Self-Action Leadership Training for EDUCATORS

For generations, educators desiring to teach LEADERSHIP,  CHARACTER, and LIFE-SKILL EDUCATION have faced the dilemma of lacking a comprehensive, cogent resource.

The purpose of this article is to introduce a new SELF-LEADERSHIP TEXTBOOK that provides a seminal solution to this dilemma.

This groundbreaking resource provides teachers, coaches, principals, superintendents, and any other educators with a goldmine of information whereby they can further prepare their students for real life and empower their future success beyond mere academic instruction.  

This new resource is called, SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP: The Key to Personal Professional, & Global Freedom, and it is changing the way educators think about leadership, character, and life-skill instruction and education generally speaking.

In the earliest days of our Republic, students' primary textbook was The Holy Bible.  The reason for this was not merely that books in general were hard to come by.  It was also because our Pilgrim Mothers and Fathers were by-and-large humble, God-fearing individuals who sought not only the knowledge to do things right in their trade, but also the courage and conviction to do the right things in their communities, homes, and personal lives as well.

Over the decades and centuries that followed, education in America became increasingly secular.  This trend was not all bad.  It did, however, carry a negative by-product—the gradual diminishment, and in some cases eradication, of principle-based leadership, character, and life-skills education.  This did not have to be the case; it was not inevitable; but nonetheless, it is what has happened.

How can educators remedy this problem, especially in light of the tremendous pressure they already face from external stakeholders (viz. State accountability measures) to "teach to the test" and meet a variety of other demands?  The answer to this question is simple, but not easy.  It will require educators to engage in deep introspection and invest an indomitable willingness to evolve and exercise transformational leadership and creativity within the confines of their own spheres of influence.  

C.S. Lewis, that venerable Christian author, once pointed out that authentic progress in any arena, including the resolution of past mistakes, can only be achieved in one way.

"We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. We have all seen this when doing arithmetic. When I have started a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and go back and start again, the faster I shall get on. There is nothing progressive about being pig headed and refusing to admit a mistake. … Going back is the quickest way on." [1]

Please do not misunderstand.  I am NOT suggesting we bring back The Holy Bible as the primary text in our nation's public schools.  I believe our Founding Fathers exercised great wisdom when they established a separation of Church and State in the public schools and governing bodies of our nation.  I am, however, stating what many educators all over the country already know to be true: that we often fail our children by providing a pedagogy entirely bereft of that special variety of instruction designed to prepare our youth with essential life-skills, empower them to become principle-centered leaders, and most importantly, promote and educate the conscience.

For any and all educators who seek a high-quality, non-denominational, secular, textbook that teaches leadership, character, good citizenship, and life-skills, look no further.  The guide you seek after has now been written and published.  It is called, Self-Action Leadership: The Key to Personal, Professional, & Global Freedom.

Click HERE to see the Self-Action Leadership textbook and read an extended SAMPLE on NOOK

Self-Action Leadership not only outlines a rich academically textured theory and model replete with wisdom from around the world and throughout the ages, it also comes garnished and seasoned with penetrating real-life anecdotes from the lives of successful leaders and educators who have "walked the talk" in their own classrooms, schools, and individual lives.

From my own classroom to elementary, middle, and high schools in the State of Georgia, teachers' and principals' own stories of success are richly highlighted in Book the Fourth—the fourth of five books within the text.

The other four sections of the book include Book the First, which heralds the importance of patriotism and attending to the civic duties that each individual holds to one's community, state, and nation.  Books the Second and Third (sections two & three) outline the Self-Action Leadership—or SAL—Theory and Model.  Finally, Book the Last (section five) provides additional insight into how to successfully implement the SAL Theory and Model into one's individual life—and then model and teach it to others.

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

After all the talk about the importance of inculcating leadership, character, and life-skill education into the minds and hearts of our children, a uniformed, comprehensive, self-leadership TEXTBOOK has finally been written to walk this talk.

If you are an educator, all you have to do now is get the book, read it, and then begin to formulate your own creative plans regarding how you can most effectively utilize the book as a resource in your own classroom or school.

In the meantime, listen to what other educators are already saying about this groundbreaking contribution to leadership and character education in America:

Dr. David Anthony in front of the Texas State Capitol in Austin

“Reading this book may be the most worthwhile thing you do this year. I hope the message of Self-Action Leadership makes its way into the minds and hearts of students, parents, and business professionals everywhere. Its presence in the literature is a service to our Country."   

David G. Anthony, Ed.D.

