The Legacy of Personal Actions

[Adam's Apple]

Don't know if this is the right forum for this post. It deals with lifestyle choices so that's why I put it here. If it belongs somewhere else, feel free to move it.

Generational Discipline
By Michael Janke

In today’s fast-paced world of technology, stress, and ever-changing business, people are in such a hurry to get somewhere that they forget what they are leaving behind. If you stop and think about it, every word, every action, and everything we do throughout the day leaves an impression on the people around us. Whether it’s our co-workers, family, or friends that we interact with, our commitment to personal discipline is the foundation of our perceived character.

Although we might not realize it, each day we leave an indelible impression of our personal self-worth, beliefs, work ethic, and character with every person we come in contact with. Over a period of days, weeks, and years these little impressions begin to build a picture or "advertisement" of our character for others to see. It is human nature to make mistakes, but it is also human nature to overlook the legacy of daily impressions we leave behind.

Generational discipline is the legacy that each of us leaves behind for our friends, spouses, and children to remember us by. It is also the legacy of our work ethic that our co-workers, employers, and customers remember us by. Every day that we show up to work, interact, and perform a task, we are building our own "advertisement" for others to see. Small things that we do might not seem like a big deal at the time, but over the course of our careers they amount to nothing less than our character image. Words like teamplayer, selflessness, commitment, and integrity are used to describe a person that focuses on his or her daily performance.

Around 40 years ago, Yale University conducted an extensive seven-year study on how a persons actions in life effects the lives of his or her children. This study was focused around the lives of two men: Max Jukes and Jonathan Edwards. Max Jukes was an Atheist that believed in the abolition of laws and rules. Mr. Jukes formed an organization called the Freedom Movement that preached free sex, no laws, no formal education and no responsibilities. Jonathan Edwards was known by all as the "disciplinarian". Not because he disciplined his children harshly, but because he was a self-disciplined man. He became a preacher that believed in leading by example. He authored two books on the subjects of physical fitness and kindness. Mr. Edwards later became involved in teaching people to be responsible for their daily actions. Both of these men were chosen for their diverse beliefs, but also because they both fathered 13 children. Here are the legacies they left behind:

MAX JUKES
1026 descendants
300 convicts
27 murderers
190 prostitutes
509 alcoholics & drug addicts

JONATHON EDWARDS
929 descendants
430 ministers
314 war veterans
75 authors
86 college professors
13 university presidents
7 congressmen
3 governors
1 Vice-President of the United States

Throughout my travels as a professional speaker, I am constantly asked the question of "what effect does self-discipline have on my life?" Sure, becoming disciplined will change your life for the better, but real results are seen in the legacy we leave behind. When we begin to use self-discipline to control our emotional highs and lows, our appearance, our work ethic, and our commitment to physical exercise, we are doing much more than improving our own lives. Our ability to begin focusing on our daily performance is directly proportional to the success our generations will experience. Today is not about you, your job, your bank account, or even your own personal satisfaction. Today is about the legacy you leave behind.

Take the time to slow down and examine every aspect of your actions, words, and thoughts throughout the day. Make it a priority to exhibit the trait of self-discipline. Begin focusing on the "advertisement" that you are showing your co-workers, friends, and family. The ability to control your life through the power of self-discipline, is not only the secret to a lifetime of success, but the determining factor of the legacy you leave behind. The legacy of self-discipline.

http://self-discipline.8m.com/generational_discipline.htm

 

[AllieBaba]

You know posting true stuff like that just makes the lefties mad at us....

 

[Larkinn]

You know posting true stuff like that just makes the lefties mad at us....

True stuff?

http://rfrick.info/jukes.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jukes_family

You base what you think is true on whether it jives with your preconceived notions or not.

 

[Bern80]

True stuff?

http://rfrick.info/jukes.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jukes_family

You base what you think is true on whether it jives with your preconceived notions or not.

Yeah no truth at all to the notion that a society of self-disciplined people is better then, say, one that encourages dependency.

 

[Larkinn]

Yeah no truth at all to the notion that a society of self-disciplined people is better then, say, one that encourages dependency.

If its so true, why is the Christian right making shit like this up?

 

[Mr.Conley]

Yeah no truth at all to the notion that a society of self-disciplined people is better then, say, one that encourages dependency.

This bit at the end of the first link seems somewhat pertinent:

"If you are planning on fabricating a detail of a story or reporting a story you know not to be true, remember that Jonathan Edwards would not have done that."