I Am Special

 

Chapter 8

I Am Special

Pedagogy of Personal Leadership &

Character Development

EXAMPLE  #4

Thresa Brooks
1951-2012

The late Thresa Brooks was an African American woman and career educator. Before her death in 2012, she spent over 40 years teaching students and changing lives in traditional classroom settings. 

Professor Brooks—as her students called her—taught kindergarten through grade eight over the course of her teaching career. When I met her in 2009, she was teaching eighth grade language arts at Tapp Middle School in Powder Springs, Georgia. No one knew at the time that this remarkable educator and human being was just three years away from passing.

How incredibly blessed and fortunate I was to cross paths with her when I did!

Brooks received her undergraduate degree in Education from Northwestern State University in Louisiana. She also earned two Master's degrees in Christian Education and Divinity from the Morehouse College School of Religion in Atlanta. In addition to being a certified teacher, she was also an ordained pastor who founded The Church of the Lamentations Resource Center in Mableton, Georgia.

Prior to starting her own congregation, Brooks worked part-time in Georgia's Metro State Prison for four years (2004-2008). During that time, she counseled women convicted of murder, armed robbery, vehicular homicide, and other serious crimes. This counseling work was performed both one-on-one and in small groups. She also ministered to larger groups ranging from 28 to 200 people on alternating Sundays. Of the 200 prisoners released during her ministry, only one (1) returned to jail—an extraordinarily low recidivism rate that she was very proud of, and which impressively underscores the profound impact Brooks had on the lives of prisoners she helped to rehabilitate.  

The day I visited Brooks' classroom at Tapp Middle School, I was substituting for her co-teacher. This afforded me the opportunity to observe Professor Brooks in action. Before sharing her remarkable story, I should note that Tapp is not a private school. Nor was it a well-endowed public school in an affluent neighborhood. At the time, it was a Title I school in a lower-middle to middle-class neighborhood on the southern side of Cobb Country School District, which was closer to inner-city Atlanta than the more affluent suburbs in the north. Much like Campbell High School, Tapp Middle School had a diverse student body with an African American majority and a White minority. 

Having worked extensively with middle school students as a substitute teacher in Cobb County School District, I knew how challenging eighth graders can be—no matter what the racial or socioeconomic demographics. Nevertheless, I also observed that classroom behavioral issues were less common in suburban schools and more common in schools that were closer to inner-city Atlanta. As such, I was doubly awestruck as I visited Brooks' classroom and witnessed the masterful touch of her firm, but caring leadership approach, which bucked every imaginable demographic trend and stereotype I had ever read about, heard of, or personally experienced and observed on the middle school level.  

It is, after all, no secret that eighth graders in general carry a reputation for being disrespectful, inattentive, loud, obnoxious, and rowdy.

Thus, you can imagine my shock and awe to beheld such incredibly well-behaved students responding so positively and productively to Brooks' extraordinary grace, poise, and success in every single class she taught—all of which were full of eighth graders! With God as my witness, that remarkable teacher had those students in the palm of her hand! In the totality of my experiences as both a student and professional educator, I had never seen anything quite like it. She was the most influential and powerful classroom teacher I had ever witnessed—before or since—including my own father, who was himself an unusually talented master educator who spent many years working with both high school and middle school students during his two decade career teaching English. 

The respect that those students showed to Brooks, and the maturity they displayed in her presence seemed like an impossible feat—almost an otherworldly achievement. Indeed, Brooks' students behaved much more like advanced placement high school (or even college) students—or even mature adults—than the middle schoolers they actually were!

Whenever Brooks spoke, they listened quietly, respectfully, and attentively. Whenever she gave them an assignment, they dutifully obeyed her instructions and studiously completed their work. 

Having struggled with my own share of rowdy middle school students as a substitute teacher the previous four years, I was astonished—even mystified—by what I saw unfolding before my eyes in Brooks' classroom.

It was a MIRACLE!

     How did she do it?  

Her approach was highly personalized and very unorthodox, especially for postmodern classrooms. 

Immediately after the tardy bell rang, the first thing Brooks would say to her students was, in a peaceful and calming voice was: "Peace to the Scholars," to which the students would then respond back to her in unison: "Peace to Professor Brooks." 

Then, in an atmosphere of complete silence (her students had been conditioned to be silent once the bell had rung), she quietly, but clearly asked her students the following rhetorical questions:

"Why am I here Today?"

     "Whose Life will I Touch in a Positive Way?"

          "What will I Do with the Rest of my Day?"

After pausing to allow her questions to sink in, Brooks would then continue by saying: "Heads up, hands together, eyes closed. You have 90 seconds to plan your day."

At this cue, the students then became even quieter than before as they proceeded to strictly obey her explicit instruction. 

At the completion of this silent, mental planning session, the students and Ms. Brooks would then proceed to recite in unison—and from memory—the following poem, which Brooks had authored herself. 

I Am Somebody

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.

—Thresa Brooks

Following Brooks' and her students' recital of this poem, she would proceed with her prepared lesson plan for the day. 

She would then repeat this same process and pattern—verbatim—in every other class throughout the rest of the school day. 

Everything about all of her classes was organized, intentional, meaningful, and thoughtful—and her students never stopped behaving like model students. In the two days I was there, I cannot remember a single student acting up or out. Indeed, if any student came even close to doing so, a gentle—but firm—reminder from Brooks reoriented the student to the behavioral expectation she had clearly established for every student in all of her classes. 

I had never experienced anything like what I observed in Thresa Brooks' Tapp Middle School classroom. 

It was astonishing.

     It was breathtaking.

           It was unprecedented in my experience.  

And it was absolutely beautiful to behold.  

I should note here that Brooks was not merely conditioning her students into obedient clones of brainless drones who would merely follow her every order. While the beginning of each class was highly regimented and marked by rote routine, her lesson plans were much more open and flexible, thereby providing all students with a variety of thoughtful opportunities to develop and expand their critical thinking skills, contribute to classroom discussions, consider the impacts of their own thoughts and behavior, and make personal plans for future improvement.  