CEO of Raise Your Hand Texas and former Superintendent of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District – Houston, TX  – one of the Top 25 Largest School Districts in America

Click HERE to read Dr. Anthony's Afterword to Self-Action Leadership

"Any student would benefit from the principles of Self-Action Leadership that Jordan Jensen teaches. Unfortunately, too many young people today don't learn these principles in their homes. If they don't pick them up somewhere, they are at a disadvantage in life." 

Joseph N. Jensen, M.A. (Ed.D. pending)
Principal, Orem Junior High School, Orem, Utah

To read about the remarkable progress Principal Jensen has made with his own staff and students by implicitly applying SAL-oriented principles, click HERE.

“As a high school English teacher who also facilitates a Student Leadership class, I was thrilled to learn about this insightful guide to self-leadership that can be used as a resource in classes just like mine. Thank you Jordan! As an educator, it is encouraging to know there are people out there like Dr. Jensen who are working hard to support administrators, teachers, parents, and students alike. I am confident the message of Self-Action Leadership will help to provide the guidance our youth so desperately need to become effective self-leaders and productive members of society.” 

Shannon Lindholm
High School Teacher, Magnolia, Texas  

"Dr. Jensen, through his experience teaching, brings to light the importance of teaching leadership and character inside the classroom. Teachers will feel empowered to impact youth outside of prescribed curriculum through an understanding of Self-Action Leadership."

James Fraser
High School Teacher; Conroe, Texas

To buy a copy of Self-Action Leadership, click HERE.

Click HERE to view Dr. Jordan Jensen's Complete 1-hour Self-Action Leadership Seminar for FREE

Click HERE to view Dr. Jordan Jensen's groundbreaking speech entitled, A Twenty-First Century Vision of Education in America.

To sign up for our Self-Action Leadership Blog, add your e-mail address in the white "Follow By Email" box on the right hand side of this webpage.

Dr. Jordan Jensen
Master Facilitator

The opportunity is now here to bring explicit SAL training to YOUR classroom or school.  This opportunity includes the possibility of revolutionizing, or at least evolutionizing, your student body into pathways of holistic personal growth and progress that will produce quantum leaps in the long-term success of your bottom line—the extent to which your students become happy, healthy, contributing civic-minded members of society.

SAL Training is the training of the future.  It is training for the organizational soul.  It is the silver bullet to long-term success.

To read about one leader, Joe Jensen's, successful, implicit use of SAL principles and practices in leading his team to extraordinary, even outlying, results, click HERE.

If you are a Superintendent, Principal, Teacher, or Coach and are thinking about brining SAL training to your classroom, school, or district, where do you start?

Simple... just call us at 832-618-5451, or e-mail us at jordan.jensen@freedomfocused.com, and we will provide you with a free consultation to discover which SAL training would be right for you.

SAL trainings are deliverable in five different time frames.  Additional consulting services and a variety of related soft skills training options are also available upon request.

2-hour     ~   Introduction to SAL*

Half-day  ~  Abridged SAL training*

Full-day  ~   Abridged SAL training*

Two-day  ~  Abridged SAL training*   

Four-day  ~  Full SAL training* 

*All SAL trainings include a copy of Dr. Jensen's new book: Self-Action Leadership: The Key to Personal, Professional, & Global Freedom, seen below...

Notes:

[1] Lewis, C. S. (2001). Mere Christianity. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Pages 28-29.

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 classroom, school, or district. 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 Case Study: The Jason Miner Story

Having already shared Nat William's Story in a previous blog post, today I am going to share another story today of another self-action leader: Jason Miner

"Do your homework. It’s a simple message, but it is what has gotten me where I am today. I don’t just go to a job and leave it there. If you want to be really good at what you do, you have to give up some hobbies and/or free time and you’ve got to really study, because there is only so much you can learn when you are on the clock. Whether it is pursuing continuing education, taking online courses, subscribing to a blog of someone really smart in your industry, or reading books, the way to become an expert at something is to put in the time to learn. Find some time every day to just learn something. You are going to get ahead if you do a little extra homework or read a book."

– Jason Miner

In this chapter, I share the story of a young father named Jason Miner, who used Self-Action Leadership to advance his career and become very successful. With a keen eye for opportunity, and the attitude and work ethic to back it up, Miner was able to gradually write his own ticket in his workplace.

Jason lives with his wife and three children in the Houston, Texas area. He was born in a smaller community in Northern Utah, and was raised in a middle-class home.

