Charisma, Pleasure & Pain

In this session, charisma expert and commentator Edward Brown provides insights on the privileges and objectives of the charismatic personality.

Q: What are the privileges of charismatic personalities?

A: The world stage is the charismatic personality’s playground and he enjoys playing the game of life for self-pleasure. People are mere conduits to his pleasure.

Q: So, does the charismatic personality use people to achieve his ends?

A: Yes, but not in a malicious sense. The typical charismatic personality is not trying to harm or annihilate anyone. He realizes that life is a mere game and people serve as conduits for pleasure or pain. The charismatic personality’s reality and choices are to receive more pleasure. Pain is not an option.

Q: Interesting. Given the fact that we can’t control everything in life as individuals, how does a charismatic personality wield so much power and control?
A: Well, he views himself as smarter than the average person. He views life as an introspective scientist using intellect over emotions. He is generally aware of everything that is going on around him and has developed a lifestyle where studying human nature is part of his work as well as his entertainment. Nothing is left to chance and the idea of a balanced life is laughable. People who see life as altruistic, exchanging pain for equal amounts of pleasure, is oppositional to a charismatic personality’s worldview. The thinking of the average person is viewed by the charismatic personality as a recipe for victimization. The charismatic personality pays less for pleasure than the average individual.

Q: Okay. Under these circumstances, why would an individual want to be associated with a charismatic personality?

A: Why wouldn’t anyone want to associate with a charismatic personality? In Western culture, power and control are desired aspirations. The charismatic personality is a representation of the often unstated, but understood objective of most people—the acquisition and maintenance of power. Again, people and things provide a level of pleasure. There is no place in the world where power is not an aspiration. The difference between the objectives of the charismatic personality and the average person is that the charismatic personality is keenly aware of calculated actions to affect a specific outcome. The average person has moments when he is calculating to achieve a desired outcome, but the average person is hindered by the psychological barriers he places upon himself. He really doesn’t like the idea of being calculating. It sounds manipulative.

Q: So, the fundamental difference between the charismatic personality and the average person, is courage?

A: Courage is a big part of the charismatic personality’s existence, but it is how the charismatic personality interprets, analyzes, and implements strategies for getting more pleasure in life. Gaining pleasure through strategic maneuvers is the life of a charismatic personality based on his experiences and worldview. The average person does not think in perpetually strategic terms. The calculating, bold, and audacious mind of the charismatic personality is different from the emotionally-driven and short-term thinking of the average individual. The mind and manifestations of the charismatic personality sets him apart from the average individual.

Related: Charisma