Personal determination defines true character

According to Merriam Webster, character is defined as:


• Attributes and features that make up or distinguish an individual
• Main or essential nature
• Moral excellence and firmness
• Position, capacity, reputation

Personal success and personal failure may easily define true friendship for each of us. By the same token, personal determination can readily define true character.

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

When we are determined and relentless in our responses and actions throughout challenging and disabling times, or during victorious and triumphant situations; we may find that our individual character is strengthened and significantly and recognizably lifted, and can help propel us to continue moving onward and upward.

Likewise, if we cower or simply quit and give up; our character, position, capacity, and reputation can undoubtedly be hard hit and suffer lasting trauma that can only be triaged by a tremendous “character boost” of some kind.

External character boosts from outside sources might provide us with temporary salve to help heal emotional, professional, academic, or relational scars.

Yet, sometimes the impact of the wounds underneath those scars can be too intense, deeply embedded, and disabling to allow us to overcome or work around them.

We may then find that we can’t move forward without some type of internal “system” of personal determination kicking into gear.

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

Educators like Mary Catherine Swanson of California applied this notion in 1980 when she created and developed the now internationally recognized and implemented AVID (“Advancement Via Individual Determination”) college-readiness curriculum for high school students having difficulty moving beyond mid-range academic hurdles.

The curriculum is driven by the thought that individuals will become determined and self-motivated enough to chart and monitor their own levels of excellence and success when the right external and internal systems are in place to get them where they want and need to be. These achieved levels of excellence and success help define our character.

When we reach the point where we are determined to internally pivot our character to high levels; it’s more likely we’ll be able to maintain the self-determination and momentum needed to embrace a strong and distinguishable character and personal sense of self.

 

Sharon M. Biggs, M.A., is a wife, mother, and 21st Century educational leader who serves as Co-Chair & President of Lifeline Foundation, Inc.  This 23-year educator is also Founder, Editor, and Chief Writer of LifelineExtensions.blog. View Sharon's other published works at http://www.examiner.com/.

Contact Sharon directly for more information: sharonbiggs@mylifelinefoundation.org

"Children are the globe's most precious commodity."
(Terence H. Biggs, Jr. ~ 2009)

Determined to make a change for good

Title: Professional SAHM & SAHD

Key Accomplishments:   Provide senior leadership in the collaborative and coordinated logistics; public relations; activities; security; medical treatment;  meal preparation; facility improvements, upgrades, and maintenance; budget development and administration; scheduling; goal-setting; daily instruction, and other varied functions as the need arises for the husband/wife and children I am happily responsible for.

Stay-At-Home-Moms & Dads (SAHMs & SAHDs) have no gaps in their work experience…

We sometimes find ourselves wishing things were different.

Wishing all towns would be more responsive to having carefully paved sidewalks so kids can walk safely around our neighborhoods. 

Wishing policy makers would grant more financial aid to our schools so they could better reach goals they set for student achievement and teacher performance. 

Wishing our schools would provide even greater opportunities for our children. 

Wishing we had more hours in the day to accomplish everything in our busy schedules.  

                                                                                                                             Photo: Copyright http://www.frederickdouglass.org/douglass_bio.html

But, sometimes instead of using all of our resources to contact people who can help start making changes; we sit around wishing and thinking about how great things would be "if only..."

Then we read about the life of determined individuals like Frederick Douglass, and we feel somewhat convicted about sitting around wishing other people would make our lives easier…our already relatively easy lives compared to the life Mr. Douglass lived.

Born in a slave cabin in February 1818, Frederick Douglass was separated from his mother as an infant and raised by his grandparents.  He was abandoned at the age of six, and at the age of eight he was sent away to live as a houseboy with the relatives of his slave master.

But, little Frederick developed a love of reading and writing, and his slave mistress began teaching him the alphabet.  When the slave master found out his wife was teaching Frederick to read, he forced her to stop.

That didn’t hinder Frederick because he was determined to learn on his own.  He would give away his food to the neighborhood boys in exchange for reading and writing lessons.

With a determined will to succeed in life, Mr. Douglass was guided by three key principles that allowed him to enjoy many significant accomplishments; among which was the role he played as one of President Abraham Lincoln’s most trusted advisors. 

We can all make a change for good by following Frederick Douglass’s three keys for success in life: 

1.       Believe in yourself.

2.       Seize every opportunity.

3.       Use the power of spoken and written language to effect positive change for yourself and for society.

Stephanie Evans
Professional SAHM

Stephanie Evans and her husband, Bill, live in New Jersey with their three daughters who are ages five, three, and one.  Stephanie has a B.S. degree in Music Education and taught Music for 11 years in the public school system.  She loves children and enjoyed being a teacher, but she loves being a SAHM even more!  Stephanie is a regular Contributing Writer for LifelineExtensions.blog.

Sharon M. Biggs, M.A., is a wife, mother, and 21st Century educational leader who serves as Co-Chair & President of Lifeline Foundation, Inc.  This 23-year educator is also Founder, Editor, and Chief Writer of LifelineExtensions.blog.  View Sharon's other published works at www.examiner.com.

Contact Sharon directly for more information:  sharonbiggs@mylifelinefoundation.org

"Children are the globe's most precious commodity."
(Terence H. Biggs, Jr. ~ 2009)

Be determined to succeed in life, regardless of where you start out ~ A Teen Girl’s Perspective

Photo: Copyright http://www.madamcjwalker.com/

During slavery, African-American women had a difficult time managing their hair because they were forced to work hard in the blazing sun; and there was no time left for them to focus on maintaining healthy hair styles.

The majority of women of color bunched their hair under rags because they had to work on plantations for long hours, and they couldn’t focus on fussing over or styling their hair.

Sarah Breedlove, an African-American woman and the free daughter of two former slaves, discovered a new formula for black hair care after researching for an entire year. “The Wonderful Hair Grower” was the first product she marketed and sold.

In 1906 Sarah Breedlove changed her name to Madam C.J. Walker, and began promoting healthy ways for women of color to grow and style their hair.

The Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company was founded, and provided work opportunities for thousands of women of color. The company paid its workers higher wages than other major companies of its time.

By 1917, Madam C.J. Walker owned the largest African-American business in America, and she quickly became the first African-American female millionaire; which was noted in the Guinness Book of Records.

From the moment Madam C.J. Walker noticed the hair loss and breakage of her own hair and that of other women of color, to the creation of her mega-company and ultimately to her death in 1919; she devoted her life to helping women of color grow and beautify their hair.

Madam C.J. Walker was determined to educate and empower women of color by teaching them simple ways to care for their otherwise neglected hair.  She was also determined to achieve personal success, and to help many others achieve success; regardless of where they all started out. 

“There is no royal, flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it for if I have accomplished anything in life, it is because I have been willing to work hard.” – Madam C.J. Walker

Danielle M. Biggs
High School Student
Trustee & Administrative Assistant ~ Lifeline Foundation, Inc.

Sharon M. Biggs, M.A., is a wife, mother, and 21st Century educational leader who serves as Co-Chair & President of Lifeline Foundation, Inc.  This 23-year educator is also Founder, Editor, and Chief Writer of LifelineExtensions.blog. View Sharon's other published works at www.examiner.com.

Contact Sharon directly for more information: sharonbiggs@mylifelinefoundation.org


"Children are the globe's most precious commodity."  (Terence H. Biggs, Jr. ~ 2009)