I have met many individuals who, upon successfully defending their doctoral dissertations claimed that they did not desire to revisit their work for some time due to the immense, and in many cases traumatic experience of earning the Ph.D. Early in my own process, I recall being confused about why someone would be willing to invest so much effort and time into an undertaking of such magnitude only to place the finished copy on a shelf and walk away. Two years removed from the experience, I now can appreciate some of their feelings. I defended my dissertation on September 21, 2006. Today I opened up the document for the first time since that emotionally charged day. The process of completing the dissertation was perhaps the most difficult and humbling exercise of my life. At times I it felt like a solitary effort as I rode an emotional roller coaster up and down day after day. However, as I glanced through my acknowledgements this morning, I recall that I was not riding alone. Below please find an excerpt from my work:
A skilled archaeologist may invest his entire lifetime in pursuit of a valuable artifact. He may sacrifice his time, money, even his reputation upon even the mildest of inclinations that something of great worth lays below the sandy surface. Most of the time, his efforts promise little fortune as he uncovers those everyday, common pieces that can be found for sale at the market down the street. He dreams of the day when fortune smiles upon his work as he uncovers treasures of inestimable worth. This discovery erases all frustration, disappointments, and even that overpowering sense of defeat that used to beat him up every time he tried to sleep at night. When Dreamstealers perform their jobs, they do so with the utmost of efficiency. The victims remain haunted by the stinging words of the assassins, sometimes for several years, sometimes for their entire lives. The raw nerves that the arrows exposed leave the victim feeling helpless and hesitant to ever reveal his inner thoughts to another person ever again. Like the hopeful archaeologist, many of us long for the day when God looks down upon us from his lofty view and points us in the direction of wonderful riches. He sends Dreamstarters into our lives. What the Dreamstealer seeks to systematically dismantle, the Dreamstarter tries to reinforce in us — to point us away from our past failures, inadequacies, and other insecurities and see ourselves not as we think we are within our limited paradigm but as who we really are and will become. They help us to cling to our child-like wonder and to aspire to develop our abilities to such an extent that we may have an impact upon the world. Instead of limiting our view with words reminding us to keep our feet on the ground and engage only in limited thinking, they encourage us as Mother Robin does her young to spread our wings and give it a try.
I would like to thank the following Dreamstarters for their deep influence upon my life:
Chris Bennetts: A teacher at Monroe High School who first taught me the significance of the relationship of self-awareness to leadership effectiveness.
Joseph K. Byrd, Ph.D: A former pastor and supervisor who saw the potential in me for advanced educational training and encouraged me to proactively respond to the damaging comments made by a former guidance counselor who insisted that I was not college material.
H. Lee Cheek, Ph.D: A kindred intellectual spirit whom I joined while in graduate school in the very important battle against the immanentization of the eschaton.
David Tilley. Ed.D: A person who cared for me as a son while providing me a superb example of transformational leadership grounded in integrity.
Doug Walters, ABD: An individual whose powerful and consistent belief in my personal and professional potential granted me the focus, space, and encouragement needed to complete this very significant personal accomplishment.
Charles Paul Conn, Ph.D: It was because of his fascinating leadership practices that I passionately completed the doctorate in Organizational Leadership rather than in Philosophy. I now am truly convinced that the value of the human element within organizational life must not be underestimated.
I would also like to acknowledge the support of Dr. Marty Spiker of the University of Charleston, David Chairez of the West Virginia Center for Civic Life, and Dr. Gail Longbotham of the School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship at Regent University.
