Self-Action Leadership for Students

What do YOU remember most from
what you learned in your school days?

Looking back on your college or preparatory education (high school and below), were there ever any textbooks you read, or assignments you completed that were so special you decided not to sell them back or throw them away after your final grade was posted?

I know I have.

As I reflect back on the 19 years I spent enrolled in formal schooling and the thousands of different individual assignments I completed, there are only a few that really stick out in my memory.  Among these more memorable academic projects, TWO stand out above the rest in importance to me.  They are also two of the only hard copy assignments from my school days that I actually saved.

The most important assignment I ever completed was my doctoral dissertation.  This assignment holds great value for me not merely because it was the longest (1,149 pages) and most time-consuming project of my academic career, but because it formed the basis of nearly everything in my new book, Self-Action Leadership: The Key to Personal, Professional, & Global Freedom.

The second most important assignment I ever completed is something I specifically wrote about in my dissertation.  It was a capstone project (in lieu of a final exam) in a leadership course I took at Brigham Young University as a college freshman in 2001.

The name of this project was a "Personal Leadership Statement."  It consisted of a 10-15 page paper whereby I was required to formally articulate vitally important things about myself, my life, and my future.  Some of these things included my personal vision, mission, values, goals, standards, etc.

Unlike most other school assignments over the years that I eventually threw away and forgot about, I held on to my Personal Leadership Statement.  More importantly, I continued to work on it even after my final grade had been posted.

Not only did I continue to work on it diligently, but I also began to flesh the concept out more fully whereby I eventually produced my own, original scholarship on the subject.  Thus was born the Freedom Focused Self-Declaration of Independence and Self-Constitution.

Click HERE and scroll toward the bottom of article to read more about writing your own Self-Declaration of Independence & Constitution.

Click HERE to watch a video of Dr. Jordan Jensen explaining the principle of writing a Self-Declaration of Independence & Constitution.

My Self-Leadership Textbook in College

 Of all the courses I took throughout my entire academic career, that leadership class I took at BYU ranked highly among my favorites.  I enjoyed it thoroughly not because I had an outstanding professor (he was okay, but not one of my favorites).  I enjoyed it because the material, aside from being very interesting to me, was, in fact, all about me.  As an agent of destiny—and all human beings are—can there be many things more fascinating and enlightening than learning about what we can individually think about, say, and do to become our best selves and maximize the potential we possess for happiness, success, and most importantly—to contribute positively and constructively to the welfare of others around us and the planet-at-large?  To me the answer to this question is a resounding no!

As such, I'll never forget how cool I thought it was when I went to the bookstore and purchased my textbook for this course because it was all about these very things!

As you can imagine, this was definitely one of the textbooks I ended up keeping for future reference.  Later, I purchased an updated edition of the same text, which I used extensively during my doctoral research and writing.  In fact, of the 400 different books, articles, and other resources I cited in my doctoral dissertation, I referenced this one textbook more than any other.

John H. Zenger, an international leadership expert and renowned author of The Extraordinary Leader, has said the following about leadership education:

"The old paradigm of separating core academic curriculum from leadership, character, and life-skill education in America's schools is gradually beginning to shift. The time is coming when classes in leadership will be equally as important as those in mathematics, biology, or English; and from a career standpoint, possibly more important."

An Updated Version of my S-L Textbook
I Cited Liberally in my Doctoral Dissertation

Zenger's views effectively mirror our own vision of the educational future of students now in school—as well as those yet unborn.  We foresee the day when students from kindergarten up through the graduate level will be as likely to be toting around textbooks, e-books, apps, and URL's containing information about Self-Action Leadership, character, and life-skills as they are in reading, writing, math, science, history, technology, etc.

Indeed, we envision a day when society will collectively recognize that it is as important to do right as it is to read fluently or to calculate correctly—and that directing one's life and career morally and ethically as guided by a highly developed conscience is even more important than being literate and numerate (as important as those things clearly are).

We predict that this growing recognition will eventually spawn a seismic cultural-educational paradigm shift where a majority of lawmakers, educators, parents, and voters alike will recognize that being a highly developed human being—existentially and morally speaking—requires the same kind of rigorous study and practice that is required to become a highly developed anything else (doctor, lawyer, plumber, builder, engineer, teacher, leader etc.).  As such, proper allocations of time, resources, and human capital will gradually be invested to avoid falling behind the rest of the world and fail to rise to the full extent of our potential as Americans.

In the spirit of this vision and movement, we enthusiastically embrace the dawning of a new age—even an AGE of AUTHENTICISM.  In support of this vision, we invite YOU to begin today to become a student of Self-Action Leadership.

How?

