A bit of poetic prose I found that made me take deep notes. This fine example of knighthood and Chivalric thinking was about a man considering his end and what he had done in his life. This excerpt seemed to me to sum up a perfectly righteous way of life. Can you figure out who said this and why? :::
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"When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square. The young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet. The chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands. The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.
The man who was dying blessed me. I made the widow's heart sing.
I put on righteousness as my clothing. Justice was my robe and my turban.
I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy. I took up the case of the stranger. I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
"I thought, 'I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand. My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches. My glory will remain fresh in me, the bow ever new in my hand.
"Men listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel. After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears. They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain. When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners. * * * * * end quote
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Command Presence
The Following is from withthecommand.com a news and information site for the emergency services community ::
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Command presence: Feeding your own self confidence
By Chief Ron Richards
Command presence is essentially presenting yourself as someone in authority, trusted and respected. This is partially done through the message conveyed by how you LOOK, how you CARRY YOURSELF, how you ACT, and how you SPEAK.
Remember, first impressions are a lasting one. Looking like an unmade bed is not the way to instill confidence. In order to look the part, dress professionally. Always wear a clean, pressed uniform. Look professional.... at least look like you know what you are doing.
Personal appearance is not something that starts when you walk into the fire station or appear on an incident. It starts well beyond that. How are you groomed? What does the car that you drove to the station look like? Has it been washed in the last year? It the back seat full of coffee cups and food wrappers? What about your desk? Is it orderly or does it look like a forty mile an hour wind just blew all your papers on the floor and the janitor picked them up and threw them on your desk?
Taking pride in your personal appearance and grooming not only projects a professional image to the public, but it also helps make you feel more confident. The response you get from the public when your appearance is that of a professional will also help you feel more confident. When you feel confident it will help you approach situations with a better mindset.
Body language
How you carry yourself portrays command presence or lack of it. Confidence is projected through your body language, and how you verbally deal with individuals and groups.
Walk with your head up, eyes alert, and your expression intent. You do not want to appear weak or vulnerable. You want to project the image of someone that knows why they are where they are, and who is trained and knows what they are doing.
Walk with intent. Don't shuffle your feet or use a "lazy" walk. Pick up your feet and move like you know where you are going, and that you have a purpose in going there.
You need to portray an "I am in charge of this situation" image. The key is to be outwardly confident - even if on the inside you are scared out of your wits. You want your body language to convey confidence.
Your speech is another aspect of command presence. More people than you think hear you speak. Besides your face to face communications, many hear you speak on the radio. If you have the "terror in the voice" scream going on the radio as you arrive on an incident saying, "Chief 47, assuming the Blaze Street command..."that will not instill a whole lot of confidence in your peers or subordinates. I've referred to this as the "Big-Eye" syndrome. That's when you see a big fire and your two eyes open so wide that they appear to be one gaping whole in your forehead and the high pitched, screaming voice just puts the icing on the cake instilling an image that you are scared $%&less!
A solemn but good example of command presence communications is listening to the communications between a commercial airlines pilot and an air traffic controller just seconds before a plane crash. That pilot knows what's in store but still portrays confidence until the bitter end.
What do people see you doing?
If someone was watching you to see if you were able to react if they did something, what would they think?
Do you walk around with your hands in your pockets?
Do you look at the ground all the time?
Do you sit and watch television or listen to the radio while on duty?
Do you look bored and inattentive? Practice being firm and not taking no for an answer without getting angry. Keeping your cool is also a big part of this.
It all boils down to how you present yourself. Do you "look the part"? Do you carry yourself with confidence?, Do you ACT the part? Do you speak the part? If you can, then you are developing Command Presence, which will make your job a LOT easier.
************************** end quote
So.
Look the part, Looks
Carry yourself with confidence, Demeanor
Act the part, Actions
Speak the part. Speech
COMMAND PRESENCE.
Good lessons for any young man to learn
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Command presence: Feeding your own self confidence
By Chief Ron Richards
Command presence is essentially presenting yourself as someone in authority, trusted and respected. This is partially done through the message conveyed by how you LOOK, how you CARRY YOURSELF, how you ACT, and how you SPEAK.
Remember, first impressions are a lasting one. Looking like an unmade bed is not the way to instill confidence. In order to look the part, dress professionally. Always wear a clean, pressed uniform. Look professional.... at least look like you know what you are doing.