It was absolutely REMARKABLE.

After the first day, you can imagine how entranced by—and curious about—this wondrous educational environment I had become. I simply had to dig deeper and conduct some Action Research to learn more about the impacts and influence this was having on Brooks' students.  

In order to gain a better understanding of these impacts and influence, I created a questionnaire and surveyed 58 (about half) of her students. The results of this survey are located below.  

Power of Words Leadership Questionnaire

Question 1: Every day you recite Professor Brooks' poem, I Am Special. How long did it take you to memorize it?

Less than one week  ~  43 students       1-2 weeks  ~  10 students       1 month  ~  2 students

Question 2: Do you like reciting I Am Special each day? 

YES  ~  48 votes     NO  ~  9 votes

Question 3: If yes, then why? What benefits do you get from the poem and/or planning your day each class?

Note: To preserve authenticity, student answers are reproduced verbatim as they were originally written, including errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

            "It helps me plan my day even though this is my last period."

"It gives me my time to get all my focus together so that I can be ready for the day." 

"What I got from the poem planning the rest of my day and how to act the rest the day and believen myself."

"It makes me think about how my life will be different today and how Not only me, but others around me should be treated." 

"It helps me to learn new things each day." 

"Because it helps us relax and think."

"IT TELLS ME THAT I AM SPECIAL."

"I dont bother students (sometime) and I get my work done"

"It tells me that I am some body and I could always do my best.

"It lets me know that i am some body and I can do good for myself. And planning my day helps me know how to plan and what I choose to do."

"Being respfull, doing what I'm told and doing what I'm asked."

"Because I like how you get Plane yor day to Show how your futer is going be."

"It helps to guide me and try to do my best for the remainder of the day."

"It calms me down. It also let me know everyday I am somebody and I am very special."

"Because it helps me stay on track more."

"I get motivated and it makes me feel good."

"I get to think through what I've done, and what I need to do today."

"I get that the poem teaches me that I am somebody and I am very special."

"Keeps my confidence up"

"It calms me down when I am mad I Just get relaxed."

"because it helps me have confidence planning your day helps you stay out of trouble."

"I chose yes because it shows me that I am special and that when I plan my day I can achieve the things that I plan."

"Yes because, it lets me know that I can be whatever I want to be and that I am somebody im not invisible. I am able to plan my day and make wise choices."

"The poem Makes Me feel Special as a person, and it Keeps Me out of trouble."  

Question 4: On a scale of 1-10, how much does Professor Brooks' poem, I Am Special, inspire or motivate you to be a better students and/or person? (Circle a number)

Number of student votes are in parentheses.

1  ~  0 votes       2  ~  1 votes       3  ~  2 votes       4  ~  2 votes       5  ~  2 votes    

6  ~  5 votes       7  ~  4 votes       8  ~  10 votes     9  ~  11 votes     10  ~  21 votes 

Motivates me a little: 1-3  ~  3 votes       Moderately motivates me: 4-7  ~  13 votes

Motivates me a lot: 8-10  ~  42 votes 

Question 5: What is your favorite line in the poem?

I am Very Special............................................................21 votes

I am Somebody................................................................11 votes

I want to learn something I did not know.........................8 votes

I will let nothing stop me from achieving my goals..........7 votes

I promise I will not cause problems..................................3 votes

Left blank..........................................................................1 vote

Question 6: If you were to rank Professor Brooks' influence in your schoolwork and life compared to your other teachers this semester, what would that rank be?  (Circle a number, with one (1) being your most influential teacher and seven (7) being your least influential teacher throughout your seven class periods).

1  ~  22 votes       2  ~  7 votes       3  ~  5 votes       4  ~  11 votes      

5  ~  2 votes         6  ~  7 votes       7  ~  3 votes

Most influential: 1-3  ~  34 votes       Moderately influential: 3-5  ~  18 votes      

Least influential: 5-7  ~  12 votes

Question 7: When Mrs. Brooks has you recite her poem, or plan your day, do you mostly think it is: cool, repetitive, helps me prepare for class, goofy, inspirational, annoying, shows that she cares, or funny?  (Circle two items)

Cool  ~  10 votes     Repetitive  ~  4 votes     Helps me prepare for class  ~  30 votes       Goofy  ~  2 votes

Inspirational  ~  27 votes     Annoying  ~  6 votes     Shows that she cares  ~  26 votes     Funny  ~  2 votes

                            Positive Perceptions  ~  93 votes     Negative Perceptions  ~ 14 votes

Question 8: On a scale of 1-10, how much does Professor Brooks' teaching style and personality influence you to make good decisions in your schoolwork and life?  (Circle one)  Student votes are bolded in parentheses. 

1  ~  0 votes       2  ~  0 votes       3  ~  2 votes       4  ~  2 votes       5  ~  0 votes  

6  ~  4 votes       7  ~  3 votes       8  ~  6 votes       9  ~  5 votes       10  ~  36 votes 

Not very influential: 1-3  ~  2 votes      Somewhat influential: 4-7  ~  9 votes

Highly influential: 8-10  ~  47 votes

Question 9: In the space remaining, write down a specific experience you had where something Professor Brooks said or taught you helped you make the right decision in your schoolwork or personal life. 

Note: To preserve authenticity, student answers are reproduced verbatim as they were originally written, including errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

"don't try to be someone else its always good just to be your self. And dont talk about any body because it hurts."

"She said 'If you do not plan your day I will plan it for you.' Then I shaped up."

"She said that that if you got good grades then my parents will be proud of me."

"She said to listen it may save your life. When she said that I thought about because when we dont listen we get caught into some bad situations." 

"I was about to get in a fight one day, But once I came in her class and did the Poem, I then thought about it, and didn't get in a fight."

"Sometimes when she tells the class about the times she goes to prisen to talk to and help the women that are there to be better. That tells me to be careful so that I won't end up in that position." 

"treat others how you want to be treated and don't live in the past."

