Service

  

Chapter 21

Service

Construction Stage 2.5   Earthquake and Weatherproofing

SAL Model Stage 2.5   Service

 "Life's most persistent question is: 'What are YOU doing for others.'"

—Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Service is akin to earthquake- and weather-proofing a skyscraper's foundation and superstructure. 

The better equipped a skyscraper is to withstand weather events and natural disasters, the longer it will last. Likewise, the more freely you give of your time and resources to others, the more you will enrich your own life and relationships, which can serve you well as a bulwark against loneliness—and/or a safety net when things turn tricky or tragic in your own career or life. 

Acts of service are essential in forming enduring relationships built on a foundation of mutual love and respect. Such relationships provide you with a cornucopia of fulfillment, joy, and satisfaction. They also offer a strong support network that you can turn to when things get tough and you find yourself in need of comfort, companionship, and help from others.  

Service is more than just a nice thing to do that may carry advantages and benefits down the road. 

Service is an Existential Duty and a prerequisite to reaching higher levels of Existential Growth.

Those who are content to hang around the lower levels of the SAL Hierarchy are usually selfish people who aren't interested in providing service to others. At lower and middle levels, self-action leaders might serve primarily out of a sense of duty, obligation, or an intellectual assent that they must serve others to get certain things for themselves. 

At higher levels, however, self-action leaders serve out of a genuine desire to help others and bless their lives in any way they can. These mature self-action leaders willingly and joyfully serve others because they genuinely care about them and experience fulfillment, joy, and satisfaction by showing love and giving service to others.

Regardless what your current Existential Standing is (or isn't), if you don't feel like serving others, do it anyway. If you do something that is right out of duty for long enough, you'll often develop a natural inclination for doing it over time. Then, if you persist in service, the time will come when you will be so predisposed to helping others that you will perform it willingly, joyfully, and enthusiastically.

Rather than something you have to do, service will become something you want to do.  

There are countless ways and means of serving other people. Service can be packaged in elaborate relief efforts following natural disasters, death, or other personal or collective calamities or tragedies. Service can be organized, scheduled, regimented, and perpetual. It can also be flexible, spontaneous, creative, and temporary. 

Some service is directed toward the many. 

Other service is devoted to the few, or even the one. 

Some service requires money, or time, or effort, while other service may require a combination of the three. Sometimes service is great and requires much personal planning and sacrifice over time. Other times it is small and requires spontaneous thoughtfulness, compassion, and quick thinking.  

Some service is acted upon; some service is spoken; and some service can come by simply refraining from doing or saying something that would be unnecessary or unkind. In the famous words of Thumper the Rabbit—from Disney's animated feature film, Bambi—"if you can't say something nice, don't say nuthin' at all!" (1)  

"If you can't say somthin' nice, don't say nuthin' at all."

—Thumper

(From Disney's "Bambi") 

No matter how it may be demonstrated or packaged, all service has a basic, three-pronged purpose: 

1.  To benefit one's fellows
2.  To demonstrate love to others
3.  To promote the Existential Growth of oneself and others.  

The Service Heart of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln
1809-1865

Years ago, I listened to Doris Kearns Goodwin's award-winning book, Team of Rivals, on CD. Of the many interesting facts and stories recounted in that audio recording, there is one anecdote that sticks out in my long-term memory far above any of the others. The story involved President Abraham Lincoln's loving and service-hearted relationship toward his Secretary of State, William H. Seward, who had once been a bitter rival of Lincoln's during the Republican Primary election.  

Seward's journey to political prominence was very different from Lincoln's. Unlike Abraham, William was born into wealth and privilege and had received a sterling formal education growing up. Like Lincoln, Seward practiced law and entered politics while still a young man. Unlike Abraham, William was widely considered to be the   Republican front runner for President leading up to the 1860 Presidential election. 

It was therefore a huge surprise to many—and a colossal disappointment to Seward—when Lincoln made a late surge from the back-of-the-pack to pass Seward and the rest of his rivals to win the Republican nomination, and later, the Presidency. One might imagine Seward's bitterness at this unexpected failure to defeat someone as backwoodsy, homespun, and relatively obscure as Lincoln was. 

