Right and Wrong are Real

 

Chapter 5

RIGHT and wrong are REAL 

If "Truth with a capital "T" really exists in both a physical and metaphysical sense, then we are left with a similarly corresponding reality about right and wrong. In other words, they are just as real, and we must spell "Right" with a capital "R."

This brings us to Law #2 of the SAL Theory, which states that: According to Universal Law, there are categorical divisions and universal distinctions separating RIGHT from wrong.

LAW #2

According to Universal Law, there are categorical divisions 

and universal distinctions separating RIGHT from wrong in the moral domain.

According to Law #2, the definitions of "RIGHT" and "wrong"—and the metaphysical substance that naturally separates them are not—and indeed cannot, be selectively determined by the arbitrary decree, much less the capricious and whimsical inclinations or preferences, of mercurial human beings.

Such separations are predetermined by Universal Law itself.   

Years ago, Robert Fulghum wrote a bestselling book entitled All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things.

According to Fulghum:

"All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned: Share ... Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. ... [Live] the Golden Rule." (1)

While Fulghum may be oversimplifying things a bit, his point remains lucid and cogent in a world where so many people—including many in the upper echelons of business, education, and politics—struggle with a variety of basic, behavioral mores that have historically been embraced by civilized man. While not everyone receives the same quality of moral training, I don't think it would be exaggerating to say that most people gain at least some semblance of right and wrong by the time they're five years old.

All too often, the problem is not that we don't know right from wrong; the problem is we fail to choose right over wrong. A similar problem manifests itself through intellectual and social efforts aimed at rationalizing away and otherwise justifying wrong thoughts, speech, and behavior. 

Imagine how much freer, stronger, and more virtuous our nation and world would be if collective humanity spent as much time, effort, and money trying harder to do what is right than in attempting to conceal, justify, and rationalize what is wrong!

You don't have to belong to a certain culture, ideology, philosophy, political persuasion, or religion to comprehend the fundamental difference between right and wrong choices in life. You merely have to understand the variables that lead to long-term health, happiness, Existential Growth, and inner peace. 

On the flip side, you must likewise understand the variables that lead to long-term sickness, misery, and existential atrophy. 

What then is the difference between right and wrong? 

The answers to this question are found in Corollary 2.1 and 2.2., as follows:

COROLLARY 2.1

Right choices consist of thoughts, speech, and actions that lead to the long-term health,

happiness, Existential Growth, and inner peace of oneself and all people

(and other living things) impacted or influenced thereby.

COROLLARY 2.2

Wrong choices consist of thoughts, speech, and actions that lead to the

long-term sickness, misery, existential atrophy, and turmoil of oneself

and all people (and other living things) impacted or influenced thereby.

Like deteriorating fruit, our moral sense can likewise
atrophy and rot over time if not carefully preserved.

Existential atrophy is the opposite of Existential Growth. It is defined as: the weakening or deterioration of Existential Growth. 

EXISTENTIAL  ATROPHY

The weakening or deterioration 

of Existential Growth.  

If right and wrong are real, how are we to differentiate between these two opposing forces? 

One answer to this question is to listen, and then hearken to, the edicts of your conscience. This leads us to law number three, as follows:

LAW 3

All human beings enter the world with a conscience, which prompts them to think,

say, and do what is right, and to avoid thinking about, saying, or doing what is wrong.

At Freedom Focused, we believe that ALL human beings are born with a conscience that naturally prompts them toward good and away from evil. We further hold that for most human beings, one's conscience is at least marginally operative from a very young age. 

Whether or not your conscience continues to operate soundly over the course of one's life depends entirely on the degree to which YOU choose to listen to and heed its metaphysical guidance.

Regardless of the imagery you employ in conceptualizing this key truth (e.g. Jiminy Cricket, an angel and devil on your shoulder, a light within, True North [2], etc.), the existence of the human conscience is an incontrovertible truth that we believe all honest and reasonable persons would not only acknowledge, but have in fact experienced to varying degrees throughout their lives.

In the lustrous language of the famous 18th Century German philosopher, Immanuel Kant: two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe ... the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me. 

"Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe:

The starry heavens above me and the moral law within me."

—Immanuel Kant

Just because YOU entered this world with a conscience does not guarantee you will always be directed by its guiding light. Just as a muscle will atrophy with disuse, so the light of conscience dims with disregard. Thus, we arrive at Corollary 3.1, as follows:

COROLLARY 3.1

Your conscience is sharpened or dulled over time in direct

proportion to the adherence, or lack thereof, that you grant it.

Our nation and world have too many dulled consciences. The time has come to dust off the sharpening wheel and let the sparks begin to fly. Just as importantly, the day has arrived to begin a widespread pedagogy of conscience cultivation in our nations, states, communities, organizations, schools, and families—beginning in the individual lives of me and YOU.  

In Your Journal

• In your experience, how does your conscience communicate with you?

• During what time of your life was your conscience most sensitive? Why do you suppose this was?

• During what time of your life was your conscience most dulled? Why do you suppose this was?

• What single action or habit of yours currently sharpens your conscience more than any other?

• What single action, inaction, or habit of yours currently dulls your conscience more than any other?

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 394th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 204th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 393 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

Click HERE for a complete listing of Self-Action Leadership Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Fitness, Heath, & Wellness Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Biographical & Historical Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Current Events, Cultural, Philosophical, & Miscellaneous Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Dr. JJ's Autobiographical Articles

.........................

Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.  

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks    

Chapter 4 Notes

1.  Fulghum, R. (1986). All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things. New York, NY: Ivy Books. Pages 4-5.

2.  Covey, S. R. (2004). The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. New York, NY: Free Press. Page 53.

CONSTITUTION: Preamble & Article III - Motto, Mascot, Slogan, Symbols

We the People...

These three simple words may very well constitute the most famous political expression in world history.

Any educated person knows that these three words come from the United States Constitution. More specifically, they are found in the PREAMBLE to that awe-inspiring work. 

Today's post introduces the Freedom Focused Constitutional PREAMBLE in conjunction with our MOTTO, MASCOTS, SLOGAN, and CORPS SYMBOLS.

William Gladstone
(1809-1898)

The Freedom Focused Corporate Constitution opens with a couple of quotes. The first is by William Gladstone, a 4-time Prime Minister of Great Britain. The second is by Dr. JJ.

These quotes are as follows:

"The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man."

—William Ewart Gladstone, FRS, FSS

 

 

Dr. JJ

"Nations, States, Communities, Corporations, Organizations, Schools, Families, and Individuals everywhere would do well to follow the example of America's Founding Fathers by establishing similar, principle-centered documents for the guidance and governance of their own lives and the entities they build and lead."  

—Jordan R. Jensen, Ed.D. 

Following these two quotes we present our own, corporate constitutional PREAMBLE. 

This exercise explicitly follows the lead of the U.S. Constitution, whose preamble topically and thematically introduces the articles to come and reads thusly:

The PREAMBLE to the U.S. Constitution

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

This introductory statement concisely captures the purposes and aims of the U.S. Constitution. In doing so, its holistic brevity is matched by its sonorous eloquence. 

Freedom Focused Constitutional PREAMBLE

SAL Around the World is our Goal at Freedom Focused

Freedom Focused opens its Corporate Constitution with a similar statement that echoes the U.S. Constitutional Preamble in tone, tenor, theme, and length.

It goes like this:  

"We the Agents of Freedom Focused Corporation, in order to become a more perfect organization, establish this Constitution—in concert with the Self-Action Leadership Theory & Model—to promote the Existential Growth and Freedom of individuals and organizations everywhere. This we do in an ongoing effort to transform Western Culture and influence Global Mores through the development of individual and organizational character, capacity, and leadership rooted in True Principles anchored in Universal Law." 

The Motto of the United States 
E Pluribus Unum is Latin
It means: "out of many, one."

Freedom Focused MOTTO

After presenting our Preamble, we share our Motto, which consists of six different elements of CHARACTER we expect our Agents to personify.