"When she told me that attitude is everything in life."

"Proffesor Brooks has told us to think before speaking. I did this once before saying mean words to my younger sister."

"Mistakes, directions, and choices I make in life."

"She told me if I believe it, I will achieve it. the I am Somebody motto it inspires me everyday"

"To do your hardest and focus on school and not Gossip."

"She said that the reason she is being hard on us is cause she cares. That made [me] think that I was special."

"Whenever someone does something wrong, she always has something behind it to tell us. That is a good thing. She always has a story to tell us and I just love Mrs. Brooks. She is like my mom but at school."

"She has inspired me, and told me things that can guide through my everyday life."  

"When she tells us storys about jail it makes me wanna be always good."  

"Rule your life don't let others control you. Someone tells you to do their homework u say no."  

"She help me to do better on my class work and She also help me with me by making good choices."

"Telling the truth may save your life. Which tells me to always tell the truth, because you never know what's gonna happen."  

"To not let others stop you"

"When I was taking the "CRCT" [Georgia's required standardized test] I remembered a proverbial she wrote that said "Alwase do more than is required of you" and affected my by me doing my best."

"Not to hang out with bad influence Because that can get you in alot of trouble and change you."

"Same thing that professor Brooks taught and helped me was her proverbials. they just mean something to care and be you." 

"Some kids were making fun of me because my nose is big and I remembered: I am somebody, and I am very special. I ignored them and go to My Class"

"She told us to always be prepared and that helped me because one day I didn't feel like bringing my science book but I brought anyway and I had to do a project that involved my book and I got a 100"

"When someone was talking to me and I just egnord them and they STOP!"

It is illuminating—to say the very least—that a majority of her students either liked, or found value in, Brooks' strategies. For example, 48 of the 58 students surveyed reported that they actually liked reciting the poem each day (more than 80 percent).

Then, when asked how much Brooks' poem inspires or motivates them, 72 percent of the students circled an eight, nine, or 10—all three of which options fall in the "motivates me a lot" category. 

Fifty-nine percent (59%) consider her to be among the most influential of their teachers, while only 19 percent view her as average and 21% consider her to be among their least influential teachers at school. 

Question seven (7) asked: "When Mrs. Brooks has you recite her poem, or plan your day, do you mostly think it is: cool, repetitive, helpful, goofy, inspiring, annoying, funny, or shows that she cares," students had equal opportunity to describe the process negatively (4 options) as they did positively (4 options). Despite this numerical equality of opportunity to label the poem negatively or positively, an overwhelming 87 percent of the students selected positive responses. 

This empirical data clearly reveals that a majority of Brooks' students not only liked her strategies and found them valuable, but were also able to apply both the principles and practices she taught to real-life decision-making processes both inside and outside of the classroom. Moreover, when asked, students were able to readily provide concrete examples of how Brooks' teaching style was influencing their academic work and personal lives in positive and/or productive ways.   

These responses—and their scope and variety—suggest strongly that Brooks' students were not just going through the motions of her rote classroom rituals. They were empowered by those rituals, which were, in-turn, positively influencing and productively enabling their decision-making processes. 

Is the message itself really that powerful? Or is there something else—a sort of metaphysical glue—that makes the repeated messages so meaningful to students? Perhaps there is something about Ms. Brooks herself that makes this almost magical difference. The following comments from students indicate that the biggest factor of all may have been the love of and care for the students that Brooks so consistently demonstrated.  

"She said the reason she is being hard on us is cause she cares. That made me think that I was special."

"Whenever someone does something wrong, she always has something behind it to tell us. That is a good thing. She always has a story to tell us and I just love Mrs. Brooks. She is like my mom but at school."

"She has inspired me, and told me things that can guide through my everyday life."  

"She is true to us."  

Brooks obviously genuinely cared about her students. This authentic love clearly magnified the influence of her tactical teaching techniques, giving added power to her words. Although she was a strict disciplinarian, Brooks was also quick to smile and shower her students with care, attention, and love. At the time of my interview, Brooks admitted that she could retire, but added: "I work because I want to." 

Thresa Brooks' educational leadership and classroom teaching style was a unique mix of experience, passion, and her own personal touch mixed with rote learning, personal development, and character education. It worked wonders in her classroom and stands as the single most original, attention-grabbing, and results-oriented example of a Pedagogy of Personal Leadership and Character Development I have ever personally witnessed.  

Extrapolating Principles vs. Mimicking Approaches

In sharing this case study of Thresa Brooks, Freedom Focused is not suggesting that all educators meticulously replicate her style and approach with copycat precision. Doing so may work for someone, somewhere, sometime—if they have a disposition and personality similar to Brooks herself. 

However, I have learned from my own lifetime of experiences that trying to copy someone else's method exactly usually comes across as contrived, forced, and disingenuous. Furthermore, the same approach does not guarantee the same results for every person in every situation.

Successful educators are not automatons; nor should they seek to become clones of other successful educators. 

Each educator must discover over time what styles and approaches work best for them and their own unique disposition, personality, and style. 

The answer, therefore, is not found primarily in the pedagogical style or approach, but in the PRINCIPLES rooted in UNIVERSAL LAW. While each individual educator must ultimately discover the pathway that works best for them in terms of practices, all educators can and should apply certain key principles. 

In light of this reality, there are at least four (4) key PRINCIPLES we can extrapolate from Thresa Brooks' highly capable educational leadership philosophy and classroom teaching style. 

These FOUR (4) Principles are:

1. Student success is predicated on the establishment of quality student-teacher relationships rooted in mutual respect and trust.
2. Building quality student-teacher relationships takes time, effort, and consistent caring on the part of the teacher and student.  
3. Repetition is the KEY to a student's reception and skill.
4. Successful educators view the classroom as more than just an environment for academic learning. They also see it as a laboratory for life skill, character, and leadership development.

Principle ONE points out the essential role that relationships play in any pedagogical process. 