William H. Seward
1801-1872

However, once in office, Lincoln set out proactively to mend the divide with his former political rivals by inviting several of them to join his administration and serve in the high-ranking positions of his Presidential Cabinet.

William Seward was the foremost of these rivals so selected. 

Lincoln asked him to serve in arguably the most important, influential, powerful, and prestigious position of all: Secretary of State. Despite his bitter feelings toward Lincoln, Seward accepted the honor and privilege and was sworn in as his nation's 24th Secretary of State under President Abraham Lincoln.  

Over the next four (4) years, the United States passed through a horrific and bloody civil war. As Lincoln worked with Seward through this awful conflict, he gradually earned the admiration and respect of his former rival. Over time, this professional regard developed further into a genuine personal friendship. This fact was perhaps never more poignantly illustrated than in a simple, yet telling story. 

Nine days before Lincoln's death, Seward was involved in a serious carriage accident that left him badly injured and unconscious. President Lincoln was not in Washington when the accident occurred, but according to Goodwin:

"Directly upon his return to Washington, Lincoln went to Seward's bedside ... [where he] stretched out on the bed ... side by side with Seward ... supporting his head with his hand ... to continue the conversation more intimately. ... [They continued in this manner until] Seward had fallen into a much-needed sleep, [after which] Lincoln quietly got up and left the room." (2)

Lincoln was assassinated soon thereafter. Seward was still recovering from his injuries and it was decided that Seward be spared the news because "the doctors feared that he could not sustain the shock." (3)

Goodwin describes what happened next.

"On Easter Sunday ... as [Seward] looked out the window toward Lafayette Park, he noticed the War Department flag at half-mast. 'He gazed awhile,' Noah Brooks reported, 'then, turning to his attendant, he announced, The President is dead.' The attendant tried to deny it, but Seward knew with grim certainty. 'If he had been alive, he would have been the first one to call on me,' he said, 'but he has not been here, nor has he sent to know how I am, and there's the flag at half-mast.' He lay back on the bed, 'the great tears coursing down his gashed cheeks, and the dreadful truth sinking into his mind.' His [former rival turned] good friend, his captain and chief, was dead."

"'The history of governments,' John Hay later observed, 'affords few instances of an official connection hallowed by a friendship so absolute and sincere as that which existed between these two magnanimous spirits. Lincoln had snatched away from Seward at Chicago [the site of the Republican Primary election] the prize of a laborious life-time, when it seemed within his grasp. Yet Seward was the first man named in his Cabinet and the first who acknowledged [Lincoln's] personal preeminence. ... From the beginning of the Administration to that dark and terrible hour ... there was no shadow of jealousy or doubt [that] ever disturbed their mutual confidence and regard.'" (4)

That, my friends and fellow self-action leaders, is what authentic friendship—and SERVICE—is all about.

How is such an authentic, pure, and guileless friendship created? It can only be forged amidst the warm and friendly firelight of charitable and selfless SERVICE. Abraham Lincoln understood this, and gave his life in the service of his fellowmen and country. 

All self-action leaders would do well to follow his example.  

SAL Master Challenge

EXERCISE  #20

Complete 25 cumulative hours of service in your home, school, neighborhood, organization, community, church, etc. 

If you aren't sure what to do right off the bat, you can start off by simply walking outside your home and picking up trash. As you do so, you are bound to think of many other ideas of how you might provide further service to others. 

Hour 1:_____     Hour 2:_____     Hour 3:_____     Hour 4:_____     Hour 5:_____

Hour 6:_____     Hour 7:_____     Hour 8:_____     Hour 9:_____     Hour 10:_____

Hour 11:_____     Hour 12:_____     Hour 13:_____     Hour 14:_____     Hour 15:_____

Hour 16:_____     Hour 17:_____     Hour 18:_____     Hour 19:_____     Hour 20:_____

Hour 21:_____     Hour 22:_____     Hour 23:_____     Hour 24:_____     Hour 25:_____

I have completed the SAL Master Challenge EXERCISE #20

Your initials:__________         AP initials:__________

 

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

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Chapter 21 Notes

1.  Walt Disney's Bambi. (1942). Written by Felix Salten, Perce Pearce, and Larry Morey. 

2.  Goodwin, D.K. (2005) Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. Page 724-725.

3.  Ibid. 

4.  Goodwin, D.K. (2005) Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. Page 744-745.

Developing an Integrity-Based Character

              

 Chapter 16

Developing an Integrity-Based Character

CONSTRUCTION  STAGE  2:  BUILDING the FOUNDATION

SAL MODEL STAGE 2:  DEVELOPING an INTEGRITY-BASED CHARACTER

"Integrity is the essence of everything successful."