These six elements include: 

• Truth 
• Conscience
• Order
• Discipline
• Duty
• Beauty

Then, in an echoing element of many other organization's mottos (including the United States ~ e pluribus unum), we include the LATIN equivalent of these terms, which are: 

• 

  The Chivalric Code of a FF Agent
  Truth, Conscience, Order,
  Discipline, Duty, & Beauty

  Veritas
• Conscientia
• Constituo
• Obsequium
• Officium
• Pulchritudo

Freedom Focused MASCOT

Freedom Focused has TWO (2) mascots. The first is FIRE. The second is the RED FOX. 

As a small-town kid who earned his Eagle Scout award, I've spent my share of time building, stoking, and extinguishing fires both in my home (wood-burning stove and fireplace) and the great outdoors (campfires, bonfires, and site cleanups). My main chore as a teenager was, in fact, to keep our wood-burning stove going in the wintertime. Although it wasn't really a chore because I enjoyed it so much!

Fire: A Purifying Agent

To this day, there are few things I enjoy more than a nice FIRE built in a fireplace or campsite firepit.

Fire is the ultimate purifying agent. As Freedom Focused Agents, our aim is to continually work our way upwards in a never-ending cycle of personal and professional refinement and polishing. Blessed by the aid and power of Serendipity, we believe our focused and consistent efforts can take us as far as we authentically desire to go. 

The RED FOX possesses several attributes (literally or mythically) that we desire to personify as self-action leaders and Agents of Freedom Focused.

The Red Fox: Clever, Attractive, & Quiet (humble)

First, foxes are ATTRACTIVE.

Second, foxes are QUIET (Humble), stealthy, and maintain a low profile.

Third, foxes are CLEVER (Wise), at least mythically so).

Similarly, Agents of Freedom Focused strive continually to be smart—and more importantly, WISE (clever). We further strive to both look and be our best (attractive). Lastly, we desire to be both quiet and humble as we go about our work. This does not mean we lack enthusiasm, personality, or pizzazz. Nor does it mean there are never times when it is necessary to turn up the volume for a targeted purpose. 

It means that our overriding desire and goal is not to draw attention to ourselves, but rather to consistently do what is right—not for the sake of praise, honor, or attention; but for the sake of goodness and virtue themselves, as well as the positive consequences (i.e. freedom, growth, and prosperity) engendered by such conduct. Nevertheless, we unapologetically speak up and out when principle and conscience demands that we do so—let the consequences be what they will. In the words of Sam Houston, self-action leaders seek always to: "Do right and risk the consequences." 

"Do right and risk the consequences."

—Sam Houston

Freedom Focused SLOGAN

Our Corporate Slogan incorporates our two mascots: Fire and the Red Fox.  It goes like this...

"Wise as a FOX, and purified by FIRE,

is our everlasting desire."

Freedom Focused CORPS SYMBOLS

As an organization, Freedom Focused is divided into FOUR (4) different CORPS groups. These groups include: 

• First Corps:         Executive  LEADERS
• Second Corps:   Organizational  MANAGERS
• Third Corps:       Educational  TRAINERS
• Fourth Corps:     Functional  BUILDERS

My love of Archery has greatly influenced

the way I have built and organized

Freedom Focused as an organization.

Like my love of fire and my admiration of the fox, I have been an archery enthusiast ever since I first saw the movie, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, as an eleven-year-old fifth grader living in Mesa, Arizona, USA.   

Click HERE to read about one of Dr. JJ's favorite movies, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and the impact and influence this classic Kevin Reynold's directed action film had on my life and career. 

My passion for archery and chivalry—spawned by legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood—led to my using the tools of archery as symbols for the four corps at Freedom Focused, as follows: 

QUIVER symbolizes Leadership Corps  (Vision)  

TARGET symbolizes Management Corps  (Mission)

ARROW symbolizes Education Corps  (Training)

LONGBOW symbolizes Construction Corps:  (Building)

The goal of Freedom Focused's FOUR CORPS is to get RESULTS. 

To remind us of the kind and degree of results we seek at Freedom Focused, we ponder the word "RESULTS" as postured as the following acronym.

Rigor

Enthusiasm

Sacrifice

Unity

Light

Trust

Selflessness

That's all for this week!

