A Textbook for Life

 

Chapter 3

A Textbook for Life

Why such a long book?

        Why not just write another easy-to-read self-help book of a couple hundred pages or less?

To answer this question, I share a story. 

Some years ago, I was in St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands) teaching an outdoor professional seminar a mere stone's throw from the beach. I'll never forget the experience, partly because it was such a breathtakingly beautiful tropical setting, and partly because I have rarely (if ever) experienced such a sultry atmosphere, which pulsated ponderously through the 90-plus degree heat of that boiling mid-August afternoon. 

During a break in my training, I meandered my way to the bar for some refreshment. As I sat sipping a soda, a young, male bartender—we'll call him "Ted" (a very talkative fella)—began asking me questions about myself. In an attempt to politely, but briefly, answer his queries, I ended up sharing more personal information with Ted than I typically offer up to strangers I've just met.

When Ted learned I was an author in the self-help genre, a look of obvious skepticism crossed his face, after which he replied: "Don't you think self-help books are fluffy and unsubstantial?" I was initially surprised by the curt candidness of his question, but understanding his perspective, I readily responded, "Well, I can definitely see where you are coming from in thinking that, and YES, some of them certainly are." 

Ted then proceeded to express his interest in philosophical writings that are considered more historically and intellectually demanding than your typical contemporary self-help read. As I listened to this young lad promoting philosophical works from behind the counter of a Caribbean tiki bar, a powerful sense of reassurance flooded my mind and soul about a nagging feeling I had often had that my work was "too long."

At that moment, I realized with great clarity that my book was never meant to be a novella, much less a pamphlet or paper. The complexity, substance, and importance of the subject matter limit its capacity for brevity. Length alone does not, of course, guarantee quality and substance. Nevertheless, I have striven diligently and earnestly throughout SEVEN (7) complete and comprehensive iterative revisions of this work to continually trim the fat without lacerating its muscle.

As my conversation with Ted continued, I explained that my goal as a self-help author was to produce a work that not only provided compelling narrative literature, but that also rises to rigorous intellectual standards and robust philosophical ideals. If he someday reads this book, I hope he will be pleased with my attempt to realize the lofty standards and ideals I have striven to uphold in its organization and composition. 

My conversation with Ted the bartender
gave me hope for the future of this work.

My téte-à-tête with Ted the bartender that day spawned a vision of sorts, whereby my mind's eye beheld multitudes of people from all over the world from all different backgrounds and walks of life who, like Ted, are yearning not only for real long-term personal and professional change, growth, freedom, fulfillment and inner peace, but who—in an era of fast food, fleeting pleasures, petty social media exchanges, and other cheap, sugary meaninglessness that is so ubiquitous throughout our superficial and existentially malnourished culture—are hungry for something that will challenge them intellectually as well. 

It was a GLORIOUS VISION to behold.

And since I was only drinking soda (I don't drink alcohol) I am certain it was no drunken mirage exacerbated by the elevated and oppressive temperature which hung so leadenly on the beach that sizzling summer day. 

Ted "the bartender" won't always be serving up drinks for a living. In fact, at the time of our meeting, he already had plans to move on to North Carolina with his girlfriend, who planned to pursue a master's degree. Ted no doubt had ambitions of his own, the details of which he might have shared had my break not come to an end, thus terminating our visit.

Before bidding him adieu, Ted asked me to write down the title of my book so he could look it up on Amazon. As we parted, he seemed genuinely hopeful that perhaps I might be able to resurrect his faith in what he perceived to be the lost art of the self-help genre. 

Maybe Ted and I will meet again someday. If we do, I will ask him whether or not my work rose to the level of his obviously high standards. I hope he answers affirmatively. I will also thank him for expanding my perspective and bolstering my courage to forge ahead in pursuit of an unusual and audacious vision that demanded I break all the rules of contemporary book writing and publishing. 

I know that there are many more "Teds" out there.

        That is why I have had enough faith to spend 20 years on one, single, massive writing project. 

A magnum opus for the ages—and for people of all ages!

The world has enough easy books to read; it needs more challenging books to study. It has enough sound bites to survey; it needs more substance to subsume. The world has enough talking points; it needs more transformations of character. It has enough text messaging; it needs more textual rigor. The world has enough skimming and scanning; it needs more rigorous reading and serious study. It has enough summaries; it needs more original sources. 

The world has enough featured headlines and fabricated news; it needs more facts and footnotes. It has enough fashion, facsimiles, and façades; it needs more ontological authenticity. The world has enough truculent tweets and tall tales; it needs more tenderness and truth telling.

The world has enough fake; it needs more real. (5)

If this book fails to add something of value to the cause for which it stands, it will not be for any lack of effort or sincere soul-searching on the part of the author, nor will it be because it was too long. There are plenty of easy self-help books, blogs, bits, and bytes out there. 

In producing this work, I have no interest in nor desire to toss another pamphlet on top of an ever-growing pile of piecemeal pontifications on the subject of self-help. If I'm going to offer something to the world, it is going to be BIG, substantive, and unprecedented in its scope.

That's the VISION I have, and I would be cheating myself and my readers if I produced anything less than what you now hold in your hands.  

Our world has no shortage of books

In recent decades, our world has been deluged by millions of books, articles, blogposts, seminars, webinars, presentations, and online discussions on topics related to leadership, management, personal development, and other self-help related topics. And that is to say nothing of the tens of millions of books published in every other conceivable genre and subtopic—and that is just since the dawn of the Information Age in the mid-1990s. 

Since the advent of Johannes Gutenberg's modern printing press in the year 1440, approximately 130 million books have been published, with hundreds of thousands of more books predating Gutenberg's world-changing invention.