—R. Buckminster Fuller

Having completed the pre-construction phase, it's now time to start building the foundation of your life as a self-action leader. Stage Two (2) of the Construction Process involves FIVE (5) different steps.

CONSTRUCTION  STAGE  2:  BUILDING the FOUNDATION

• Conducting geological surveys
• Drilling down to bedrock
• Anchoring concrete/steel piles to bedrock
• Pouring a steel-reinforced concrete slab
• Earthquake and weather proofing

The construction of a skyscraper's foundation takes place underground where it will typically remain unseen after the project has been completed. 

Your CHARACTER is similarly forged in subterranean territory (out of sight) in moments and locales not witnessed by many (if any) others. 

After a skyscraper's superstructure has been built, the strength or weakness of the building is not visibly evident. But just because it is unseen doesn't mean it doesn't matter. Quite to the contrary, if the foundation is weak, cracked, or otherwise compromised, the integrity of the entire structure will be undermined. 

Likewise, if your character is fickle, fissured, shallow, or weak, you will experience existential atrophy instead of growth—no matter how attractive your life's cosmetic facade may appear to others. 

The structural integrity of a skyscraper's foundation is critical to the long-term endurance and utility of its superstructure. If a building's foundation is properly constructed, it will pass the tests of time, extreme weather, and even natural disasters. 

The strength of any kind of superstructure (house, barn, building, skyscraper, tower, etc.) begins with the strength of its foundation. To ensure construction integrity, geological surveys and other engineering surveys and safeguards must be sound and thorough. Foundation piles must reach down to bedrock and be anchored therein. Concrete must be properly mixed, reinforced with steel, set, and cured. 

All of these steps have existential equivalents and analogues in the SAL Model.

My Uncle Hyrum often equated character with "Will Power" (1) and defined INTEGRITY as: "the ability to carry out a worthy decision after the emotion of making that decision has passed." (2)  

"INTEGRITY is the ability to carry out a worthy decision 

after the emotion of making that decision has passed."

—Hyrum W. Smith

The integrity-based CHARACTER that Freedom Focused promotes in the SAL Model is similarly action-oriented and will-powered.

Developing personal INTEGRITY is not easy. It requires that you demonstrate commitment, consistency, dependability, discipline, focus, persistence, and trustworthiness over long periods of time. 

M. Scott Peck, M.D. once captured the challenging, yet essential, nature of integrity when he wrote: "Integrity is painful. But without it, there can be no wholeness." (3)

Stage Two (2) of the SAL Model involves Developing an Integrity-Based Character. Specifically, the SAL Model contains FIVE (5) corresponding step-habits analogous to this foundational construction stage. 

SAL  MODEL  STAGE 2:  DEVELOPING an INTEGRITY-BASED CHARACTER

• Honesty
• Humility
• Reverence
• Rectification
• Service

In Your Journal

• What does INTEGRITY mean to you?

• In what ways are you currently demonstrating INTEGRITY in your life and/or career?

• In what areas of your life could you develop stronger CHARACTER and more reliable INTEGRITY?

 

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

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Chapter 16 Notes

1.  Smith, H. W. (1994). The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management: Proven Strategies for Increased Productivity and Inner Peace. New York, NY: Warner Books. Page 123.

2.  Ibid. Page 127.

3.  Peck, M. S. (1993). Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Toward Spiritual Growth (The Edited Lectures). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Page 181.

SAL is Not Only About YOU

 

Chapter 6

SAL is Not Only About YOU 

I am RESPONSIBLE.

        What does it really mean to be responsible? 

Freedom Focused suggests it means two basic things. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Life's most persistent question is: 

'what are you doing for others?'"

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Johann Wolgang von Goethe
1749-1832

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

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

"Things which matter most must never be

at the mercy of things which matter least."

—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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

John Donne
1572-1631

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

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

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

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

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

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

SAL Mantra

Pick up ONE piece of trash every day

that you did not throw down.

