We’ve all met people who have that certain ’something’. Sometimes we know exactly what that certain something is, sometimes we can’t quite put our finger on it. But we know they have ‘it’. We want it, we possibly even crave it. But for some weird reason, some people are blessed with it and some are not. Today saw one of those people rise to one of the peaks of his political life, and it made me think of how many of these people I have come across, and how this mysterious ‘gift’ bestows itself on some, but not all of us.
For those of you who are not Australian, bear with me for a moment as I fill you in on this particular individual. His name is Malcolm Turnbull, and he is no different to every other person that you would come across in your day to day life. He was brought up by a single parent; his father. Times were tough when he was young. However, he is now a multi-billionaire, thanks to three successful careers in Law, Business and Media. He today won a leadership ballot and became the leader of the national Liberal Party, who are the conservative party here in this wide brown land. Liberal=conservative? Yes, I know, and trust me, one day I will write a blog purely to explain this weird twist on words, but not today.
Turnbull is now Australia’s Opposition leader, and, if an election were to be called and if he were to win, he would be this country’s next Prime Minister. Listening to commentators all over the radio and television today, Turnbull’s character was put under the microscope, as it should if he is the alternative PM. He was described as someone who had ‘it.’ He was charming, and drew people to himself. A moment was described where he walked into a room with two other very prominent politicians with much more profile than he, but he got the attention. He was the magnet, everyone else in the room were the metal filings.
It makes you think of all the people that we meet who have that certain something. We stand back, sometimes scratching our heads, and wonder how they get the attention, or clinch the deal, or get away with everything, and we don’t. We can also, on the other hand, know exactly why, and can pinpoint their attraction straight away.
I had a friend like this. He was a tall, goodlooking Asian American man who had a beautiful speaking voice, a strong build, and a real ‘presence.’ I used to say to him, “You have the ability to draw people to yourself. Use your powers for good, not evil.” Unfortunately, he was manipulative, and was such a compulsive liar that, in Australian slang terms, ‘couldn’t lie straight in bed.’ He knew his talent; he knew that he had ‘it.’ He knew what it could get him.
What comes with having this amount of raw charisma comes power. If you believe in what you have, the lure of power can be overwhelming. ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely’ rings so true here. Some people with this level of attraction to others love what it can do for them. But there are others who have no idea they have this magical aspect to them. I am sure we have seen the extremely goodlooking woman or man who have no idea how goodlooking they are. They seem totally oblivious to that quality that lurks within them. They are usually extremely nice, very warm and friendly, and wouldn’t dream of manipulating, lying, cheating or betraying. I am sure we have all met at least one person like this, too.
So what is the healthy balance? I think that people who have that certain something need to harness it, and use it in a way that not only benefits them in the long run, but also others around them. Malcolm Turnbull has that chance from today to show what he is going to do with it. Barack Obama will be given that same chance. Magaret Thatcher had it, and abused it, as did Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky affair. Martin Luther King, Mahatma Ghandi, and former Singapore PM and founder, Lee Kuan Yew, all leave positive legacies behind, after harnessing their charisma and charm, and making their respective communities better off than they were before.
Although, I don’t know who is more dangerous; a person who has it and abuses it, or the person who thinks he or she has it and doesn’t. In High School we called them the ‘try hard’. We always knew they were around, because they hogged the limelight so much we couldn’t not notice them. We see evidence of these people in our world now and in history. Hugo Chavez of Venezuala, Pope Benedict XVI, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Kim Jong Il of North Korea, Abdullah Badawi of Malaysia, Whitney Houston, just to name a few. In this small sample of history’s ‘try hards’ we see people who want to be the magnet in the room, but have never been, and can never be. It is only through their position that they receive notoriety; nothing more.
Can we get ‘it’? No, of course not. You either have it or you haven’t. My best friend will always pick up in a bar better than me because he has that certain playful charm, not to mention the twinkle in the eye. That’s ‘it.’ If I tried to capture that essence, I would either look stupid or desperate, or both.
But don’t despair. I believe we all have a certain something. We just have to find out what that ‘it’ factor is for us. Will most of us walk into a room and command attention just because we are there? No. But if we listen to others when they say, ‘You have a great laugh,’ or, ‘Love what you’ve done with your hair,’ then we can be comfortable in the knowledge that at least we haven’t totally blended in with the wallpaper.
September 16, 2008
To use powers for good not evil.