Simple... we have written a comprehensive textbook replete with principles, practices, and even homework assignments that facilitate your completion of the SAL Master Challenge and your subsequent receipt of Freedom Focused's distinguished diploma* and medal.  We invite you to buy and then read this book, complete the SAL Master Challenge contained therein, and then share the book and challenge with others.

Click HERE to read more about the AGE of AUTHENTICISM

Click HERE to read more about the SAL Master Challenge.

As one-by-one people accept this invitation and take on this challenge, the movement will gather increased momentum.  Over time, we will, with accelerated alacrity make the desperately needed societal shift away from the self-centered, nihilistic philosophies of postmodernism and into a bright and sunny new age of authenticity and altruism founded on the self-mastery and inner security that can only come from a holistic commitment to personal discipline and excellence.  

Click HERE to buy Dr. Jordan Jensen's book — SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP

If you are an INDIVIDUAL interested in accelerating your own Self-Action Leadership development and Existential Growth, click HERE.

If you are an EDUCATOR, click HERE to learn how you can start providing your students with an education in Self-Action Leadership to take your classroom, school, or district to the next level

If you are a BUSINESS leader, manager, or professional, click HERE to learn how you can start providing your colleagues and subordinates with an education in Self-Action Leadership for the benefit of your office interaction and bottom line.

If you are an ELECTED OFFICIAL or other high profile LEADER or ROLE MODEL, click HERE to learn how you can start promoting Self-Action Leadership to your constituents in an effort to make our nation and world the best it can possibly be.

If you are a PARENT or CAREGIVER, click HERE to learn how you can start providing an education in Self-Action Leadership to your children or dependents to increase self-reliance and encourage harmony in the home.

If you or someone you knows is struggling with MENTAL ILLNESS click HERE to learn how you can utilize Self-Action Leadership to bolster mental hygiene.

Notes:

* The SAL Master Challenge diploma is not an accredited diploma.

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

SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP is the key catalyst for initiating transformational leadership that lasts in any organization. The truth of the matter really is that simple; and the transformation of organizations through the holistic development of individuals really is that difficult—yet altogether possible for anyone willing to invest the time, effort, and sacrifice required to achieve authentic, transformational results.

Unlike any training program that has ever preceded it, Self-Action Leadership provides a single vehicle wherewith individual self-leaders can discover—and then act—upon the great truth that HOLISTIC personal development and growth spanning the mental, moral, spiritual, physical, emotional, and social elements of our individual natures is within the grasp of each one of us.

Note: Freedom Focused is a non-partisan, for-profit, educational corporation. As such, we do not endorse or embrace political figures. We do, however, comment from time-to-time on historical or political events that provide pedagogical backdrops to illuminating principles contained in the SAL Theory & Model.

Click HERE to learn more about the SAL Theory & Model.

To receive weekly articles from Freedom Focused & Dr. Jordan R. Jensen, sign up with your e-mail address in the white box on the right side of this page where it says "Follow by E-mail."

Click HERE to buy a copy of Dr. Jordan Jensen's new book, Self-Action Leadership: The Key to Personal, Professional, & Global Freedom.

Click HERE to read more about Dr. Jensen's book, Self-Action Leadership, and to review what experts in the leadership field are saying about this groundbreaking new personal development handbook.

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan R. Jensen. Click HERE to visit the Freedom Focused website.

Self-Action Leadership Training for Individuals

What if You Could Squeeze Nearly THREE Decades of Knowledge, Experience, Study, and Research into ONE Comprehensive Self-Help Book and Personal Leadership Guide?

Self-Action Leadership by Dr. Jordan Jensen

ANSWER: You'd have in YOUR hands a copy of SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP, the Premier Self-Help Guide of the 21st Century.  

This week's post introduces Self-Action Leadership training for individuals.  I am extra excited about this week's article, because writing it has taken me on a pleasantly nostalgic trip down memory lane to some of the greatest joys of my childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood.

I have always loved the printed page.  I was blessed to be born into a family that valued books—especially my father.  This love was fueled no doubt by whatever children's books my parents or older siblings read to me as a little boy.

But it seemed to me to go beyond that.  It seemed to be innate—as if my love of reading and writing and studying had been developed spiritually before I was even born—and that these proclivities had naturally accompanied me on my journey into this world as well.

As such, I felt unusually drawn to books and other written material from before I could even read.  For example, I remember a childhood neighbor friend coming over to my house one day. I was in kindergarten at the time and could not yet read myself.  She, however, was a big first grader and could read.  Enamored by her special skill I had not yet accrued myself, I admiringly directed her into our little playhouse under the stairs in our home, sat her down, took out a report of some sort that looked extra important and sophisticated (which I had retrieved from my Dad's office waste basket—my office supply shop for playing "office") and admiringly asked her to read it to me.  I don't remember what she read off of whatever it was I handed her (chances are good she couldn't read much of it) but I do remember being impressed!  I could hardly wait until the day arrived when I could finally read on my own.