Today, with added access to the Internet and self-publishing platforms, the market for books has become so oversaturated in recent years that it is not an exaggeration to say that throughout world history, there has never been a worse time to publish a book than right now—that is, if you are hoping a large audience actually reads your book. And according to Steven Piersanti, founder of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, things are only going to get worse for authors in coming years.  [1]

In light of this sobering reality, perhaps you are wondering why I would have the temerity [2] to not only write another book, but to spend half my life (20 years) researching and writing a very long, detailed, nuanced, and substantive book? 

After all, according to Piersanti and many other experts in the field, writing a long book is a strategic no-no in today's over-soused publishing market—that is, if you intend for your book to sell a lot of copies. Furthermore, what could another book about leadership and personal development possibly have to say that would merit your attention in this fast-paced, highly competitive virtual world? 

These are reasonable questions, and I have answers to them. 

The SAL Textbook is a TEXTBOOK for LIFE

To begin with, this isn't just another book I hope will be marginally useful to some niche audience. This TOME is a comprehensive TEXTBOOK for LIFE itself, carefully crafted with an unprecedented inclusivity in mind. 

In other words, it has been purposely and purposefully designed for every single member of the human race in hopes of uniting the entire human family in one, common, core cause: the cause of Existential Growth. 

Exi-what???  

I know, I know... the word, "Existential," may come across like a big, boring, scholarly term prone to turn off many readers from advancing any further in the text. But it doesn't have to because it actually has a pretty basic definition that is not hard to understand. And since you will see this word a lot in the SAL Textbook, it makes sense to introduce and define it right up front. 

EXISTENTIAL simply means of, or relating to, your existence—meaning your life and being. 

EXISTENTIAL

Of, or relating to, your existence (life)

The reason you will see this particular word a lot in this textbook is because Self-Action Leadership is concerned with far more than just one or two areas of life; it is concerned with LIFE itself in as holistic and comprehensive a manner as humanly conceivable. 

In other words, SAL is not designed to merely help you improve, be happier, or achieve more success. SAL is designed to transform your very existence into something far greater than it was before tackling this text.

A similar, related word you will also see from time-to-time in the SAL Textbook is "ontological." This is another word apt to scare off some readers because like existential, it also sounds like an erudite graduate term that only advanced scholars would use in an enigmatic philosophical treatise. 

However, like our previous term, "existential," ontological also has a pretty basic definition that is not hard to understand. It simply refers to the nature of being in a metaphysical or spiritual sense, as opposed to a physical, chemical, biological, or anatomical sense. 

ONTOLOGY (noun)

The metaphysical nature of being.

ONTOLOGICAL (adjective)

Related to the metaphysical nature of being.  

Understanding these terms will help you take your understanding of the SAL Textbook to higher levels.

Why? 

Because the goal of the SAL Textbook is not merely to help you learn new information, gain a new skill, or aid self-improvement. The goal is to transform your very being (i.e. heart, mind, and soul) in a way that elevates your existence to higher planes of human capacity, understanding, and experience. 

Thus, the ultimate objective of Self-Action Leadership (SAL) is not to get something, but rather to become something, and you become something by earning Existential Growth, which refers to the growth, progress, and maturation of your holistic potential.

EXISTENTIAL GROWTH

The growth, progress, and maturation of your holistic potential as a human being.

 

Another reason it is worth your time to read and carefully study this comprehensive work is because it introduces two, unique, helpful, and holistic qualitative metrics (measuring tools) for gauging your own benchmarks for personal freedom, growth, and potential. These metrics offer more than a mere blueprint for self-improvement and personal development. 

They also paint a clear picture of personal and professional PROMISED LANDS attainable as you progress towards the apex of your potential as a human being. These metrics are part of the SAL Theory and Model, both of which will be introduced and thoroughly detailed in volumes one and two, respectively, of this textbook.  

Dr. JJ at age 7, when he 
began his SAL journey.

An additional answer lies in the extensive study, research, and uniquely personal story undergirding everything in this textbook. Since 1987—when I was just a little boy, aged seven—I have been enthralled by learning about, pursuing, and achieving existential growth, freedom, success, happiness, and inner peace. 

Along the way, I have been humbled to the dust time-after-time-after-time by the hard knocks of life's often harrowing challenges, obstacles, and realities. It has been an intensely painful and profoundly humbling journey in nearly every aspect of my life. 

Yet through it all, I have come out on the other side a truly transformed human being, with a penetrating vision of what authentic freedom, growth, progress, and prosperity entail. More importantly, I have come to comprehend how these incredibly desirable states of being are achieved over time.   

The SAL Textbook fully fleshes out and carefully articulates this VISION.

The heartrending processes that lead to Existential Growth and the glorious rewards that accompany it remind me of the words of a nineteenth century avuncular ancestor of mine who knew a thing or two about obstacles and adversity. 

Said he: 

"I am like a huge rough stone rolling down from a high mountain, and the only polishing I get, is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated force against [my enemies within and without] ... knocking off a corner here and a corner there; thus, [do] I ... become a smooth and polished shaft...." [3].

I can poignantly relate to my ancestor's description of how his difficult life tested, refined, and polished him over time. While my own twenty- and twenty-first century experiences have been vastly different compared to his, the struggle and pain of the journey—as well as the resultant refining and polishing processes—have been strikingly similar. 

This fact serves to corroborate the universality of the principles and practices involved in authentic Existential Growth trajectories regardless of when, where, or to whom they occur.  

Speaking of my own experiences and that of others, the presentation and analysis of such experiences form a significant core of this textbook. This is not an unusual practice. Indeed, most self-help authors season their books and articles with relevant personal anecdotes. 

