations must continually cultivate their character and conscience to keep them sharp or rife atrophy can still occur. Thus, repetition becomes the key to the reception, recollection, and realization for even the best self-action leaders. In the pithy parlance of G.K. Chesterton, we need to be reminded more than we need to be instructed.
"We need to be reminded more than we need to be instructed."
—G.K. Chesterton
This is especially true of adult learners, which includes all of us eventually. But you must be taught something initially before you can be reminded of it, so leaders, educators, and parents must put "First Things First" [11] with regards to what they are teaching their subordinates, students, and children.
This textbook is designed to serve as comprehensive REMINDER of what we all should be striving to think about, do, and most importantly, become over the course of our lives and careers.
Some might argue that while these points hold theoretical merit, they are practically untenable and naïve . "Sure" one might surmise: "teaching character and integrity would be nice in a perfect world where we were not bound by constant deadlines, fierce competition, and finite amounts of time, energy, and training capital and resources; but in the real world, we simply cannot afford the luxury of such training."
At Freedom Focused, our response to this rejoinder is simple, straightforward, and will never change. If a leader, educator, or parent is serious about the long-term success and viability of their employees, students, or children, they cannot afford not to provide this training, modeling, and mentoring. The greatest myth lies in the notion that you can achieve anything of lasting value while neglecting the only foundation capable of properly supporting it.
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| REPETITION is the key to RECEPTION |
These ideas and their accompanying principles and practices must therefore be taught early, often, and always. Unfortunately, too many educators have largely abandoned erstwhile pedagogical principles of rote learning that so able served former generations. To close the gap, there must be a measured return to learning patterns that include rote training.
This is not to say that all educational processes should involve strict memorization and sterile data recall, but when it comes to character education in particular, there are many key truths rooted in natural law that simply must be indelibly singed into the deepest sinews of one's long-term memory if they are to be rightly understood, readily remembered, and consistently applied with the aid of a finely-tuned, morally sensitive conscience.
The truth is that any principle (good or bad, useful or ineffectual) that is taught repeatedly will influence an employee, student, or child in significant ways. Fascist propaganda machines proved this point for evil throughout the 1930s and 40s, but the same principle can be used for good. For example, my wife used to work for a Fortune 100 company that prided itself on its stellar safety record. Why was their safety record so sterling? The answer was safety training and modeling repeated over-and-over-and-over again in all sorts of different ways and means.
With an almost religious fervor, her immediate supervisors and other corporate leaders would continually drill the principles and practices of safe work practices into the minds and hearts of their employees. The result was both predictable and desirable: their tens of thousands of workers spread all over the world rarely reported an accident at work.
In addition, the influence of all this training seeped into my wife's personal life as well. This is particular true when it comes to safe driving practices. I know this in part because my own wayward lead foot has received many a loving rebuke from my better half over the years!
Such rote and rigor may sound like brainwashing, and if you are teaching incorrect, nefarious, or self-serving principles, it is brainwashing. But when you are teaching correct principles while maintaining the absolute sanctity of others' agency or freedom to choose, then rote learning is simply an indispensable part of the pedagogical process. If we are to educate individuals to create scholastic and cultural mores and organizational cultures that reflect conscience-imbued SAL in action, we must teach, model, and champion these things early, often, and always.
There is no other way!
It is that easy in theory.
And it is that difficult in practice.
In the long run, character always trumps personality and technique in the same way that actions speak louder than words, and gold outlasts and outperforms paper currency. While technique and personality are important, their magnification or diminution depend on the foundational strength of the weightier matters of character, integrity, and truth-seeking and speaking.
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Mohandas Gandhi
1869-1948 |
It is vital to remember that one's character is not forged solely at school or at work. Thus, self-action leaders recognize the futility in having one moral standard at home and another one at school or at work. Your decisions in one life arena inevitably impact all other arenas.
Duplicitous lives or careers never pass the test of time. Those who foolishly make the attempt discover in the end that the pursuit of two incompatible pathways—morally or otherwise—eventually bears the bitter fruit of failure and regret in both. In the inspired words of Mohandas Gandhi: You cannot do right in one department of life whilst ... occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole." [12]
"You cannot do right in one department of life whilst occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole."
—Gandhi
In other words, all real lasting success requires the harmonious integration of all parts of your nature (spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social, and moral).
Though many external forces influence your life's journey beyond your control, your own freely chosen thoughts, words, and actions are the driving force that shapes your life's story. These three vital variables—over which YOU have control—are the key building blocks of your future. Directing your destiny ultimately boils down to disciplining and focusing these forces in the directions you most desire to travel.
It is that simple...
And it is that difficult and complex, all at the same time.
It is simple because it is easy to intellectually conceptualize the point. It is hard because truly gaining control over one's thoughts, speech, actions, attitudes, and beliefs is one of the most difficult challenges any of us will ever undertake. In the words of a great religious leader: The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.
"The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul."
—David Oman McKay
But the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is undoubtedly worth the treacherous trek that leads thereto!
Despite any and all difficulty involved, the time has come to end the blame game and begin to take complete personal responsibility for everything in your life—whether your present circumstances are your fault, or not. It is time to stop abdicating your self-sovereignty to the whims of fickle fads, fashions, and facsimiles, the grievances of history, or to the mercurial desires of your own innate carnality. It is time to start reigning nobly as the ruling monarch of your own life and destiny—for your personal advantage and the benefit of those fellow beings whose lives your life will touch.
It is my sincere hope that you will allow the principles and practices contained in this textbook to transform your life and the lives of those you lead, mentor, and teach, just as they have transformed my life. Because at the end of the day, despite any differences that may contrast our individual experiences or past lives, we are all members of the same, great, human family in possession of intrinsic worth that is not only equal, but equally great in terms of our unlimited existential potential.
Of this I am certain.
What will YOU choose to do with yours?
—Dr. JJ
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Author's Note: This is the 357th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 171st consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
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Chapter 2 Notes
1). This statement is the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Like the SAL Textbook, Dickens' most famous novel was published serially in 1859 in Dickens' own literary periodical (think 19th century blog), entitled All the Year Round. It was later republished as a novel, which has never been out of print and since become one of the best-selling books of all-time.
2). Thoreau, H.D. (2001). Walden and Other Writings. New York, NY: Metro Books. Page 62.
3. Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)
4). Chaucer, G. From The General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales. Lines 496-508. URL: http://www.fordam.eduhalsall.source/CT-prolog-para.html
5). Roosevelt, T. (1910). Citizenship in a Republic. Speech delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris on April 23, 1910.
6). Peck, M.S. (1983). People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil. New York, NY: Touchstone. Page 252-253.
7). Ibid.
8). Manz, C.C. (1983). Improving Performance Through Self-Leadership. National Productivity Review (pre-1986). Volume 2, Issue 3, Page 289.
9). Clawson, J.G.S. (2008). Leadership as Managing Energy. International Journal of Organizational Analysis. Volume 16, Issue 3. Page 175.
10). A phrase from a line of poetry by Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem, Upon the Sand, whose first two lines read: "All love that has not friendship for its base / Is like a mansion built upon the sand."
11). Covey, S.R., Merrill, A.R., and Merrill, R.A. (1994). First Things First. New York, NY: Fireside.
12). Covey, S.R. (2004). The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. New York, NY: Free Press. Page 150.
