CHAPTER EIGHT Vignette Four

CHAPTER EIGHT Vignette Four: Self-Leadership in Action Introduction to Vignette Four My interest in Self-Leadership began at age seven (1987) when I got my first Franklin Day Planner, an acquisition that got me started on the pathway of learning about goal setting and values clarification. My interest in the subject has grown and been magnified over the past twenty-five years. This chapter-vignette chronicles this quarter century quest to bolster my own Self-Leadership Efficacy. The Seeds of Self-Help I began journal writing at age seven (1987) and attended my first seminars on personal development at the age of eight (1988). Specifically, these seminars were Franklin Institute time-management seminars. My father taught one of them. My uncle Hyrum Smith taught the other one. Smith (1994) is the co-founder of FranklinCovey, the author of numerous books and audio programs, and a world-renown public speaker. It was through Hyrum that my father met my mother. Hyrum and my father met while serving an LDS mission in England in the early-mid 1960s. Hyrum was my father’s missionary trainer in late 1963 when my father first arrived on the Island. They served together a second time in 1964 as co-assistants to Elder Mark E. Peterson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.1 Elder Peterson was supervising missionary efforts throughout Europe at the time. They were missionary companions a third and final time in 1965, shortly before Hyrum returned back to the U.S. It was, and still is, very unusual for 1 Next to the Prophet-President and his two councilors, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is the highest ranking governing body in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. missionaries to serve with the same companion more than once, much less more than twice. As a result of these experiences, a strong bond was forged between Hyrum and my father, and my father developed a deep admiration for his missionary colleague. Later, after returning to Utah in 1965, my father made the acquaintance of my mother through Hyrum. My parents were married in 1966. In 1983, Hyrum started a company called The Franklin Institute, which later became Franklin Quest2 (1992), and then FranklinCovey3 (1997). At age eight, I procured my first Franklin Day Planning System and received my first lessons in concepts related to values identification and clarification, goal setting, and personal planning and productivity. These events changed my life and sparked an interest in personal development and Self-Leadership that would continue relatively unabated up to the present day. I continued to use a Franklin Day Planner and/or write in personal journals to varying degrees throughout my elementary, junior high, and high school years. In 1994, at age 14, another signal event took place along the dusty roads of rural Southwestern Utah. I was a ranch hand that summer on the expansive Desert Inn (or D.I. for short) Ranch. Owned at the time by my Uncle Hyrum, the D.I. Ranch was located out in the middle of the desert about 30 minutes northwest of Gunlock, Utah, a provincial hamlet about 30 minutes northwest of St. George, Utah, which is about 2-hours northeast of Las Vegas, NV. In short, it was in the middle of nowhere. That same year, Warner Books published my uncle’s 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management, which would eventually sell more than a million 2 Franklin Quest went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1992. 3 Via a 1997 merger with Stephen R. Covey’s company, The Covey Leadership Center. copies. I had been hired to work as a ranch hand on Uncle Hyrum’s D.I. Ranch that summer with two of my brothers (two of our crew chiefs) and about 20 or so other young men. The work was tedious, dusty, and physically strenuous. Moreover, the weather was hot (often exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit) and dry. Safety was not always a top priority transportation wise as all 15-20 of us would pile into only one or two pick-up trucks that would transport us to our work site for the day. The crew chiefs and/or eldest members of the work crew usually got first dibs on the front seats. At age 14, I was the youngest member of the entire crew, so I usually rode in the back bed of the truck with the other workers. Some days, commuting to our work site was quick; other days it took much longer. One day, on one of the longer-commuting days, I decided to take a book with me to read on the way. I had brought the book from home; it was titled, The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D. (Schwartz, 1995). The book had been a gift to my family from my Grandmother Smith several Christmases earlier and had since sat unread on a bookshelf in our family home in Arizona. As my personal library4 grew over the years, I eventually annexed the book from the family bookshelf, adding it to an ever- growing self-help section in my own personal library. Whenever I would go on a road trip, I would pack books along with me. I usually packed many more than I would realistically end up reading (or even cracking) on the trip, but this habit was indicative of the close relationship I had with books. Prior to going to the D.I. Ranch for the summer, I decided which books I was going to take with me. Among them was Schwartz’s (1995) The Magic of Thinking Big. Once I started reading, I found it hard to stop, and not just 4 I loved books growing up and was an avid reader. Aware of my passion, my family members (immediate and extended) routinely gave me books for birthday and Christmas presents. I also bought (or annexed from family members) books myself. By the year 2003 (age 23), my personal library contained over 500 volumes. At one point in high school, I even had my books organized and catalogued by subject to formalize my prized possession: my personal library. because of the menial and often unpleasant work tasks that inevitably awaited us upon arriving at a work site. I enjoyed the book so much that I would sometimes read at lunchtime, and after work was over. I kept reading until I had read and marked up the entire book. The words of the book sunk deep into my mind and heart, and I began to daydream about personal leadership and success. The recognition that my days as a ranch hand were numbered motivated me. The idea that I could ultimately design my life largely according to my own desires over time if I was willing to pay the price spawned an infusion of hope in my heart for the future. When I read the words, “when you believe, your mind finds ways to do” (p. 122), I was inspired by the growing concept of my own personal capacity to lead myself toward future successes through faith, discipline, and hard work. With the flame of Self-Leadership burning even brighter than before, I began to take interest in other self-help books and/or audio and visual programs designed at bolstering Self-Leadership. Some of the more memorable material included Tony Robbins’ Unlimited Power and his world-famous audiocassettes, Personal Power.5 There was also Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking for Young People, and I’ll always cherish my memory of reading my Dad’s personal copy of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. He had purchased his copy in the mid-1960s when he was a young missionary in England, and like other books of antiquity, emanated a unique aroma. I was also introduced to material from Zig Ziglar, Kevin Trudeau, and Brian Tracy. When I was in eighth grade, my mom started collecting 5 Years later when I moved to Georgia for the first time, I went through many of his tapes again, this time they were the Unlimited Power II version. Gary Smalley’s relationship videos.6 Though it would be years before I would start looking seriously at marriage, I enjoyed watching these programs with my Mom, and learned a great deal from them. She tried over and over to get my Dad to come and watch them with her, but I was always the more willing party to such invitations. I also enjoyed audio talks on LDS Church topics. I particularly enjoyed talks by George Durrant and Emmett Smith.7 My older brother Paul shared my passion for personal development material and sent me a videotape of the famous business philosopher Jim Rohn. Later, as a direct salesman for Pre-Paid Legal, I was re-introduced to Rohn. His CD Building Your Network Marketing Company has been, to date, one of the most influential speeches I have ever listened to. In high school, I also attended a couple of Peter Lowe’s day-long-success seminars where I had the chance to hear high profile speakers such as President Gerald Ford, General Colin Powell, Karl Malone, Zig Ziglar, and others speak and teach on subjects related to personal development, self- improvement, and success. Through this extended process of association, the seeds of self-help and Self-Leadership were deeply implanted in my mind, heart, and soul. The Greatest Secret in the World: Part I “The most valuable result of all education is to make you do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not.

Load more