Historical Events and the Growing Threat of Global Conflict

The Iron Cross: an historical symbol of the German Military 

On the fourth of August, 1914, the Imperial German Army belligerently crossed the Belgian border with three-quarters of a million soldiers.

The invasion that followed—which has since become known as the "Rape of Belgium"—took the lives of 30,000 Belgian soldiers. Along the way, thousands of Belgian civilians also lost their lives as collateral damage in the violent and destructive rampage that desolated the Belgian homeland.

Germany's subsequent invasion of France was similarly bloody and destructive. Penetrating deep into the heart of Northern France, the Germans progressed to within 25 miles of Paris before finally being halted by French and British troops at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914. 

Aerial view of World War 1 trench systems

The ensuing stalemate led to the construction of 500 miles of intricate trench networks that began at the English Channel in the north and extended southward all the way to the Swiss Border. The violence and death that would follow on the Western Front and beyond would prove unprecedented in the annals of human history. Sadly, this "War to End All Wars" proved to be anything but, and instead planted the seeds of an even greater conflict to come a mere quarter century later.    

Thus, in an eerie repeat of history, Germany's Adolf Hitler ordered upwards of two million soldiers across the German border into Poland before dawn on Friday, September 1, 1939, commencing one of the largest military invasions in human history. Less than two years later, Hitler gave the same order to nearly FOUR (4) million Wermacht soldiers, directing them to invade the largest nation on Earth (the Soviet Union) in the most expansive invasion in world history. No military campaign has ever been waged on the scale of Operation Barbarossa—before or since.

In addition to Poland and the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany also invaded Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia, and Greece. Few others in history (i.e. Alexander the Great, the Romans, and Napoleon Bonaparte) had undertaken such an ambitious conquest of Continental Europe. And no preceding conquerer had ever proceeded with such an evil aim of genocide roiling in his heart, mind, and soul.   

 

The threat of a a major land invasion once again looms large in Europe.

The prolonged series of cascading calamities that accompanied these invasions was unprecedented and has been well chronicled along the historical timeline of World War II—the deadliest armed conflict in humanity's long and colorful history.

In consideration of the fateful events of 8/4/14 and 9/1/39—and others like them throughout history—any thoughtful observer of history is understandably alarmed by current events transpiring along the Ukrainian border in Eastern Europe and off the coast of Taiwan in the South China Sea. 

It is no secret that history tends to repeat itself, at least generally speaking. And while individual historical events rarely presage future occurrences precisely, the foremost purpose of studying history is unquestionably to inform current issues and infuse them with wisdom to avert future disasters. Sadly, this recurring harvest of collateral wisdom is too often ignored by power brokers in the present, thus leading the human race into calamity-after-calamity that could and ought to have been avoided. Indeed, it seems as thought the temptation for a dictator to think he is "different" or "special" compared to conquered conquerers of the past is all-too-often too great to resist. 

Queen Victoria of Great Britain
Grandmother of King George V
and Kaiser Wilhelm II.

In 1914, the power brokers were Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King George V of England, and Tsar Nicholas of Russia. Amazingly, all three of these monarchs were first cousins, with the former two being grandsons of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) of Great Britain. The ensuing calamity brought on (in part) by the strained relations of these three cousins resulted in the Great War (World War I), which claimed the lives of 10 million soldiers, another 10 million civilians, and wounded another 20 million combined (40 million total casualties).  

In 1939, the aggressors were Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito of Germany, Italy, and Japan, respectively. To a lesser extent, Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union was also an aggressor when he invaded Poland from the east, thereby carving up the country after Hitler invaded from the west. However, Stalin later joined the Allies after Hitler predictably reneged on their alliance and invaded the Soviet Union.

The Allies were led by Winston Churchill and King George VI of Great Britain, and Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States. The ensuing calamity was twice as costly as the First World War in terms of human deaths, to say nothing of the unprecedented material destruction.

In 2022, the power brokers on the aggressor side are Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Xinping of China, and the tyrannical regimes in Iran and North Korea. Those defending democracy and freedom include a quasi-united front of Western Allies spanning the balance of the globe from the Ukrainian border all the way to Australia in the South Pacific and Southern Indian Oceans. 

Have we not seen this story and sung this song before... more than once?

          Will the third chapter/verse of this story and song be different than the first and second?

                    Is World War III imminent? 

The answer to the first question is unquestionably "YES."

The Winter Olympics may be the last thing standing in the
way of Vladimir Putin's well-chronicled imperial ambitions.

The answer to the second question is: We do not presently know for sure. If I were a betting man, I'd wager good money that Putin will not pull the trigger on any kind of major invasion or minor incursion into Ukraine until after the close of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Any action against Ukraine before the closing ceremonies of the XXIV Olympiad would upstage Putin's ally, Xi, something that is not in either of the rulers' interest. Chances are, however, that Putin will give the order for his troops to move relatively soon after that.

Although I'm sincerely hopeful Putin will choose to pull back his troops and abandon his imperial aims and designs, history suggests that such an abandonment is unlikely. 

The answer to the third question is: hopefully not! 

Nevertheless, the threat of such a dire calamity remains, and citizens of nations everywhere should recognize the growing threat inherent in events transpiring along the frontiers of Eastern Europe and the shores of Southeast Asia.

Initially speaking, a Russian invasion of Ukraine will no more bring about World War than Germany's invasion of Poland. After all, it took 21 additional months before Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and 27 more months before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, turning a bi-regional conflict into a full-fledged, multi-fronted world war. Broader conflicts do not materialize overnight. They develop incrementally over time. That is why NOW is the time for Western Leaders everywhere to take clear, strong, wise, and united actions aimed at preventing present events from entering the slippery slope that leads treacherously and inevitably toward global conflict.  

There are different opinions about what Vladimir Putin will decide to do. Some say his troop buildups are a bluff intended to obtain leverage and other gains without having to invoke military action. Hopefully, such voices are right. Unfortunately, history is scant when it comes to stories of massive troop-buildups that all-of-a-sudden pull back and disregard their well-laid out dreams, plans, and hopes of conquest.

On the other hand, history is replete with examples of the foolhardiness of attempting to appease bullies without invoking clear and strong RED LINES and then inviolably defending them.

Perhaps the most famous historical example of appeasement involved Great Britain's Neville Chamberlain signing the infamous "Munich Agreement" with Hitler in 1938. Chamberlain flew back to Great Britain with the signed treaty and a smile, claiming he had secured "Peace for our Time." In reality, he merely handed over Czechoslovakia to Hitler while emboldening him to accelerate Nazi imperial ambitions by turning them towards the West, imperiling France... and then endangering Great Britain itself. 