Our next Freedom Focused Corporate Constitution blog article will cover ARTICLE IV, which includes our corporate Colors, Flag, Salute, Oath of Office, Pledges of Allegiance, and Anthem.  

1. 
   Vision and Mission
2. Rules
3. Motto, Mascots, Slogan, Corps Symbols.
4. Corporate Colors, Flag, Salute, Oath of Office, Pledges of Allegiance, and Anthem.
5. Organizational Pillars
6. Values and Standards
7. Core Paradigms
8. Code of Conduct
9. Statues of Authority, Chains of Command, and Organizational Structure
10. Corporate By-Laws and Operating Procedures
11. Long-term Goals
12. Projected Growth Trajectories and Intended Revenue Streams
13. Dr. JJ's 13 Rules for Living

 

—Dr. JJ

May 25, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 267th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 266 FF Blog Articles.  

.........................

Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.  

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

Dr JJ's Rule #2: Good, Evil, & Absolute Truth

In a previous article, JJ's 13 Rules for Living were shared. 

This week's blog post addresses Dr. JJ's RULE #2, which states:

Accede the reality of good, evil, and absolute truth. Consistently seek out what is true, good, and selfless and eschew that which is false, evil, and selfish by listening—and then hearkening to—the supernal and eternal edicts of conscience.

We live in a culture that often heralds moral relativity over the reality of good, evil, and absolute truth. This collective, postmodern, philosophical preference lies at the very foundation of all of our deepest and most perplexing familial, educational, and societal ills in the West and beyond. While temporarily convenient, any philosophy that puts one's own mercurial will and arbitrary desires above the laws of nature will, in the long-run, painfully punish its adherents.

Determining the color or fashion of our clothes—and other
related decisions—is typically a morally neutral decision.

Many of the choices we make each day are morally neutral. For example:

• Should I purchase a black suit and striped tie or a blue suit and solid tie?
• For my cardio routine, should I ride my bike, go for a run, or take a swim?
• Should I buy or lease my next automobile?

Your decisions in such matters—and others like them—typically have no tangible moral implications or consequences.

Other choices, however, are morally charged. Your decisions in such matters will not only determine your long-term destiny, but are also likely to incur dramatic consequences (for good or ill) all along the way in your own life and the lives of those who are impacted by your decisions.

Simply stated, right choices lead to freedom and growth. Wrong choices lead to bondage and atrophy.   

You may have noticed that Freedom Focused does not delineate specifics in regards to moral matters. In other words, you will never hear us explicitly tell you what to do in relation to a specific moral dilemma. We believe such work is beyond our purview and belongs instead to friends, family members, managers, executives, ecclesiastical leaders, counselors, philosophers, moralists, activists, politicians, and most importantly—the CONSCIENCES of individuals. 

As Educators, our goal is not to tell you what to do;
Instead, we seek to refine your critical thinking skills and
expand your courage & capacity for moral reasoning & action.

As EDUCATORS, our job is not to tell you specifically what to think about, say, or do in your life and career. Our job is to teach correct principles in an effort to encourage and promote wise self-governance. In other words, our goal is to help you learn generally how to think, speak, and behave more honestly, authentically, logically, strategically, and morally in an effort to empower you to make better specific decisions that will lead to higher levels of FREEDOM and GROWTH.

Despite a myriad of diverse voices who will indefatigably attempt to convince you to the contrary, I declare my personal witness and professional attestation of the reality and existence of Absolute Truth. This means that a REAL right and a REAL wrong rooted in Universal (natural) Laws really does exist absolutely and beyond humankind's power to arbitrate, evade, negotiate, or revise.

We are absolutely powerless against Universal Laws of Nature. Our liberty and power lies in our freedom to choose whether or not we will respect these laws, or opt to disregard them. If we select the former pathway (obedience), naturally-occurring consequences will reward us with happiness and inner peace along with an incremental expansion of our own freedom, growth, and maturity over time. If we decide on the latter course (disobedience), naturally-occurring consequences will reward us with misery and despair along with an incremental diminution of the same over time.

