The Other AR



What is important to me?  Relationships, leadership, monetary, etc.

These are the notes that I have regarding our first AR entry.  Then I reread the syllabus on entry 1; three core values…

Surprisingly, my answers to these two are somewhat different, although intertwined at many points.  What is important to me; my Christian faith, my beloved family, my livelihood (continuous employment), the health of those I love, and respect.

My Core Values: (well I will cheat a bit, because they are so ingrained in me and go with three Air Force service core values.  They are Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence In All We Do… those three phrases were stolen from the A.F. the rest of the read-in on them is my take of what they mean in my life).

1.      Integrity First – If one strives to always be honest, whether it is as an academic, co-worker, father, or husband, it reaps the reward of removing barriers to good communication and often instills or strengthens good moral, ethical, and Christian behavior.  I love the Lord and Christ Jesus and while never above reproach or free of mistake or sin, I try always to live honestly as I believe I should be a man of good Christian conduct.

2.       Service Before Self – Service for and to others requires a willful desire to set your own personality, individualism, ego, and agenda aside.  This is nearly always accompanied by hardships and sacrifices the individual must endure and overcome for a larger purpose, goal, mission, or enterprise.  Therefore, service and sacrifice are often required as I recognize that the majority of my life and loves (family, professional achievements through work, participation in acts of charity, etc.) are contributions to causes bigger then myself (or my already gigantic head).

3.       Excellence In All We Do (Excellence in all I do / Hard-work ethic) – I strive to excel in anything I confront.  Excel is a highly subjective term and depends heavily on the task at hand.  As I have gotten older, I have realized that excelling sometimes is simply completing something, often can mean confronting and conquering an obstacle, or can refer to completing a task ‘above-and-beyond’ what is required.  I am impatient, so often I may have to fight my haste to act and instead wait to assemble a plan or collaborate with others how to really achieve a task or excel at a task or responsibility.

Integrity in everything and a hard-work ethic requires ownership and responsibility to be taken for all actions.  This can be much more difficult when things do not go well, but good morals, character, and ethics require taking personal responsibility (accountability).

Close to making the list:

- Attention to detail
- Flexibility with situations confronted
- Fighting the ‘I’m not going to share this experience or piece of information I know…’ (because it makes me more valuable to …) keeper-of-the-keys ideal that is all to present in commercial work-places
- and the list goes on and on…

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