Neville Chamberlain (forefront/center) with Adolf Hitler (far left).

After Chamberlain's return to England, Winston Churchill famously scolded him by saying: "You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour and you will have war." 

Churchill was right.

Chamberlain's appeasement strategy was well-intentioned—Europeans were understandably loathe to incite a fight after enduring the horrors of the Great War just one generation earlier. Nevertheless, history has judged Chamberlain dishonorably and war indeed came to Europe... in a fashion twice as devastating as the previous world war he trying to avoid replicating.  

For this—and other historical instances like it—Freedom Focused recalls Winston Churchill's warnings of the 1930s and ECHO'S them clearly and distinctly to all Western Leaders in the 2020s. Appeasing Putin and Xi will only further imperil the very PEACE you are trying to protect.

This geopolitical caveat is not complicated. It is something even kindergartners must learn on the playground: if you don't stand up to bullies, bullies feel empowered to continue (and extend) their bullying.

That's just the way things are in this war-weary world of wayfaring woe.   

I learned this lesson myself in middle school, and my life forever took an empowered trajectory toward greater confidence and peace because I chose to stand up to my bully. Fortunately, I was able to solve things diplomatically (through my parents and school administrators). Obviously, diplomatic solutions should always be exhausted before resorting to brute force. But, if a bully will not respond to any other stimulus, force is (sadly) necessary to terminate the bullying and ensure the peace moving forward.  

Last Friday signaled the beginning of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Sadly, the global harmony that has often marked Olympic Games in the past seems like a distant memory, as these games have been badly stained and soured not only by Russia's aggressive behavior against Ukraine, but also by a variety of human right's abuses coming out of mainland China; and that is to say nothing of the CCP's (China's Communist Party) ongoing military buildup in the South China Sea and the looming threat of a Chinese military invasion of Taiwan. Highlighting these ominous events was China's Xi Xinping and Russian's Vladimir Putin's much publicized meeting the day of the Opening Ceremonies, aimed at further solidifying their own alliance while amping up their united rhetoric against the West.

Make no mistake, Putin and Xi have their eyes and hearts set on commandeering their weaker neighbors just as surely as Adolf Hitler and Emporor Hirohito had their eyes and hearts set on Europe and Southeast Asia in the 1930s. Both are driven by historical legacies that affirm global hegemony for both the Russian and Chinese nations and peoples. After all, what did Vladimir Putin label "the worst geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th Century"? Answer: the Fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Ever since that famous fall from power, Putin's every thought, word, and action has been channeled toward one, focused objective: right that perceived wrong by re-establishing the lost legacy of Soviet dominance in the East—and beyond.  

It is worth noting—and vital to remember—that the calamities of 1914 and 1939 did not begin in 1914 and 1939. The Great War's roots stemmed back nearly half-a century to France's defeat in the Franco Prussian War in 1870-71, and Germany's subsequent unification, advancement, and armament.

Nazi flag flies over Paris in 1940

Likewise, long before Adolf Hitler had any power or influence in Germany, the seeds of World War II were planted the moment the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918—in French General Ferdinand Foch's personal railway car. Less than 22 years later, Adolf Hitler would receive the surrendering French leaders in the exact same railway car following the fall of Paris to the Nazis. It was the perfect revenge for the former German Corporal who felt "stabbed in the back" by his own nation's leaders and was rancorously bitter about Germany's defeat in World War I. 

The roots of the current crisis go back to China's humiliation by Japan in World War II, and more recently, to the fall of the Soviet Union and the dismemberment of its 15 satellite nations, of which Ukraine is one, in the early 1990s.  

Anyone who follows geopolitics knows that China—and to a lesser extent, Russia—has been modernizing and strengthening their military for many years now (much like Germany in the final quarter of the nineteenth century and then Japan and Germany [again] throughout the 1930s). Moreover, Putin's incursions into Georgia and his outright annexation of Crimea in the last decade remain a fresh memory in the minds of the geopolitically-informed. 

As much as virtually everyone throughout Western Civilization would like to avoid another global military crisis on par with the First and Second World Wars, the indelible pages of history paint an ominous picture of unfolding events, which are so strikingly portentous of crises to come. 

In the SAL Textbook, I touch briefly on a subject known as the "Crisis of 2020," which is a term employed by generational scholars William Strauss and Neil Howe* to describe an impeding worldwide calamity that they predicted (back in the early 1990s) will occur in years surrounding the year 2020.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke in March of 2020, it seemed evident that we now knew just what the "Crisis of 2020" would entail. But... is it possible the pandemic is really just a relatively mild precursor (a warm-up or opener of sorts) to the main act, which is still yet to play out in coming years as the buildup of Chinese and Russian power and aggression finally comes to a head?

We don't know the answer to this question... yet.

Like the original 13 Colonies in their fight against the British in the
18th Century, Western Nations must ally themselves together in the
fight against Communism & Tyranny in the 21st Century.

But this much we do know: if Western Civilization—and the principles and values of democracy it claims to cherish and champion—is to prevail in the face of this newest threat to individual liberty, personal freedom, and government of the people, by the people, and for the people,* then we better be prepared to abandon the divisiveness that has so cancerously cankered our politics in recent decades. We do not know for certain what the future will bring. But this much we do know: when confronted by any serious foe, be it internal or external, we must, in the words of Benjamin Franklin: all hang together, or many of us will undoubtedly hang separately.  

In 1860, a political outsider and prairie lawyer named Abraham Lincoln became his party's unlikely nominee and victor of the U.S. Presidency after building his campaign on the universal principle and premise that, "A House divided against itself cannot stand." Lincoln was right then, and his rightness (and righteousness) steered our nation through our greatest crisis, maintained our Union, and brought liberty to the captive souls of four million enslaved persons. We would do well now to embrace the same aphorism—which originates in none other than The Good Book—as a panacea to the divisions that have so deeply fractured our nation.  

Click HERE to buy a copy of Generations

According to Strauss and Howe:

"We project ... the Crisis of 2020 [will last] ... from 2020 to 2029. ... [It] will be a major turning point in American history and an adrenaline-filled moment of trial. At its climax, Americans will feel that the fate of posterity—for generations to come—hangs in the balance. ... Sacrifices will be asked, and given. America will be implacably resolved to do what needs doing, and fix what needs fixing." (1)

Why is it that Freedom Focused, and by extension, I personally, take so much interest in this subject known as the Crisis of 2020? 