This book, however, is the anecdote. 

There really is no way to separate the story of my life, and of others' lives, from the material in this comprehensive work. Thus, autobiographical and biographical material is closely and carefully interwoven and otherwise strewn throughout the entire manuscript. 

It is my hope that these educational anecdotes might provide you with long-sought-after antidotes to your own deepest personal and professional difficulties and dilemmas. In the process, I hope readers everywhere will be empowered with new ways of conceptualizing, practicing, and measuring their own freedom, growth, happiness, success, and inner peace. 

Be a hero of your own story...
Be a Life Leader

The journey towards Existential Growth and personal freedom requires self-direction, self-discipline, and personal management, regulation, and leadership at every turn. It demands that you become the leader of your own LIFE. The process of carefully and intentionally designing and constructing your own life as part of a never-ending journey towards higher levels of freedom and Existential Growth is what LIFE LEADERSHIP is all about. 

What exactly is Life Leadership?

Good question. The simple answer is: the self-leadership of your own life. A more technical definition would be: The process of thoughtfully and intentionally designing and constructing your life as part of a never-ending journey towards higher levels of Existential Growth and freedom. 

LIFE  LEADERSHIP

The process of thoughtfully and intentionally designing and constructing your life as part of a never-ending journey towards higher levels of Existential Growth and freedom.  

What is Self-Action Leadership

We have already used the term—SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP, or just SAL for short—many times thus far in this book. As such, you probably already have a pretty good idea of what it is—at least implicitly speaking. Now it is time to explicitly define it so that there is no confusion moving forward. 

Self-Action Leadership, or just SAL for short, is the engine and fuel that drives Life Leadership. It refers to taking complete responsibility for everything in your life. This includes your thoughts, speech, actions, attitudes, beliefs, and all consequences engendered thereby.  

SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP  (SAL)

Taking complete personal responsibility for everything in your life. This includes your thoughts, speech, actions, attitudes, beliefs, and all consequences engendered thereby.

SAL is about consciously and intentionally directing those things over which you have direct control and influence, namely: your own thoughts, speech, actions, attitudes, and beliefs. This includes taking responsibility for your past, your present, and your future, regardless of any variables (positive or negative, helpful or hurtful) that may exist beyond your control. 

It means abandoning past attitudes of victimization and embracing present and future mindsets of personal power and possibility. It also involves leading yourself to make wise and moral choices for the long-term benefit of YOU and everyone else that may be impacted or influenced by your thoughts, speech, and actions over time.

By purposely and purposefully channeling your thoughts, speech, and actions into principle-centered avenues and courses, you can become a powerful agent of personal change, growth, and freedom. You can also become a powerful and positive influence in the lives of all those with whom you live, work, or otherwise associate.

That is the power of SAL. 

Later on, in BOOK the THIRD, Chapter Three, I will expand upon this concept by adding some contour and nuance to this basic definition. For now, this introduction to the core concept will suffice. 

SAL operates under the premise that micro, personal changes always precede macro-organizational, communal, or national changes. In other words, nations, states, communities, churches, schools, and families are only as great as the individuals who comprise them. That includes YOU, me, and everybody else. Whenever a system's micro agents or components are strengthened, its macro elements are fortified and refined.

Mohandas Gandhi
1867-1948

In other words: if you want to change the world, then you must begin by changing YOURSELF. In the inspired words of Mohandas Gandhi, YOU must be the change you wish to see in the world.

"YOU must be the change you wish to see in the world."

—Gandhi

The miracle of SAL is that personal change is possible. And that is great news because the only things in the universe that you can actually control are your own thoughts, words, actions, attitudes, and beliefs. 

Everything else is ultimately outside of your control. As Aldous Huxley was once compellingly quoted: There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. I wanted to change the world, but I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.    

"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, 

and that's your own self. I wanted to change the world, 

but I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself"

—Aldous Huxley

How This Textbook is Organized

This is no ordinary self-help work.

SAL is about much more than mere motivation;
It is about pure, sound, and enduring EDUCATION.

The SAL Textbook is not designed to merely motivate you or improve your self-esteem. I did not write this book to simply "Pump You Up!" 

This tome is part "book" and part "textbook." 

While it often reads informally, like a book, it concurrently presents sound, academic information in an accurate, precise, well-organized, and comprehensive manner, like a textbook. 

If you are serious about bolstering your personal and professional freedom and growth, you must do more than just read this book. You must carefully study it, thoughtfully engage the journal writing exercises, and complete all of the SAL Master Challenge homework assignments (more on this in Chapter 5).  

This textbook is divided into two (2) large sections referred to as Volume 1 and Volume 2. These two volumes are then further subdivided into eight (8) smaller sections, which are called "BOOKS." These section-books are named: BOOK the FIRST, BOOK the SECOND, et cetera, on up to BOOK the LAST, in Dickensian fashion.  [4]

Each of these eight "book" sections contain a fresh batch of chapters beginning with a new "Chapter One" for each book. The eight "books" contained within this comprehensive work include: 

VOLUME 1:  The Self-Action Leadership Theory

BOOK the FIRST:  Life Leadership Begins with Education

BOOK the SECOND:  In Pursuit of Change, Growth, and Freedom. An Introduction to Self-Action Leadership

BOOK the THIRD:  The Self-Action Leadership Philosophy

BOOK the FOURTH:  The Self-Action Leadership Theory  

VOLUME 2:  The Self-Action Leadership Model

BOOK the FIFTH:  The Self-Action Leadership Model

BOOK the SIXTH:  SAL Success Stories

BOOK the SEVENTH:  A Pedagogy of Personal Leadership and Character Development

BOOK the LAST:  You are Sovereign

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

BOOK the FIRST introduces the concept of LIFE LEADERSHIP, explains the vital role that SAL plays therein, and discusses the fundamental importance of education in the leadership of your life. It also postures pedagogy and practice as twin keys to animating SAL in your life. Additionally, it lays a foundation upon which SAL can begin supplementing a student's core curriculum or an employee's standard training. 