In high school, Jason developed a love for woodworking. He learned he could be more productive if he woke up early and went to the shop before school started. He typically arrived at school by 5:45 a.m. each day throughout high school. His efforts earned him awards and the collection of professional-grade furniture that adorns his home today. He graduated from high school in 1996 and earned a vocational scholarship to a local state college, which he attended for two semesters before serving a 2-year mission in Maracaibo, Venezuela for his Church. After his missionary service, he continued his studies at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. His mantra in college was, “just get smarter, and work hard in my classes.”

After moving to Salt Lake, he got a job to pay his way through school. After proactively seeking out employment opportunities, he landed a job at Cardon Health Care. He had zero experience in healthcare, but Cardon liked the fact that he could speak Spanish, and they were willing to train.

Cardon specializes in providing financial counseling to uninsured hospital patients. As a Cardon representative, Jason would interview people who had recently been in the emergency room, talk to them about their options, and communicate with them over the phone. He worked part-time at Cardon for 25-30 hours a week while he attended school. In time, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in Spanish.

Over time, Cardon began to significantly expand their clientele. Jason worked hard, demonstrated dependability and integrity, and expressed interest in working full-time after graduation. He was given an opportunity to represent the company at a particular hospital (Cardon’s relationship with said hospital wasn’t going well at the time) his mission being to reverse Cardon’s troubled circumstances. He recalls being “really excited” about the chance to “right the ship.” 

Going to work in the hospital was challenging, but satisfying. He was on a first-name basis with many doctors and other important hospital employees. Since patients had no way of getting treatments they needed without Cardon’s help, Miner found the work to be meaningful. During his time there, he helped people get heart transplants, liver transplants, and walk again after serious accidents. There were times when he felt instrumental in saving people’s lives.

Miner enjoyed his work, and ended up supervising Cardon’s work at the hospital for about three years. In the process, he successful turned things around.

“I like getting stuff done.”
– Jason Miner

By working hard and diligently applying himself, he became an industry expert. His expertise and track record of success opened up another opportunity, this time in management. His new position had him supervising 10-20 people. It afforded him the opportunity to travel and gave him the responsibility to hire and fire employees. He excelled at his new position, and continued to attract positive attention from his supervisors. He also got a raise.

A few years later, he was promoted again, providing him with another leadership opportunity, and a salary increase. He was now running an entire office, managing 30-40 people. In addition, he was responsible for training and tasking an entire team of supervisors.

For many years, Miner’s long-term ambition was to attend law school. As his hard work and diligence continued to reap rich dividends at Cardon, however, his original goal of law school looked less and less attractive. And this is where the story takes an especially inspiring turn.

Jason had always been a hobbyist when it came to computers; he was a self-taught troubleshooter with a variety of computer issues, and had even built his own computer from scratch. His team worked on about 60 different computers, which presented a problem because the IT department was in Texas, while Jason’s office was in Utah. He increasingly got involved with the IT side of things because he could solve computer problems.

If his office got a new shipment of computers, Jason was the one who set it up. If something broke, he fixed it. When network and Wi-Fi issues cropped up, he repaired them. He did so much IT work outside normal business hours that he ended up getting quite a bit of extra pay. As word of his track record spread, members of his team started coming to him with their computer issues.

Things really got interesting when Jason started programming. He originally began dabbling in the science because twice a month, he had to complete a pay review. This was important, but tedious and time-consuming work that was well below his pay grade. It also required that he spend many hours on the weekends outside of regular work hours. So, he began to think creatively about writing a software program that would complete the pay review electronically.

He had already studied a book on Microsoft Office’s programming language (VBA). He was fascinated by VBA, macros, and scripting, so he got an even bigger book on the subject and read it. In the course of his studies, he figured out a lot of shortcuts that made his job easier. Eventually, it dawned on him that he could write an entirely new program that could do the pay review for him. He figured if he succeeded, he could get his weekends back.

After long hours spent coding, he succeeded, and cut 8-12 hours of work down to 30 minutes (25 of which he could be doing other things while the computer completed the pay review on its own). The difference in efficiency was staggering. When people around the office learned what he did, the demand for his skills increased.

Others had similar problems they were dealing with, and were excited to learn that Jason had a solution. He ended up spending all of his extra time writing code for other people. In the process, his office became far more efficient.

About this same time, Cardon needed to replace their outdated computer systems. When Jason heard the news, he was proactively vocal about his desire to participate. At every available opportunity, he put forth excellent suggestions and provided much needed input based in his hands-on experience with making IT systems better in the office. It was challenging to get his voice heard at first because he wasn’t officially part of the IT Department; but he was pleasantly persistent. Eventually, as the IT director learned the things Jason had done, word of his skill and qualifications made it to the CEO. Subsequently, the CEO personally informed the IT director that he wanted to include Jason in the discussion.

