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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."
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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 AUTHENTICISMClick
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.
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.
