charismaticHaving The Edge Owen Fitzpatrick is author, broadcaster and co-founder of the Irish Institute of NLP. He also happens to be the person who taught me NLP many, many years ago and has become a firm friend. I recently attended the book launch of Owens latest creation “ The Charismatic Edge “, and I had the chance last weekend to final read and learn from Owens latest observations. Owen tells me the aim of the book is to answer two fundamental questions namely, how can you become the best version of yourself, and how can you express yourself in an engaging and memorable way.

Owen makes the point that the vast majority of people are not living up to the best versions of themselves.  He suggests that most people do not come across as remotely interesting or engaging, instead their personalities are on life support. He adopts the view that in modern society we make loads of excuses to justify why we do not strive to be better versions of ourselves. He makes the point that the excuses we tell ourselves permit or justify a lack of effort to strive to get the very best results. He has observed that the most successful  people  make fewer excuses for themselves.

He suggests that many of us are afraid of contact and fearful of real deep interaction. We are terrified to make a fool of ourselves. We are petrified of what others think of us. This stifles us, traps us,  and limits us. Owen suggests that we must look deep within ourselves and become our authentic self.

The book offers practically exercises for the reader to undertaken with a strong focus on “the attitude factor “and Owen brings to our awareness that Attitude has a key part to play in becoming a charismatic leader.

The Charismatic philosophy that Owen talks about in this book is about looking at life and the world from the viewpoint that accepts your wonderfulness as a person and all the potential that exists inside you. Since you’re not what you do but everything you can become, it’s important to remember to concentrate on improving and developing your qualities to help you reach more and more of your potential.

One chapter in the book struck a core for me personally and that was Chapter 2 on the “Attitude Factor”. The author proposes that attitude has a huge impact on your success. Owen reminds us that our attitude determines how we handle what happens, and what you do as a result of what happens. It filters our world in such a way that it frames it in either a useful, or unhelpful way.

The book is a really great read and I love the honesty that Owens brings to the subject. A must read for any one he wants to have “The Edge”. Check out his website here.

Maurice Whelan