This reality is usually obvious and universally accepted for PHYSICAL (scientific) laws like laws of gravity, force, and motion. When it comes to METAPHYSICAL (moral) laws of human behavior, this reality may be less obvious and more contested; but it is no less true. 

Majestic and all-powerful Laws of Nature reign Supreme
throughout our world, solar system, galaxy, universe, and our lives.

The CHOICE is mine and the choice is yours: "Will we obey or disobey Universal Laws of Nature?"   

The purpose of Freedom Focused and Self-Action Leadership (SAL) is to teach, influence, and inspire human beings to choose obedience to Universal Laws of Nature.

We hope that YOU will choose Freedom and Existential Growth over bondage and existential atrophy.

So then, what exactly are the UNIVERSAL LAWS OF NATURE as they relate to our thoughts, speech, and actions as self-action leaders?  

Great Question!     

Click HERE to buy Volume I of the Self-Action Leadership (SAL) Textbook, which covers the SAL Theory, including all the primal Laws and Corollaries of SAL.

SAL invites you to listen and hearken to your CONSCIENCE

Freedom Focused invites you to read, study, and internalize these 13 laws of Self-Action Leadership in conjunction with their 27 concomitant corollaries. 

As you pattern your life after these foundational principles of thought, speech, and action—and allow your CONSCIENCE to carefully guide you all along the way—I promise that you will, over time, reap a wonderful harvest of happiness, positivity, productivity, success, and inner peace.     

NOTE: This article is the 4th in a series of 22 articles on the subject of LIFE RULES.

Click HERE to access quick links to the other 21 articles.   

-Dr. JJ

September 22, 2021

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 231st Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 230 FF Blog Articles.  

.........................

Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.  

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

My Magical Muse

Ever wondered how and where I get my ideas for these weekly blogs? 

Answer: They just come to me. 

That might be oversimplifying things a bit, but on the whole, that is precisely how it happens. Once or twice a week (on average) a bolt of metaphysical lightning strikes my brain—and simultaneously my heart as well—and somehow I just know that the subject idea that comes would make a good blog article (or not).

Click HERE to buy a copy
of Dr. JJ's Poetry

A very similar thing occurs in my work as a teacher and poet. As countless artists and musicians will attest, one's artistic "Muse" is a very real phenomenon. Back in 2012, I published an entire book of original poetry, and strange as it may seem to the uninitiated, nearly all of my best stuff just came to me.

That doesn't mean I don't have to do any work. It just means my work is greatly assisted and expedited—and the final product is infinitely better than it otherwise would have been—because of my Muse's timely aid and inspiration.

In other words, no artist paints, sings, writes, or otherwise performs alone. And no teacher teaches alone.     

Thus, once I have a main idea, topic, or title in mind, I am usually "good-to-go." Why? Because I have done enough reading, pondering, study, travel, and living to have dug a very deep well of knowledge, information, and insights that I can endlessly draw from to fill-in-the-blanks.  

When I began writing weekly blog articles last year, I worried a little bit that I might run out of ideas after a while, especially considering I have committed to this weekly exercise until I retire in the early 2040s.

But seeing as though... 

1). I've already published 211 articles since 2014 (including 37-in-a-row since last September).

2). I currently have a list of 25 new blog article ideas (over six-months worth), all of which just came to me.  In other words, I never actually sat down and consciously compiled a list of ideas to write about because I already had a surplus of ideas that my Muse delivered up free gratis. And lastly...

3). My Muse keeps sending me new ideas all the time.

Suffice it to say, I don't really worry anymore about running out of ideas.

For whatever reasons, my Creator blessed me with a rich portion of the "Gift of Gab," and my education and life's experiences have further expanded and enriched that generous endowment. Thus, for better or for worse—and YOU can judge whether it is the former or the latter—I simply don't ever run out of things to say or write. 

Furthermore, like any great subject, Self-Action Leadership is an inexhaustible resource, which is one of the many reasons I am so passionate about it and all of its related issues and topics. There is simply no end to the discussion when you are addressing issues of personal growth, improvement, and change.  

So what exactly is the source behind one's artistic, creative, pedagogical, or other inspirational "Muse"?