Later, after I had learned to read and write myself, my perspective opened up to the wonderful world of books.  This introduction and discovery opened up a veritable Heaven on Earth to me.

First, there was my own growing collection of books (by the age of 23, I had amassed a library of over 500 volumes).  Then there was the scattered collection of books throughout my home, the mother load of which was ensconced in my Dad's personal office library, which he kindly allowed me to peruse at my leisure (including permission to read his personal journals).  Beyond that, I was introduced to school and public libraries, and the expansive University library at BYU where my Mother attended school during summer terms to finish her Bachelor's degree in between the years 1988 and 1992.

The grandest private library I had access to was in my maternal Grandmother's home.  Grandma and Grandpa Smith's library dwarfed my own father's sizable collection, and I spent some of the most cherished hours of my childhood there—alone—in the midst of those thousands of books, many of which were older and emanated that pleasant "old-book smell."  Grandma kindly allowed me to search her stacks to my heart's content.  In addition, she generously allowed me to borrow those I found to be most wonderful of all.

Upon her passing, there seemed to be a lack of clarity about how the books were going to be apportioned.  Worried that this ambiguity might stretch on for some time, I wisely secured a stack of my favorites before the moving truck arrived.  In hindsight, I should have taken more than I did.  I never saw the rest of those books again.  I heard that they initially went to a storage unit.  I do not know where they are today.

Jensen Family in 1989
I am the little boy on the bottom right

I come from a large family.  Of my six siblings, I am the youngest of five boys.  My four older brothers are all at least 8 years older than me.  Because of this salient separation in our ages, my brothers were, in many way, more like uncles or surrogate fathers to me than brothers.  This was not a bad thing because they treated me kindly and with a lot of respect, especially in light of how many typical older brothers treat their kid brother.  This tender regard for me only strengthened the near-worshipful veneration I admiringly bestowed upon my brothers.  The pedestal upon which my young eyes placed them caused me to want to know and do everything they knew and did.  This translated into many different hobbies and behaviors, the foremost of which was to take interest in the sports my brothers competed in and the books they were studying at school and church.

"Doing" my trigonometry homework in
our backyard on a warm, sunny,
Arizona afternoon.

One of my most beloved childhood practices was to borrow my brothers' textbooks to look through and then copy out of—pretending I was doing the same advanced high school homework they were.  As such, I became acquainted (at least in name) to calculus, chemistry, physics, English and American literature, trigonometry, economics, theology, etc.

One of the most satisfying single moments of my entire boyhood occurred one Friday evening after returning from a high school football game to find the books Hamlet and Othello sitting on my desk in my bedroom.  I had been begging my brothers to get them for me from their high school library (which I could not personally access).  They kindly acquiesced, and forever after viewed their lending of those two books to me (which I could hardly read and not in the least bit understand as a second grade) as a precious token of brotherly love and affection.

As I matured in both age and reading ability, I began to actually study books more seriously.  As I grew into my teen years, I discovered that I especially liked books related to personal development and self-leadership.  The seeds of this passion were sunned and watered by my reading of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People and Dr. David J. Schwartz's The Magic of Thinking Big—both outstanding self-help books of antiquity from deep into the last century, and both of which I found on the bookshelves in my own home.  This was followed by my introduction to the work of my uncle, Hyrum W. Smith as well as Stephen R. Covey, Anthony Robbins, Norman Vincent Peale, and others.  I was hooked!

Teaching action shot of Dr. Jordan Jensen from 2012

While serving a 2-year mission for my Church, I discovered that I loved to teach as much, if not more, than I loved to read and write and study.  This natural blend of pre-sown personal proclivities, wonderful opportunities to nurture those seeds, and my growing chance to apply what I was learning led me, in time, to choose a career in education, and more specifically in the fields of self-help and personal development.

Along the way, I devoured additional self-help books and found that my interest was always piqued when my coursework included literature that possessed literary self-help or philosophical value (for example, as an English major, I made the fortuitous acquaintance of writers like Donne, Franklin, Emerson, Thoreau, Frost, etc.).  My passion for such literature was borne not just out of the joy and satisfaction that study itself brought to me, but because I needed the wisdom and help these authors afforded in my quest to overcome my own weaknesses, build upon my strengths, and work through perplexing life challenges I was facing—like my battle with OCD.

