Читать книгу The Charisma Code - Robin Sol Lieberman - Страница 10

FOREWORD

I sign each of my emails with the following:

To cherish humanity over nationhood; I am, a citizen of the world.

JANET C. SALAZAR

Born in the Philippines, I now work from the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. When I met Robin Sol Lieberman, I saw a lifelong ally as passionately driven as I am, using The Charisma Code teachings to help elevate the emerging culture of the global citizen, and inspire each individual to live in their Greatness.

I first met Robin in May of 2015. My soul friend, Naila Chowdhury, had invited me to join her at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego, California for a microfinance summit. I knew little about microfinance, but Naila, having worked for fifteen years alongside Nobel Peace Laureate and Father of Microfinance, Muhammad Yunnus, is walking testimony to its ability to unlock the power of the world’s poorest billions. When Naila asked me to fly to San Diego for this summit, something inside nudged me to say yes, and I followed the nudge.

I would soon learn that this kind of obedience is a key tenet of The Charisma Code. It means you listen to your heart, your soul, your God, your intuition. You listen to whatever you trust the most, and you follow. This was a language I loved, a language I lived, but I didn’t know it yet.

A few days later, there I was at the breathtaking, most beautiful campus I have ever seen, sitting atop a hill overlooking the entire San Diego landscape and the Pacific Ocean. The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice: the perfect location to forge a new revolutionary alliance.

That night, when the summit ended, Naila and I lingered in the hallway with a few other ladies, all of us inspired and exhausted. And then she came. Robin Sol Lieberman, looking like the rising sun, radiant with warmth and enthusiasm. I liked her immediately. Before we parted for some much needed slumber, Robin handed me a copy of The Charisma Code. Back in my room, tired as I was, and with eyes begging me to give them a break, I couldn’t put the book down without at least taking a peek. I decided to read the first few pages. The inspiration was instant! Aha moments flew like fireworks. The fable of the “Stone Soup” story in Chapter One jumped out, affirming the essence of the Power of Collaboration. I was hooked. I sat up and delved in, putting both pen and highlighter to work. New thoughts, vital thoughts, thoughts worth asking questions about! I felt Life energies jump out from each page straight into my heart, my brain, my innermost thought and realization chambers. Vita!

I call this book “the catalyst for genuine human connection.” It doesn’t matter what country or neighborhood you find yourself in; when you learn to speak charisma code, you surpass barriers of language, nationhood, politics, religion, and dress and instead establish genuine connection. As the following story demonstrates, Robin can connect with anyone. She is the embodiment of true charisma.

After an event in Los Angeles with Amma, the Hugging Saint, Robin and I were hanging out with Twyla Garrett, who’d beaten the odds of growing up as a black American in extreme poverty and domestic violence to become the author of Homeland Security and the President and CEO of IME, a multi-million grossing firm. The three of us were hungry. Our hosts provided delicious vegetarian fare, but Twyla, without a sweat bead of shame, asked for red meat.

In the car and busting out laughing, Robin told Twyla, “Girl, you are the embodiment of The Charisma Code’s Step One: Confidence. You know who you are, you know your value, and you’re not afraid to be different from those around you.”

Twyla replied, “I’ve been hugging a saint all day; now I need my meat. It’s just what is.”

Robin would only eat meat that had “lived a happy life,” so we ruled out all fast food and decided on Mexican fare. I got busy asking Yelp to lead us to the nearest restaurant. Three miles later, we heard Mariachi music blasting from backyards surrounded by barbed wire. As we passed a hole in the wall storefront, Robin exclaimed, “That place looks really good!”

She zipped a U-turn and parked. We climbed out of the car in our spiritual-white Amma gear and proceeded to cover our luggage with shawls. High-heeling our way down the uneven, neglected sidewalk, we entered the loudest Mexican karaoke bar I have ever been in. Even on a Sunday night, the place was packed. Packed with people and packed with pitchers of margaritas, tortilla chips, and beer bottles. I turned to Twyla.

“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

Hardly able to hear each other’s words under the Spanish lyrics belted out by a dark, big-bellied, handlebar-mustached man, the three of us huddled together while this restaurant full of Mexicans, loudly living their culture, stared somber-faced at the black woman, the Asian, and the blonde Caucasian who’d dared to walk in.

Twyla said, “I didn’t travel all the way from Maryland to get jumped.”

There was fear in her eyes. There is never fear in Twyla’s eyes. I waited a moment and wondered: Would we run out of there or eat our sought-after meat? I looked at Robin. Her eyes were more alive than I had ever seen them. She was smiling. The environment seemed to turn her on. She got us a waiter, and we sat down. The patrons continued to stare.

We looked like a microcosm of the United Nations on our way to Sunday school. Twyla named us “Salt, Pepper & Cayenne.” We ordered freedom-loving ocean fish with heads still attached, and our nervous laughter soon turned joyous as the karaoke music got really, really good. Twyla and Robin started grooving to it, shimmying their shoulders as if they’d been born in this hood. We took pictures of our fish heads and devoured our hot plates of frijoles autentico. The man at the next table reached over and told us in broken English how happy he was that we were there. Then his wife offered me a beer. People continued to stare, only now, they were smiling. We were speaking charisma code, showing others, by learning their language, that we valued them. In response, this “foreign” land welcomed us and began to feel like home.

From the pages of this extraordinary work of love, passion, tears, joy, inspiration, sweat, and countless sleepless nights, if you remember nothing else, remember this: “When you give people an experience of their Value, you live in their hearts forever.”

I will forever get to say that Robin and I met in the hallways of the Institute for Peace and Justice. It fits so well in the mythic story I am only just beginning to walk with her and The Charisma Code. Together, we are spinning a web of peace and justice to blanket the whole world. Peace and Justice is our revolution. As you learn to speak charisma code, you will create your own revolution, based on what matters the most to you. My wish for you, in Robin’s words, is that you let the desire to live as one of the Greats pump through your blood!

When Robin thanked me for inviting her to launch The Code at the Annual Power of Collaboration event at the United Nations, a global summit I co-created with IMPACT’s co-Founder, Constance J. Peak, my response to her was simple, “The Charisma Code is on a huge mission to drive change in how people value themselves and others. It needs an army to carry out this mission. As stubborn as I am, I’m also obedient, and I am honored to serve as one of your generals.”

Yours in the journey of a beautiful Vita,

Janet C. Salazar

CEO and co-Founder, IMPACT Leadership 21

FSUN Permanent Representative to the United Nations