Principle TWO, which is a corollary to principle one, is that building relationships requires time, effort, and genuine care and love for another human being. This requires more than just determination and persistence. It also requires patience.  

Brooks explained that it would take her 3-4 weeks of diligent, focused, and concerted effort at the beginning of a school year to earn her student's trust and acclimate them to her highly regimented system. It did not happen overnight, or even in a week or two. She explained further that the payoff throughout the rest of the school year made this initial up-front investment in time, energy, and effort entirely worth it. According to Brooks, everything went much smoother once her students trusted her and were conditioned to her unique system. But, it never would have happened if she had been unwilling to invest this diligent, up-front effort.   

Maintaining these quality relationships and sustaining her regimented system throughout the year still required continual effort, of course, as any system is subject to atrophy and failure if neglected; but, it was much easier to maintain and sustain after making that early, extensive, and determined up-front investment of time and energy.

Principle THREE is a reminder that repetition is a key to both learning comprehension and skill development. The process of rote learning in an academic environment is akin to the process of becoming highly skilled in any endeavor—be it academics, athletics, music, public speaking, relationships, etc. There is simply no shortcut to diligent practice and energetic effort when it comes to authentic achievement of any kind. You have to put in the time if you want to be successful. The mastery of any subject or skill requires significant investments of study, practice, and repetition over time.  

There is no other way.

In the words of two professors of speech:

"Too many students try to study when half asleep, with most of the body inert and quite at peace. [But those who are] earnestly trying to learn ... are not content to sit down and take it easy. They exert themselves—head, hands, trunk, legs—everything that helps." (1)

Principle FOUR: Brooks fully recognized the classroom as being more than a laboratory for language, literature, testing, and grades. She saw it as an effective training ground for life, including future careers and relationships. In the words of one charismatic young African American girl in one of Brooks' eighth grade classes:

"I like Ms. Brooks because she teaches us about more than just language arts. 

    "She teaches us about life!"

Brooks was never content to let her students "sit down and take it easy." She required them to "exert themselves" in any way that might help them become better readers, writers, thinkers—and most importantly, human beings; and her results are largely inarguable. Ultimately, the reasons she was so successful was because she consistently practiced these four basic pedagogical principles, which are, for the sake of reiteration and therefore reception: 

Thresa Brooks' FOUR (4) Principles of Pedagogical Success

1. The success of a teacher's tactics and strategy is contingent upon the quality and trust of the teacher-student relationship.
2. Developing quality teacher-student relationships takes time, effort, caring, compassion, and consistency on the part of the teacher. 
3. Repetition is the key to reception and skill.
4. A really good (solid) EDUCATION is about much more than academics. It's also about LIFE.  

At Freedom Focused, we don't ask leaders and teachers to incorporate Thresa Brooks' unique style into their own classroom repertoires. What we do ask is that you carefully consider how to incorporate Brooks' FOUR (4) principles into your own personalized approach and style. If you do, you are certain to succeed with most students most of the time.

Why are you guaranteed this degree of success?

Because these same PRINCIPLES will always be the foundation of any meaningful pedagogical approach that generates lasting success.  

Thresa Brooks passed away on October 27, 2012, at the relatively young age of 61. She was 58 when our paths briefly—yet oh, so meaningfully—crossed at Tapp Middle School in Georgia. Despite our loss of this extraordinary teacher, her legacy lives on in the minds and hearts of her many students—and countless others (including me) who were positively touched by her dynamic character and electric personality throughout her incredible life and remarkable career. 

Thresa Brooks
Tapp Middle School Teacher of the Year
2008-09

In Your Journal

• Why do you think Thresa Brooks was able to exert such tremendous influence over her students and classroom environment?

• Why do you think so many of her students responded positively to her unusually regimented and strict classroom policies?

• What is something other teachers could learn from Thresa Brooks that would have a significant impact on their own classrooms and students?

• For TEACHERS: What is one thing you would consider doing differently in your own classroom beginning tomorrow to better incorporate Brooks' four principles? 

• When asked a question, the human mind naturally reflects upon possible answers to that question. What answers does your mind come up with for the three questions Brooks posed each day to her students?
• Why am I here today?
• Whose life will I touch in a positive way?
• What will I do with the rest of my day? 

• How might pondering these questions on a daily basis positively influence your thoughts, speech, behavior, attitudes, and beliefs?  

  

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

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Chapter 8 Notes 

1.  Woolbert, C.H., & Smith, J.F. (1934). Fundamentals of Speech: A Textbook of Delivery. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers Publishers. Page 40.

The Importance, Power, and Beauty of LANGUAGE

 

Chapter 8

The Importance, Power, and Beauty of LANGUAGE

Hyrum W. Smith
1943-2019

Earlier in my career, a publisher hired me to write a series of case studies for a collegiate textbook on entrepreneurship. One of the entrepreneurs I interviewed for this project was my uncle, Hyrum W. Smith, an originator of the Franklin Day Planner and a cofounder—along with Dr. Stephen R. Covey—of FranklinCovey Company.

An unusually talented and successful salesman and businessman, Smith has left an indelible mark on the fields of time management and personal development. His life and career have also hugely influenced my own.

During Hyrum's heyday around the turn of the 21st century, he was serving as CEO of a publicly traded company (NYSE), writing best-selling books, and commanding five-figure speaking fees. And it all began in his basement in Centerville, Utah, in the early 1980s. Suffice it to say, he was an ideal candidate for a case study on entrepreneurship. 

At the end of our interview together, I asked Hyrum what advice he would give to young college students interested in becoming entrepreneurs. As I awaited his answer, I assumed he would say something about sales, hard work, ambition, or personal responsibility and character. 

To my surprise, his reply had nothing to do with any of those things. In fact, his response had nothing to do with anything that is stereotypically associated with entrepreneurial success. 

Hyrum W. Smith relaxing at his Eagle
Mountain Ranch in southwestern Utah near
the end of his life. His massive library is upstairs.

