Charisma

This is a subject I have thought a great deal about of late. In my heart I have known for a while, but only lately have I really accepted the truth. I have no charisma. I have talent, I am intelligent (not so smart as my friends and family might think, but a quick and ready mind) and am a good person generally. But I have no charisma. When I am not around people do not think of me. My face doesn't stay with them. I can have an audience hang on every word, agree with my innermost thoughts, have a wonderful time...and soon after they have left the hall they will have to be reminded about who I was. This has been a hard lesson to learn. It took over 50 years to accept. "Star Quality" truly has nothing to do with talent and commitment, it is something you are born with. I was not a funny kid, I studied and created myself. I was dyslexic, but made myself into a writer. All the things I pride myself with were learned. And, in the end, charisma is the most powerful gift you can be given. I know that I can win an audience over, but I will always have to win them. FOr the second half of his career Bob Hope could get away with rotten jokes because he was Bob Hope, and people accepted that he was funny. That is taking nothing from him, it is just a truth. Am I angry or bitter that I have no charisma? If someone at the beginning of my career had told me that I couldn't succeed because of the lack of it, would I have listened? NO. They told me you couldn't learn to be funny and they were wrong. They have no idea what success is, and I do. I have worked hard, loved my work, have a family that I love and that is success. I am a happy man. Never doubt that. I just have no charisma