Brad Brown

While watching the Univision presidential debate the other night, I finally realized why America loves Barack Obama so much. He has so many good characteristics and behaviors that when combined, create a very likable superman. I thought I’d deconstruct Obama to determine what makes him so successful, so that we can all incorporate a little of him in our daily lives. His success does stem partly from hard work, but it’s also a combination of things that separates Barack from the rest of the pack. This article is not an endorsement of Barack as a candidate (”BradBrown.com is endorsing me? Who the {expletive} is Brad Brown?” says Barack), although I do believe he’ll be our next President.
 
Be Prolific
In the span of one decade, Barack Obama has written two books, won a seat in the Illinois state Senate, married and reproduced, and made it to the US Senate. By way of comparison, in the same time period, I’ve done nothing new other than create this blog. Which of us is a household name? You might think that there’s not enough time to do more than you’re currently doing, but there are always methods to get more work done in the same amount of time. You’ll never get anywhere in life working 40 hours a week. Barack Obama knows this.
 
Deliberate Thinking
Notice when Obama responds to questions; he takes his time when replying, whereas his opponents tend to react immediately. The slow, deliberate thinking gives Obama time to make sure he chooses the appropriate words; with him, there will be no “Oops, I didn’t mean to say that” moments as we see with other candidates. If you take the time to be less reactionary and more deliberate in your conversations, you’ll make better decisions.
 
Ignore Your Critics
When you’re running for President, there is no lack of criticism for your proposed policies. For Barack, his critics continue to hound him about his health care plan and his plans for Iraq. You have two options - cave to the critics and modify your policies to placate them, or stay the course. If you continually cave to others, you will never have any idea whether your ideas are valid, and without that feedback, you’ll never know whether your decision-making ability is any good. If you ignore the critics and execute your own plan, you’ll quickly determine whether your ideas are good. If they are not, you can correct them.
 
Surround Yourself With A Knowledgeable Team
One of the primary criticisms of Barack is lack of experience. What few consider is that the role of Senator or President is that of leader of a team; no President bases his decisions solely on his own experience. There isn’t anyone on the planet that has enough experience in economics, negotiation, war, and diplomacy to perform the job in isolation. Barack’s broad knowledge will come from those he surrounds himself with. With a terrible team advising him, his decisions will be error prone. This is why, when you start building a team (to grow your business, paint your house, or write your blog), you want to invest significant time in choosing those people. They extend your knowledge and also your potential for success.
 
Calmness
Compared to other candidates, Barack exudes a mellow calmness. He never overreacts to possibly irritating questions, and he never loses his cool when backed into a corner. When you react violently to situations, you lose your train of thought and your general mood becomes worse. Over a period of time, this affects your energy level. Taking a more relaxed approach to life produces a constant steady energy - energy you’ll need as you undertake more significant tasks. So before you overreact next time, just close your eyes, click your heels together, and say “I am Barack Obama…I am Barack Obama…Toto, I don’t think we’re at Harvard anymore!”
 
Compassion
After receiving his law degree from Harvard, Obama returned to Chicago and worked as an attorney representing community organizers, discrimination claims, and voting rights cases. He could have just as easily taken a job working for evil, similar to John Edwards. We know that given Barack’s dedication to those less fortunate, he isn’t beholden to special interests. If you show this same form of integrity, you’ll attract those who appreciate this and your reputation in the community (virtual or physical) will grow.
 
There you have it - six characteristics of Barack Obama that enhance his innate talents. Remember that it’s a rare individual who succeeds based on one factor alone. Obama shows us that with a combination of small things, one can rise to the top, even to the office of the President. Be sure to come back next week for my follow-up articles, “How To Fail Like Hillary Clinton” and “How To Attract Women Like John McCain.” You don’t want to miss them.

 

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