Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lieberman, Robin Sol, author.
Title: The charisma code: communicating in a language beyond words / by Robin Sol Lieberman.
Description: First edition. | Ashland, Oregon: White Cloud Press, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015046280 | ISBN 9781940468419
Subjects: LCSH: Charisma (Personality trait) | Interpersonal relations. | Interpersonal communication. | BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Leadership.
Classification: LCC BF698.35.C45 L45 2016 | DDC 153.6--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015046280
To my mother and father,
each the revolutionary:
You have always encouraged me
to follow my heart.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
Charisma: The Currency of Connection
Step One, Confidence: Know Your Value
Step Two, Magnetism: Show Your Value
1. Loving Your Self into an Authority
2. Growing Your Self into a God
Step Three, Connection: See Others’ Value
Applied Charisma
Charisma, Recidivism, and Refugees
Charisma and Climate Change
Charisma and the Economy
Charisma and Global Citizenship
Epilogue
Notes
Acknowledgments
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.