This is what he told me:

"When I was just a boy, my father had me memorize a statement that said, 'You cannot think any deeper than your vocabulary will allow you to think.' If you really examine anyone who has been authentically successful as an entrepreneur—or in any other field, for that matter—you will discover that they have a large vocabulary. 

"As I reflect back over my career, I attribute much of my success to a love of the English language and my commitment to read deeply and widely, and to study speech and language. Anyone who wants to be successful in this world has got to read books, and lots of them. This requires a willingness to set aside electronic devices, social media, video games, and other distractions, and the discipline to stick to the task of reading—even (and especially) when it might seem boring. In order to learn independently of others and expand your vocabulary, you must pay the price to spend time with good books, including the dictionary. There is no other way! The size of your vocabulary will, to a large extent, determine how much success you enjoy—or don't enjoy—in your life and career."  

I have visited Hyrum's ranch home in the southwestern United States. You should see the size of his personal library; the man practiced what he preached! Over the course of my life and career, I earnestly and enthusiastically embraced this advice; and now, I pass it along to YOU!

Language is potential power. When used properly, relevantly, and in a timely manner, it becomes kinetic (or actual) power in your life and career. Polished communication skills enable and empower you to teach, impress, inspire, model, negotiate, persuade, uplift, and otherwise do much good in your relationships, career, and life. 

Few things will contribute more to—or detract from—your personal and professional credibility and reputation than how you communicate. When you can speak and write clearly, concisely, and cogently, other people are more likely to pay attention, respond positively, and treat you with respect. 

When you fail to do so, your power and influence is diminished, and you may even become a cause of frustration and irritation to those with whom you live and work.  

Three C's of Effective Communication

CLARITY.....................................Is my speech and writing CLEAR?

CONCISION................................Is my speech and writing CONCISE?

COGENCY...................................Is my speech and writing COMPELLING (or persuasive)?

If you are interested in increasing your personal power and influence, you must make a commitment to becoming a better reader, writer, speaker, and critical thinker. In saying this, I am not asking you to become a professional public orator or published author—although some readers will feel an ambition to take it to that higher level. What I am inviting you to do is pay the price to steadily improve your communication skills over time.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey was a master communicator, and he has called COMMUNICATION SKILLS "the most important skill we can be working on as adults." 

"Communication is the most important skill we can be working on as adults."

—Stephen R. Covey

I would wager—and I know Dr. Covey would agree with me—that it is similarly important for children, adolescents, and young adults to master these vital interpersonal relationship skills. No matter what our age, we should all take seriously the sound advice o Jim Rohn, who exhorted us all: Don't be lazy in language. 

"Don't be lazy in language."

—Jim Rohn

Drawing Deeply from the Wells of Wisdom

As you read this textbook, you will notice I have gone to great lengths to include relevant excerpts from the timeless works of great writers, speakers, thinkers, educators, leaders, philosophers, scientists, and theologians. In fact, one of the reasons this work is so substantive (long) is my decision to not merely garnish the text with such priceless additions, but to deluge and marinate it therein. These pervasive and continual inclusions support and enrich the material in this textbook from start to finish. I hope they will inspire and motivate YOU as much as they have me.  

I express my heartfelt gratitude to these enlightened and gifted men and women who worked, struggled, and endured tremendous adversity to achieve extraordinary things and become remarkable human beings. Their achievements and examples of personal change and growth shine forth from the pages of history as a burnished beacon of Self-Action Leadership light and truth. This wisdom can serve as a "lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path."  (1)

John Donne
1571-1631

These great hearts, minds, and souls spent countless hours honing their character and intellect in preparation to compose timeless texts that serve as helpful aides and powerful guides to us today. I hope the excerpts I share from their collective work will inspire you to study their lives and literature in greater detail. Without the teachings of these great men and women, this textbook would be a much shorter and shallower work. In the slightly doctored words of the English poet, John Donne:

"No Literary Work is an Island, entire of itself; every text is a piece of a Collection, a part of the canon. If a sentence be washed away from a paragraph, the Chapter is the less, as well as if a Section were, or an anecdote of thy friends, or of thine own were. Every Author's exclusion diminishes me, because I partake of the Lexicon and Library. Never send therefore to know for whom the titles toll; They toll for thee."  (2)

Learning the Valuable Lessons of Language

From associations with my father—a career secondary English teacher—and other important figures in my life, I gained an appreciation of the power, importance, and beauty of language at a young age. To begin with, my aunts and grandmothers preached the importance of good grammar and were quick to call attention to grammatical gaffes committed by their grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Over the years I must have heard: "It is not Jessie and I; it is Jessie and me," or "me doesn't do anything" a hundred times. 

In addition to this technical drilling at home, my family—both immediate and extended—would often engage each other in extensive conversations on meaningful subjects, sometimes late into the night. When riding in an automobile—and particularly on road trips—my dad and I would sometimes study vocabulary words together and continually converse on all sorts of fascinating topics. These father-son tête-à-têtes and other familial repartee stimulated my intellect and deepened my relationships with family members.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1807-1882

One day, after returning home from school as an elementary student, I found my dad sitting peacefully on the couch in our living room. I don't recall the conversation that prefaced what happened next, but all-of-a-sudden Dad broke forth into a beautiful reading of Alfred Noyes' timeless classic, The Highwayman. I was entranced by the beauty of Noyes' verse, the suspense of the poem's narrative, the obvious passion and skill my father lent to this spontaneous exercise, and his natural inclination to heed Longfellow's counsel:

Then read from the treasured volume
    The poem of thy choice
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
    The beauty of thy voice.  (3)

Click HERE to read more about this poetic experience with Dad.  

JJ's college Vocabulary Journal

In college, the most important notebook I kept was not for any of my classes, but rather an independent "Vocabulary Book" which contained an ever-growing list of new words I came across in my assigned readings, along with their definitions and practice sentences. Whenever I hear or read a word I don't know, I feel frustrated... but in a positive way that impels me to look up the word in the dictionary. 

And I keep looking up and otherwise studying the same word until I own it.

