A book by Scott F. Peterson
Defined by Actions
Refine our values through action. Because actions define us — and it does not happen by chance.
Paperback and ebook on Amazon · thirteen values, traits and habits · includes a personal evaluation tool
A book by Scott F. Peterson
Refine our values through action. Because actions define us — and it does not happen by chance.
Paperback and ebook on Amazon · thirteen values, traits and habits · includes a personal evaluation tool
The idea
Each of us becomes who we are because of influences and experiences that begin in our early years and keep changing us, year after year. We do not choose most of them. We do choose what we do next.
That is the argument of this book. Values are not opinions we hold; they are habits we practice until they become character. The stories in these pages help us remember our own experiences — the ones that quietly defined who we are, why we are, and where there is still room to grow.
Defined by Actions reviews thirteen key values, traits and habits we all carry to one degree or another, and gives the reader a way to take honest stock of each one.
Inside the book
A working review of thirteen values, traits and habits — the ones every person carries in some measure, and the ones most often named when we describe someone we admire.
Scott's own experiences, written plainly. They are not there to impress. They are there to shake loose the reader's own memory of the moments that shaped them.
A very personal evaluation tool, built into the book, that gives you a foundation to measure where each value actually stands in your life today — and what to do about it.
In the author's words
"Life's learning comes to us through the circumstances we experience, the mistakes we make, and the good choices we make. This learning results in outcomes of lifelong lessons."
Scott F. Peterson
Several years ago a church leader suggested Scott write down the observations and experiences that had changed his life from what it was to what it is now. He did. Writing it helped — but the greater help came in seeing, on the page, how much of the change traced back to choices he had made rather than circumstances he had been handed.
That is what he hopes the book does for the person holding it: not deliver his epiphanies, but make room for theirs.
The premise, in four lines
"These pages will remind us that actions define us — but it doesn't happen by chance."
From the book"Each of us becomes who we are because of influences and experiences that begin in our early years."
From the book"There are circumstances in every person's life that create, direct or guide each of us to act."
Scott F. Peterson"The very personal evaluation tool in these pages provides a foundation upon which we can grow."
From the bookWho it is for
The author
Scott has been a student of personal behavior most of his life. He has come to understand that there are circumstances in every person's life that create, direct or guide each of us to act in the many different ways that define us.
Scott grew up in less than normal family situations. He did not even realize how unusual it was until he went to college, served an LDS mission in Central America, and then returned to marry Marsha, his eternal sweetheart. Once he saw the family situation Marsha grew up within, he deemed her young life to be near utopia.
Several years ago, a church leader visited with Scott and suggested he pen some of his observations and the experiences that helped him change his life from what was to what is now. This book is that writing.
Alongside his writing, Scott has spent three decades in business — today in franchise development and AI visibility, helping owners grow what they have built. His second book, When Words Wake Us, collects the quotes and scripture behind these same values.
Beyond the book
The thesis of this book is how he spends his working days: actions, repeated deliberately, build something worth leaving behind — in a family, and in a business.
When a customer asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI who to call in your town, someone gets named. Run Scott's free four-minute check and find out whether it is you.
Run the free checkScott works with people looking to own a franchise, and with owners ready to turn one proven location into a system other people can run. Start with a conversation, not a pitch.
Talk to ScottScott speaks to teams, congregations, classes and leadership groups on values, responsibility and legacy — and can arrange bulk copies for your group or study class.
Ask about a talkGet the book
Both editions of Defined by Actions are published through Amazon KDP. Read it with a pen — the evaluation works better that way.
Prefer to talk to a person?
Call or text Scott at 801-717-5200
Email scott@fransurge.com
Scott's companion book, When Words Wake Us, collects the quotes and scripture behind these values.
Questions about the book, a bulk order, a talk for your group, or one of the businesses above — this reaches him directly.
Questions
It is written by a man of faith and does not hide it — Scott writes from a Latter-day Saint background, and faith shows up in the stories. The thirteen values themselves are human ones: the traits any of us would want named at our funeral. Readers of any background, or none, can work the evaluation.
A personal assessment built into the book that gives you a foundation for measuring where each of the thirteen values actually stands in your life, so growth has a starting line rather than a good intention. It is meant to be worked, revisited, and worked again.
It is a short read by design and a long one by practice. Most people move a chapter at a time, sit with the story, and then do that value's evaluation before going on.
Defined by Actions is about the values themselves and how to grow them. When Words Wake Us is the companion collection — the quotes, scripture and original thoughts that shaped those same values, each with a personal reflection.
Yes. Use the form above or call Scott at 801-717-5200 with how many you need and when. He can also join a class or group discussion by phone or video.
Yes — teams, congregations, leadership groups and classes, on values, responsibility, character and legacy. Mention your group, the date and roughly how many people in the form above.