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

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

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

SAL Mantra

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

In Your Journal

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

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

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

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

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

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Chapter 6 Notes:

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

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

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

Remember to Give...

A Time for GIVING...

At this jolly and joyful time of year, which for so many of us is filled to overflowing with family, friends, festivities and fun, we at Freedom Focused invite you to consider and then choose at least ONE way in which you will GIVE to OTHERS who are less fortunate than you and your own crew this holiday season.

Because we are all in different places and stages in our lives and careers, each individual's GIVING will look a little bit different. Those who have been blessed with much will have more to give than those who have blessed with less. Moreover, some will naturally feel more creative and ambitious in their giving efforts than others, and that is okay too. The important thing for self-action leaders to understand is that it is not so much how you give, nor is it even how much you give that matters most. The important thing is that you simply find a way to give... that fits appropriately and reasonably within the unique framework of your own individual personality and circumstances. 

To illustrate this point, consider my own decisions to give this holiday season. As devout members of our faith, my wife and I already donate 10-percent of our annual income—and a monthly donation to assist those in need—to our church. That's just a previously determined given that will continue unabated for the rest of our lives. However, we have also been very blessed this year. As such, it seemed right to take advantage of some additional opportunities to give and serve as well. As a stay-at-home Dad to three kids who is working to build a business on the side, I don't have the time, energy, or desire to plan or initiate any grand giving scheme of my own. However, I do have the time, energy, desire, and resources to contribute to a food, blood, and toy drive in my community that other inspired leaders have organized.

I feel so grateful to those who head up these noble initiatives. Without their exemplary leadership and proactive planning and execution of these various service projects, others in the community (including me) would not have such convenient opportunities to contribute. Because THEY are leading out, self-action leaders like me have the opportunity to lead ourselves to follow their lead and make a positive difference in the process. 

My son Tyler and our cart full of
toys for two local toy drives.

Pictured at right is my son, Tyler, and our cart of toys we purchased this morning for a couple of toy drives in our local community that I learned about through my kids' elementary school and a doctor's office I visit. I do not publicize our giving efforts to impress you, but rather to impress upon YOU the importance of finding a way (or ways) of giving of your time and/or means to those in need this Holiday Season. 

Simply stated, SELF-ACTION LEADERS are GIVERS.

They look for, seek out, and then take advantage of opportunities to lift, encourage, and serve others. They are quick to compliment and commend—and slow to criticize and condemn. They strive to be a voice of positivity and possibility in a world of persistent pessimism and pain. 

In the process, self-action leaders do not compare their giving efforts to others. They recognize that certain seasons of life bring about greater opportunities to give than others, and that some seasons may even require them to be on the receiving end of others' generosity. And that is okay! I know this is true because I've been there myself on a number of occasions, and I'll forever be grateful to those who showed compassion, generosity, and love to me in my times of need.

The joy of receiving is eclipsed only by the joy of giving.

Self-action leaders understand further that even when they cannot give anything at all and find themselves on the receiving end of the equation that they can still recite in their hearts those reassuring words of scripture: "I give not because I have not; but if I had, I would give." Or better yet, "I give not because I have not; but when I have, I will give!" That was always my attitude during my own personal periods of penury, and in my more recent years of abundance, my wife and I have striven to make good on those sincere, erstwhile intentions.  

For self-action leaders, GIVING is a JOY; but it is also a DUTY that one takes very seriously. In the process of fulfilling this duty to give, they experience the natural by-product of joy that so spontaneously follows on the heels of any and all acts of sincere generosity extended in good-faith and wisdom.

For those who have been blessed with a little bit of extra energy, time, money, or other resources this Christmas season, Dr. JJ and Freedom Focused encourage you to give a little bit of time, service, money, food, or other gifts to those in need.

For those of you who have been blessed with a LOT of extra energy, time, money, or other resources this Christmas season, we invite you to give a little bit (or perhaps a lot) more time, service, money, food, or other gifts to those in need.

The joy and rewards of GIVING often far surpass the gift itself.