BOOK the SECOND focuses on SAL's three primary objectives, namely: change, growth, and freedom.

BOOK the THIRD introduces the SAL Philosophy, which serves as a general, conceptual foundation for the SAL Theory and Model to come. 

BOOK the FOURTH outlines, explicates, and articulates the SAL Theory. 

BOOK the FIFTH outlines, explicates, and articulates the SAL Model. 

BOOK the SIXTH shifts gears from the intellectual to the anecdotal by providing a series of real-life accounts of positive life and career transformations achieved through SAL principles and practices. Several of these extended anecdotes belong to me (Dr. JJ). Several others belong to other self-action leaders I have had the privilege of meeting over the years as an educator. 

BOOK the SEVENTH reviews a series of action research projects I conducted in real-life classrooms and schools in Georgia and Texas, USA. These research projects—and the data culled therefrom—illuminate the power, influence, and potential that a SAL-oriented education can wield in the lives of student-practitioners of all kinds and ages all over the world.

BOOK the LAST serves as a capstone to the previous seven books. It serves as an inspirational conclusion to the total work. 

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

This work on SAL is part academic TEXTBOOK

This work is part "book" and part "textbook." It is very much a traditional textbook in the sense that it presents a significant amount of new scholarly information in a systematic and academic manner. 

It also includes a robust list of more than a hundred (100) original "KEY TERMS" and their accompanying definitions that students can learn and study and educators can teach and test. 

Moreover, it continually applies logic in an attempt to bolster the academic credibility of its premises and conclusions as well as exercising the critical thinking skills of student-practitioners. In this sense, the work is kind of like an extended peer-reviewed journal article. 

On the other hand, this work is concurrently a creative work of nonfiction that incorporates a significant amount of narrative detail. Thus, the text often read like an autobiography or biography because it is both of these things as well.  

Furthermore, the text is continually garnished and seasoned with motivational epigrams, inspirational poetry (penned by myself and others), and memorable mantras. To top it all off, I employ my own, unique voice to narrate the complete work from start-to-finish, thus making it read like a public journal entry. 

In so doing, I have attempted to enrich the material with an eclectic potpourri of relevant tangents, pedagogical asides, parenthetical informational inserts, and a plethora of interesting and/or citational footnotes.

In the end, this work is both a highly educational textbook and (I hope) an unusually emotive and gripping personal narrative. This makes it both scholarly and popular in nature. It specifically and simultaneously caters to both academic and mainstream audiences—to scholars and laymen alike. 

Pure academics may enjoy the scholarly components while squirming at my hybrid approach. Laymen and women may embrace the narrative sections and eschew the academic erudition. 

At best, I can only hope that everyone who opens up this work will eventually find something just for him or her at just the moment in time and life that they need it most. I trust the invisible Hand of Serendipity will continually work Its magic in fruition of this hope for all honest seekers of light and truth.  

Suffice it to say, this book is much more than a textbook on personal leadership or another self-help guide. It is an academic and literary self-portrait of its author, his personality, and the many and varied journeys he has intrepidly traversed throughout his adventurous life and career. 

Whatever its flaws, I hope you will overlook them sufficiently to allow this work to make a difference in your own, unique, personal and professional life. If it accomplishes that one goal for YOU, it will have realized its objective—weaknesses and inadequacies notwithstanding.  

So...

Would you like to do something hard that will take some time, but that will be incredibly worth your investment in the long-run?  

        If so, 

                Then read on...

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 358th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 172nd consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 357 FF Blog Articles 

Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL QUOTES  

Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL POEMS   

Click HERE to access the FULL TEXT of Dr. JJ's Psalms of Life: A Poetry Collection

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

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

Click HERE for a complete listing of Biographical & Historical Articles

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

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

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

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

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

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Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks

Chapter 3 Notes

1). Piersanti, S. (2017). The 10 Awful Truths About Book Publishing. Out:think. URL: https://outthinkgroup.com/the-10-awful-truths-about-book-publishing/ 

2). Dale Carnegie asked the same question nearly 90 years ago in 1936.

Carnegie, D. (1981). How to Win Friends & Influence People. Revised Edition. New York, NY: Pocket Books. Page xiii.  

3). Smith, Jr. J. 1843. Personal Journal. 21 May 1843. Joseph Smith Papers Online. URL: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-d-1-1-august-1842-1-july-1843/199. Note: Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844) is Dr. JJ's third-great grandfather.  

4).  The famous nineteenth century British novelist, Charles Dickens, employed this style in his most famous novel: A Tale of Two Cities. Since its initial, serial publication in 1859, this book has never been out of print and since become one of the best-selling novels of all-time, with over 200 million copies. Among famous works of fiction, only Don Quixote, by Spain's Miguel de Cervantes, has sold more copies. And while the latter has more than doubled the former in overall copies printed, Cervantes (1547-1616) also had a 244-year head start on Dickens (1809-1870).    

5).  The literary style and rhythm employed in this paragraph—and others like it throughout this textbook—is borrowed from a similar style used in paragraph 16 of an October 2000 speech entitled, The Joy of Womanhood, delivered by Margaret D. Nadauld. My thanks to Mrs. Nadauld for inspiring me with her stirring delivery and well-crafted prose which I have seen fit to imitate herein.  