As a result, IT headquarters created a new position and told Jason that if he was willing to move to Texas, Cardon would make him the project manager of the entire system conversion. He would work with computer programmers and developers to make sure the system was correctly built and properly tested. Jason accepted the promotion, which came with yet another raise. At about this time, he was also offered another management promotion, which likely would have paid him even more money than he was being offered in Texas, but he chose the IT opportunity because his heart was in computers--not management.

Jason and his family moved to Texas in 2007 to prepare for the system-wide conversion, set to take place in August of that year. After moving to Texas, he realized the extent of gaps in his IT knowledge. So he went to work to learn. He got a bunch of books and in his spare time, he studied. He made valuable use of his study time to enhance his knowledge and improve his skills—going so far as to set up a test server in his house so he could practice coding.

“At night, after the kids were in bed, my wife would read novels, and I would read books on how to program.”
– Jason Miner

The system conversion went really well and firmly established Jason as a competent IT project manager. After the conversion was complete, he and his colleagues began tackling a long list of enhancements scheduled for the new system—with Jason in charge of the system patches and upgrades. As he continued his work, his bonuses kept getting better and better each year.

A year or so after the conversion, a falling out occurred between the two founders of the company. The director of IT ended up going with one founder, while Jason stayed with the other. The company split created the need for a new IT director. This led to Jason’s eventual promotion to director of IT for the entire company. This promotion led to another pay raise—and he’s had several more in the meantime. Over the past several years, he has gone from managing five to six people and outsourcing their tech support to managing a team of 30 with in-house programming capability.

As the Director of IT for Cardon, Jason has hired almost everyone that currently works in his department. He has also overseen the acquisition of two smaller companies, and retains several people from those company’s IT departments. At this point in his career, he is set for long-term success. For the time being—and the foreseeable future—he is happy right where he is. But should anything change, he and his family have the peace of knowing Jason can easily be hired elsewhere because he has paid the price to obtain so much knowledge and develop a valuable skill-set in a field where such knowledge and skills will always be in high demand.

“This is like my dream job.”

– Jason Miner

Jason Miner if a fine example of what it means to utilize Self-Action Leadership in a rise to the top of his field. From a middle-class kid from a small community in Utah to a poor college student with inner drive and the will to work hard to the director of an entire department of a company headquartered in a major metropolitan area, Jason has exemplified the great truth that in the long run, we each write our own story. How our individual stories turns out depends on how hard we are willing to work, and how diligent and disciplined we are willing to be.


Next Blog Post: BOOK the SECOND, Chapter 10: Universal Laws, Tues. Feb. 3, 2015

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.

Silver Linings to My Marathon Woes

I have run 13 marathons.  Nine of those marathons were actual races.  Eight of those races were Boston Marathon Qualifiers, and in every attempt, I failed to qualify for the elite Boston Race.

In a recent Blog Post, I did my best to identify whatever silver linings (life lessons) I could find in the midst of feeling very disappointed at having failed in my ultimate marathon goal I had been working on since January 2011.  

Last Saturday, in New Braunfels, Texas, I found another silver lining by recording a new personal best for the half-marathon race distance.
I also finished first in my age group (I love small town road races!  SMILE)  My time was 1 hour 32 minutes and 36 seconds (1:32.36).  I am making progress toward reaching my mid-term goal (sub 1:30), and my ultimate goal (sub 1:20).

The BEST part about the entire race was that I was able to avoid the dreaded "WALL" that almost always cuts my legs off somewhere during the second 13 miles of a full marathon.  I cannot adequately express how much more I like running half marathons than marathons.  It was wonderful beyond words to be able to finish after 13.1 miles instead of merely being half done with the race with a growing knowledge that the "WALL" is looming.  While a marathon is twice as long as a half-marathon, it often feels about 10 times harder.  

Chances are good that someday (perhaps in my 50s or 60s), I will have the time and opportunity to put in the necessary training to finally accomplish my elusive Boston Marathon goal.  In the meantime, I am genuinely enjoying the next chapter of my running career, which will not include races beyond 13 miles.  I can hardly wait to keep working and improving at shorter distances, which I have more talent in anyway.  I am having more fun and enjoying running more since my retirement from the marathon distance.  I love half-marathons!  Thank God for the silver linings in the storm clouds of life.