Click HERE to read about Dr. Jordan Jensen's battle with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Click HERE to read Part II

One book in particular—The Greatest Secret in the World by Og Mandino—I used on a daily basis for 45 straight weeks in a religious effort to work through my OCD and other challenges I was facing at the time.  To this day, that book—filled with all of my notes of progression, setbacks, and insights along the way—serves as a sacred reminder to me the value of investing great time, energy, passion, effort, and the will to do whatever is necessary to overcome oneself to reach greater heights and states of being in the future.

Within a few years of my Mandino experiment, I had figured out that one of my missions in life was to write my own book that could help other people in a similar way that all of these other books I had read had helped, inspired, and lifted me in my own life's journey and helped me to transcend or manage my own life's obstacles.  Recognizing I had already amassed a great deal of knowledge and insight on the subject, I set to work.  In 2005, I published my first book—I Am Sovereign: The Power of Personal Leadership.  It was directed to a teenage and young adult audience.  It was not commercially successful, but it was a building block in my early career that bolstered my confidence and opened up doorways of additional professional opportunity.

Back cover of Dr. Jordan Jensen's book, Self-Action Leadership

Ten years and a lot of reading, studying, research, and life experience later, I published what I intend to be my seminal work on the subject of personal leadership.  I call the book Self-Action Leadership: The Key to Personal, Professional, & Global Freedom.  No matter how old I live to be, and no matter how many books I write during the course of my career, I hope that this one book remains my seminal work—and is never surpassed in its eventual commercial success.

Why?

Because this ONE book provides a synergistic accumulation and unique presentation of everything I have ever learned that has benefitted me in the field of personal development and self-help over the course of the last three decades; and because I believe that this one book will be more helpful to a broader swath of society than any other book I will ever write.  Any additional books I write in the future will merely be an appendage to this seminal text.

The past several weeks I have written about how Self-Action Leadership training (along with the book) can benefit corporate and business audiences as well as educational groups (i.e. schools and classrooms).  In weeks to come, I will write about how civic leaders, parents, and persons dealing with or treating mental illness can benefit from studying the material, as well as sharing the information and providing training for their constituents, dependents, and patients.  But in the last analysis, Self-Action Leadership is, was designed to be, and I hope always will be, used primarily as a personal manual—an all-in-one comprehensive self-help guide and workbook that can bless the lives of those who read it, study it, and do the homework assignments contained therein.

Speaking of the homework assignments contained therein, one of the unique and most beneficial features of the text is a personal leadership challenge that we at Freedom Focused call The Self-Action Leadership (or SAL) Master Challenge.

This challenge consists of 25 concrete exercises that invites YOU—the reader—to do more than just read the book.  It encourages you to study the material, learn new vocabulary words, begin a personal journal and complete other relevant writing assignments, set goals, engage in activities of self-discipline, and eventually to write your own Self-Declaration of Independence & Constitution where you will begin to identify your life and career vision, mission, values, standards, goals, etc.

Click HERE and scroll toward the bottom of article to read more about writing your own Self-Declaration of Independence & Constitution.

Click HERE to watch a video of Dr. Jordan Jensen explaining the principle of writing a Self-Declaration of Independence & Constitution.

Those who undertake and complete the SAL Master Challenge will receive a special diploma (non-accredited) and medal to commemorate their achievement.  Their names will also be recorded on the Freedom Focused website where they will remain as long as Freedom Focused stands as The Center for Self-Action Leadership.

The SAL Challenge is NOT an easy challenge.  You will not be able to complete it quickly—and that is the point!  After nearly 30 years of studying the subject of personal development and self-help, and more importantly, after nearly THREE decades of working tirelessly to improve myself in the process, I have acquired the expertise necessary to create a comprehensive guide that will provide you—in one volume—with all of the essential principles, practices, and other elements contingent in the process of human existential growth and development.  And the good news is you don't have to spend nearly 30 years figuring it all out because I've already done it for you.  All you have to do is get the book, read it, complete the SAL Challenge, and then forever benefit from the blessings that come from the acquisition of vital knowledge in concert with the dedicated pursuit of self-work, self-sacrifice, goal setting, and personal discipline.

Click HERE to buy Dr. Jordan Jensen's book — SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP

After you have finished reading the book and have completed the SAL Master Challenge, I invite you to email me to tell me about what you are learning and share your experiences.  I look forward to hearing from you!  You can reach me personally at jordan.jensen@freedomfocused.com

Note: This article is one of SIX articles in a special series dedicated to different AUDIENCES that Freedom Focused specifically targets with Self-Action Leadership training. We invite leaders and managers of these different audiences to click on links below to read the articles pertaining to your field or constituency.

