Friday, April 23, 2010

Charisma!

Charisma and Authenticity - Steven Pressfield says:


"I have a theory that charisma arises from authenticity. When a writer has found his voice, when a singer has discovered her style, they have power. We feel it. It draws us to them. Why? Because we want it too.  We want to be ourselves they way they are themselves. One of the reasons wild animals are so compelling is that they are entirely themselves. They can’t be otherwise." 


Endearing. Thought-provoking. Engaging. (Though, all these 'false' celebrities that one sees or hears about - the ones who are widely perceived to be charismatic but have some devious and manipulative thoughts underneath - need to be studied further) 

12 comments:

Raksha Bhat said...

Hey Nirmala,
Myself Raksha:)like this post:)
Its the charisma of self which touches people around at the end of it all,and how authentic it is can be easily judged,only a gull among the penguins can fly:) !

Nimmy said...

Hey Raksha,

Welcome here and thanks for the comment! :-) I agree with you but I guess there are a few penguins that may pretend to be gulls..but, yes, not for long. :-)

Jaideep Sobti said...

Aloha Lioness :D

I love knock-knock jokes and i thought we were going to have one... so i played along :(

What's up? and why can't a Penguin dream of soaring like a Gull, eh??

Nimmy said...

Look who's here!! :-) They decided to come out of hibernation after all. :-) Celebration time...!

What knock knock jokes? I am an ignorant little simpletonie with no knowledge whatsoever of knock knock thingies. :-) Heh.

As usual, you can be counted on to turn everything upside down and jog people's brains like never before. Which is why I wake up and get all energetic when discussing things with ya. Penguins can most certainly dream of soaring like a Gull. They must only not pretend to be a Gull with the intentions of manipulating other Penguins or Gulls. What? Eh?

Anonymous said...

"they r just themselves."
what kind of charisma or authentication does it refer to?
Charisma has a relative meaning imo.
Coz a charismatic tiger gives the sense of power, but it may not be same for a peacock (or as in ur case, a penguin or a gull).
I see it more as an individual function.
As u could say, the most charismatic penguin or gull would be selected by a female p/g but would u interpret it as authentication? As per the imitation thing, i don't beleive a penguin doesn't pretend like its better counterpart to impress others. Humans, on the other hand, have more intrests than just mating. So the concept of charisma may vary frm person to person.
And btw, i don't think being wild is just abt being in the forest.

Jaideep Sobti said...

...but if you pretend hard enough, won't you become what you pretend to be?

...and don't penguins manipulate each other (without pretending to be gulls) so they can get the catch of the day; and don't gulls manipulate each other (without pretending to be hawks) so they can get the most fish to eat?

...so a pretender may not always be a manipulator; and a manipulator is not always a pretender.

So for a penguin to pretend that it can soar or for a gull to pretend it can scuba dive (sic) is okay and does not tantamount to manipulating.

...hmmm, come to think of it, the penguin that pretends that it can soar and the gull which pretends it can scuba dive are just making an ass outta themselves. what say nims 'ol girl :?

Nimmy said...

@Saurav: Good point. Charisma is sometimes relative. A person that I find to be charismatic may not necessarily appear charismatic to another person. So, that gives us another dimension to analyze. But I there are a set of people who are 'universally' charismatic - Gandhi, Kennedy, Oprah....maybe these are the people the author is referring to.

Your example is a good one. I find wild animals to be charismatic but that feeling may not be shared by everyone around me.

Being wild = just being in the forest? Now, that's interesting...! :-)

Nimmy said...

@Jai: Well, one can pretend in order to become. But one can also pretend in order to manipulate/cheat. What?

* Absolutely. One can manipulate without pretending to be someone else. Amen. Excellent point. :-)

* A P is not always a M and Vice Versa. Agreed. No two ways about that.

* Your contention that soaring/scuba diving is not tantamount to manipulation is unarguably right.

* Your final point about these two 'fools' - well, only time will tell. Maybe not. ;-) Optimism...is the motto!

Woot. Glad to be back into one more of those fun discussions with ya. :-)

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