6).  Roosevelt, T. (1910). Citizenship in a Republic. Speech delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on April 23, 1910.  

7).  Ibid.  

8).  Frankl, V. (2006). Man's Search for Meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Pages xiv, xv.  

9).  Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More than IQ. New York, NY: Bantam. Page xii. 

10).  Ibid. 

11).  Ibid. Page xiii.

12).  Ibid. Page xiv. 

13).  Peck, M.S. (1993). Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Toward Spiritual Growth, The Edited Lectures. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. Page 143. 

The Times in Which We Live

 

Chapter 2

The Times in which We Live

Charles Dickens

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."  [1]

—Charles Dickens

We live in wonderfully troubled times—wonderful as they are troubled and troubled as they are wonderful. In the midst of unprecedented communication, creative, medical, scientific, and technological wonderments, we face deep character, moral, relational, organizational, and systemic problems, which abound all around us. 

As the famous opening lines of Dickens' timeless Tale of Two Cities suggest, this is not the first time in human history we have faced such a dichotomistic dilemma. 

Indeed, a careful study of the past demonstrates that many different periods throughout history—including our own—can qualify as being the best of times and the worst of times. As an old adage states: the more things change, the more things stay the same. Thus, we are not as singular or special a people and era as we are sometimes apt to classify ourselves.

The biggest problem of all, however, is not the problems themselves, but our collective misunderstanding of what the problems really are, and where real solutions lie. Ever searching for short-term, externally based solutions to human challenges and difficulties, we, as a collective society too often invest our energies hacking at the leaves of problems rather than recognizing and focusing on their roots—which almost always originate on some level inside our own minds, hearts, and souls. 

As the American philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, so eloquently put it nearly two centuries ago: There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. [2] 

Henry David Thoreau
1817-1862

"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil

to one who is striking at the root."

—Henry David Thoreau

This comprehensive work champions an inside-out approach to personal and collective problem solving. It acknowledges that macro problems on a global, national, community, organizational, or familial level can only be addressed by confronting the micro issues of character and competence that plague individuals—namely you, me, and everyone else on the planet. This book aims to focus your attention and concentration on the only things YOU can actually control, which is your own thoughts, speech, actions, attitudes, and beliefs. 

The message of Self-Action Leadership, or just SAL for short, is that simple in basic theory.

     And it is that difficult in actual practice.

One of the most challenging phrases for most people to utter is: "I have a problem." An even more difficult admission is: "It is my responsibility to fix my problem by consciously and proactively changing the way I think, speak, and act."

Unfortunately, the habit of blaming external forces and variables for personal and professional problems is a worldwide pandemic whose negative consequences dwarf those incurred by the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 or the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021. This troubling trend must change if we ever hope to get a handle on the menacing menagerie of problems we face, both individually and collectively as a global society.  

Throughout the ages, individuals—like YOU and ME—have always been either part of the problem or part of the solution to everyone and everything around us. Today is no different. As the old adage states: "the more things change, the more things stay the same." No one is perfect, but ultimately, we each end up either starting and compounding problems, or contributing to and creating solutions to personal problems, family problems, organizational problems, community problems, national problems, and global problems.

This textbook was written to educate and inspire individuals—like YOU and ME—to develop the self-awareness, desire, and willpower to become part of the solution to the many, varied, and deeply entrenched problems we all face, be it individually or collectively throughout our incredibly complex and diverse world.  

Nearly 40 years ago, Dr. Stephen R. Covey introduced his now-famous 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a book that has since sold tens of millions of copies in dozens of different languages all over the world. In this landmark self-help guide, Covey's first three habits focus on PERSONAL LEADERSHIP—the same general theme of this comprehensive work on Self-Action Leadership.

Cover Page of my first Franklin
Day Planner (1988)

In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Covey calls for the abandonment of what he terms the "Personality Ethic" in favor of a "Character Ethic." Knowing that behavioral "techniques" alone don't create authentic growth and lasting success, Covey effectively communicated the timeless truth that real results that stand the test of time are always predicated on focus, hard work, and integrity practiced consistently over extended periods of time. 

There is no other way. 

Covey taught us the Law of the Farm to emphasize that natural laws cannot be cheated; they must be respected and obeyed if real results are to be realized. He further taught that Private Victories precede Public Victories, and reminded us that there are no quick fixes to authentic growth and real success—that in the end, such things must always be earned.  

When Covey first published the 7 Habits in 1989, I was only 10 years old. My own Self-Action Leadership (SAL) journey had begun a few years earlier when I attended a time management seminar taught by my uncle, Hyrum W. Smith, who was an originator of the famous Franklin Day Planning system and, along with Covey, co-founded FranklinCovey Company, a time-management and organizational development training company that still exists today.  

What does your "Tree of Life" look like?

That seminar, and other experiences like it, provided me with profound opportunities at a very young age to learn about personal development and practice self-leadership. This process planted the seeds of SAL deep into my mind, heart, and spirit during my most formative years. Ever since that time, I have dedicated my life and career to personal growth and development through a dedicated study and diligent practice of SAL. 

Those seeds have since grown into a massive, metaphorical "Tree of Life" complete with a substantive trunk—in the form of a successful life and career—and a sprawling network of branches in the form of an eclectic array of quality and rich relationships. This "Tree of Life" is supported by an extensive and vibrant root system consisting of True Principles rooted in Natural Law that ensures the longevity and perpetuity of my trunk and branches for as long as I remain faithful to their roots.

A Mighty English Oak

These roots are no respecters of persons; if recognized and reverenced, they can enrich the "Trunk" and "Branches" of YOUR life and career just as surely as they have mine. Indeed, I have learned through experience that there is nothing inherently special about me; but everything is special about SAL principles and practices. 