Click HERE to access article for  BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS (Leaders, Managers, & Workers)

Click HERE to access article for  EDUCATORS  (Administrators, Teachers, & Staff)

Click HERE to access article for  STUDENTS & INDIVIDUALS

Click HERE to access article for PARENTS & FAMILIES

Click HERE to access article for ELECTED OFFICIALS, LEADERS, & ROLE MODELS

Click HERE to access article for PERSONS dealing with MENTAL ILLNESS

Self-Action Leadership  ~  The Book

SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP is the key catalyst for initiating transformational leadership that lasts in any organization. The truth of the matter really is that simple; and the transformation of organizations through the holistic development of individuals really is that difficult—yet altogether possible for anyone willing to invest the time, effort, and sacrifice required to achieve authentic, transformational results.


Unlike any training program that has ever preceded it, Self-Action Leadership provides a single vehicle wherewith individual self-leaders can discover—and then act—upon the great truth that HOLISTIC personal development and growth spanning the mental, moral, spiritual, physical, emotional, and social elements of our individual natures is within the grasp of each one of us.

Back Cover of Self-Action Leadership, the Book

Note: Freedom Focused is a non-partisan, for-profit, educational corporation.  As such, we do not endorse or embrace political figures.  We do, however, comment from time-to-time on historical or political events that provide pedagogical backdrops to illuminating principles contained in the SAL Theory & Model.

Click HERE to learn more about the SAL Theory & Model.

To receive weekly articles from Freedom Focused & Dr. Jordan R. Jensen, sign up with your e-mail address in the white box on the right side of this page where it says "Follow by E-mail."

Click HERE to buy a copy of Dr. Jordan Jensen's new book, Self-Action Leadership: The Key to Personal, Professional, & Global Freedom.

Click HERE to read more about Dr. Jensen's book, Self-Action Leadership, and to review what experts in the leadership field are saying about this groundbreaking new personal development handbook.

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan R. Jensen.  Click HERE to visit the Freedom Focused website.







  

SAL Book: My Story

In later chapters of this book, I attempt to teach SAL in part by sharing intricate details of my experiences with OCD, my misadventures with romance, and the ups and downs of my unorthodox career path. Before getting on to these chapters, I wish to preface them by providing a brief, autobiographical sketch my life’s story. This information serves as an introductory backdrop to other, more detailed stories to come, whereby I will vividly illustrate the principles of the SAL theory and model as I myself have attempted to live them.

My life, as with anyone’s life, is a story of the struggles to discipline one's response to life’s many problems, pains, perplexities, and failures. It is also a story of my growing success in meeting these challenges. This journey began as a toddler, as the following excerpt from my father’s journal illustrates:

Fri. July 10, 1981

Cute things happened this afternoon. I took Jordan with me to the bank to make an apartment deposit. Left him in the car while I went in. When I came out, he had opened the door of the car, leaned out, pulled down his britches and shorts and was proceeding to make a puddle on the asphalt. The last time he was with me at the Exxon Station I got a little upset with him for going on the seat. He did it right this time. Sure was cute. He was right proud of himself.

I was born on August 21, 1979 in Monticello, Utah—a small, rural community of about 2,000 people in the remote Four Corners area of the Western United States. I am the sixth of seven children and the youngest of five boys. My father was a high school teacher and rural renaissance man/entrepreneur. My mother was a homemaker and a successful saleswoman of a variety of products, including Avon. My family was loving and close-knit, but we had our share of parental differences and sibling squabbles. After most of my siblings had left home, my parents’ relationship deteriorated, leading to serious marital troubles and their divorce after 37 years.

From an early age, I was taught to value faith, family, community, country, and self-reliance. My father and older brothers taught me by example to work hard. I got my first paying job at age five. I earned $40 for a summers’ worth of work helping my dad and brothers build a cabin on Dad’s land. I was free to spend $20 as I wished. The other $20 went into my church mission fund. My position/title that summer was, "the fetch-it," my job being to fetch tools for my dad and brothers. 

At age seven, my family moved to Mesa, Arizona. This move to a more populated area marked a significant life transition for me. I traded in my country boy jeans’n’boots for suburban shorts and sneakers. In short, I became a “city boy." This move signaled the formal beginning of my Self-Action Leadership journey, which was initiated by my attendance at one of my Uncle Hryum’s Franklin Institute time management seminars at age seven or eight. It seems as though this seminar, and events like it, were providentially placed in my young life, as they planted important seeds that would eventually grow into my chosen career—and the writing of this book.