I have invested a lot of independent time and effort over the years in this practice. Doing so requires patience, persistence, discipline, and focus. It also requires that you spend time away from something that may be more urgent (like a homework assignment that is due tomorrow). But the effort and investment have been immensely and immeasurably worth it; the reality of the SAL Textbook and hundreds of accompanying blog articles is proof of this fact. 

Inside page of JJ's Vocabulary Journal

Some people may think there isn't much need for a dictionary after completing one's formal education. At Freedom Focused, we strongly disagree! And I personally disagree vehemently. Despite being a published author with a Doctoral degree, I still use the dictionary on a regular basis. When I am in the thick of a writing project, I sometimes use a dictionary and/or a thesaurus many times in a single day or writing session. A dictionary and thesaurus are, without question, two of my best friends and most valuable tools as a professional writer.  

"But," you may say, "I am not a professional writer, nor do I ever intend to be." While that may be the case for most people who read this work, the fact remains that you still have to write, speak, and otherwise communicate with others no matter what field your job is in. As such, chances are good that you are still expected to communicate in a professional manner with your colleagues and clients, and the success—or lack thereof—of your communication can often make or break your long-term success.  

I know a man of science who has a Ph.D. in chemistry. When he was in college, he didn't think mastering writing was very important aside from passing his required general education courses in English. He was, after all, going to become a chemist, and chemists don't need to be skilled in speaking or writing, right?

That was what he told himself.

Even a chemist has to communicate

But over time, he found himself rising through the ranks of the chemical industry; and the higher he rose in his organization's leadership hierarchy, the more he was required to write and speak and the less he was required to do chemistry. As a man in his mid-fifties, he confessed to me: "Jordan, I am now in upper-level management and about all I do is write." 

Another example of the importance and value of communication skills is the former U.S. President, Barack Obama. Regardless of one's political opinion of Mr. Obama, he was almost universally lauded for his communication skills. As the youngest president in U.S. history who had never served in the military (Theodore Roosevelt and JFK) or been the governor of a state (Bill Clinton), Barack Obama had the thinnest leadership resume in presidential history. Despite this fact, he rose to the very top of his career ladder largely on the wings of his ability to communicate.

Talk about putting word power to productive use!

In front of the White House north lawn in April 2007
when Lina and I were dating.

If you study this former Commander-in-Chief's early life, you will discover that he paid the price over long periods of time to become a polished communicator. This price included being awakened by his mother as early as 4:30 a.m. to spend extra time studying English and other subjects she deemed vital to his future success. Like most other kids, the young Barack didn't particularly like these early morning study sessions, but the results in his life worked their way right up into the history books!

Barack and Michelle Obama are also well known for placing a high priority on the education of their two daughters, Sasha and Malia. During their time in the White House—and beyond—they enforced a highly disciplined schedule that allowed ample time for homework and studying and minimal time for television and other media distractions. 

Such practices represent and exemplify non-partisan standards that any reasonable person can and should admire, applaud, and replicate in their own personal and family life, regardless of one's politics.

Like my Uncle Hyrum, I attribute much of my success personally and professionally to my ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and cogently. I am where I am today in large part because I was willing to pay the price in time and effort to learn how to effectively read, write, think, converse, and orate. Few things make a more positive impression on a person or audience than clear, intelligent, and respectful speech.

Similarly, few things make a more negative impression on an audience or person than speech that is halting, convoluted, ignorant, or disrespectful. It is therefore in the interest of everyone to study language, speech, and vocabulary in a concerted effort to become a skilled communicator. As previously pointed out, you will have to communicate in both school and the labor force—no matter what field you decide to pursue. 

Thus, the extent to which you succeed in both your education and career will hinge—at least in part—on how you communicate with your teachers, supervisors, colleagues, clients, etc. Your communication skills may even make the difference in whether you get hired, fired, promoted, demoted, or given a raise (or not). And the good news is that language is something everyone can work on and improve. It requires discipline, focus, hard work, and persistence, but the results can profoundly affect your life and career in a variety of positive ways.  

George III of England
Even in the 2020s, the King's English
still reigns internationally

In conjunction with striving to master your native language, it is also vital to study English. This is because English is the de facto language of international academics, business, and journalism. Most highly successful people in today's global marketplace speak English proficiently, if not fluently—regardless what their native tongue may be. 

A good example of this is Jack Ma, the wealthy Chinese entrepreneur and cofounder of the Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital. Ma is one of the wealthiest people in China and grew up speaking Chinese. But Ma got his entrepreneurial start when he was just a boy riding his bike 45-minutes away from his home to a large international hotel so he could learn English by conversing with foreigners. 

Today, Jack Ma is one of the most successful businessmen in the world, in part because of his determination to learn the most prominent international language—ENGLISH.  

To further empower your language skills, I encourage you to gain access to a good electronic dictionary app. Looking up words electronically is more efficient than flipping through pages the old-fashioned way. I also challenge you to start keeping your own vocabulary notebook in your SAL Journal.

One easy way to build word power is to commit to learning ONE new word each day. To help you in this endeavor, you can sign up to receive a free word-of-the-day in your email inbox by visiting the A.Word.A.Day website at www.wordsmith.org/awad.   

There are few better ways to enhance your overall intellect than to build word power. Chances are you will also find words in this textbook with which you are unfamiliar. When that happens, don't just keep reading. Stop and take time to look up the word, jot down its definition in your SAL Journal, and then compose a couple of practice sentences using the new word. 

If you will take the time and exercise the self-discipline to do this, I promise that your study of this textbook will be far more meaningful and fruitful. Plus, your vocabulary will continue to increase and expand, which will translate into authority, power, influence, and opportunities in your life, career, and relationships.  

For anyone reading this book, it is my sincere hope that you will come out on the other side not just motivated to better lead yourself, but to become more culturally, historically, and philosophically literate. Likewise, I hope you will obtain a greater understanding, appreciation, and command of your native language as well as the English language.  

