Character Intelligence: A Series
Barry Lewis Green
Educator, Speaker, Coach, Writer, Creator ... advancing Character Leadership and Education ... to move forward together, stronger ... engaging change.
This morning, I was quietly inspired to take on a simple 119 Day exploration of my own take on Character Intelligence.
The Rev, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once described education thusly...
As a Master Facilitator with the global Virtues Project, as a Certified Facilitator with Personality Dimensions, as a 28 year College Educator, as a 30+ year Entrepreneur (and born into it actually... so 62 years, lol), and with 40+ years in leadership training and development as experience and education... I love this thought from MLK.
And, as an Educator, I wholeheartedly concur.
This morning, I saw this post on LinkedIn and felt a bit of a confirmation on this new series to explore Character Intelligence.
Character is not simply about being "good" or "strong". Character is born of the practice of Virtue, and virtues are myriad in face, facet and form.
Character Intelligence for me is about seeing those myriad faces, facets and forms (the Virtues) as arrows in our proverbial quiver, or gears of our manual transmission... and our Discernment and Decisiveness and Daring in applying them where and when and with whom needed.
119 Days
So, over the next 119 Days, today included... I will share on this notion. Today, I am simply offering up some 118 Virtues that we will explore in focused posts throughout the next few months. Those 118 include:
We will walk through them, starting tomorrow with Acceptance... exploring their meaning and application at home, school, work, business and community. And, we will engage the 5 Strategies of The Virtues Project in varying ways, in so doing. Short reads and longer reflects on their practice as strength. This will be my blog focus over these next 119 days, replacing Rapid and Random and other blog post series for now.
That said, there is a Virtue not in the 118 above that I will offer up as a taster, if you will.
Exploring FERVOR
An intensity of feeling or expression... is Fervor. It is defined as such, and as "intense heat". Combined with Purposefulness ... it is Service, in action. The first of the 5 Strategies is Speak the Language. It infers that we must study and learn the Virtues as vocab. In this case, read and reflect on Fervor above. Come to know and understand it better. The second Strategy is to Recognize Teachable Moments around Character. So, in other words, think on moments in your life when you might have personally learned on Fervor; times you practiced it and times that you needed to better do so. What do those moments teach you about its practice? What are your own takeaways about its practice and value?
As an Educator, Entrepreneur or Emerging Leader... as Leaducator, Communitrepreneur or Emergent... read on the Virtue that is Fervor. Reflect on what it would look like at home, school, work, business and/or community. What would it look like manifested for you now? For me, it certainly applies to my 5 core areas of focus right now. Epic Engage. and my teaching at CNA... as SERVICE. My forging of education, home and FAITH too. But, right now, and most focused... it must needs be on health. The practice of Fervor in terms of my own health and strength is a huge and needed investment. My body is the carriage for all of my other endeavours, now and going forward. My intent today and forward is to explore the conscious and applied practice of Fervor in terms of my own health, in support of my five pillars of focus..
What would feeling and expressing around health look like, given my Temperament? What would Ardor, Enthusiasm and Zeal look like in terms of eating and exercise? What would firing myself up for the longer road look like in terms of my health? I can tell you that it would look like boxing and dancing and hiking and ever finding the foods that are both good and good for me. Eating right for my blood type is coming to mind too. I think Fervor is best practiced when we find what truly and naturally works for us. We are not carbon copies nor cookie cutter cut-outs. Finding what works for our Temperament and Character helps set the fire... and find our light... our Fervor.
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How and where and with whom might added Fervor apply for you... at home, school, work, business or community? What would that look like at class, company or community? Read on Fervor. Reflect on it. Find where you most need practice it; maybe its very practice in joining us on this journey exploring Character Intelligence? Maybe it is in terms of where you/we focus our attention? Maybe it is in terms of exploring your sense of meaning ... or just cause?
Discern, decide and dare to practice Fervor where you need it most. In the meantime and, as noted, this will be my series for the next few months in particular; exploring Character Intelligence. Character matters. It will be my own fervent focus, lol. The posts will be shorter and surgical. This was the Launch. But this will be the focus, fierce and fervent. Still, I will continue to be sharing A PEACE of WORK monthly. I do hope you join me.
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LEAD. INSPIRE. EDUCATE. UNITE.
I?am an Activant too; an Educator and Entrepreneur by experience, education and?Enthusiasm... with 40 years in leadership training and development, 27 years in business college education and 20 years certified and associated with?The Virtues Project. Additionally certified for 16 years in Temperament Assessment and with a longstanding body of work around Character Leadership, I help advance?conversation, consultation and capacity around?Character,?Purpose?and?Unity...?and?the?global goals. My work in business and education is to help those building a better world at school, work, business and community; locally and globally.?Humans together, strong.... that is?my?meaning... and?the space I can stay forever. To that?just cause, I commit.