When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred. – Thomas Jefferson

We have been partnering with Focus 3 and Tim Kight for many years. I was drawn to Tim’s R-Factor skills because many writers and speakers clearly articulate the values we aspire to model for our students, but Tim’s work provides a simple framework to actually practice those very values. The R-Factor skills, and the heuristic E + R = O, is a process by which we intentionally meet the events of each day.

Thomas Jefferson employed the first of the R-Factor skills as a politician, philosopher, and statesman. Thomas Jefferson, a leader with political enemies and opposition throughout his career of public service, knew to “press pause” before responding to the events of his time. From decisions about the revolution, to the historic battle for the presidency in 1800, the wisdom to think first, act with intentionality, and be disciplined in behavior served this Founding Father well.

While we all, including Thomas Jefferson, fall short of our aim from time to time, the practice of acting with discipline is timeless. Actions in anger, with passion and haste, will never equal the outcome obtained with skill, purpose, and reason.