I challenge you to develop your capacity for clear, concise, and cogent communication as both a speaker and a writer. Doing so will endow you with the authority and influence that follows all those who have superior command of language.

Joseph Fielding Smith
1899-1964
Professor of Speech and Drama, Play Director,
Professional oral reader, Dr. JJ's maternal Grandfather,
and a Master of the English Language

More than 80 years ago, two of the world's preeminent authorities of speech—Charles H. Woolbert and Joseph F. Smith  (4)—wrote eloquently of the importance of speech. Their words are as important today as they were in the 1930s. I have taken the liberty to reproduce a quote of theirs with slight variations in order to make it applicable to all mediums of expression.  

"The one ability which grants to [men and women] preeminent superiority over all other animal creation is his [and her] ability to talk and write. ... Communication is desperately fundamental to our civilization. So integral a part of civilization is it, that it has too largely been taken for granted by the people at large. [As human beings] we are strange that way. Things close to us we often neglect. The spoken and written word is so vital a thing that when it fails to convey its message the loss is great enough to cause distress. Consequently, in the presence of the mumbler, the droner, and the mouther of words, men are disappointed and pained. Bankruptcy of speech or script is a solemn affliction because language is the crowning achievement of the human mind and the very cementing principle of civilization. Our value as members of society is judged in large measure according as our language meets with the approval or condemnation of those who hear or read it."  (5)  

Language is important, but it is more than that; because it has the potential to be both powerful and beautiful—even sacred! Moreover, it is never too late to learn, improve upon, or simply brush-up on an art and science that is absolutely indispensable to both your short- and long-term effectiveness and success—no matter what your life station or profession. 

In lauding the incredible merits and power of speech, I do not wish to overstate the point. The ability to communicate effectively is certainly not everything. Just as paper currency must be backed up by the tangible strength of gold, credible governments, and healthy economies, speech must be backed up by character, competence, and courage if it is to create positive results that last. Otherwise, speech alone can create a great deal of mischief and malaise—as the silver-tongued tyrant Adolf Hitler so demonically demonstrated!

Thus, we would do well to take to heart the piercing and poignant reminder of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt—a man who knew a thing or two about the effective use of language:

1858-1919

"It is a sign of marked political weakness in any commonwealth if the people tend to be carried away by mere oratory, if they tend to value words in and for themselves, as divorced from the deeds for which they are supposed to stand. The phrase-maker, the phrase-monger, the ready talker, however great his power, whose speech does not make for courage, sobriety, and right understanding, is simply a noxious element in the body politic, and it speaks ill for the public if he [or she] has power over them. To admire the gift of oratory without regard to the moral quality behind the gift is to do wrong to the republic."  (6)

In this same vein, we would likewise do well to remind ourselves of what the great American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, who once said: Words—so innocent and powerless they are as standing in a dictionary—how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them!

"Words—so innocent and powerless they are as standing in a dictionary—how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them!"

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

Sir Winston Churchill
1874-1965

Only a basic understanding of World War II history is necessary to comprehend how prominently this truth was revealed in the epic polarity separating Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill—both masters of their respective tongues. Indeed, as history has amply evinced, the currency of language will only bring about short-term results unless it is backed up by the gold standard of conscience and principle. 

It is no surprise then, that many of the world's noblest figures possessed ample capacities for both communication and conscience, while many of the world's most fearsome fiends were only interested in manipulating others through their expertise in rhetoric and propaganda.  

The Beauty of Language

There is more to language than the import derived from its potential power and influence. When crafted with wisdom and skill, language can also be beautiful, elegant, and melodious. With the right syntax and tone in place, language has the capacity to empower, enliven, ennoble, inspire, and uplift. This is especially true when words promote the development of circumspect character and personal integrity.

Since I was just a little boy, I have always been deeply inspired by words well placed, sentences clearly crafted, and literature that is luminously lettered with enlightened banners of truth. In organizing the material in this textbook, I have gone to great lengths to ensure that you hear from not just my pen, but also the ink of those whose character and compositions I deeply admire and respect, and who have so eloquently considered how we might best lead and live our lives—for our own advantage and the benefit of others.  

To illustrate the beauty of language, I have reprinted excerpts from five passages of English poetry and prose that I find particularly eloquent and instructive. I invite you to read these passages and then use the questions below to reflect on them in your SAL Journal.  

William Shakespeare
1564-1616

Polonius'Advice to Laertes

There—my blessing with thee!
And these few precepts in thy memory
Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportion'd thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in,
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice:
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.

Death of Polonius
at the hand of Hamlet

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, nor gaudy:
For the apparel oft proclaims the man;...
Neither a borrower nor a lender be:
For loan oft loses both itself and friend;
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all,—to thine own self be true;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.  (7)

By: William Shakespeare

 

From The Present Crisis

1819-1891

When a deed is done for Freedom, through the broad earth's
   aching breast
Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, trembling on from east to

   west,
And the slave, where'er he cowers, feels the soul within
   him climb
To the awful verge of manhood, as the energy sublime

Of the century bursts full-blossomed on the thorny stem of
   Time. ...

For mankind are one in spirit, and an instinct bears
   along,
Round the earth's electric circle, the swift flash of right
   or wrong;
Whether conscious or unconscious, yet Humanity's vast

   frame
Through its ocean-sundered fibres feels the gush of joy or
   shame;—
In the gain or loss of one race all the rest have equal
   claim. ...

Drafted after the Battle of Antietem in

1862, Abraham Lincoln issued the

Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,

1863, freeing all slaves in Union-held territory.

We see dimly in the Present what is small and what is
   great,
Slow of faith how weak an arm may turn the iron helm

   of fate,
But the soul is still oracular; amid the market's din,
List the ominous stern whispers from the Delphic cave
   within,—
"They enslave their children's children who make com-
   promise with sin." ...

New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good
   uncouth;
They must upward still, and onward, who would keep
   abreast of Truth;
Lo, before us gleam her camp-fires! we ourselves must
   Pilgrims be,
Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly through the des-
   perate winter sea,
Nor attempt the Future's portal with the Past's blood-rusted
  key.  (8)

By: James Russell Lowell

Abraham Lincoln Statue inside the
Lincoln Memorial; Washington, D.C.