Part of the reason stems from my personal passion for history, current events, and leadership. And part of the reason stems from the fact that I personally was born at the crossroads of two generations (GenX & Millennial) that Strauss and Howe predict will play consequential—and even pivotal—roles in the Crisis of 2020. 

On the one hand, I am one of the youngest members of Generation X (or 13ers, as Strauss and Howe refer to those born between 1961 and1981). According to Strauss and Howe, my generation "will see, and evaluate, the Crisis of 2020 with the sharpest eye of all living generations. [Moreover], by lifecycle position and peer personality, they will have the most capacity for maneuver and can be expected to produce the Crisis era's most colorful leaders and stigmatized traitors—reminiscent of... [Civil War] commanders ... [and] the managers of D-Day ... as well as isolationists and fascists." (2)

On the other hand, I am married to a Millennial (born 1982-2000), and am almost young enough to qualify as one of the eldest Millennials myself. Like the G.I. soldiers of World War II, the Millennial generation will serve as the primary generation combatting whatever horrific realities arise from the Crisis of 2020. Put the two together and those born in the late 1970s or early 1980s are—for better or for worse—destined to play prominent roles in the ensuing drama.

In addition, the Baby Boom generation (born 1943-1960) will assist Generation X as leaders, coaches, mentors, and other vital role-players throughout the crisis. Strauss and Howe underscore the unique contribution that Baby Boomers and Generation X-ers (13-ers) are destined to make, and provide counsel to both generations, as follows:

The West needs LEADERS like Washington & Lincoln for Crises ahead.

"Two generations have especially important roles in the drama ahead ... [as] the vortex of history is inexorably moving toward the Boom and 13th [GenX]. No less is riding on them than once rode on Franklin and Washington, Lincoln and Grant, or Roosevelt and Eisenhower. [In order to meet the challenges of this crisis] Americans must rely on aging Boomers to build a very unyuppielike ethic of community responsibility and principled self-sacrifice. Where[as] their G.I. parents were heroes young, history warns Boomers to expect their greatest test in old age. Similarly, future generations are counting on 13ers [GenX-ers] to graduate from Liar's Poker and mellow into midlife cautionaries, guardians of family life, and protectors against ... excess. ... Just as we are all heirs to ancestors we mostly admire, so too are we all ancestors to heirs whose admiration we should wish to earn ... [a reminder] of our sacred obligation to act as kindly toward the future as ancestral generations once did toward us." (3)

While Strauss and Howe acknowledge the reality that "any crisis with a bad ending could bring unprecedented tragedy" (4) they are ultimately optimistic about Western Civilization's capacity to triumph over whatever crucibles lie ahead. Freedom Focused concurs with this optimistic outlook.

Why?

Because we believe that in the end, goodness, rightness, and TRUTH—in which collective liberty, personal freedom, and existential growth are rooted—always win. Nevertheless, we shudder to think of the individual and collective prices that may have to be paid to claim the ultimate victory for posterity. 

Freedom & Democracy vs. Tyranny & Communism  

Make no mistake: What happens in coming days, months, and years in Ukraine and Taiwan—and beyond—will reverberate around the world for years and even decades to come. And regardless what shape and scope the fight ends up taking, it will pit tyranny against LIBERTY and dictatorships against DEMOCRACIES.

Let it be known here and now, far and wide, that Freedom Focused stands immovably, unshakably, and inviolably in solidarity with democracy and against all forms of tyranny.

As our name suggests, we are eternal supporters of LIBERTY & FREEDOM and forever pursuers of TRUTH... and if necessary, we will defend all three to the death.  

Freedom Focused holds no grudge against, nor do we bear any ill will towards, the Chinese and Russian people (or any of their allies' citizens). Indeed, we believe that most Russians and Chinese individuals are intelligent, industrious, and productive peoples who want to do the right thing. 

However, we stand definitively and unequivocally against any and all imperialistic policy aims fueled by the aggression of their misguided and power-hungry leaders.

We further oppose the communistic and dictatorial forms of government that grant such unbridled authority and power to the few or the one. While we will always remain non-partisan in our message and approach, we will never demure from our strong stance in support of democratic-republicanism and its ideological embrace of collective liberties, personal freedoms, and the supporting TRUTHS rooted in Universal Law that uphold them.    

Freedom Focused stands FOR liberty, freedom, truth, and democracy.

May God Bless the United States of America—and all of Western Civilization in this fight against totalitarianism, tyranny, and aggression, and for liberty, freedom, and truth.

May God further bless Freedom Focused to stand as a beacon of strength upon the defensive watchtower of righteousness and truth for however long said conflict(s) may last.

Lastly, may God bless each one of us to stand up for, speak out in support of, and defend unto the death those principles of Liberty, Freedom, and TRUTH upon which we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.   

—Dr. JJ

February 9, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 251st Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 250 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

Notes:

* Final phrase of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

1. Strauss, W. & Howe, N. (1991). Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069. New York, NY: Perennial. Page 382. 

2). Ibid. Page 415.

3). Ibid. Page 427.

4). Ibid. Page 426.

Celebrating Blog Post #250

* 250 *     * 250 *     * 250 *     * 250 *

* 250 *   CELEBRATE  GOOD  TIMES   * 250 

* 250 *     * 250 *     * 250 *     * 250 *

Self-action leaders at Freedom Focused believe in the art and value of celebrating authentic progress, achievements, success, and other good times in one's life and career.  

TODAY, we take opportunity to celebrate the publication of our 250th blog article since we first began blogging back in November 2013.

Click HERE to access all 250 articles

How am I going to celebrate this publishing milestone? 

I'm glad you asked!  

As a young pup and sports enthusiast growing up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I always got a kick out of watching full-grown Champions of the National Basketball Association (NBA) celebrate a Finals victory by excitedly spraying champagne all over each other like carefree and giddy little school boys.

I do not purchase or consume alcohol myself; the stiffest drink I ever throw back is a shot of NyQuil when I have a COLD and need an extra boost to a good night's sleep. However, I have discovered that a can of shaken-up soda pop behaves in a strikingly similar manner to a shaken-up bottle of champagne... when it is opened.

This is a beautiful scientific reality for a teetotaler like me!  

Recently, both my wife and son asked me a question they have never before asked, as follows: 

"Daddy/Jordan: Why are there five cans of soda in the shower?" 