Personal appearance is not something that starts when you walk into the fire station or appear on an incident. It starts well beyond that. How are you groomed? What does the car that you drove to the station look like? Has it been washed in the last year? It the back seat full of coffee cups and food wrappers? What about your desk? Is it orderly or does it look like a forty mile an hour wind just blew all your papers on the floor and the janitor picked them up and threw them on your desk?
Taking pride in your personal appearance and grooming not only projects a professional image to the public, but it also helps make you feel more confident. The response you get from the public when your appearance is that of a professional will also help you feel more confident. When you feel confident it will help you approach situations with a better mindset.
Body language
How you carry yourself portrays command presence or lack of it. Confidence is projected through your body language, and how you verbally deal with individuals and groups.
Walk with your head up, eyes alert, and your expression intent. You do not want to appear weak or vulnerable. You want to project the image of someone that knows why they are where they are, and who is trained and knows what they are doing.
Walk with intent. Don't shuffle your feet or use a "lazy" walk. Pick up your feet and move like you know where you are going, and that you have a purpose in going there.
You need to portray an "I am in charge of this situation" image. The key is to be outwardly confident - even if on the inside you are scared out of your wits. You want your body language to convey confidence.
Your speech is another aspect of command presence. More people than you think hear you speak. Besides your face to face communications, many hear you speak on the radio. If you have the "terror in the voice" scream going on the radio as you arrive on an incident saying, "Chief 47, assuming the Blaze Street command..."that will not instill a whole lot of confidence in your peers or subordinates. I've referred to this as the "Big-Eye" syndrome. That's when you see a big fire and your two eyes open so wide that they appear to be one gaping whole in your forehead and the high pitched, screaming voice just puts the icing on the cake instilling an image that you are scared $%&less!
A solemn but good example of command presence communications is listening to the communications between a commercial airlines pilot and an air traffic controller just seconds before a plane crash. That pilot knows what's in store but still portrays confidence until the bitter end.
What do people see you doing?
If someone was watching you to see if you were able to react if they did something, what would they think?
Do you walk around with your hands in your pockets?
Do you look at the ground all the time?
Do you sit and watch television or listen to the radio while on duty?
Do you look bored and inattentive? Practice being firm and not taking no for an answer without getting angry. Keeping your cool is also a big part of this.
It all boils down to how you present yourself. Do you "look the part"? Do you carry yourself with confidence?, Do you ACT the part? Do you speak the part? If you can, then you are developing Command Presence, which will make your job a LOT easier.
************************** end quote
So.
Look the part, Looks
Carry yourself with confidence, Demeanor
Act the part, Actions
Speak the part. Speech
COMMAND PRESENCE.
Good lessons for any young man to learn
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Promoting Chivalry for TODAY
In his enthusiastic foreword to Robert Lewis's book, Raising a Modern-Day Knight, Stu Weber writes:
"Our culture is in deep trouble, and at the heart of its trouble is its loss of a vision for manhood. If it's difficult for you and me as adult males to maintain our masculine balance in this gender-neutral' culture, imagine what it must be like for our sons, who are growing up in an increasingly feminized world."
We must supply our young men with healthy, noble visions of manhood, and the vision of the knight, is without equal. In the knight we find a conception of manhood that can lift, inspire, and challenge our young men to new heights of achievement and nobility.
This is why I am laying plans to establish an Academy of Knighthood and Chivalry and will be challenging unsung knights around Oregon and the rest of the country to do the same.
Join me.
Contact me at wendell.archer@gmail.com.
"Our culture is in deep trouble, and at the heart of its trouble is its loss of a vision for manhood. If it's difficult for you and me as adult males to maintain our masculine balance in this gender-neutral' culture, imagine what it must be like for our sons, who are growing up in an increasingly feminized world."
We must supply our young men with healthy, noble visions of manhood, and the vision of the knight, is without equal. In the knight we find a conception of manhood that can lift, inspire, and challenge our young men to new heights of achievement and nobility.
This is why I am laying plans to establish an Academy of Knighthood and Chivalry and will be challenging unsung knights around Oregon and the rest of the country to do the same.
Join me.
Contact me at wendell.archer@gmail.com.
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