Thus, my own trunk and branches will continue to grow bigger and stronger as long as I am willing to humbly align my thoughts, speech, and behavior with the straightforward, common-sense edicts of their roots. And this same beautiful and prosperous process can play out in your life and career if you are willing to pay the price over time.    

Speaking of beauty and prosperity, we then have the "Fruit" of this "Tree of Life, which has proven to be perennially palatable and exceedingly nourishing to my mind, heart, and spirit. Such delectable fruit tastes like achievement, satisfaction, success, joy, fulfilment, enriching relationships, and inner peace. 

Acorns from the mighty English
oak pictured above to the right

Whenever you taste something delicious, it is natural to want to share it with others. The creation of this text is an outgrowth of my desire to share these "Seeds" with others, including YOU, so that you can begin to cultivate your own "Tree of Life" and harvest the same precious fruit I have come to enjoy in endless quantities and qualities throughout my life.

We all begin our lives as tiny little oak trees in embryo; in other words, we all start out as acorns. Unfortunately, not all acorns become majestic oak trees; but never forget that all human beings have the potential to become such. Whether or not we rise to the full measure of our creation depends in large measure upon the choices we make in our lives.   

Since the publication of the 7 Habits in 1989, nothing has changed about the world's need for enlightened instruction on personal leadership and character development, except the need is greater now than it was then, and for two specific reasons.  

FIRST, scientific and technological advancements and developments and the advent of the Information Age and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have dramatically changed the world, making new "techniques" and "quick-fixes" more accessible and alluring than ever before. Collectively speaking, we live in an age of illusion in which vast multitudes of lonely, sequestered individuals increasingly inhabit virtual bubble worlds bearing little resemblance to the real one. 

Such developments have made it easier than ever for people to fall prey to the pernicious pitfalls of propaganda, problem avoidance, and procrastination—in conjunction with a litany of electronic illusions and allures, virtual realities, self-deception, substance abuse, and addictions of all kinds. This toxic cocktail of disinformation, diversions, and temptations is ruining our world, one individual at a time, and the postmodern "techniques" and "quick-fixes" that claim to provide seeming alternative solutions to old-fashioned hard work, self-discipline, determination, patience, and persistence are only exacerbating the problem.  

Second, 21st-century families, schools, and organizations generally misunderstand what actually needs to be taught—and how often—for children, students, and employees to become fully actualized individuals—people who consistently add value and otherwise make the world a better place by virtue of their brief habitation thereon. This is not to say that people in general don't value education; they do! In fact, education has perhaps never been more universally valued and accessible than it is in our postmodern twenty-first century world. 

1858-1919

The problem is not necessarily a lack of education. The problem is the focus of that education, which too-often glaringly lacks the all-important character and moral components. Roosevelt's quote from the previous chapter bears repeating here: To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.  

"To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

—Theodore Roosevelt

Families, schools, and organizations actually do a decent job teaching their children, students, and employees the basic knowledge and skills they need to get a job or otherwise survive in a basic sense of the word. What they mostly neglect is the emotional, social, character, and moral quotients that will largely determine one's success after they begin a job. 

Getting a job and thriving in a career are two very different things and it is no secret that many of the so-called "smartest" people among us often flounder and fail upon leaving school and entering the real world. This failure is not the result of bad grades or a low IQ, but a result of inexperience, diffidence, and a low EQ, SQ, or CQ (emotional, social, or character quotient).

The "weightier matters" of emotional intelligence and resiliency, social finesse, courage, character, and conscience are only peripherally addressed, if they are addressed at all. Worse still, many leaders and persons of influence set a poor example for their colleagues and subordinates through their own atrophied moral compass, bad habits, and poor conduct. Indeed, many power-hungry, money-grubbing leaders live rapacious lives of opulent profligacy and duplicity and then wonder why their folds are folding right before their eyes!

Geoffrey Chaucer and his famous
Canterbury Tales

The cause-and-effect relationship of this poor leadership is not rocket science. The father of English poetry [3] clearly comprehended and eloquently expounded upon this basic principle over 600 years ago when he cleverly penned:

"This fine example to his flock he gave,
That first he wrought and afterwards he taught;
Out of the gospel then that text he caught,
And this figure he added thereunto—
That, if gold rust, what shall poor iron do?
For if the priest be foul, in whom we trust,
What wonder if a layman yield to lust?
And shame it is, if priest take thought for keep,
A shitty shepherd, shepherding clean sheep.
Well ought a priest example good to give,
By his own cleanness, how his flock should live.
He never let his benefice for hire,
Leaving his flock to flounder in the mire...  [4]

Good leaders are essential in attracting and developing good followers, and both are needed to create great families, organizations, communities, and nations. But great groups are, and always will be, nothing more than a synergized conglomerate of quality individuals. To quote the great Theodore Roosevelt once again: the quality of the individual citizen is supreme.  [5]

1858-1919

"The quality of the individual citizen is supreme."

—Theodore Roosevelt

SAL exists to teach, coach, develop, mentor, inspire, and multiply QUALITY CITIZENS!

Talk to any effective and successful executive and they will tell you their single most valuable organizational asset is not tools, technology, or cash, but rather human capital—the PEOPLE. If you have great people, you can eventually overcome any ancillary issue regarding money or things. But no surplus of cash and no surfeit of holdings or resources or real estate can compensate for a dearth of character, competence, social and emotional intelligence and resiliency, and integrity. You simply cannot put a price on the value of someone who is honest, trustworthy, dependable, capable, kind, teachable, cooperative, punctual, loyal, intrinsically motivated, hardworking, and socially and emotionally mature and secure. 