And moving forward forever into the future, we invite you to gradually cultivate within yourself a spontaneous attitude of giving and serving. We promise that those who follow this course in their lives and careers will discover not only the spontaneous joy of giving, but will come to learn further that in the long-run, they will end up more blessed than ever themselves. That is the beauty of the law of reciprocity and the law of the harvest working together synergistically in your favor. 

In short, the more you give, the more you get. I know this is true because I have been blessed beyond my capacity to receive for whatever efforts I have made to love, serve, and give throughout my life. And since there is nothing inherently special about me, you can engage this same phenomenon in your own life and career—as much or as little as you desire—and it will eventually work just as well for YOU!  

So... how are YOU going to lift, love, serve, or give this Holiday Season? We invite you to ponder this question, make a plan, and then TAKE ACTION and bask in the joy of thus engaging.  

Happy Holidays Everyone!  

-Dr. JJ

December 12, 2022
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

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

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Providing Service After Hurricane Ian

Damage incurred from Hurricane Ian by a Shell Station

In all our talk about Self-Action Leadership, a natural question is likely to arise in the minds of our readers, and the question is this...

SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP for what? 

In other words, WHY is Self-Action Leadership so important, and WHAT is its ultimate purpose or endgame?

These are good questions, and there are many different answers to them. You might, in fact view every blog post we ever publish as being an answer—either directly or indirectly—to these important questions.

Today's post provides one of the most important and direct answers to this question, and the answer is...

SERVICE

On Saturday, our team got to use chain saws
and other tools to help clean up floral debris
from by Hurricane Ian

Without any doubt, one of the most important reasons we seek to develop ourselves and others as self-action leaders is to develop the intelligence, capacity, skills, time, energy, motivation, resources, and means to HELP  OTHER  PEOPLE. 

There are many different ways we can help other people; so many ways, in fact, that we could not possibly name or number them all. Of all the ways in which we can help others, our favorite is, of course, to teach, coach, model, and mentor others in the principles and practices of SAL. 

Why is this our favorite way to serve? 

Because SAL breeds SELF-RELIANCE, and self-reliance fuels the advancement and interdependency of the human race; and the advancement and interdependency of the human race benefits and blesses us all.

We are therefore deeply interested in teaching and training other people to become better at helping themselves. After all, there is no better way to serve another person than to empower him or her with the capacity and motivation to lift oneself and then reach out to further help others. In the words of a famous quote...

"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime."

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs teaches us, however, that education and the development of self-reliance are dependent on the fulfillment of certain, basic and primal needs that precede education and actualization. In other words, there are times when people need immediate aid in the form of those basic supplies required to promote safety and sustain life.

The occurrence of natural disasters is an example of a time when people—of no fault of their own—find themselves in need of outside aid that they are unable to immediately provide for themselves. Or, even if they can help themselves, they may be temporarily overwhelmed by the unusual circumstances and could greatly benefit from some outside assistance, support, and encouragement.   

A destroyed McDonald's sign in
Port Charlotte, Florida, area.

My son and I had the chance over the weekend to provide service to victims of last week's devastating hurricane in Southwest Florida, USA. With maximum winds reaching 150 miles per hour, Hurricane Ian—a Category 4 storm—joins several other storms as the fifth (5th) most powerful hurricane in the recorded history of the United States.

This storm hit close to home, literally, for me. This is because I live on the East Coast of Florida, just a three-hour drive from where Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida's West Coast. In other words, the storm could have just as easily devastated my hometown in Palm Beach County. We quite literally dodged a bullet, or to be more metaphorically accurate, a nuclear explosion—because that is the kind of power these massive Category three (3), four (4), and five (5) hurricanes unleash.  

I was raised in the Intermountain West, where I never had to worry about hurricanes. My wife, Lina, on the other hand, grew up in Homestead, Florida, which, back in 1992, bore a direct hit from Hurricane Andrew—a Category 5 storm and the third (3rd) most powerful hurricane in U.S. history. That infamous storm devastated southern Miami-Dade County, including my wife's family's home. The damage to their house was so bad, in fact, that they had to relocate to Orlando, Florida for six-months while their home was repaired. Consequently, my wife attended most of kindergarten in Orlando while living at her grandma's house. 