Well... now LINA, TUCKER, and all of my READERS know the answer to that question!

Suffice it to say, this celebration is going to be a blast... literally!  

Actually, it's gonna be five blasts, and I'm gonna have the time of my life celebrating this blogging milestone before my next shower. And like those NBA players, I'll enjoy a sip or two of sugary sweetness in the process. And since I don't have reams of plastic sheeting or a professional custodial crew, the shower is the next best option for easy cleanup after the celebration is complete!   

To my faithful READERS:
My gratitude knows no bounds.

At this time of celebration, I want to especially thank YOU, my READERS. I have said it before and I'll say it again: If nobody ever reads what I write, one might argue I am wasting my time to write.

But people are reading the Freedom Focused Blog, and I am so grateful to them (YOU). Thanks to my readers, I am not wasting my time with this blog. Moreover, I feel blessed that my readership is gradually growing to the point that we are steadily closing in on one hundred thousand (100,000) visits since 2013. And I feel confident that this is just the beginning. As long as we don't give up, someday we'll have published over a thousand (1,000) articles with a hundred million (100,000,000) visits. And the world will be a better place for it.

It is my sincere hope that YOU will continue to read Freedom Focused's Self-Action Leadership weekly blog articles and then tell your loved ones and friends about it. And I hope even more sincerely that you come away from doing so a better, wiser, stronger, and more motivated self-action leader YOURSELF. In the end, the only thing that really matters is the progress and GROWTH that you and I obtain because of the efforts we put forth toward SAL study and application—and the improvement in our relationships that comes as a result.   

In honor of this special occasion, I'd like to provide a few links to past articles in the following categories:

— Top 8 Most Popular* Articles since 2013

— Top 5 Most Popular* Articles from 2021

* Popularity based on number of "clicks" (blog site visits) by readers. 

So... join us as we take a trip down memory lane with regards to the SAL Blog. Just click on any of the links below to access some of our most popular blog articles published since November 2013.  

Top 8 Most Popular Articles since 2013

1.  A Doctor of Education Shares his Experiences with OCD, Anxiety, and Depression, Part 1

2.  The Land of the Free & the Home of the Brave

3.  A 21st Century 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

4.  Self-Action Leadership in Real Life: Success from Chicago's South Side

5.  From Orphan to Executive: Self-Action Leadership in Real Life

6.  The Age of Authenticism

7.  The Most Important Educational Message of the 21st Century  

8.  The Job I Never Imagined I'd Have

Top 5 Most Popular Articles from 2021

1.  A Second Ring of Total Commitment

2.  Disciplining Your Disappointment

3.  Learn from Small Mistakes

4.  Thomas Jefferson's 10 Rules

5.  Are YOU Worthy of Your Sufferings?

—Dr. JJ

February 2, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 250th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 249 FF Blog Articles.  

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

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

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

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

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

Dr. JJ's Rule #13: I Can't Do it Alone

Rule #13 is a reminder to be HUMBLE & REVERENT

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

Click HERE to access JJ's 13 Rules.

This week's blog post addresses Dr. JJ's last and final rule—RULE #13—which states:

Always remember that my own best efforts are insufficient to help me become all I am capable of becoming. I desperately need continual help from others and the omnipotent Power and Grace of the Almighty [SERENDIPITY for secularists] to fully engage the utmost existential transmutation of my body, mind, and spirit.   

Rule #13 is a reminder that no matter how wealthy, talented, skilled, fortunate, endowed, or lucky you might be, we all need the help of others to maximize our potential and be successful in our lives and careers. Rule #13 is also designed to help us remember that SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP—powerful as it is—remains an insufficient resource by itself to get us where we ultimately want to go and what we most want to become in our lives and careers.

This fact is very humbling because self-action leaders are inherently driven, motivated, and ambitious people; they are self-starters in every sense of the phrase. They also place a premium on self-reliance. Nevertheless, as Stephen Covey so incisively taught, Interdependence is a much higher state of being and living than Independence.* To maximize their potential, even self-action leaders must recognize, acknowledge, and embrace this great TRUTH about personal and professional GROWTH.    

John Donne
1572-1631

Perhaps the English poet, John Donne, said it best when he wrote:

"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 thy friends, or of thine own were; Any Mans [sic] death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee."** 

A fascinating phenomenon of life and growth that I have been experiencing and observing for many years now is as follows... the older I get, and the more educated and experienced I become, the more I realize how much I don't know. 

"The more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know!"

This recognition of my own relative ignorance is the seedbed of authentic humility. Similarly, the more capable I become in my own niche skill set, the more keenly I become aware of the manifold skill sets that exist which I do not yet possess. Likewise, the bigger my own family and career roles become, the more I come to recognize the infinitesimal minuteness of my own self and contributions to the world.

For example, 99.999999 percent of everything I enjoy in my life is a product of the talents, skill-sets, and contributions of others (past and present). And the same can be said of everyone else who lives in a modern, civilized, interdependent society.

From the clothes I wear to the cars I drive; from the house I live in to the food I eat; from the books I read to the news I consume; and from the marvels of modern medicine to the endless stream of technological wonders all around me—I enjoy all of it because of the efforts and intelligence of legions of other people, most of whom I do not know personally.  

Let's face it... almost everything you buy, utilize, and appreciate was created by the genius and hard work of somebody else. This fact alone should fill everyone's mind, heart, and soul with a profound sense of GRATITUDE for the contributions of others. It should also HUMBLE us all to reflect upon our own relative nothingness. 

Truth is usually Paradoxical

This factual reality should not lead to a diminution of your own worth, value, and importance to the whole. After all, the whole is nothing more than the sum (and synergy) of its parts. As such, every part has intrinsic worth and importance, and contributes varying degrees of value to the whole.

This includes YOU and ME!  

Thus, we are confronted with a paradox—which we usually are when dealing with any tenet of truth—and the paradox is this: while each of us holds an infinitesimally small place in the world and universe, each of us nonetheless holds limitless potential for individual progress, growth, and contribution to the whole.

Try to wrap your mind around that marvelous PARADOX! 

Moreover, I would suggest that the only way to fully maximize your personal progress, growth, and contribution is to accurately comprehend your relative nothingness. In other words, a self-action leader's humble recognition and contrite acknowledgement of one's own smallness paves the way for one's steady increase in influence, impact, and contribution. Thus, you'll never know how much you can accomplish until you recognize how much you cannot accomplish, and you'll never know how BIG you can become until you recognize and acknowledge how small you currently are. Perhaps that sounds like a concatenation of contradictions; that's because on its face, it is... hence the paradox!        