Such persons are worth their weight in GOLD; and like gold, they are relatively rare. 

This book aims to make such persons less rare. We call these people SELF-ACTION LEADERS, and we aim to build a peaceful army of them and then send them out into the world to positively infect everyone they meet with the kind of character that they themselves possess and exhibit, and which all of us ought to be striving to develop and exemplify throughout our lives.    

While knowledge, skills, and techniques are important and valuable, their long-term utility depends on the character holism and SAL-capacity of individuals. This fact is true in the same sense that paper currency is only as valuable as the precious metals and/or economy that backs it up. Without such backing, it's worth no more than the paper and ink with which it is printed.  

Despite this reality, nearly everywhere you look there is a breakdown of self-awareness, self-discipline, self-restraint, and integrity. It's sad—and often leads to tragic ends. In the words of M. Scott Peck, M.D., it is "in the solitary mind and soul of the individual that the battle between good and evil [and success and failure] is waged and ultimately won or lost."  [6]

"The effort to prevent group evil—including war—must therefore be directed toward the individual. It is, of course, a process of education. And that education can be conducted most easily within the traditional existing framework of our schools. ... Children will, in my [vision], be taught that laziness and narcissism are at the very root of all human evil, and why this is so. They will learn that each individual is of sacred importance. ... And they will finally see it as each individual's responsibility to continually examine himself or herself for laziness and narcissism and then to purify themselves accordingly. They will do this in the knowledge that such personal purification is required not only for the salvation of their individual souls but also for the salvation of their world."  [7]

The good news is that no matter where a person currently finds oneself, SAL can be learned and developed. Moreover, it is not only for those labeled with "Type A" or "Red" personalities. In the words of Dr. Charles C. Manz—the father of self-leadership in academe: "Effective self-leadership can be learned ... [it] is not restricted to people we describe as 'self-starters,' 'self-directed,' 'self-motivated,' etc. ... Self-leadership approach[es] are relevant to managers and nonmanagers—that is, to anyone who works."  [8]

Parents, leaders, and educators throughout the West have largely failed their charges by putting the proverbial "cart before the horse" in the contemporary classroom. Endless training on facts, skills, techniques, and/or cultural and political ideology cannot replace the teaching and modeling of character, emotional intelligence, integrity, and prudential judgment. 

Even worse than these educational omissions, many educators and leaders fail to exemplify such attributes themselves. World renowned leadership expert James G.S. Clawson, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Leadership at the prestigious Darden School of Business Management at the University of Virginia underscored this point when he humbly acknowledged the following in an academic paper. 

"I remember when [Charles] Manz (1983) first came out with his work on self-leadership. At the time it seemed odd to me. I will admit I am a slow learner on some things. I have come to believe that one of the biggest leadership issues [throughout the world today] is the inability of people—even and especially managers and executives—to lead themselves."  [9]

That's quite a statement when you really start thinking about it.  

In Clawson's lucid line of thinking, SAL is, or at least should be, as important a topic to presidents and principals as it is to kindergarteners and new hires. We, of course, agree with him! Moreover, since trickle-down character is inevitable in organizations—as Chaucer so eloquently pointed out—the responsibility for modeling good character should weigh even more heavily on authority figures; and the higher up the command structure, the greater one's personal responsibility should be to exercise oneself circumspectly in all matters both public and private.  

Organizations obviously need to teach facts, skills, and techniques in the same way that schools need to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, science, and history, and parents need to teach children how to get dressed, tie one's shoes, and help with family chores. But if that is all they focus on, they are building mansions upon the sand.  [10]

If all parents and teachers developed SAL and good character and then passed that legacy on to their children, thereby sending them into the world with excellent work ethics and strong ethical and moral foundations, we wouldn't have such a pressing problem. But, of course, not all parents and teachers do so, and not all children hearken to their teachers and parents.

1874-1936

Even those who do enter the workforce with strong SAL foundations must continually cultivate their character and conscience to keep them sharp or rife atrophy can still occur. Thus, repetition becomes the key to the reception, recollection, and realization for even the best self-action leaders. In the pithy parlance of G.K. Chesterton, we need to be reminded more than we need to be instructed.

"We need to be reminded more than we need to be instructed."

—G.K. Chesterton

This is especially true of adult learners, which includes all of us eventually. But you must be taught something initially before you can be reminded of it, so leaders, educators, and parents must put "First Things First" [11] with regards to what they are teaching their subordinates, students, and children.

This textbook is designed to serve as comprehensive REMINDER of what we all should be striving to think about, do, and most importantly, become over the course of our lives and careers.   

Some might argue that while these points hold theoretical merit, they are practically untenable and naïve . "Sure" one might surmise: "teaching character and integrity would be nice in a perfect world where we were not bound by constant deadlines, fierce competition, and finite amounts of time, energy, and training capital and resources; but in the real world, we simply cannot afford the luxury of such training."

At Freedom Focused, our response to this rejoinder is simple, straightforward, and will never change. If a leader, educator, or parent is serious about the long-term success and viability of their employees, students, or children, they cannot afford not to provide this training, modeling, and mentoring. The greatest myth lies in the notion that you can achieve anything of lasting value while neglecting the only foundation capable of properly supporting it.  

REPETITION is the key to RECEPTION

These ideas and their accompanying principles and practices must therefore be taught early, often, and always. Unfortunately, too many educators have largely abandoned erstwhile pedagogical principles of rote learning that so able served former generations. To close the gap, there must be a measured return to learning patterns that include rote training. 

