Spectacular People

Comments: I wrote this post because I saw many great people and learned of a few spectacular people after I had been reading numerous books researching other topics. I wanted to share my discovery with everyone, so they may look for spectacular people and may even begin to emulate them.

Spectacular People

By

James T. Bogden, PMP

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” John F Kennedy, Jan 20, 1961

“Never, never, never ever give up,” Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941

Most people have heard the axioms and colloquialisms of great people remarking about their causes. Unfortunately, most people know little about these great people for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they have little time to study the great ones or the schools they attended failed them. Whatever the reason, most people do not know what makes some people great. Moreover, most of those great people are usually famous but spectacular people such as Abraham Lincoln are most humble. Lincoln was confronted with a civil war General who refused to speak with him. Lincoln could have fired the General but instead humbled himself then said he would wait for him in the General's living room. Most spectacular people are not even famous. We may come across spectacular people every day without any awareness of their presence. You may know one not out some egotistical proclamation but instead because of their humble nature. Spectacular people hide in plain sight.

Over the years, I have met spectacular people. During the 1990's I was on a cruise ship spinning a giant globe around in the center of the ship's library. An elder gentleman stepped up and struck up a conversation with me. He told me he exported chickens to the Bahamas for most of his life, putting his finger on the globe at locations he was discussing. I learned he was from Texas and knew of my Great Grandfather, Henry Hiram (Pipi) Johnson, who had a large cattle farm outside of Tyler, Texas, before the 1950s. We parted ways after talking for a little while. Later, I learned that this man was a generational family owner of Purina Corporation, where my great grandfather bought his cattle feed. He never made mention of the fact he was a leader of a great American Company, Purina Corporation.

In the workplace, I have dealt with and observed innumerable people's conduct. Unfortunately, some of the people I have had to deal with were corporate maniacs such as Mayberry Machiavellians or other narcissistic, psychopathic forms. The good news is that we are not going to explore those harmful personality types in this article. Our focus is on the rare breed of spectacular people. I discovered this unique breed of people after reading Mansfield’s Book of Manly Men, Millionaire’s Mind, the works of Dale Carnegie, and many more resources. The best I can discern about being spectacular comes down to a few character traits. Spectacular people:

• Demonstrate exceptional love. 
• Exude charisma that they adjust per situation. 
• Possess self-learning skills. 
• Develop or hold attractive visions that are principle-based.

Cycle of charity love is apparent in spectacular people who have an exceptional love for others and the humanities. They make those The cycle of charity love is apparent in spectacular people who have an exceptional love for others and the humanities. Spectacular people make those around them feel important and accepted. Spectacular people love the arts and embrace the enduring messages purveyed. Spectacular people embrace Dale Carnegie. Spectacular People demonstrate patience and are humble. The love that flows from spectacular people is returned to them by those people who come in contact with them.

Another quality of spectacular people is they exude the appropriate charismatic balance at the right time. Charisma is a balance between warmth, presence, and power. President Bush demonstrated this ability while leading the nation at war using high presence and power then shifted to high warmth to embrace a grieving mother. Spectacular people possess the charismatic ability to attract people, then love and lead them.

Self-learning is a powerful tool and a skill that involves many abilities and character qualities. A fundamental error too many people make when learning is condemnation without investigation, which is rooted in a belief that one already possesses the knowledge. Leonardo Da Vinci was aware of this problem and had his principle of ‘sfumato' or to throw everything up in smoke and look anew. Spectacular people have an insatiable desire for learning and possess this ability to look anew in order to see the epistemic truth from other claims of truth. Spectacular people share their knowledge with others without selling a particular view or position. Their knowledge stands on its merit alone.

Figure 1: Simon Sinek, successful people move from WHY to WHAT. Source: www.advance-performance.co.uk

Simon Sinek, Figure 1, and the author of 'Start with WHY' points to the fact that successful people begin with WHY in order to inspire people into action. Likewise, spectacular people begin with the 'WHY' co-opting or formulating a vision then move towards the 'WHAT.' Spectacular people are principle-based having attractive visions that most other people aspire towards because of inner callings common to nearly everyone. Principle-based people are viewed as being sincere as well as earnest in their efforts despite their humanity.

While there are many great people, spectacular people are rarer. Spectacular people are loving, charismatic, self-learners, and have visions attractive to most people. Spectacular people love and lead people having humble and patient character qualities. Spectacular people are most likely around you. You may even know one without awareness of who they are. Look around and see if you can spot one! Model yourself after them. After-all being a copycat is the sincerest form of flattery.

References:

Carnegie, Dale;. (1936). How To Win Friends and Influence People (1981 ed.). New York: Diamond Pocket Books Pvt, Ltd.

