Post by brassmonkey on Dec 26, 2009 20:30:45 GMT -5
Recently I've been listening to a CD dealing with self improvement and building an unshakable character by the foremost business philosopher, Mr. Jim Rohn.. Sadly, Mr. Rohn died on Dec. 5 after a long battle with Pulmonary Fibrosis.. He's one of my heroes, and he'll be greatly missed. Luckily, I still have a vast library of his works to listen to over and again. In this post, much will be verbatim, but much will be my own.. All credit is given to Mr. Rohn and his legacy, as he got me thinking these thoughts and similarities. I immediately thought of Barack Obama and the tragic situation our country is in right now with Charisma at the helm, instead of character.
Anyway, the lesson I most recently listened to dealt with character and how to build an unshakable character.
Basically, Mr. Rohn compared Character to Charisma, and even though they're totally different, they are often mistaken for each other.
The word charisma is derived from the Greek word meaning, "The ability to elicit favor in other people." It's a magnetic quality of personality that people respond to, as if it were magic. Charisma is almost like a magic want that confers power over others.
But character has a very different origin. Character is derived from the Greek word meaning Chisel, or the mark left by a chisel. A chisel is used to shape a masterpiece and to strip away all the waste material from a work of art.. I chisel is useless without the hands of a skilled artist. You have to constantly chisel your character until it is just the way you want people to see it. You use the chisel to chip away all of the stuff that may get in the way-the stuff that doesn't really matter. The raw material is always there.. Everything that every happens to you, good or bad, is an opportunity to build your character.
He goes on to point out a very important distinction between character and charisma.. One thing you may have noticed about character is that it doesn't involve other people. It doesn't refer to having power over other people or getting other people to follow you or gaining favor with other people.. Character is something that you have and that you are. You could be marooned on a desert island, and your character would still be important. In fact, it would likely be very important in that situation, but charisma wouldn't do you any good at all.
Charisma requires the presence of others, while character is all about you. Character is who you are once you've chiseled and chiseled until you've gotten past all the unnecessary material to what's underneath.
A charismatic person can inspire devote and even fanatical loyalty, but then can also turn into a tragic situation when the leader is no longer available.. Like a charismatic coach-effective during the glory-years, but when he leave the organization there is a sense of abandonment, and the team may never achieve anything like its prior success. It's a trait of character that makes a person resist making him or herself the indispensable heart and soul of an organization.
Charismatic people have to keep pulling rabbits out of the hat. The magic of their presence has to keep expressing itself, or people might start wondering where it went.. I think we're seeing this very clearly with Barack Obama right now.. He made promise after promise in his s-hissing speeches, but has accomplished none of his promises to date.. The luster is starting to fade on the polished turd, and people are starting to see him as just the turd.. You can spit-shine a turd all you want, but underneath all that gleam, it's still just a turd..
During the 2nd World War, Dwight Eisenhower was picked to command the Allied Forces in Europe, not because he was an exiciting leader with a sense of high drama, but precisely because he wasn't. There were plenty of charismatic people around, such as Churchill, Montgomery, de Gaulle, or Patton. What was needed was somebody with toughness, stamina and the ability to manage people.
Just before the Normandy invasion in 1944, Eisenhower met with a group of officers who would be going into battle. He stretched out a piece of string on a table and pulled it a few inches with his finger.. "The army is like this piece of string, " he said.. 'If you try to push it from behind, it just tangles and doubles back on itself.. Soldiers have to be led from the front, not pushed from behind." Eisenhower may not have been colorful, but he could definitely get his point across in a way that anyone could understand. He had character in the true sense.
One of the greatest pitfalls of a charismatic leader comes straight from his or her ability to inspire love and devotion. In order to bask in the warm glow of a leader's approval, people may become reluctant to voice disagreement. There are people who become isolate because subordinates are afraid of them. But the same isolation can occur as the result of misplaced affection. People of character are usually well-loved by everyone around them, but they make it clear that their own first love is for the truth, even if it hurts! Character and charisma are topics that have been defined and debated for thousands of years, and I want to close this discussion with two historical personalities..
Alexander the Great was undoubtedly the most charismatic person who every lived.. He lived only to the age of 33, but he personally led his armies into one victorious battle after another.. First in Greece, then Persia, then Egypt, then finally, India. It wasn't always easy, however.. Alexander's willingness to put himself in danger, his gift of oratory and his skill as a military tactician inspired fanatical loyalty from his troops. But even they grew weary after years of constant warfare.. More than once they threatened to mutiny and return to Greece, but until they reached the malaria-ridden jungles of India, Alexander was always able to rally them for one more battle.. He believe that he was a God and that his wars of conquest demonstrated his divine powers to the rest of the world..
When he died in the ancient city of Babylon, his body was transported to Egypt in a golden hearse drawn by scores of horses, yet no one worships Alexander today... No one is impressed by all the cities he named after himself or by the city he named after his horse.... Or by the palace he built and filled with huge pieces of furniture so that people would think he was a giant.. . In fact, Alexander's influence began to evaporate soon after his death... The remains of his empire were fought over by his generals, and new conquerors soon took his place..
Three-hundred years after Alexander, Jesus Christ began to preach... Instead of an army, he had 12 men.. Others tried to say he was a god, but he never said so himself.. He didn't own a horse.. He never founded a city, and when he died, there was no golden hearse... Yet the force of his character has endured and grown... while the most charismatic leader who ever lived is of little interest except to historians....
