Executive presence?

"He had that supreme elegance of being, quite simply, what he was."

-C. Albaret describing Marcel Proust

Style, chic, presence, sex appeal: whatever you call it, you can discuss it here.
Costi
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Thu Sep 22, 2011 6:59 am

I think there is something else that is important about such a course. First off, it gives one an opportunity to realize that one is interested in the subject if considering a course – that means being on the good way already. Second, many have to go through such an experience to understand (with a reasonable cost, most times, compared to the gain) that THIS is NOT the way; and that is very important in unblocking the true inner path. Many live with the conviction that presence can be purchased, but they just don’t have the money...
Would you laugh if someone offered you a course in flying? – not with an airplane, a parachute or other kind of equipment: just flying!
Oh, but we CAN fly! If we understand how…

First you gather your shoulders
then you rise on your tiptoes
you close your eyes
you refuse to listen.
You say to yourself:
now I shall fly.
Then you say:
I am flying
And this is flying.

You gather your shoulders
as the brooks gather in one river.
You close your eyelids
as the clouds lid the plains.
You rise on your tiptoes
as the pyramid rises on sand.
You refuse to listen,
the hearing of a single century,
and then you say to yourself:
now I shall fly
from birth to death.
And then you say:
I am flying
And this is time.

You gather your rivers
as you gather your shoulders
you rise on the bleating of the goats
Say: Nevermore.
And then:
flap
you are fluttering somebody else’s wings;
and then
you are him,
and he
is ever somebody else.

(Nichita Stanescu, The Flying Lesson)

This lesson is worth a fortune, yet it is free... Like presence :) But those who cannot attach value to anything free, should be made to pay for it dearly. If they are wise, they will get over the disappointment and realize the money was well spent, turning their eye inwards, where they may find what money could not buy. If they are fools, they will try to fly off the top of their houses, convinced that their money bought them a pair of wings - so much the better! :D

But try a free lesson first!
Gather your shoulders...
Rise on your tiptoes...
And - most importantly - REFUSE to listen!
davidhuh
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Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:42 am

Dear Costi,

this is priceless :D - I will frame it!

Many thanks, david
Gruto

Thu Sep 22, 2011 5:52 pm

Why shouldn't it be possible to learn a few presence tricks? I know, it is all inside, but sometimes you need help to find yourself like you need to study pictures from Apparel Arts and of The Duke Windsor to build your own wardrobe. I believe methods from acting could be useful. My own experience is that practising acting can activate parts of your expression potential that you didn't know existed beforehand.
NJS

Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:12 pm

lgcintra wrote:NJS,

If you allow me to make a slight amendment to your quotation:

"Too many people are promoted beyond the level of their own incompetence." :wink:

Cheers,
Luis
I'll second that! I've certainly seen it happen and it often happens because incompetent people try to compensate
with schmoozing, charm school 'charm'; the ready use of jargon, and supposedly 'advanced' management techniques. By the time that they are identified for what they are, they are being certified as entitled to retire on grounds of ill health, on account of depression because they have mishandled their positions to such an extent that they have given themselves nervous breakdowns, exacerbated by the chaos that they have created around them! Paying them off early, with enhanced pensions that will have to be funded by the efforts of others, is a real part of the reason for the UK's occupational pension shortfalls.
NJS
Costi
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Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:12 pm

Gruto, you may try some tricks if you wish, but don't fly towards the sun with stuck-on wings; there is documented experience against it since times imemorial ;) For that, you need to GROW your own pair.
Adopting the form MAY bring about the substance to a certain extent. Most often, though, unfortunately, borrowed form displaces and replaces substance forever. After all, anything that works for an individual is fine, any path is valid, as long as it leads "there" (as in "you are there"); but does it? :roll:
Inspiration works differently from emulation!



Thank you, David!... Let it be frameless, like my glasses - you can see around better: most useful when flying :)

Let's do it!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/3KIo4F/ww ... om/1778399
(Dies irae is an appropriate musical background actually... even remixed!)
Gruto

Fri Sep 23, 2011 6:28 am

Costi wrote:Gruto, you may try some tricks if you wish, but don't fly towards the sun with stuck-on wings; there is documented experience against it since times imemorial ;) For that, you need to GROW your own pair.
Adopting the form MAY bring about the substance to a certain extent. Most often, though, unfortunately, borrowed form displaces and replaces substance forever. After all, anything that works for an individual is fine, any path is valid, as long as it leads "there" (as in "you are there"); but does it? :roll:
Inspiration works differently from emulation!

Costi, I am not speaking about borrowing a form. I am pointing to exercising mind and body to let yourself loose. Presence is not just a switch in the head. It is also a BODY situated in time. I tell you, you cannot think yourself to become a great skier. You have to practise. A lot :)
Costi
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Fri Sep 23, 2011 12:08 pm

I don't ski, so I'll take your word on this one. I bet you're great at practising! ;)
You slide down the slope on snow, I'll glide up into the sky on a warm breeze...
Costi
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Fri Sep 23, 2011 12:19 pm

Gruto wrote:I tell you, you cannot think yourself to become a great skier. You have to practise. A lot :)
On the other hand, though, if you cannot think yourself to be(come) a great skier, you can practise all you want...
davidhuh
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Sun Sep 25, 2011 8:15 pm

Costi wrote:Let it be frameless, like my glasses - you can see around better: most useful when flying :)

Let's do it!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/3KIo4F/ww ... om/1778399
(Dies irae is an appropriate musical background actually... even remixed!)
Dear Costi,

agree with your choice of music :D - but actually, I prefer flying lessons with René Jacobs :lol:
http://youtu.be/SJhvX3ty4SI

cheers, David

PS: Jacobs needs a better tailor..
Costi
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Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:48 pm

I always suspected Il Caro Sassone hated countertenors... ;)
(half of the clip is applauses?! - the vanity of it...)
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