123pilSome of the important elements of undertaking the path of Leadership Education are Trust and Acknowledgment.

  • Trust that the best way to inform your choices is principles
  • Trust that principles lead to desired outcomes
  • Trust that doing the right thing in this moment is enough

If trust is for the hopeful, acknowledgment is for the pragmatist.

Because as true as these “Trust” points are, at least as true is the acknowledgment that, if what we want is a life of passion and purpose, or a child with a sense of personal mission and a commitment to pay the price to prepare for and accomplish that mission, then there really is no other way.

To apply the principles that govern that type of success is the choice we can trust.

We both trust and acknowledge that the best, the most, and even all we can do is to do the right thing right now, and then do the next right thing.

We do what is ours to do, and trust the other elements of the process to work as they should.

Thomas Jefferson Education is more than just a collection of ideas.

It is a recounting of a process by which scholars such as Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, and Winston Churchill achieved excellence in individual scholarship, personal development and lifetime achievement.

While I wholeheartedly endorse this philosophy because it gives me a vision of how to accomplish our goals for our family, I do not suggest that it is what everyone wants or should want for their family.

I simply say that if you want meringue on your pie, there will be egg whites.

You may decide against meringue, it’s true. But as soon as you commit to meringue, you cannot argue on the point of egg whites.

In just this way, if we look at conveyor belt outcomes and decide that we want something different, we cannot recur to conveyor belt processes to achieve that “something different.”

[Click here to read the concerns raised by Rupert Murdoch about today’s “Failure Factories”]

No matter how familiar, comfortable or convenient conveyor belt systems or resources may be, they are a recipe for conveyor belt outcomes.

And a different outcome requires different systems, resources, and a move toward a different comfort level that is beyond our previous experience and habit.

Our history is replete with storied heroes who pioneered a new land, a new way, a new idea.

We celebrate them because we value not only what they achieved, but also the spirit that impelled them to undertake it.

And yet, the winds of yesterday will not sail the ships of today [~ Rex D. Pinegar].

If we truly revere those who stood apart from the norm and chose the hard thing so that those who followed would benefit: Let us also be pioneers.

Let us make hard choices.

Let us stand apart from mediocrity for love of our children, our individual purpose in life, and our neighbor.

Let us make choices that reflect a light on another option, on choices that others might also consider.

The challenges of our day demand leaders in every arena who truly understand that right outcomes depend on foundational principles–no matter what the issue, no matter what the options, no matter what is at stake.

Leadership Education has as its purpose to empower individuals to prepare themselves and help prepare others to make a difference in any arena, from the home front to the battle front, in education, public service, social entrepreneurship, the arts, entertainment, health care and beyond.

Please: Trust the process. Be a pioneer. Be the change.

xoxo rd