Scientifically speaking, we don't exactly know the answer to that question. Depending on one's personal and/or religious beliefs, an individual may attribute the genesis for such inspiration to a variety of different metaphysical, spiritual, or ontological means or sources. But regardless of the whats or wheres, there aren't many people who would deny experiencing metaphysical communication, intuition, or insights of various forms throughout their life's many experiences.

And THAT is the magic of my—and your—own, personal MUSE!  

In other words, no matter how scientifically inexplicable such experiences may be, anyone who has experienced metaphysical communication or insight in one form or another cannot in good conscience deny its existence, nor can they doubt its authenticity or legitimacy.

It is a very real phenomenon.    

Which "Inner Voice" do you listen to?

At Freedom Focused, we encourage self-action leaders to pay attention to this still, small, and often quiet—yet very real—metaphysical voice of insight and conscience that speaks to us from within. In our experience, doing so will lead you in the direction of growth, maturation, progress, confidence, and success in your personal and professional lives. Moreover, we have found further that the more we listen to and hearken to this voice, the more it will speak to us and guide us in the direction of our authentic callings and true purposes in life.

It is important to note that listening to and hearkening to this inner voice is not always easy.

Why?

Because its promptings typically urge us to act in ways that engender varying degrees of fear, pain, and confrontation. For example, the voice may urge you to face a fear, take a frightening leap of faith, exercise self-discipline, demonstrate humility and contrition, battle an addiction, limit your time (or cut ties altogether) with a negative friend or associate, initiate a difficult discussion with a colleague or loved one, apologize to someone you have hurt, or engage in any number of other thoughts, speech, and behaviors that, while clearly beneficial to you (and others) in the long run, will almost certainly be challenging for you in the short run.

It's not easy to take those kinds of steps in one's life. As such, most people avoid such steps most of the time—and some people avoid such steps all the time, unless there is intense external pressure to act. 

It takes a courageous self-action leader to take initiative all on one's own and thereby exercise the personal responsibility and proactivity required to move in the direction of positive growth, improvement, and change. But, since that is what self-action leadership is all about in the end, it makes sense that we would encourage you to pay attention to and heed your own inner voice of conscience and intuition.

This inner voice will serve as a positive and productive metaphysical guide in all kinds of decisions—both the saliently significant and the seemingly inconsequential—that you will face throughout your life and career.   

So... the next time "Jiminy Cricket" pops out of your pocket or leaps atop your shoulder to give you some advice, we invite and encourage you to pay the little critter a littler more attention than perhaps you have in the past. I promise you the result of doing so will be positive in the long-run, even it if might be a little challenging in the short run.  

-Dr. JJ

May 12, 2021

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

.........................

Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.  

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

Paying the PRICE to Become a CHAMPION

 

In my last blog post, I explained what sets SAL apart from other personal development programs on the market.  Today’s email sheds further light on these important distinctions.   

 

After a leader has formulated an intelligent plan that respects Natural Law, HARD WORK becomes the indispensable variable in achieving results and obtaining success.  When it comes to being the BEST—or more importantly, your BEST—there is simply no substitute under the sun for good old-fashioned sweat equity.

 

All of the world’s most accomplished geniuses understand this principle, which was perhaps best articulated by that incomparable inventor Thomas Edison, who quipped that: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” 

 

Regardless of raw talent or access to capital and other resources, TRUE CHAMPIONS are always the ones who want victory the most and are willing to work the hardest to be victorious.  They demonstrate their determination through an undeviating commitment to the goal—and more importantly, to the process that leads to the goal.  They are consistent, persistent, and unrelenting.  They are also always learning and tweaking their approach along the way.  Most importantly, they do not merely persist until a major roadblock crosses their pathway.  They persist until they succeed—come what may. 

 

They NEVER, ever, EVER GIVE UP.