Posted by damob under Social commentaryLeave a Comment
We’ve all met people who have that certain ’something’. Sometimes we know exactly what that certain something is, sometimes we can’t quite put our finger on it. But we know they have ‘it’. We want it, we possibly even crave it. But for some weird reason, some people are blessed with it and some are not. Today saw one of those people rise to one of the peaks of his political life, and it made me think of how many of these people I have come across, and how this mysterious ‘gift’ bestows itself on some, but not all of us.
For those of you who are not Australian, bear with me for a moment as I fill you in on this particular individual. His name is Malcolm Turnbull, and he is no different to every other person that you would come across in your day to day life. He was brought up by a single parent; his father. Times were tough when he was young. However, he is now a multi-billionaire, thanks to three successful careers in Law, Business and Media. He today won a leadership ballot and became the leader of the national Liberal Party, who are the conservative party here in this wide brown land. Liberal=conservative? Yes, I know, and trust me, one day I will write a blog purely to explain this weird twist on words, but not today.
Turnbull is now Australia’s Opposition leader, and, if an election were to be called and if he were to win, he would be this country’s next Prime Minister. Listening to commentators all over the radio and television today, Turnbull’s character was put under the microscope, as it should if he is the alternative PM. He was described as someone who had ‘it.’ He was charming, and drew people to himself. A moment was described where he walked into a room with two other very prominent politicians with much more profile than he, but he got the attention. He was the magnet, everyone else in the room were the metal filings.
It makes you think of all the people that we meet who have that certain something. We stand back, sometimes scratching our heads, and wonder how they get the attention, or clinch the deal, or get away with everything, and we don’t. We can also, on the other hand, know exactly why, and can pinpoint their attraction straight away.
I had a friend like this. He was a tall, goodlooking Asian American man who had a beautiful speaking voice, a strong build, and a real ‘presence.’ I used to say to him, “You have the ability to draw people to yourself. Use your powers for good, not evil.” Unfortunately, he was manipulative, and was such a compulsive liar that, in Australian slang terms, ‘couldn’t lie straight in bed.’ He knew his talent; he knew that he had ‘it.’ He knew what it could get him.
What comes with having this amount of raw charisma comes power. If you believe in what you have, the lure of power can be overwhelming. ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely’ rings so true here. Some people with this level of attraction to others love what it can do for them. But there are others who have no idea they have this magical aspect to them. I am sure we have seen the extremely goodlooking woman or man who have no idea how goodlooking they are. They seem totally oblivious to that quality that lurks within them. They are usually extremely nice, very warm and friendly, and wouldn’t dream of manipulating, lying, cheating or betraying. I am sure we have all met at least one person like this, too.
So what is the healthy balance? I think that people who have that certain something need to harness it, and use it in a way that not only benefits them in the long run, but also others around them. Malcolm Turnbull has that chance from today to show what he is going to do with it. Barack Obama will be given that same chance. Magaret Thatcher had it, and abused it, as did Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky affair. Martin Luther King, Mahatma Ghandi, and former Singapore PM and founder, Lee Kuan Yew, all leave positive legacies behind, after harnessing their charisma and charm, and making their respective communities better off than they were before.
Although, I don’t know who is more dangerous; a person who has it and abuses it, or the person who thinks he or she has it and doesn’t. In High School we called them the ‘try hard’. We always knew they were around, because they hogged the limelight so much we couldn’t not notice them. We see evidence of these people in our world now and in history. Hugo Chavez of Venezuala, Pope Benedict XVI, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Kim Jong Il of North Korea, Abdullah Badawi of Malaysia, Whitney Houston, just to name a few. In this small sample of history’s ‘try hards’ we see people who want to be the magnet in the room, but have never been, and can never be. It is only through their position that they receive notoriety; nothing more.
Can we get ‘it’? No, of course not. You either have it or you haven’t. My best friend will always pick up in a bar better than me because he has that certain playful charm, not to mention the twinkle in the eye. That’s ‘it.’ If I tried to capture that essence, I would either look stupid or desperate, or both.
But don’t despair. I believe we all have a certain something. We just have to find out what that ‘it’ factor is for us. Will most of us walk into a room and command attention just because we are there? No. But if we listen to others when they say, ‘You have a great laugh,’ or, ‘Love what you’ve done with your hair,’ then we can be comfortable in the knowledge that at least we haven’t totally blended in with the wallpaper.
Enjoy your day.