Following my seventh-grade year, my family moved back to Monticello. I attended Monticello High School from grades 8-11. During the summer months, I had the opportunity to work at a variety of blue-collar jobs involving grounds keeping, construction, farming, and ranching. These jobs taught me hard work, as well as how to deal with physical pain and discomfort. They also taught me the satisfaction that came from a job well done. While in high school, my main chore was to chop, stack, and replenish our wood supply for our home’s wood-burning stove. I loved my job as the family fire builder and maintenance man, and was usually reliable in attending to my chores.

In 1995, I began a two-year stint as a newspaper correspondent for the Blue Mountain Panorama, a small-town weekly serving Blanding and Monticello, Utah; my professional writing career had begun. At this same time, my academic performance largely floundered as a result of OCD, struggles with math and science, poor study habits, and a preference for athletics over academics.

I began experiencing OCD symptoms at age 10. They became increasingly severe at age 12. Unfortunately, I was not clinically diagnosed until I was 17. These intervening 4-5 years were, in many ways, hellish.

From ages 8-18, I was involved in scouting, first as a Cub Scout, and later as a Boy Scout. At age 18, I received my Eagle Scout Award. Scouting taught and reinforced many important SAL lessons I was learning at home and school, and further instilled within me the importance of consciously developing character traits such as honesty, integrity, duty, discipline, consistency, formality, obedience to authority, a strong work ethic, patriotism, and a positive attitude.

In 1997, following my junior year in high school, I moved to Spokane, Washington to live with my oldest brother and his wife for my senior year. This move was motivated by my pursuit of an athletic opportunity in a larger school and classification.

It also paved the way for me to better deal with my OCD by vacating an increasingly negative home experience that had soured in recent years due to my parent’s deteriorating relationship. I graduated from Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Washington in 1998. Following high school, I served a voluntary, two-year mission for my Church in Alberta, Canada.

In 2001, I began college at Brigham Young University as a visiting student for the spring and summer terms. BYU had rejected my application as a regular, full-time student due to poor grades and an average ACT score, so I enrolled at Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University) during fall and winter semesters. As a college student, I was never one to “let school get in the way of my education.”[1] I was not a partier (I don’t even drink alcohol), but I did seek out a variety of educational opportunities involving athletics, theatre, film, part-time work, babysitting for—and spending time with—family members, dating, and attending speeches and presentations on campus and throughout the community.

In May 2003, I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in English after going to school year-round for 27 consecutive months. The day after completing my degree, I fulfilled a personal dream to live in the American South. Enamored by Civil War history, Southern hospitality, warmer climates – including humidity--and various other romantic notions, I went forth to seek my fortunes in Atlanta, Georgia.

I spent six months in Georgia on my first go-round. I lived with my cousins and worked for them part-time in their software business. I also got a job as a retail salesman in a FranklinCovey store at a mall for about four months. In addition, I taught my first seminar on personal leadership at Lassiter High School in Marietta--a pro bono gig.

In early 2004, I returned to Utah and got a job as an Assistant to the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Leadership at my Alma Mater. During this time I began proactively developing my seminar business, and taught over 60 pro bono gigs for middle, high school, and college aged audiences.

In 2005, I founded my company—Freedom Focused, LLC—and became a full-time entrepreneur. In December of that year, I decided to move back to Georgia where I continued building my business in a bigger market. In 2006, I published my first book: I Am Sovereign: The Power of Personal Leadership--a self-leadership guide for teenagers. Although I made some encouraging progress, my leap of faith did not pan out as I had hoped. Out of money and deeply in debt, I spent 16 months doing whatever work I could find to make ends meet. Odd jobs I picked up included childcare, substitute teaching, grounds keeping, temp work, and drying cars for a car washing business. With a little help from family members and my Church, I managed to eat and keep a roof over my head while narrowly skirting bankruptcy and barely retaining possession of my car.

In 2006, I met Lina Tucker, my wife-to-be. We dated for about a year and then got engaged. We were married in 2008. I began facilitating professional seminars around the country in 2007. Lina graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

Shortly after her graduation, we moved to Houston, Texas, where Lina started work with a Fortune 100 Company in the energy industry. With the tanking economy, my contract training work dried up. To adjust, I pursued and acquired a position teaching 9th Grade English at Cypress-Ridge High School in Houston. In June 2009, I started a doctoral program in Education at Fielding Graduate University--a distance education program out of Santa Barbara, CA.

During my year at Cy-Ridge, my wife received a work transfer to St. John’s, Newfoundland Canada. In 2010, we relocated to St. John’s for two years during which time I worked on my doctoral degree and continued contract-training work in Canada.

In the spring of 2012, we returned to Houston. In the fall of 2012, I published my second book: Psalms of Life: A Poetry Collection.

In March 2013, I finished my Doctorate in education, we bought our our first house, and Lina gave birth to our first child—a delightful baby boy. In March 2015, Lina gave birth to our second child—a beautiful baby girl.

