Self-Action Leadership Theory

YOUR EXISTENTIAL ROCKET SHIP

In the SAL theory, a rocket ship serves as a metaphor for YOU, me, or any other self-action leader seeking to transcend Existential Gravity and earn Existential Growth. As a rocket ship travels higher into the upper levels of the atmosphere, the air becomes thinner and the gravitational pull of the Earth gets weaker. As the atmosphere diminishes with altitude, less fuel is needed to maintain the same propulsion and speed.

Rocket ships carry enormous amounts of fuel on their journeys into Space, the majority of which is burned up within the first few minutes of flight as the rocket penetrates the lower levels of the atmosphere where the Earth’s air density is thickest and its gravitational pull is strongest. As air thins and gravitational pull weakens, less fuel is needed. Similarly, lower levels of Existential Growth require greater effort to transcend, and are generally accompanied by more internal insecurity and external adversity. Your journey then becomes easier as you rise to higher levels of Existential Growth.

The SAL theory identifies nine different levels (or stages) of Existential Growth. These levels correspond to the Earth’s surface (Level 1), six different layers of the Earth’s atmosphere (Levels 2-7), Outer Space (Level 8), and astronomical bodies throughout the Universe (Level 9).

ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS [1]

This chapter explicates the nine levels of the atmosphere, as follows:

Layer 1: The Earth’s Surface
Layer 2: The Troposphere
Layer 3: The Stratosphere
Layer 4: The Mesosphere

Layer 5: The Ionosphere
Layer 6: The Thermosphere
Layer 7: The Exosphere
Layer 8: Deep Outer Space
Layer 9: Astronomical Bodies Throughout the Universe

Layer 1: The Earth’s Surface

Though technically not a layer of the atmosphere, the Earth’s Surface is a boundary signaling the beginning of the atmosphere. At sea level or below, atmospheric pressure is the greatest, the air is the thickest, and the gravitational pull is the strongest.

Layer 2: The Troposphere

In this, the lowest level of Earth’s atmosphere, air is thick and gravitational pulls are strong. The troposphere rises to a little over six miles (11 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. The higher you travel into the troposphere, the colder the temperature gets.

Layer 3: The Stratosphere

The stratosphere lies above the troposphere, and rises to about 30 miles (47 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. The temperature rises in the stratosphere due to a high concentration of ozone, making it friendly for jet airplane and hot air balloon travel.

Layer 4: The Mesosphere

The mesosphere extends beyond the upper limits of the stratosphere to about 50 miles (80 kilometers). Temperatures drop dramatically as you rise higher in the mesosphere, producing the coldest temperatures in the atmosphere. This layer is too high for airplanes and hot-air balloons and too low for orbiting satellites, and is therefore difficult to explore.

Layer 5: The Ionosphere

The ionosphere begins where the mesosphere ends, and forms the lower section of its succeeding layer, the thermosphere. The ionosphere rises to a height of about 250 miles (400 kilometers). The aurora borealis (northern lights) and aurora australis (southern lights) occur in the ionosphere.

Layer 6: The Thermosphere

Sitting atop the ionosphere is the thermosphere. It “contains only a minute fraction of the atmosphere’s mass.” [2] Deeper than all preceding layers, the thermosphere rises to heights of about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers). Temperatures increase dramatically in the thermosphere due to the low density of air molecules (but curiously, we wouldn’t feel hot at this level because there aren’t enough molecules to effectively transfer heat energy to our skin). Space shuttles, space stations, and satellites orbit the Earth in the upper levels of the thermosphere.

Layer 7: The Exosphere

Planet Earth’s last atmospheric level is called the exosphere. This level is by far the deepest atmospheric layer, extending to nearly 120,000 miles (200,000 kilometers) beyond the surface of the Earth, or halfway to the Moon. While this layer is extremely large, it is hardly a layer at all because air particles are so far apart, and the Earth’s gravitational pull is so weak, it becomes largely indistinguishable from Outer Space.. It is the zone of transition between the Earth’s atmosphere and Space.

Layer 8: Outer Space

Beyond the outer sections of the exosphere, the Earth’s atmosphere ends completely, leaving a rocket ship to travel in the gravity-free zones of Outer Space. In Outer Space, a spacecraft can maintain its propulsion and speed indefinitely without the aid of fuel.

Layer 9: Astronomical Bodies Throughout the Universe

As you travel throughout Outer Space, an innumerable host of astronomical bodies (stars, planets, etc.) can be found in tact, or in the process of formation or destruction.

My next blog post will explicate Part 2 of the SAL theory, where the nine levels of Existential Growth will be presented as metaphorical analogues to the Earth's surface, atmosphere, Outer Space, and other astronomical bodies throughout the Universe. 

[1] The eight sections that follow paraphrase the following two textbooks:
Lutgens, F. K., & Tarbuck, E. J. (2010). The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology (Eleventh Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Tarbuck, E. J., & Lutgens, F. K. (2009). Earth Science (Twelfth Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall.
[2] Lutgens, F. K., & Tarbuck, E. J. (2010). The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology (Eleventh Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Page 28.

Review an explanation of the Self-Action Leadership Theory and its metaphorical analogy to space travel, click HERE.

LEVEL 1: THE EDUCATION STAGE