 

Champions comprehend the price tag attached to authentic growth, achievement, and victory.  Consequently, they do not cut corners in their efforts to succeed.  They diligently adhere to the “Law of the Farm” (Stephen Covey) and “Do not Skip any Steps” (Michael Jordan) in the process.  They also recognize that in the long-run, losing is part of winning.  Therefore, they are not afraid to lose.  Recognizing that the only true failure is to give up on a worthwhile endeavor, their biggest fear is that they will fail to try or put in the necessary effort.  In the inspiring words of basketball’s GOAT, Michael Jordan:

 

“I have missed over 9,000 shots in my career.  I have lost over 300 games.  Twenty-six (26) times I was trusted to take the game-winning shot—and missed.  I have failed over and over and over again in my life; and that is why I succeed.”   

 

Champions put in the time required to achieve greatness.  You are probably familiar with the “10,000-hour rule” made famous by Malcolm Gladwell’s bestselling book, Outliers.  Champions understand this rule and earnestly seek to put in whatever time is required to succeed at the highest levels. 

 

I know from my own experience the veracity and vitality of the “10,000-hour Rule.”  Regardless of any raw talents or natural proclivities I may possess, I know for certain that there is no substitute for the approximately 20,000 hours I have invested in writing, speaking, and teaching over the course of the past 30 years of my education and career.

 

This point was confirmed by a piece of feedback I received from a fellow writer back in 2014.  This writer had reviewed the first edition of the SAL textbook, which was self-published in 2006 and targeted a high school audience.  After reviewing some of my blog posts eight (8) years later, she emailed me and said, “Jordan: I just had to write and tell you that your writing is about 10,000 times better than it used to be.”  It was interesting how she employed the number 10,000 in her compliment.  While certainly hyperbolic, she made her point both clearly and symbolically. 

 

Why had my writing improved so much over the course of those eight (8) years?  Because I had been working diligently on the skill and had spent thousands of additional hours studying, practicing, and teaching the art and science of written composition over the course of those eight years.  I had paid the price to become an elite professional in my field.  That was over six (6) years ago, and I have spent several thousand additional hours writing since 2014. 

 

One of the most significant variables that sets the SAL Textbooks apart from other personal development books is that it was not written just once.  Instead, it was written and published SIX (6) times over the course of 14 years—in 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2019.  Not only did my own writing vastly improve over that time period, but I also got the input, feedback, and observations of many others who were able to spot things I missed, and otherwise assist me in a variety of areas that greatly improved the overall product.  As such, you can imagine the extent to which the 2019 version has improved upon the 2006 edition.

 

Why?    

 

Answer:  Time, effort, sacrifice, growth, maturity, and consultation with others.

 

It's simple in theory; but the actual time must be invested to realize real results.  The price must always be paid for authentic and significant success in school, sports, or life.  

 

There is no other way!

 

The beauty of the SAL Textbooks is that unlike most self-help or personal development material or programs, it invites students to not merely read or review the material in an attempt to get temporarily “pumped up.”  Instead, it challenges students to REALLY STUDY it over extended periods of time in a committed effort to put in the time to become a TRUE CHAMPION.

 

Bottom Line: The ART and SCIENCE of becoming a CHAMPION requires diligent STUDY over long-periods of time.

 

That’s just the way things are. 

 

Of all the subjects taught in our high schools and universities, where is the most important class of all?  You know, the one that teaches students how to effectively navigate LIFE ITSELF?  Where is the course that trains young men and women to think critically about the leadership and direction of their own lives?  Among the countless subject offerings in our nation’s many colleges, why are the weightier matters of character, conduct, conscience, and leadership so routinely flouted in favor of a whole menagerie of fringe topics that do very little (if they do anything at all) to improve student’s lives—and empower them to positively and productively influence the greater community and world beyond? 

 

For those who intuitively recognize the self-evident reality that such courses ought to be just as important as reading, writing, and arithmetic, a comprehensive course on LIFE—and its leadership—finally exists.  Self-Action Leadership, Volumes I & II, serve as the Textbooks for this course.

Click HERE to buy your copy of the SAL Textbooks today.

Check out previous versions of the SAL Textbooks below (2006, 2013, and 2015, respectively).  We've come a long way since 2006!  The 2007 version was entitled "Leaders for Life" and was set to go to print by a publisher who dishonestly reneged on our signed contract.  Such is life.  Lesson learned: never work with that guy again.  The 2012 version was my doctoral dissertation.  

   

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