Self-action leaders are reverent people who strive to become authentically humble.

What does it mean to be authentically humble?  

Many people mistake outward displays of modesty with authentic inward states of humility. While modest behavior is undoubtedly a natural outgrowth of authentic humility, the two practices are not always mutually inclusive. In other words, it is possible to behave very modestly and still be quite prideful—prideful of your own supposed humility (or modest behavior) and a variety of other narcissistic-influenced states of mind.

It is also possible to be quite humble while exhibiting a strength and confidence that some might erringly misinterpret as arrogance. In fact, there are even times when the humblest thing you can possibly do is exercise the very kind of confidence and strength that may be misinterpreted (by some) as arrogance.

It is vital to remember that being humble has nothing to do with pretending you are not as good, smart, or gifted as you really are. Nor does it involve unnecessarily hiding your knowledge, talents, or skills so that you won't offend others. It has everything to do with maximizing the use of your knowledge, talents, and skills in kind, courteous, and respectful ways that build and encourage others to do the same.  

What then is the secret to being authentically humble?

The purpose of SAL is to help YOU to see things more as they
really were, are, and will be in your career, life, and the world at-large.

At Freedom Focused, we believe all authentic humility develops as an outgrowth of seeing things as they really were in the past, really are in the present, and really will be in the future—and then being completely honest with yourself and others about REALITY and your rightful role within a framework of that reality.

Accomplishing this feat is a daunting challenge and difficult undertaking. It does not come fast or easy for even the most conscientious and dedicated self-action leaders.

Moreover, it is not a one-time accomplishment. Self-action leaders do not automatically become humble at some arbitrary point in time. Rather, they gradually develop greater levels of humility over long periods of time as they become increasingly knowledgeable, experienced, and self-aware. Part of this process occurs naturally through the course of daily living. But most of it comes as a result of one's conscious and intentional focus and effort to better see and then accept REALITY as it really was, is, and really will be. After all, how can you effectively change the future until you have fully accepted the reality of the past and present?  

I still have a long way to go in terms of my own humility quotient. However, I've made enough progress in this area over the years to at least be able to detect genuine growth. This progress allows me to compare different periods of my own life and the humility (or lack thereof) that marked those periods.

For me personally, humility is an outgrowth of the closeness and strength of my relationship with Deity. For non-believers, there are other ways you can practice humility, such as continually reflecting upon your own weaknesses, shortcomings, and inadequacies—not to the extent of damaging your self-esteem, but simply as a wise reminder of the menagerie of vulnerabilities that we humans possess in our present state of being in this world, which is so obviously difficult, dangerous, and imperfect.

REMEMBER: Self-action leaders are NOT uninhibited optimists. They are optimistic REALISTS. But in order to be a positive realist, you must first be completely honest about any negative realities in your career or life. As Tony Robbins once put it, the goal is not to look at your garden and proclaim: "There are no weeds, there are no weeds, there are no weeds!" The goal is to identify the weeds in conjunction with the beauty—and then proactively invest the effort to remove the weeds.  

I have found at least THREE (3) significant benefits to practicing REVERENCE & HUMILITY in my life and career.

Humility helps us with Pacing

1.  Humility fuels ambition and achievement through proper pacing, thereby avoiding overextending myself, biting off more than I can chew, or burning out.

I am a very ambitious person.

     I want to succeed.

          I want to contribute.

               I want to be influential and make a difference.

                    And I want to win.

Nevertheless, I am very aware that I am not Batman, Ironman, Superman, or Jesus. By lucidly recognizing, acknowledging, and making plenty of headspace for my many weaknesses, shortcomings, and vulnerabilities, I can achieve an effective balance in my approach to my life and work that allows me to accomplish great (albeit realistic) things while avoiding preventable mistakes, sins, and failures along the way. And perhaps most importantly, it empowers me to enjoy the journey and find happiness, contentment, and inner peace along the way. This makes me a very RICH man, since, as Benjamin Franklin so aptly put it: "Who is Rich? He who rejoiceth in his portion."   Click HERE for Full Article on Life Riches.   

"Who is Rich?

                    "He that rejoiceth in his portion." 

                    —Benjamin Franklin

2. Humility helps me avoid preventable mistakes while learning from necessary, naturally-occurring mistakes. 

Many mistakes are preventable and precautionary measures should be taken to circumvent them. Others are not; they are a necessary and inevitable part of gaining experience in the laboratory of real life. By practicing REVERENCE and HUMILITY, I am empowered to avoid preventable mistakes because I am continually reminding myself of my own shortcomings and vulnerabilities. Moreover, when I do make a natural mistake as part of life's endless experiments, I can recover quickly because of my self-awareness of my own fallibility and my recognition that individual mistakes are an inevitable—and important—part of the process. This recognition empowers me to learn from my mistakes rather than being defined and/or labeled by them. Just as importantly, it erodes my fear of failure and empowers me to ambitiously seek after things I otherwise would avoid were I paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake.

Laws of Attraction govern many of the dynamics of
human relationships both at home and work.

3. Humility attracts others who similarly seek to develop authentic humility.   

One of the most important laws of the Universe that self-action leaders must understand is the Law of Attraction. It's a pretty basic law. It states that similar things—and people with similar desires—are naturally attracted to each other.

This is a beautiful concept to self-action leaders because they understand its potential power in their lives and careers. 

I love being around other people who are authentically humble and reverent. They are not only easy and pleasant to be around, but so inspiring as well!  

If you want a different (better) result, relationship, or series of events in your life, YOU must attract it by virtue of your own willingness to CHANGE. As Gandhi put it, "YOU must be the CHANGE you wish to see in the world." By changing yourself, you begin the process of naturally attracting the things (and people) you most want to be a part of your life. In the inspired words of Jim Rohn: "Your life does not get better by chance; it gets better by CHANGE."

"Your life does not get better by chance.

                    It gets better by CHANGE." 

                    —Jim Rohn

And CHANGE and GROWTH are what Self-Action Leadership are all about. So...  are YOU humble enough to recognize your own needs for change and brave enough to do whatever is required to initiate real change in your life and career?

Tune in NEXT Wednesday for a special celebratory blog post commemorating our 250th published Blog Article. Included will be links to some of the most popular posts published since November 2013.     