I am now 35 years old. I have moved 41 times in my life. These moves have taken me to 38 different addresses in five States and two Provinces of Canada spanning five different time zones. I have attended ten different schools. I have had 37 different positions of employment (many temporary) spanning a dozen different industries. Five of these positions were entrepreneurial-based; 31 were wage-earning positions, all of which added texture and richness to my overall education and life experiences as I strove to pursue my ultimate goal to become an international thought leader with expertise in teaching, writing, and corporate organization and leadership.

Like most people, my life has been a tale of triumph and trial, sorrow and success, anticipation, achievement, and even ecstasy mixed together with a full measure of agony, anxiety, and failure. Despite the many, deep trials I have faced, I consider my life to have been richly blessed. I was born of goodly parents into a loving family that resided in unusually peaceful parts of the world. While most of my life was not marked by financial abundance, I consider myself to be exceedingly rich in relationships, education, opportunities, memories, conscience, and an intra-personal will to self-lead. While the difficulties of OCD and other life challenges have tested me to my core, the bulwark of these riches has provided an indomitable defense that has held strong, allowing my trials to refine my skills and expand my influence.

AUTOETHNOGRAPHY AS RESEARCH METHOD

The term, "Autoethnography" is used by academics to refer to the systematic study and research of one's own life. The field of autoethnography has derived from ethnography—the study of individual groups of people—which in turn evolved out of the field of anthropology (the study of human cultures). 

In my doctoral dissertation, I conducted an autoethnographic research study whereby I carefully analyzed my life’s journey to see what I might learn about self-leadership and action research. My goal was to synthesize the data in order to create an original theory and model of self-leadership that might benefit others. The result is the SAL theory & model presented in this book.

I began collecting data for this expansive autoethnographic research project in 1987 as a young diarist over two decades before I began my doctoral work. I can, in large measure, thank my Dad for my journaling predilections. Dad began writing in a daily diary while in high school. He persisted in his journaling habit with an unusual devotion for decades thereafter. In the late 1980s, when I was just a boy, he had his journals copied and bound in matching red covers. On the spine he had his name and the year(s) emblazoned in gold lettering. These dozen or so 8” x 11” volumes, along with his growing number of Franklin Day Planner binders (where he penned his journals beginning in 1983) made an attractive addition to his office library. I received my first Franklin Day Planner in 1987 as an 8-year old second grader (see image below).

A lover of the written word from before I could even read, I was a regular patron of Dad’s home library, and quickly noticed his impressive-looking, professionally bound journals. He generously granted me permission to read them, and I forthwith began to explore his life through the pages of his voluminous diaries. These perusals provided fascinating journeys into the past where I came to know, love, and respect my father on a level that would have been impossible without his written records.

I keep many different kinds of journals, records, and lists. One of them I call my Emerson Journal, in honor of Ralph Waldo Emerson--an avid journaler and one of my literary and philosophical mentors. In my Emerson Journals, I record poetical thoughts as well as musings on philosophy, theology, religion, and Self-Action Leadership. Beginning in 2001, whenever a meaningful thought would enter my mind, I strove to pen it in my Emerson Journal.

I was amazed at the regularity of my receipt of new thoughts once I made a serious commitment to record them. Sometimes a thought would arrive late at night after I had already retired for bed, and I would feel compelled to get myself out of bed, turn on the light, grab a pen, and jot the information down. Other times inspiration would hit me while I was driving, and I’d likewise feel prompted to pull my car to the side of the road, extract my Little Black Book and pen from my pocket, and properly record whatever inspiration I had received before continuing my drive. I began carrying my pen and notebook around with me religiously, not knowing when the next gem of thought would enter my brain. Between 2002-2006, my mind was particularly flooded with thoughts, ideas, and inspiration, and my Emerson Journals grew to fill 22 “little black books” (4.5 x 3.25 inch, 160 pages).

This probably sounds as much like OCD as it does inspiration, and invariably, both forces were regular contributors to this project. I thank God for the inspiration because I believe He is the Source of it. And I thank certain OCD-related practices, which, when properly managed and directed have proven enormously helpful in the completion of any sizable project I have undertaken. In truth, I probably could not have developed the SAL theory or model, much less written this book, without some of my OCD-influenced intensity and other personal proclivities. There is always a silver lining to every life challenge. I hope this book helps you discover your own life's “silver linings,” for they are there—many and varied—if you are willing to search them out.

And now, without further ado or introduction, let's move on to Chapter 4, where you will begin your formal study of the Self-Action Leadership theory.

