Mission Statement

My mission is to do everything that I do out of love for God and love for my fellow man, and do it to the best of my ability.  My mission is to keep faith with my friends, family, and acquaintances, and to be there to help a fellow human being if at all possible.  My family comes before all but God, and my duty to them is the most sacred duty I have.  I believe in altruism, and heroism and valor, even if unmarked, are never wasted.  Gentility towards the gentle and ungentle alike is always called for.  To everyone who I know, be trustworthy and understanding, and most importantly be there for them.  Sophistication and gallantry are the hallmarks of a gentleman, and a Heights man.

 

To fulfill this mission:

I view every person through their own eyes, and see where they’re coming from, without passing judgment or giving advice unless asked.

I give of myself and my possessions to those who need me: family, friends, or acquaintances.

I set an example for those around me without being pretentious.  I live my life loving others and try to show others to do the same.

I reach out to everyone around me, and try to leave the world a little better than I found it.

 

 

            My roles in which I work to accomplish this mission are

Student: My studies at this time are my priority and life, and as such take precedence over the other roles.

 

ROTC Cadet: My studies as an ROTC cadet are a foundation to build my future Army career on, and as such also take on a huge part of my life, taking my studies very seriously in an attempt to better my leadership abilities.

 

Brother:  My siblings can come to me with anything going on in their life and I will do everything in my power to help them however I can, without passing judgment.

 

Friend: My friends are like family, in everything except blood, and I would sacrifice and die for them as soon as for my family.

 

Son:  My parents have given me so much, I want to make them proud of me and show them that I have used what they have given me to the best of my ability.

 

Employee:  My boss will come to me when he needs something done efficiently and well, my coworkers will come to me for help, and I will endeavor to make myself invaluable to whatever organization I work for.

      

Think Win/Win

This Chapter is all about the Win/Win situation, obviously.  In every walk of life, you have the opportunity to take advantage or be taken advantage of, and the point of this chapter is that you should do neither.  You want to be able to present a situation where both sides genuinely come out on top, and if you can't reach that point, then you should walk away.  Win/Win or No Deal, like the musical mother of that family of musical children.  Having the Win/Win or No Deal takes the pressure off of everyone so no one feels like they have their back to wall and would have to cut their losses and be taken advantage of. They can walk away and be no worse off, or they can take a Win/WIn deal, and Win.  To accomplish this however you need to genuinely want the other person to win as well as yourself, and that takes genuine mature independence, and at least the beginnings of interdependence.

Paradigms of Interdependence

First and foremost, everything from here on out in the book, Covey makes clear, can only come from true independence.  Private Victory precedes Public victory.  

The first example Covey gives, of the man who goes away on the trips and always gets grilled by his wife, is a powerful example of how this works.  When Covey says "You can't talk your way out of problems you behave yourself into." He's saying actions speak louder than words.  Character is the most important thing, eloquence can only get you so far.  He even goes so far as to say that there is no quick fix for character, you have to take it a step at a time.  That personal integrity is what I feel is the most important thing to keep in mind going into this latter half of the book, as he pushes this integrity as a critical part of independence and of the maturity that comes with it.