  

NOTE: This article is the 15th in a series of 22 articles on the subject of LIFE RULES.

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

—Dr. JJ

January 26, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 249th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 248 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

Notes:

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

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

Who is Rich?

What is YOUR definition of Wealth?

Self-Action Leadership and Serendipity have made me a very RICH man. 

How rich am I?  

          GOOD QUESTION.

This article provides some answers to this question. In so doing, it also reframes the very idea of wealth.

When we think of wealth, is is natural for our brains to gravitate toward financial riches, or money; and that is certainly one way to be rich. But wealth involves sooooooo much more than just cash.

I have come a LONG way financially since being a broke bachelor who used to bounce checks before getting married. Of course my amazing wife Lina—who is our family CFO—deserves most of the credit for my financial turnaround and positive, new financial trajectory. Nevertheless, even with the material progress we have made over the course of our marriage, Lina and I are still a far cry from being one of the truly rich—what they refer to as a "one-percenter"—financially speaking. 

This being the case, on what basis do I make my own claim upon being RICH? 

Ben Franklin, who graces the U.S. hundred dollar bill,
knew a thing or two about financial riches and holistic wealth.

The answer may be found, at least in part, in one of my favorite quotes from Benjamin Franklin—a great man and leader to whom many SAL-oriented quotes are attributable.  

Franklin once asked a piercing question, as follows...

"WHO is RICH?"

He then answered his own question thusly: "HE that REJOICETH in his portion."

"Who is Rich?

                    "He that rejoiceth in his portion." 

                    —Benjamin Franklin

This quote suggests that your happiness—and even your ultimate wealth—is not contingent on acquiring an arbitrary amount of money or material possessions or achievements. Rather, it is determined by your ability to find happiness and contentment with whatever you may have at any given moment in time.

This may sound simple enough in theory. But countless human beings (including myself at a variety of junctures throughout my life) have found it difficult in actual practice. Nevertheless, the wisdom inherent in the statement remains self-evident and inspiring to self-action leaders, including myself.  

What is your definition of SUCCESS. 

I suppose everyone defines things like HAPPINESS and SUCCESS somewhat differently. Tony Robbins once spoke about an experience he had with a couple of people with whom he was acquainted. He asked both men to define success from their perspective. In other words: "What do you have to do or achieve in order to be successful? The first person had a very narrow and strict—albeit detailed—definition of success. It required him to achieve a lofty net worth and a slew of other time-consuming and hard-won objectives. Until he had accomplished everything on his list, he would not allow himself to feel successful.

The second man man, however, merely chuckled and said: "I am a success every single day I spend above ground!" 

Self-action leaders are never so fixated on
the destination that they fail to enjoy the journey.

The first fellow viewed success as a destination, whereas the second guy saw success as a journey or process that should not only be enjoyed all along the way, but that he felt very grateful to experience—period. 

Who do you think was happier? The first man or the second guy? Moreover, who do you think viewed himself as being more successful, regardless of his material acquisitions?  

While we instinctively see the wisdom in the second man's response, in truth, both fellows were extreme in their mode of thinking. Self-action leaders should set their sights on worthy objectives that are difficult to accomplish. Why? Because doing so leads to GROWTH, which is the ultimate aim of Self-Action Leadership.

However, self-action leaders should also practice the art of enjoying the journey all along the way. By so doing, they find themselves feeling happier and more successful along their journeys toward accomplishing significant and important goals and visions in life.

Let's return now to my initial statement about being wealthy....

I am indeed rich because I rejoice in the things which I have been allotted in my life. But I am also rich because I have truly been allotted a great deal. Part of this allotment is a direct payment for my own disciplined and dedicated exercise of Self-Action Leadership over long periods of time. And part of it is a direct blessing bestowed upon me by the Grace of God (or Serendipity, as the secular SAL Theory & Model term it).  

Too often, human beings equate wealth in a monolithic or one-dimensional manner with an overly magnified focus on the financial realm of riches. This is unfortunate because wealth encompasses so many other life arenas. Thus, while I am more wealthy financially now than I have ever been in the past, finances are just one component of the wealth Self-Action Leadership and Serendipity have empowered me to accrue. And that is the beauty of SAL: its principles and practices have the power to make you exceedingly RICH over time. I know this is true because in virtually every area of my life, I am much more wealthy now than I was thirty, twenty, ten, or even five years ago. In short, I know SAL works for one, simple, and incredibly compelling reason: because I have honestly and authentically paid the price it demands and have thereby accrued riches of all kinds over time.

That is why I am rich.

          Or perhaps a better way of framing it would be to say: that is why I am holistically wealthy. 

And the good news is that there is nothing inherently special about me. However, everything is special about SAL principles and practices. As such, YOU can also become holistically wealthy over time by studying SAL principles and applying SAL practices... just like I have.   

Other areas of my life where I am even more wealthy than the financial realm include the following: 

With my Precious Wife and Children
September 2021

FAMILY:  I adore my wife. She is lovely in every way. Truth be known, I probably like her even more than she likes me! To her credit she puts up with me—longsuffering soul that she is. Moreover, she is good at focusing on the positive aspects of our relationship, demonstrates patience with my shortcomings, and shows genuine gratitude for the role I play as a stay-at-home Dad. As for my kids, what can I say other than they are incredibly SMART, FUN, and CUTE—mostly thanks to Lina.

Beyond my immediate family, I have been blessed with an extended family full of kind and wise mentors and friends who have had a profoundly positive influence on my life. I have been further blessed by a rich and illustrious ancestry whose many and varied legacies continually inspire me to make the very most out of my own opportunities in life. 

HEALTH:  No one has perfect health, and I have faced my share of minor aches, pains, and other issues throughout the course of my life. Nevertheless, 42-years into my mortal journey, I have been extraordinarily fortunate to have circumvented serious illness and/or death. Much of this blessing is a by-product of my genes, which I cannot take credit for. And part of it is my commitment to fitness. Moreover, considering my weaknesses when it comes to nutrition, I acknowledge that I have also gotten away with a lot. This is due in part to my focus on fitness. However, as my recent blog on my weight loss goal attests, I have begun to pay the price for my nutritional sins, and there will always be room for repentance in that area of my life.

My Home Office Library demonstrates
the love I have for books and education.