Next Blog Post ~ Tuesday, January 20, 2015 ~ Chapter 4: Your World


[1] A favorite saying of my mother and maternal grandfather, also attributed to Mark Twain and Benjamin Disraeli.

Marathons & Mental Illness

I recently heard a talk in Church about a runner's experience training for, and then running, a marathon.

The runner's name is Justin Kroff of Spring, Texas. He began by describing the difficult training regimen to prepare for his big day, including 20 mile runs beginning at 3:30 a.m. He also described the loneliness and isolation of those solitary runs. Indeed, training for a marathon was often a LONELY experience.




However, the day of the race proved quite different from this man's lonely training runs. As he stood at the START line of the 2013 St. George (Utah) Marathon, he described the energy, enthusiasm, and adrenaline that accompanied the 8,000 runners who were toeing the line for their much anticipated, diligently prepared-for event.

The runners lurched forward in an uncharacteristically collective effort to achieve a united, albeit individual endeavor. As the man fought his own way through those 26 miles with the support of literally thousands of his fellow runners, he realized he had not really been ALONE on all those monotonous miles and unaccompanied intervals. Thousands of other people all over the country were doing the SAME thing he was all along!


This realization, which had not become fully real for this runner until race day, made all the difference as he attempted his first 26.2. Instead of being a hellish undertaking, it became easier than some of the 20 mile runs he had taken all by himself.

This past weekend, my wife, son and I attended a conference in San Antonio sponsored by OCD Texas. At the conference, we met many individuals and family members who courageously showed up to race a metaphorical marathon against a monstrous mental disorder—Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

I could write pages about our experiences: the lights that went off in people's minds, the hearts that were touched, the friends that were made, and the tears that were shed. Many individuals who spend most of their time slogging their way up the menacing mudslides of mental illness ALONE were able to unite with fellow sufferers and their loved ones to draw from the strength from one another. It was a beautiful experience.

For those who are frightened to seek help, I repeat a quote from the famous 20th century psychiatrist, M. Scott Peck M.D.:

“You may think that [psychiatric patients] are more cowardly and frightened than most. Not so. Those who come to psychotherapy are the wisest and most courageous among us. Everyone has problems, but what they often do is to try to pretend that those problems don’t exist, or they run away from those problems, or drink them down, or ignore them in some other way. It’s only the wiser and braver among us who are willing to submit themselves to the difficult process of self-examination that happens in a psychotherapist’s office” (From Further Along the Road Less Traveled, Simon & Schuster, 1993, Chap. 3, p. 51-52).

For all those who face Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Depression, or any other mental, emotional, or personal challenge, never forget that while your battles are typically fought within the “silent chambers of your own soul,” (source) you are NOT alone. Others face similar challenges, and understand what you are going through. Even more importantly, professionals and other people who care possess the knowledge, experience, and wisdom to shepherd you through whatever adversity you are currently passing through.


However, these people typically won't just magically show up on your doorstep ready to help. You must take the first step to reach out. If you are a runner, it means showing up to run on race day. If you are struggling with mental illness—or any other personal difficulty—it means beginning to proactively research your condition or challenge, attending a conference, or yes, even asking for help from someone you can trust who can help you find the right person who can help.

Problems do not solve themselves, but in my experience they can usually either be completely solved or vastly improved over time if you are willing to pay the price in time, effort, and courage.

As I have battled my own personal challenges, I have been comforted by friends and family who show up on my race day to support me. More importantly, it never ceases to amaze me how the tender mercies of God's Grace are with me throughout my journey. We are Never Alone.

A friend of mine—Josh Rohatinsky—is a champion runner. Josh won State Championships in high school and a National Championship at the NCAA Division I Level (BYU). Josh once told me that his favorite quote about running is that "NO ONE RUNS ALONE." Whoever said that was right, and I believe Josh was both wise and successful in part because he placed his trust in that great truism.

If you are plagued by OCD, Depression, or any other life dilemma, don’t sit around suffering. If something is bothering you, now is the time to begin the healing process. But remember, the healing process almost always begins with a painful initial first step—reaching out for help.

John Wayne once remarked: "Courage is being scared to death, and saddling up anyway." Courage is not an absence of fear, but action in the face of it. As a former competitive runner myself, it was often challenging toeing the line on race day because of the fears, inadequacies, and butterflies all making my stomach turn in knots prior to the race. It could be a scary situation.


Perhaps ironically, this is one of the things I came to love most about the sport because it provided me with ongoing opportunities to face my fears and exercise courage. Unfortunately, there is only so much that other people can teach you about courage. At the end of the day, the question is: are you willing to exercise it or not?

Hope to someday see you at the finish line.

Online Resources for OCD:

Click Here

Depression:

Click Here

Self-Action Leadership

Info Here