A traffic light casualty
of Hurricane Ian

Because Lina is an old pro at living in hurricane country, we have taken care to prepare ourselves since moving to Florida last year. Such preparations included purchasing a home with high impact windows, replacing our front door with a storm-strength door, buying hurricane shutters to enclose our back patio, procuring extra water and other supplies for storage, and most importantly, purchasing INSURANCE.

Historically speaking, odds are you aren't going to be dealing with a major hurricane every year, or even every few years. But... it only takes ONE big storm to gravely damage—or worse—completely wipe out everything someone has built or worked for. This fact became soberingly evident for me while touring some of the worst hit areas by Hurricane Ian. 

My son, Tucker, next to a pile of floral debris
at a house in Fort Myers on Florida's West Coast.

The purpose of our trip was to provide SERVICE to those affected by the storm. We traveled over as part of a team assembled from my Church congregation. Specifically, our job was to clean up floral debris (e.g. fallen tree leaves, limbs, and branches) and other items (e.g. roof shingles) that had been displaced by the storm.

Our team had the chance to service two different properties. The first was in Fort Myers, where the damage was not as severe. The second was in Englewood, where the destruction was much worse.  Unfortunately, my car—and the four members of our team inside—never made it to Englewood because we ended up running low on gas due to poor planning on my part. This error of mine led to our experiencing one of the egregiously long gas lines at one of the relatively few gas stations that had fuel to sell and electricity to dispense it.

Waiting in line for Gas in Port Charlotte, Florida,
three days after Hurricane Ian devastated the area.

After a 2.5 hour wait, we finally managed to make it to the front of the line, where all fuel had been exhausted except for Premium unleaded. Despite the higher price—and the "Cash Only" policy in force, our prayers were answered when we were able to cobble together enough cash and put enough fuel in my car to get us home that evening. 

It was quite a day!

     An educational, sobering, humbling day.

Although we never made it to Englewood, we did get to drive through Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, two areas in the Gasparilla Sound - Charlotte Harbor area that were among the communities worst hit by Hurricane Ian.    

Despite the relatively small contribution our team made, it felt good to provide SERVICE to these residents of West Florida who have been so terribly impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Ian.  

Purchasing food and other supplies
for victims of Hurricane Ian

Today, I received another opportunity to provide additional service by purchasing a grocery cart full of much-needed supplies. After picking my kids up from school, we took the supplies to a community center that was collecting the items to ship over to those in West Florida who are in great need of basic commodities such as non-perishable food, toiletries, diapers, etc. It was another chance to do our bit to try and help those who have lost so much. It was also an outstanding teaching moment for my kids, who were able to help me buy and transport the goods to their shipping destination.   

Life is full of challenges and difficulties. Some adversity is self-inflicted. Other obstacles are placed in our way by no fault of our own. Natural disasters are an example of such a burden. As we go throughout our lives, we will all experience times and circumstances when we will need a helping hand from someone else. Knowing this, it makes sense that self-action leaders would be service-minded and service-oriented people. 

As you seek to develop your own talents, skills, and other aptitudes as a self-action leader, REMEMBER that one of the greatest causes in which you can ever be engaged involves SERVICE to your fellow beings. So prepare (and maintain) yourself today to be the greatest servant of mankind you can possibly be through your own unique contributions to others throughout your life. And the next time an opportunity comes your way to serve others, don't neglect it; seize the moment, get moving, brings others along with you if possible, and together make a difference!

That's just what SELF-ACTION LEADERS do!

Delivering our donation to a community center for
distribution to victims of Hurricane Ian

I promise that the more you SERVE others, the happier and more fulfilled you will feel and be in your own life and career. It will also lead you into the pathways of greatness. As the great business philosopher, Jim Rohn, once put it: "If you want to be great, then find a way to serve the many; for service to many leads to greatness."

"Service to many leads to greatness."

—Jim Rohn

I would add to this statement that the number (quantity) of people you impact is not as important as the authenticity (quality) of the service you provide. Not everyone will have the opportunity to impact the lives of millions like Jim Rohn, or Abraham Lincoln, or Harriet Tubman, or Gandhi, or Florence Nightingale, or Martin Luther King, Jr., or Jesus. But like Jesus, we can strive to do our best to help others along the pathways of our life's journey, and the result of such actions will always lead to blessing others and to our own soul satisfaction. 

—Dr. JJ

October 5, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 286th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 115th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 285 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