EDUCATION:  I have been blessed to receive a magnificent education. Part of this education was made possible by the blessing of being born into a Country where free public education was readily available and accessible. Part of it was made possible by the financial resources of loving family members. But the greatest part of it materialized because of my own thirst for knowledge accompanied by my willingness to proactively seek out the best books for study and learning. As much as I value my two formal academic degrees (bachelors in English and doctoral in education) I value my informal (and ongoing) quest after knowledge even more.  

OPPORTUNITIES:  I have been blessed with many opportunities to make something interesting of my life and career, and I have never been shy about embracing—and proactively chasing down—those opportunities. Part of these blessings were made available through Serendipity. For example, for my senior year of high school, my oldest brother invited me to live with him and his wife in Spokane, Washington. That opportunity gave me the chance to compete at a much higher level as a runner than I had access to in my small school classification in Utah.

Many other opportunities materialized through my own, diligent, visionary, and proactive exercise of Self-Action Leadership. Just as we are ultimately responsible for our own happiness in life, we are likewise responsible to seek out and take advantage of our own opportunities in life. Self-action leaders do not sit down and wait for opportunity to simply walk up and knock on their door. Instead, they boldly and proactively walk outside their door to chase down the opportunities they most want in life. 

I have always been a visionary dreamer. But unlike Edwin Arlington Robinson's Miniver Cheevy, I am absolutely determined and obsessively committed to doing whatever is required to accomplish and realize my dreams and visions. For a self-action leader like me, it is not enough to merely dream or envision. I must take concrete action based on sound plans and procedures. Just as importantly, I must be flexible in my approach as I stick with worthy tasks, goals, and objectives and never give up until they have been satisfactorily completed.

Throughout my life, I have had the chance to associate with a range of people who were good at dreaming, passionate at envisioning, and eloquent in the articulation of their dreams and visions. Unfortunately, these same people were not always as good at following up with consistent, persistent, flexible, and smart ACTION. Despite the unfulfilled potential of said persons, their lives and careers have been very inspiring to me in the sense that they motivated me to avoid making similar errors. 

I am grateful for the LIBERTY I enjoy as an American.
Even more, I appreciate the FREEDOM I enjoy as a Self-Action Leader.

LIBERTY & FREEDOM:  As an American citizen, I deeply cherish the hard-earned liberties bequeathed to me by heroes from the past and present. Such liberties include: life, liberty, the opportunity to pursue happiness, opportunity, and success, and a variety of civil rights as delineated in the Bill of Rights section of the United States' Constitution.

But even more than my personal and civil liberties, I cherish my hard-earned personal freedoms that have developed over-time within a framework of those liberties. Such freedoms include: marrying an incredible woman of my choice, becoming highly educated, skilled, and capable in my field of work, and being able to travel and otherwise do many things I desire to do when I desire to do them.

No matter how much money you earn, or how many concrete achievements you obtain, or how "successful" you may become in the eyes of others, there will always be a temptation to "want more." This itch for more—that we as humans sometimes find so difficult to buck—can and should motivate us onward and upward on our journey through life. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "A healthy discontent is good."

Nevertheless, we should never allow our "healthy discontents" to prevent us from taking joy in the present moment for everything that is REAL and GOOD right now. Remember that the actual happiness and success you feel will depend more on cultivating an attitude of gratitude for what you actually possess and enjoy in your life, not on what you may eventually achieve or acquire in the future. This is why I include Rule #11—Take nothing for granted, and in all things give thanks—as one of my 13 Rules for Life. And it has been my experience that the better I follow this rule, the happier I am.  

"Most people are about as happy as
they make up their minds to be."
— Abraham Lincoln

You don't have to be financially rich to be happy. You can choose to be happy right now, no matter what may be going on in your life. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." There is, of course, a certain irony in this statement, which arises out of the fact that Abraham Lincoln dealt with severe depression throughout his life. This is a beautiful irony to me, however, because it demonstrates two parallel truths about life. The first is that life is difficult and all of us will face severe trials along our walk through life—no matter how positive our attitude may be.

This means that things like depression are real and we cannot always just wish (or positively affirm) such experiences out of existence. We must positively and productively confront our challenges with the right tools to overcome and/or manage them. However, it also means that as self-action leaders, we are free to make choices that will make the bad times better, and bolster the likelihood that good times will increase in the future. No one's life is perfect—no matter how efficient or effective a self-action leader one might be. Yet, much hope exists for all of us to experience brighter futures through the conscious, intentional, and proactive exercise of SAL. 

So... who is RICH?  

After reading this article, I hope you can honestly answer this question by saying: "I AM... but, I look forward to being so much richer in the future through SAL and Serendipity."  

—Dr. JJ

January 19, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 248th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 247 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

Notes:

The BEAUTY of EXCELLENCE

The beauty and excellence of a beach. 

 

 

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever."* 

—John Keats

I love EXCELLENCE.

Just as there is beauty in nature, there is beauty in excellence... and human excellence is always beautiful.

For more than four hours Monday night, I had the privilege of watching a uniquely American brand of excellence on display at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana... and it was a beautiful thing.

The occasion was the College Football Playoff National Championship featuring the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs in the biggest game of the year, and arguably one of the biggest games of all time. 

Now I know what some of my readers are thinking right now. An article about College Football? Yeah! Sign me up! And I know what some others of my readers are thinking right now. Football? beautiful?? Are you kidding me???

I don't have to ask my football lovers to stay tuned for the rest of this article. As for the latter milieu, I merely ask you to give it a chance with the promise that this article will touch on more than just football.  

Football, and athletics in general, provide us
with endless opportunities to learn about life and SAL.

For me, the beauty of Monday night's game was not who was playing in it. As a FLORIDA Gator fan who married a GEORGIA TECH Yellow Jacket, I'm about as far away from being a Georgia fan as you can get. In fact, I once accompanied my beautiful Ramblin Wreck inside Bobby Dodd Stadium in downtown Atlanta where we both cheered enthusiastically against Georgia. 

As for the Alabama Crimson Tide, let's just say that I fully support the recently trending social media topic #NeverBama.

Nevertheless, I was able to transcend my typical aversion to both teams for this particular occasion for one very simple reason: In virtually every aspect of their respective programs, the 2021 Alabama and Georgia college football teams personify EXCELLENCE and everything that creates it (i.e. vision, focus, dedication, discipline, hard work, consistence, persistence, determination, etc.). And the stark reality—evinced by both team's convincing wins in their respective Playoff Semifinal Bowl Games—is that no other team currently comes even close.

