“The goodness of a person and of the
society he or she lives in often comes down to very simple things and words
found in the Scout Law. Every society
depends on trust and loyalty, on courtesy and kindness, on bravery and reverence. These are the values of Scouting, and these
are the values of Americans.” – President George W. Bush
I first was
exposed to Scouting like many, when I was young. My mother was a Den Mother for all four of
her sons. I loved Scouting. The camping and crafts we did were always
fun. I even remember our old Scout
Master, Mr. McDonald who was a great example to us. However, like many boys, when I got into my
teen years I left Scouting and the good things it taught.
Fast forward about forty years
or so. I had settled down, had a family
and was working at helping people succeed in their lives. I have become a Christian in 1974 and that
made the greatest change in me. In 2001
I had heart surgery that took months to recover from. During that time, while looking for
"something to do" I came across my old Scout Handbook and decided to
read it. Wow! It hit me like a brick. This stuff was good!
I believe that we all have a
purpose in life and we can succeed at that purpose when we follow the principles
of success. Success principles are like
the laws of nature, they do not change and they do not grow old and die
out. As I read the Scout Law, I realized
that here were the principles of success, listed and defined perfectly. We may change the wording depending on how we
are presenting them, but the laws of success require that we all become
trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful,
thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
I began to study how the Scout
Law and the Laws of Success worked together in helping people be their best,
love God, have good manners, discover the unknown and change the world (my
mission). When my first grandson was old
enough I got him in Cub Scouts and became a leader myself. He is now a Webelos soon to be a Boy Scout
and I am a Webelos Den leader. Still, I
love Scouting and feel it is the best thing going for training young boys to
make this world better.
This is where this blog comes
in. I am an author, trainer and life
coach and I wanted to start a blog where I can help people to succeed while
using the Scout Law. So why is it
"out of uniform"? This is a
personal blog and not sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America. I did not want to present it as if it
was. Also, it is something for everyone,
young, old, male, female, Scouters, and non-Scouters. The Scout Law works for all who apply it to
their lives.
I invite one and all to follow
this blog and you will find that the principles here are things we all can and
need to apply to our daily living. Who
can say, "I don't need to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful,
friendly...."? The principles in
the Scout Law are things that we all must learn and apply every day to have a
successful life. Those who live by these
principles are what I call success-minded people. A success-minded person is one who is aware
that success, in all areas of life, takes work and effort and they are willing
to put forth that work and effort to achieve it.
Don't think that the Laws of
Scouting are just for kids. It is
important to teach these principles to our youth so that they can grow and
apply them when they are adults.
However, we adults need to know and apply them as well. This blog is not about the Scouting program
but about the Laws that make Scouting the wonderful and impactful organization
it is.
Join me and let's make the world
better by making ourselves better. The
only way we will ever see improvement in our society is to see the people in it
change for the better. Since you cannot
change others, you have got to start with the one person you can change,
yourself. Not only will you be well on
your way to a successful life, you will love the process.
John Patrick Hickey is an author,
speaker, Life Coach and proud Scouter. To read more from John Patrick Hickey or
to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business or
group, visit our website at http://www.growthcenter.net or www.johnpatrickhickey.com.
© 2014 John
Patrick Hickey
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