Gelb, M. (1998). How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci. New York: Dell Publishing.

Mansfield, S. (2013). Mansfield's Book of Manly Men: An Utterly Invigorating Guide to Being Your Most Masculine Self. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Sinek, S. (2009). Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action. New York: Penguin Group.

Stanley, T. J. (2001). The Millionaire Mind. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC.

Urban Gardening Overview

Return To Humanitarian Series Post

Comments: The concept of urban gardening has been around for a long time. Many urbanites enjoy nature and gardening but are limited by the many challenges of urban life. This post explores the basics of urban gardening as a foundational post for this series on Urban Gardening

Urban Gardening Overview

By

James T. Bogden, PMP

Urban gardening is the process of growing plants of all types and varieties in an urban environment. Other terms used in place of urban gardening include urban horticulture, urban farming, and urban agriculture. The Urban Gardening concept is broken into five generalized categories: Container, Indoor, Green Roof, Community, and Guerilla gardening. Growing in an urban environment has many challenges and can be difficult. Nonetheless, the discipline is expanding, and more attention is being brought to the challenges and benefits.

Container: This gardening approach is used in highly confined spaces and when portability is desired. The gardener will place the container in the window, balcony, or on the patio for sunlight then move the container when the environmental conditions are hostile to the plant. Both edible produce and plants of beauty are grown. However, the production of crops is very low. Container gardening is also a form of art that is often found in shopping malls or other high traffic public areas.

Indoor: Typically, this form of gardening involves sunrooms, solariums, atriums, and shelving systems. The plants are commonly grown in containers but not for public display or portability. In some cases, such as the shelving systems, artificial sunlight will be employed. This form produces significantly more than container gardening.

Green Roof: This Gardening Overvtype of gardening is for the more environmentally conscious and appears in many forms. The most common involves the use of large containers permanently fixed in place to grow larger plants such as bushes and trees. This form is often found on top of skyscrapers and residential condominiums. Another more aggressive form covers the entire roof in a thin layer of earth and has ground cover such as grasses or vining plants growing to absorb rainwater and reduce temperatures in the space below the green surface. If the roof is visible to the building occupants from some vantage point, then small plants such as bushes and flowers may be arranged on the green roof.

Community: This form of gardening is often a business and can be a governmental initiative or a combination of the two ventures. The goal is to provide leased plots to the urban community for citizens to grow produce for food or beauty. Often social groups organize around the venture which can also be an outcome of economic or political strife. For example, food rationing during war and hard economic times results in this form flourishing to offset the austere food availability.

Guerilla: This form of gardening is often used by environmental groups who plant in public spaces that do not belong to them. The guerilla gardener will plant in vacant lots, medians, alongside freeways, or disparate patches of earth in order to advance their cause. A more illicit form of guerilla gardening involves planting drug-producing plants such as marijuana, poppies, and other plants on another's or public property in order to avoid attribution to themselves. A common practice is for marijuana to be grown in the woods of public parks. The plot is small in order to prevent detection and sometimes remote surveillance and tampering methods are employed.

The challenges of urban gardening involve aberrant environmental conditions, pilfering, and urban life distractions. The harsh environmental conditions of urban life can place real challenges to cultivating a crop. The plot selected could have the soil contaminated from toxic waste spillage or dumping years before our awareness of this issue. Another challenge is drift pollutants in the air. Plants operate on photosynthesis in which carbon dioxide is processed into oxygen that is released into the air and carbon which is returned to the ground. Contaminants such a carbon monoxide from automobile exhaust will cause burns on the plants surfaces damaging their ability to photosynthesize. As the crop begins to produce, many folks are tempted to steal the maturing produce causing pilfering to become a concern. Hence, a real need for security. Life in urban areas can be a hustle and the ability to return to or put the time into maintaining the garden can be easily distracted or attenuated.

The benefits of urban gardening can be an environmental, social, economic, and even healthier life. Environmentally, gardening in various forms increases the green matter which counters the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere and helps maintain the carbon cycle. Another issue of urban areas is ground which is mostly asphalt and concrete. This situation does not allow water to soak into the ground. Instead, water is routed into rivers and streams where it often found away. Community and even guerilla gardening help return water to the underground aqueducts and reservoirs. From a social perspective, people bond and commune over gardening. The product produced can aid in reducing the economic impacts of rationing and challenging economic times. Finally, urban gardening gets people outdoors and exercising having general health benefits. After all, vitamin D is a result of activity in direct sunlight.

Overall, urban gardening is an excellent activity for everyone, getting people out from behind their computers, socializing, and contributing to an improved environment. On top of that, the crop produced can be a healthier solution to grocer produce at a lower cost. Go grow!

Return To Humanitarian Series Post