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Delta Tau Delta's Mission Statement |
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When
you become a Delt, you are part of an organization
that teaches and supports individuals to live the
Delt mission: Committed to Lives of Excellence.
A mission is more than just a bunch of words: a
mission is a declaration of a future, the
place where you want to stand in all life’s
challenges and experiences. A mission is what
drives you, motivates you and keeps you focused in
life. The mission and values are not only a
reflection of the Fraternity’s history and
accomplishments; the mission and values are also the
future of the Fraternity, the purpose of the
organization. By pledging Delta Tau Delta, you will
commit to be responsible in everything you do to
ensure that your actions reflect a life of
excellence.
Defining Excellence:
Every man must determine the specific achievements
he must accomplish in order to deem his own life
"excellent." Your responsibilities include choosing
a career path, deciding what beliefs to adhere to,
what to learn and apply in life, and what actions to
take. Delta Tau Delta helps you with these
responsibilities by consistently asking one simple
question: How are your thoughts and actions
reflective of a life committed to excellence? What
is "excellence?" Think of it as the process of
continually growing and improving yourself and your
life. Excellence entails achievement and
accomplishing goals that can be measured by
constantly asking the question, "Is what I’m doing
truly reflective of a life committed to excellence?"
Your greatest responsibility as a lifelong member of
Delta Tau Delta is to define excellence in your
life, then to choose the best course of action to
make it happen. Excellence is not a relative term,
it is the standard by which you must judge what you
do. You will quickly discover that committing
yourself to a life of excellence cannot be
accomplished haphazardly. First, you need to
establish exactly what it means to be "committed" to
excellence, and "committed" to the Delt value
system. The dictionary provides a definition of the
word "commit":
To commit is
to bind or obligate, as by pledge.
To commit is
to be consigned, given over.
To commit is
to do, perform.
To commit is
to give in trust or charge.
The first two parts of the definition involve
intention; the second two involve action. Commitment
transforms promises into reality. It is the words
that speak boldly of your intentions, and the
actions that speak louder than words. Commitment is
making the time for a brother when there is none;
helping your brother and the Fraternity time and
time again, year after year. It is the stuff
character is made of, the power to change the face
of things. Making the commitment to living a life of
excellence is a binding obligation that will
enormously affect your life and that of those around
you. Having given yourself over to the Delta Tau
Delta mission in trust, you will be well on your way
to building behaviors and values that will generate
a great advantage for you in obtaining your personal
and career goals. |
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Delta Tau Delta's
Values |
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The
next part of the equation is the value system that
guides actions of Delts. Values are the roadmap and
tools you need on the journey through a life
committed to excellence. Values are guiding
principles that help you make decisions and take
action in life. You have already lived within many
sets of values in your life. Your parents, school,
community, and church promote values like respect, a
good work ethic, and honesty. To survive and thrive
in those environments required compliance with those
values. A commitment to Delta Tau Delta will place
you in another environment, one where you will play
a different and more responsible role in living your
life according to values. Delta Tau Delta is a
value-driven, private membership organization. Our
value system will help you address specific aspects
of your life; from academics to social behavior. The
Delt value system helps you make decisions and take
action. Delta Tau Delta values are guiding
principles, a lens through which to view the world.
Simply having values is not enough; the real
challenge is to truly understand and apply those
values into your everyday language, decisions, and
actions. The consummate Delt is a man centered in
his principles and naturally behaving in a way
consistent with the value system of the Fraternity.
Since its beginning Delta Tau Delta has embraced
truth, courage, faith, and power as its fundamental
principles. In addition, the Ritual will
reveal other values woven into the fabric of the
Fraternity; values like integrity, accountability,
and lifelong learning. Although a firm foundation
supports even those who are clueless of its meaning,
understanding the characteristics of the Delt values
of truth, courage, faith and power are necessary to
properly appreciate, maintain, and lead the
Fraternity’s foundation.
One
part of leading the Delta Tau Delta foundation is
truth. Truth is fundamental to any organization
built on values, but truth is particularly critical
to Delta Tau Delta because honest relationships
among members are mandatory for brotherhood. Telling
the truth to yourself and others is fundamental to
your commitment to a life of personal and career
excellence, and a cornerstone of the very survival
of the chapter. Courage is another principle that
Delts incorporate into their thoughts and actions.
Being courageous means aggressively taking on
challenges and being a leader in the face of
adversity. Courage means caring for the lives of the
people around you and understanding that sometimes
saying "no" is a necessary act of responsibility and
love for your brothers and the Fraternity as a
whole. The Fraternity itself serves as an excellent
role model, having taken on and overcome numerous
challenges in its history. As a member of Delta Tau
Delta, you will seek out and accept personal
challenges in your journey through a life of
excellence. Another fundamental value is faith.
Faith means fidelity, loyalty, and honor among men.
Faith also means knowing that the people around you
will choose to do the right thing provided they have
the necessary information and understand the
consequences of their actions. Even today faith is
absolutely necessary for our stability as a
Fraternity and for us as men. Power is another value
woven into the Fraternity’s fabric. Power is the
basic energy to initiate and sustain action;
translating intention into reality. The inherent
ability and talents of each Fraternity member are
valuable resources at your disposal. Intellectual
strength provides ideas and recognition of the
challenges you will face daily. Moral superiority
provides you the under-standing of what is right and
good in your life, and the determination to keep it.
These are the qualities that give Delts the power
and the energy to continue looking and moving
towards a great future together. The words, "truth,
courage, faith, and power," represent far more than
outlined here; the initiation ceremony provides a
greater description of their richer symbolism. The
knowledge of these four fundamental principles of
Deltism is important, as they are not only the
foundation for the Fraternity, but also keys to the
advancement of each individual member’s personal and
career goals. These four principles are also
directly connected to five important values to which
we are committed (integrity, accountability,
lifelong learning and growth, strengthening
community, and brotherhood). |
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