The Lone Ranger Creed

(Me as a 7-year-old Lone Ranger)

When I was a young boy, I would often 'play' the Lone Ranger.  As a city boy growing up on the south-side of Chicago, imagining being a Texas Ranger in the American Old West might as well have been fantasizing myself as a space cadet in one of the farthest galaxies imaginable.  There wasn't many people carrying 'unconcealed' six-shooters in side holsters, riding horseback, or wearing cowboy hats roaming the streets of Chicago, if you know what I mean...

Still, I loved the super-hero-like character of the Lone Ranger going about doing good, fighting injustice, and making the world a better place.   With all that we've seen in society lately with leaders in every sphere of influence (church, business, sports, education, politics, etc.) failing to live up to the standards worthy of being a role model, and even participating in lawlessness at times, I thought it was time for my old friend the Lone Ranger to show up on the scene once again.

In every incarnation of the character to date, the Lone Ranger has conducted himself by a strict moral code. This code was put in place by Fran Striker at the inception of the character. Actors Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, taking their positions as role models to children very seriously, also tried their best to live by this creed.

"I believe...

That to have a friend, a man must be one.

That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.

That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.

In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.

That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.

That 'this government of the people, by the people, and for the people' shall live always.

That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.

That sooner or later...somewhere...somehow...we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.

That all things change but truth, and that truth alone, lives on forever.

In my Creator, my country, my fellow man."


Perhaps we'll see some courageous, straight-shooting men (and women) like the Lone Ranger coming across the landscape again.  Perhaps those men and women will be you.

For fun: Check out some of the classic episodes I enjoyed as a kid!

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

We all know the popular TV game show titled "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?", which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 (originally lump sum) for correctly answering 15 successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty.  


Prior to syndication, the TV show originally offered three ways to answer a tough question:

• 50:50: The computer eliminated two incorrect answers, leaving only one incorrect answer and the correct answer. 
• Ask the Audience: This lifeline was earned upon answering the tenth question. The computer replaced, at the contestant's request, one question with another of the same monetary value. 
• Phone-A-Friend: (1999–2010): Contestant could call one of up to three prearranged friends, who all had to provide their phone numbers in advance. The contestant had 30 seconds to read the question and answer choices to the friend, who then had the remaining time to offer their input to the contestant.

In life we all need life lines.  Most of us take our chances using the 50:50 approach to solving tough issues or answering tough questions in our life.  We simply narrow the choices, guest based on our wisdom and hope for the best.  This approach ultimately causes the most headaches, costs us the most money, and wastes the most time.

We could ask the audience, which most of us do too.  It's been said that one thing that will determine the person you'll become are the friends you hang around.  The power of association is a powerful thing.  However, most us ask our "peers" some of life's most important questions, like how to raise kids, finances, relationships, etc.  Sadly, many of us listen to the opinions of people that are in our same situation or worse and we live with the results of their wisdom.  Group think can be a dangerous dynamic in your destiny. For example, I've heard stats that your annual income will be within $10,000 of your five closest friends.  People that make $40K/year typically hang with folks that make about $40K/year too.  Millionaires hang with millionaires, and so on...


I think the best life line is the phone-a-friend.  The caveot I must insert here is that fact that you must raise your level of friends to use this life line.  In this case, we'll call the phone-a-friend a mentor.  Mentor relationships are often romantized and theorized, but rarely realized. This life line takes practice and intentionality.  A mentor should be someone you can run after.  A mentor should be someone who has achieved and is modeling the life you desire.  It's been said, don't follow a leader who isn't being lead.  So, if you strive to be leader worth following, you must find someone to follow in life.  When we find people we can see have made it to the next ridge, just ahead in the horizon, we can climb up to them and eventually follow them to the top.


Find a friend and phone him, even daily if needed for a season.  Ask, think about what he or she says, and then follow their lead (repeat the process as needed).

Dedication of the Warrior-Poet

The Warrior-Poet is a tradition of dedication to developing the body and the mind as one. The bushido warrior code of ancient Japan, the chivalrous knights of medievil Europe, and the ancient Greek warriors are all examples of this proud tradition.
The Warrior-Poet is a member of a leadership class who guides with wisdom and courage. They are defined by their dedication to their crafts of warfare, and intellectual study and reflection.
The Warrior-Poet learns to develop the mind and the body as one, using each to guide the other. The Warrior-Poet is also a spiritual warrior. The warrior-poet understands their true relationship to the heaven and the earth. They understand that they embody the heavenly representation to the earth, and the earthly representation to the heavens. In other words, it is up to the warrior-poet to balance the cruel realities of the earth, while living by the standards of the heavens.

Dedication of the warrior-poet:
1.  Be a chivalrous knight - Show honor and love (especially to the opposite sex)
2.  Seek wisdom as the principle thing - Proverbs teaches that wisdom is better than rubies
3.  Be courageous - practice acting in faith seeing things that "be not" as though they were
4.  Master your body - if you can master your body, you can master any temptation or trial
5.  Study and Reflect - Proverbs informs us that as a man thinketh so is he...
6.  Represent heaven on earth - live by the standards of heaven and you'll bring the manifestation of the garden of eden everywhere you go.