Because of the veritable goldmine of knowledge and insight available therein, this Self-Action Leader guy has little choice but to pay attention to organizations like Alabama and Georgia Football, regardless of my personal affiliations or inclinations as a fan.  

What creates the kind and degree of EXCELLENCE presently on display in Athens and Tuscaloosa?    

Jeff Allen is the Head Athletic Trainer for Alabama Football. He has been with the Crimson Tide since the early days of legendary coach Nick Saban's tenure at Alabama, dating back to 2007. Allen says people often ask him what it is about COACH SABAN that has made Alabama so great, as if there was somehow ONE special ingredient to his mystical personality and magical formula that led him to be so much more successful than everybody else. But according to Allen, "It's not [just] one thing. It's a thousand little things. [Coach Saban's] in tune with the little things, not just the big things, and that's imbedded in our entire program."**

"It's not one thing.

It's a thousand little things."

—Jeff Allen

Head Athletic Trainer

Alabama Football

Those thousand little things are all part and parcel of what Saban refers to as "The Process"—an intentional and methodical formula that has steadily brought about his team's extended dominance over the past decade-and-a-half. That dominance has brought the Tide an unparalleled string of success that includes SIX (6) National Championships and three National Championship runners-up. That means in the past fifteen (15) years, there were only six years in which Alabama was not playing in the National Championship game. Such a string of success has never occurred in the sport, and few other sports can boast of an analogue.

Overcoming the daunting legacy of this unparalleled Goliath would prove no small feat for the Georgia Bulldogs, who had lost seven straight games to Alabama dating back 15 years to Nick Saban's first season (2007) in Tuscaloosa. But Georgia is no David. Nay, a Goliath in its own right, the Bulldogs program had been meticulously built by Kirby Smart—one of Coach Saban's former Assistant Coaches—after the Alabama model he himself had been a part of for eight years from 2007-2016.

After many years of painstaking planning and
unrelenting effort, Georgia finally hit the bullseye.

Despite having achieved this lofty status, which paralleled Alabama in many aspects, Saban had outdueled his protégé in all four previous attempts, including a last-second win in overtime in the 2018 National Championship Game. The pain of these losses increasingly smarted for Smart, who could not seem to get over that one, last, elusive hurdle preventing him from summiting the mountaintop. 

But Monday night, led by the most unlikely of heroes—walk-on quarterback and small-town journeyman Stetson Bennett—Georgia finally exorcised its demons against the Tide to win their first National Championship since 1980.

The game itself was not particularly beautiful, although it was highlighted at key moments by some very pretty plays on offense. For me, the BEAUTY of the game was ironically found in its defensive ugliness (effectiveness). 

Here were two teams who had mostly cake-walked their way through their respective schedules, dominating almost everyone they faced throughout the regular season—and even their semifinal games in the playoffs. Both teams averaged over 40 points per game throughout the season. Alabama's quarterback, Bryce Young, won the Heisman Trophy and set single season passing records as a freshman. Georgia's defense was touted as one of the best of all-time.

The Tide's only loss was a narrow slip-up on the road to SEC West rival, Texas A&M (Kyle Field is a hostile environment where victory does not come easily to visitors). Georgia's only loss was to none other than Alabama in the SEC Championship game—a poignant experience and wake-up call for the 12-0 Bulldogs that seemed to significantly influence their reversal of fortunes when it mattered most five weeks later in the Natty. With such sparkling offensive resumes, only the sky (and clock) had limited their ability to score against everyone else. But against each other, their otherwise prolific offenses were largely stymied by equally excellent defenses, leading to an astonishing single-digit score (9-6) nearly three-quarters through the game.

EXCELLENCE  is  BEAUTIFUL

"The Process" of the game was so incredibly ugly that it was, in fact, astonishingly beautiful. And the beauty arose in the remarkable determination and absolutely unrelenting effort, passion, and energy that every athlete insisted on investing up through the last seconds of the game. That kind of complete investment of one's heart, mind, and soul into a cause worth driving for is indeed a beautiful thing. I will never forget watching it. 

EXCELLENCE is and always will be BEAUTIFUL. 

That is why my wife Lina, who has always been physically stunning in my eyes, became far more beautiful to me as I learned about her incredible intellectual capacity, formidable academic achievements, emotional resiliency, social deftness, professional potential, and spiritual strength and faith.

That is why I get chills when I hear a polished musician create aural magic with her instrument or behold an experienced artist in the throes of his best performance. It is why we—like Stetson Bennet Monday night—tear up when an especially difficult obstacle is surmounted or an unusually monumental accomplishment is finally realized.

It is why we are inspired by that vigor of mind and vim of heart and soul that fuels greatness in every aspect of the human experience. And it is why we feel reverent when we are in the presence of those who have honestly achieved authentic greatness.    

That is why things like TRUTH, virtue, kindness, eloquence, polish, refinement, maturity, respect, honest achievement, and anything thereunto... are so incredibly BEAUTIFUL. Because EXCELLENCE is BEAUTY, and authentic beauty is always a form of excellence.  

This beautiful and precious little nugget makes me
want to be a better husband, father, and man.

It is also why my heart melts into joy as I gaze upon the adorably innocent perfection of my little boy as he slumbers peacefully in his bed... and then muse upon his limitless potential in life, a potential made possible through Grace (Serendipity) and the principles and practices of Self-Action Leadership.

In the words of Emerson: If eyes were meant for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being.

"If eyes were meant for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being."

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thus it is that EXCELLENCE—in all of the beautiful forms that it takes—is beautiful indeed, and why authentic BEAUTY will always qualify as a form of excellence.  

As self-action leaders, we have the opportunity to strive after and towards EXCELLENCE in all that we do. We aren't perfect people, nor are we expected to be, at least not right away. But we are—and always will be—seekers after the BEST, and more importantly, after our BEST. Along the pathways of this ever-noble quest, may we continually draw and derive much inspiration from others who so majestically portray and personify it—like the 2021 Alabama and Georgia football teams. 

Congratulations to the Bulldog Nation!

And Go Gators... we (and everyone else in the SEC East) certainly have our work cut out for us in 2022 and beyond! 

—Dr. JJ

January 12, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 247th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 246 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

Notes:

* The opening line of John Keats' famous extended poem, Endymion.

** Lowe, C. 9 January 2022. ESPN Online. How Jeff Allen Became Invaluable to Nick Saban and Alabama Football. URL: https://www.espn.com.au/college-football/story/_/id/33019887/how-jeff-allen-became-invaluable-nick-saban-alabama-football