This is not to say that all educational processes should involve strict memorization and sterile data recall, but when it comes to character education in particular, there are many key truths rooted in natural law that simply must be indelibly singed into the deepest sinews of one's long-term memory if they are to be rightly understood, readily remembered, and consistently applied with the aid of a finely-tuned, morally sensitive conscience.  

The truth is that any principle (good or bad, useful or ineffectual) that is taught repeatedly will influence an employee, student, or child in significant ways. Fascist propaganda machines proved this point for evil throughout the 1930s and 40s, but the same principle can be used for good. For example, my wife used to work for a Fortune 100 company that prided itself on its stellar safety record. Why was their safety record so sterling? The answer was safety training and modeling repeated over-and-over-and-over again in all sorts of different ways and means. 

With an almost religious fervor, her immediate supervisors and other corporate leaders would continually drill the principles and practices of safe work practices into the minds and hearts of their employees. The result was both predictable and desirable: their tens of thousands of workers spread all over the world rarely reported an accident at work.

In addition, the influence of all this training seeped into my wife's personal life as well. This is particular true when it comes to safe driving practices. I know this in part because my own wayward lead foot has received many a loving rebuke from my better half over the years!  

Such rote and rigor may sound like brainwashing, and if you are teaching incorrect, nefarious, or self-serving principles, it is brainwashing. But when you are teaching correct principles while maintaining the absolute sanctity of others' agency or freedom to choose, then rote learning is simply an indispensable part of the pedagogical process. If we are to educate individuals to create scholastic and cultural mores and organizational cultures that reflect conscience-imbued SAL in action, we must teach, model, and champion these things early, often, and always. 

There is no other way!

    It is that easy in theory.

        And it is that difficult in practice.  

In the long run, character always trumps personality and technique in the same way that actions speak louder than words, and gold outlasts and outperforms paper currency. While technique and personality are important, their magnification or diminution depend on the foundational strength of the weightier matters of character, integrity, and truth-seeking and speaking.  

Mohandas Gandhi
1869-1948

It is vital to remember that one's character is not forged solely at school or at work. Thus, self-action leaders recognize the futility in having one moral standard at home and another one at school or at work. Your decisions in one life arena inevitably impact all other arenas. 

Duplicitous lives or careers never pass the test of time. Those who foolishly make the attempt discover in the end that the pursuit of two incompatible pathways—morally or otherwise—eventually bears the bitter fruit of failure and regret in both. In the inspired words of Mohandas Gandhi: You cannot do right in one department of life whilst ... occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole."  [12]

"You cannot do right in one department of life whilst occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole."

—Gandhi

In other words, all real lasting success requires the harmonious integration of all parts of your nature (spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social, and moral).  

Though many external forces influence your life's journey beyond your control, your own freely chosen thoughts, words, and actions are the driving force that shapes your life's story. These three vital variables—over which YOU have control—are the key building blocks of your future. Directing your destiny ultimately boils down to disciplining and focusing these forces in the directions you most desire to travel.

It is that simple...

    And it is that difficult and complex, all at the same time.    

It is simple because it is easy to intellectually conceptualize the point. It is hard because truly gaining control over one's thoughts, speech, actions, attitudes, and beliefs is one of the most difficult challenges any of us will ever undertake. In the words of a great religious leader: The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.

"The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul."

—David Oman McKay

But the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is undoubtedly worth the treacherous trek that leads thereto!

Despite any and all difficulty involved, the time has come to end the blame game and begin to take complete personal responsibility for everything in your life—whether your present circumstances are your fault, or not. It is time to stop abdicating your self-sovereignty to the whims of fickle fads, fashions, and facsimiles, the grievances of history, or to the mercurial desires of your own innate carnality. It is time to start reigning nobly as the ruling monarch of your own life and destiny—for your personal advantage and the benefit of those fellow beings whose lives your life will touch. 

It is my sincere hope that you will allow the principles and practices contained in this textbook to transform your life and the lives of those you lead, mentor, and teach, just as they have transformed my life. Because at the end of the day, despite any differences that may contrast our individual experiences or past lives, we are all members of the same, great, human family in possession of intrinsic worth that is not only equal, but equally great in terms of our unlimited existential potential. 

Of this I am certain. 

        What will YOU choose to do with yours?  

—Dr. JJ

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 357th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 171st consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

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Chapter 2 Notes

1).  This statement is the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Like the SAL Textbook, Dickens' most famous novel was published serially in 1859 in Dickens' own literary periodical (think 19th century blog), entitled All the Year Round. It was later republished as a novel, which has never been out of print and since become one of the best-selling books of all-time.  

2).  Thoreau, H.D. (2001). Walden and Other Writings. New York, NY: Metro Books. Page 62.  

3.  Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)

4).  Chaucer, G. From The General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales. Lines 496-508. URL: http://www.fordam.eduhalsall.source/CT-prolog-para.html

5).  Roosevelt, T. (1910). Citizenship in a Republic. Speech delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris on April 23, 1910. 

6).  Peck, M.S. (1983). People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil. New York, NY: Touchstone. Page 252-253.

7).  Ibid.

8).  Manz, C.C. (1983). Improving Performance Through Self-Leadership. National Productivity Review (pre-1986). Volume 2, Issue 3, Page 289. 

9).  Clawson, J.G.S. (2008). Leadership as Managing Energy. International Journal of Organizational Analysis. Volume 16, Issue 3. Page 175.  

10).  A phrase from a line of poetry by Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem, Upon the Sand, whose first two lines read: "All love that has not friendship for its base / Is like a mansion built upon the sand." 

11).  Covey, S.R., Merrill, A.R., and Merrill, R.A. (1994). First Things First. New York, NY: Fireside.

12).  Covey, S.R. (2004). The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. New York, NY: Free Press. Page 150.