Abraham Lincoln's Letter to Mrs. Bixby

Executive Mansion

Washington, Nov 21, 1864

To Mrs. Bixby,     Boston, Mass.

                    Dear Madam.

                                         I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. 

     Yours very sincerely and respectfully.

       A. Lincoln.

"On the walls of Brasenose College, Oxford University, England, this letter of the 'rail-splitter' President hangs as a model of purest English, rarely, if ever, surpassed."  (9)

From An American Bible

I KNOW: ...

Elbert Hubbard
1857-1915
Killed with his wife aboard the
RMS Lusitania during the Great War

That if I would secure reasonable happiness for myself, I must give out good-
       will to others;
That to better my own condition I must practice mutuality;
That bodily health is necessary to continued and effective work;
That I am ruled largely by habit;
That habit is a form of exercise;
That up to a certain point, exercise means increased strength or ease in effort;
That all life is the expression of the spirit;
That my spirit influences my body,
And my body influences my spirit; ...
And that to eliminate fear my life must be dedicated to useful work—work in
       which I forget myself;
That fresh air in abundance, and moderate, systematic exercise in the open air
       are the part of wisdom;
That I can not afford, for my own sake, to be resentful nor quick to take offense;
That happiness is a great power for good,
And that happiness is not possible without moderation and equanimity;
That time turns all discords into harmony if [people] will but be kind and
       patient,
And that the reward which life holds out for work is not idleness nor rest, nor
       immunity from work, but increased capacity, GREATER

       DIFFICULTIES, MORE WORK.  (10)

By: Elbert Hubbard

I Have a Dream

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. ...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1929-1968

"This is our hope. ... With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together ... to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. ...

"So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. 

"But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain in Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountain side. Let freedom ring. ...

"When we allow freedom to ring—when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, and every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last, Free at last, Great God a-mighty, We are free at last." 

By: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

MLK delivered this speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., USA, on August 28, 1963. 

In Your Journal

1. What are some of your thoughts, questions, or reflections on the five excerpts shared above?

2. Of the five excerpts shared above, what passage is your favorite?  Why? 

3. What is something you could do beginning today to improve your vocabulary and language skills in your native tongue? 

4. If English is not your first language, what could you do beginning today to become more proficient and/or fluent in English?

 SAL Master Challenge

EXERCISE  #2

Self-action leaders BUILD WORD POWER

Intelligent, culturally literate self-action leaders pay the price to develop large vocabularies. Doing so builds confidence and empowers them in a variety of ways in their lives and careers.

Exercise #2 of the SAL Master Challenge is an opportunity to develop the habit of Building Word Power as you read and study books and other written material or hear new words from teachers or other professionals.     

TASKS to COMPLETE

1).  Select 100 words you do not know from challenging reading material (like this book) and record them in your SAL Journal. 

2).  Record each word's part/s of speech, etymology, and definition/s. 

3).  Practice using the word in your journal by writing a unique sentence for the definitions of each word.

Note: This exercise is not meant to be done all at once or in a few days time; that would be exhausting! Take your time and work on this bit-by-bit over-time while concurrently completing other SAL Master Challenge exercises.  

I have completed the SAL Master Challenge EXERCISE #2

Your initials:__________         AP initials:__________

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 364th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 177th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 363 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

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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

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

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Chapter 8 Notes

1).  Slightly doctored version of Psalms 119:105 (Old Testament)

2).  Donne's actual quote reads:  "No Man is an Island, entire of itself, every. man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod by washed away by 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." Quoted in Booty, J. (1990). John Donne: Selections From Divine Poems, Sermons, Devotions, and Prayers. New York, NY: Paulist Press. Page 58. 

3).  Longfellow, H.W. (1912). The Poetical Works of Longfellow. London, UK: Henry Frowde (Oxford University Press). Page 131. 

4).  Charles Henry Woolbert was an esteemed professor of speech at the University of Iowa and Joseph F. Smith was an eminent professor of speech at the Universities of Wisconsin, Utah, and Hawaii. Smith is also the father of Hyrum W. Smith—cofounder of FranklinCovey Company—and Dr. JJ's maternal grandfather.

According to Andrew T. Weaver, former Head of the Speech Department at the University of Wisconsin: "Joseph F Smith ... [is] one of the outstanding leaders of our profession. He is an inspiring lecturer and a powerful interpreter of literature." W. Norwood Brigance, former Head of Speech at Wabash College added: "Joseph F. Smith is one of the half dozen top-flight readers in all America. A few may equal him, but none surpass him. In the highest and finest sense of the term, he is an artist."  

5).  Woolbert, C.H. and Smith, J.F. (1934). The Fundamental of Speech: A Textbook of Delivery. New York, NY: Harper and Brothers Publishers. Pages 3-6.

6).  Roosevelt, T. (2004). Citizenship in a Republic, in Auchincloss, L. (Ed.) Theodore Roosevelt: Letters and Speeches. The Library of America. Page 787. Speech delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on April 10, 1910, a year-and-a-half after Roosevelt had vacated the U.S. Presidency.  

7).  Shakespeare, W. (2014). The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. San Diego, CA: Canterbury Classics. Page 741. Hamlet: The Prince of Denmark. Act I, Scene III, Lines 62-77, 80-86. 

8).  Cook, R.J. (Editor). (1929). One Hundred and One Famous Poems: With a Prose Supplement. Chicago, IL: The Cable Company. Google Books edition. Pages 33-35, 37.

9).  Cook, R.J. (Editor). (1929). One Hundred and One Famous Poems: With a Prose Supplement. Chicago, IL: The Cable Company. Google Books edition. Page 174.

10).  Hubbard, E. (1946). An American Bible (Alice Hubbard, Ed.) New York, NY: Wm H. Wise & Co., Inc. Pages 7-8.