Because character is what's left after charisma is gone, and I think this is the situation Barack Obama and the ignorant American voters find themselves in today... Barack is an empty suit! He absolutely doesn't represent America and American values...
Anyway, the lesson I most recently listened to dealt with character and how to build an unshakable character.
Basically, Mr. Rohn compared Character to Charisma, and even though they're totally different, they are often mistaken for each other.
The word charisma is derived from the Greek word meaning, "The ability to elicit favor in other people." It's a magnetic quality of personality that people respond to, as if it were magic. Charisma is almost like a magic want that confers power over others.
But character has a very different origin. Character is derived from the Greek word meaning Chisel, or the mark left by a chisel. A chisel is used to shape a masterpiece and to strip away all the waste material from a work of art.. I chisel is useless without the hands of a skilled artist. You have to constantly chisel your character until it is just the way you want people to see it. You use the chisel to chip away all of the stuff that may get in the way-the stuff that doesn't really matter. The raw material is always there.. Everything that every happens to you, good or bad, is an opportunity to build your character.
He goes on to point out a very important distinction between character and charisma.. One thing you may have noticed about character is that it doesn't involve other people. It doesn't refer to having power over other people or getting other people to follow you or gaining favor with other people.. Character is something that you have and that you are. You could be marooned on a desert island, and your character would still be important. In fact, it would likely be very important in that situation, but charisma wouldn't do you any good at all.
Charisma requires the presence of others, while character is all about you. Character is who you are once you've chiseled and chiseled until you've gotten past all the unnecessary material to what's underneath.
A charismatic person can inspire devote and even fanatical loyalty, but then can also turn into a tragic situation when the leader is no longer available.. Like a charismatic coach-effective during the glory-years, but when he leave the organization there is a sense of abandonment, and the team may never achieve anything like its prior success. It's a trait of character that makes a person resist making him or herself the indispensable heart and soul of an organization.
Charismatic people have to keep pulling rabbits out of the hat. The magic of their presence has to keep expressing itself, or people might start wondering where it went.. I think we're seeing this very clearly with Barack Obama right now.. He made promise after promise in his s-hissing speeches, but has accomplished none of his promises to date.. The luster is starting to fade on the polished turd, and people are starting to see him as just the turd.. You can spit-shine a turd all you want, but underneath all that gleam, it's still just a turd..
During the 2nd World War, Dwight Eisenhower was picked to command the Allied Forces in Europe, not because he was an exiciting leader with a sense of high drama, but precisely because he wasn't. There were plenty of charismatic people around, such as Churchill, Montgomery, de Gaulle, or Patton. What was needed was somebody with toughness, stamina and the ability to manage people.
Just before the Normandy invasion in 1944, Eisenhower met with a group of officers who would be going into battle. He stretched out a piece of string on a table and pulled it a few inches with his finger.. "The army is like this piece of string, " he said.. 'If you try to push it from behind, it just tangles and doubles back on itself.. Soldiers have to be led from the front, not pushed from behind." Eisenhower may not have been colorful, but he could definitely get his point across in a way that anyone could understand. He had character in the true sense.
One of the greatest pitfalls of a charismatic leader comes straight from his or her ability to inspire love and devotion. In order to bask in the warm glow of a leader's approval, people may become reluctant to voice disagreement. There are people who become isolate because subordinates are afraid of them. But the same isolation can occur as the result of misplaced affection. People of character are usually well-loved by everyone around them, but they make it clear that their own first love is for the truth, even if it hurts! Character and charisma are topics that have been defined and debated for thousands of years, and I want to close this discussion with two historical personalities..
Alexander the Great was undoubtedly the most charismatic person who every lived.. He lived only to the age of 33, but he personally led his armies into one victorious battle after another.. First in Greece, then Persia, then Egypt, then finally, India. It wasn't always easy, however.. Alexander's willingness to put himself in danger, his gift of oratory and his skill as a military tactician inspired fanatical loyalty from his troops. But even they grew weary after years of constant warfare.. More than once they threatened to mutiny and return to Greece, but until they reached the malaria-ridden jungles of India, Alexander was always able to rally them for one more battle.. He believe that he was a God and that his wars of conquest demonstrated his divine powers to the rest of the world..
When he died in the ancient city of Babylon, his body was transported to Egypt in a golden hearse drawn by scores of horses, yet no one worships Alexander today... No one is impressed by all the cities he named after himself or by the city he named after his horse.... Or by the palace he built and filled with huge pieces of furniture so that people would think he was a giant.. . In fact, Alexander's influence began to evaporate soon after his death... The remains of his empire were fought over by his generals, and new conquerors soon took his place..
Three-hundred years after Alexander, Jesus Christ began to preach... Instead of an army, he had 12 men.. Others tried to say he was a god, but he never said so himself.. He didn't own a horse.. He never founded a city, and when he died, there was no golden hearse... Yet the force of his character has endured and grown... while the most charismatic leader who ever lived is of little interest except to historians....
Because character is what's left after charisma is gone, and I think this is the situation Barack Obama and the ignorant American voters find themselves in today... Barack is an empty suit! He absolutely doesn't represent America and American values...
