Tactical Strategy

Awards Season is officially upon us as the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards saw Ricky Gervais return as host for the third time despite stirring up controversy for his previous two appearances.  Controversy however as everyone knows, gets ratings, so they asked him back a third time.  The British comedians’ controversial appeal seemed to fizzle out as the 2012 award show got underwhelming ratings numbers.  Big winners include critically acclaimed The Artist which took home Best Comedy or Musical, while The Descendants and George Clooney took home Best Motion Picture and Best Actor.  Meryl Streep won her eighth Golden Globe Award which has to be some sort of record, somebody should look that up.  ‘Regal but never solemn’ dignitary actor Morgan Freeman was honored with the Golden Globes Lifetime Achievement “Cecil B. Demille” Award and accepted it with utmost grace.  The 74-year old actor has recently received similar honors with an American Film Institute’sLifetimeAchievement Award, and also the People’s Choice Awards first ever ‘Movie Icon’ award.  The ‘stately’ actor kept his acceptance speech short and sweet, commenting that his still very busy career made him appreciate the people with whom he had worked and “how much fun he had been having”.  Without kissing too much ass let’s take a look at this prime example of acting nobility Morgan Freeman.

Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actordirector, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice.  Freeman found his passion in life early, making his acting debut at age 9.  Freeman did have other interests, passing up a drama scholarship to work as a mechanic for the United States Air Force.  Acting however eventually took over full time as his passion and profession when he moved to Los Angeles in the 1960’s.  Being an African American actor during that time proved trying, but Freeman’s love for acting shined through as he won a string of prominent supporting roles in many feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise, fatherly characters.  He started with big rolls in Driving Miss Daisy and Glory in 1989, but really broke into the upper-eschelon acting scene with his critically acclaimed portrayal of ‘Red’ in The Shawshank Redemption.  Freeman went on to win an Oscar for his role in Million Dollar Baby, and eventually played his dream role of Nelson Mandela.  Intellectual, independent, and a systematic thinker who is surprisingly scientific Morgan Freeman is undoubtedly an Inventor Rational.  Indeed Freeman’s iconic brand of composed elegance seems to have maintained itself quite well throughout his acting career, as he always seems to play the same poised, wise, and intelligent old man.  But hey, let’s not hold it against him.

Quote1.pngIf you do what you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.Quote2.png

Morgan Freeman

The Artisan Bandwagon

Many people (Morgan Freeman included) are easily able to hop on what is called the “Artisan Bandwagon”.  In other words, all three other temperaments envy the Artisans uncanny ability to excel in whatever they happen to ‘dabble’ into, which is typically a plethora of activities.  Everyone is charmed and beguiled by the Artisans’ joyful sense of fun and excitement, and usually have no problem joining them occasionally in their carefree mindset.  Though the other three temperaments maintain their innate qualities, a large number of people engage in behaviors and professions that are typically associated with the Artisan, but are not in fact Artisans.  Put simply, the “Artisan Bandwagon” is very easy to hop on to.

Guardians very much relate to and emulate Artisans because they both live in the concrete world of what is going on around them: be it fashion, events, people, etc.  Guardians are often very envious of their Artisan cousins’ ability to throw caution to the wind and have a good time, and often mimic such behavior.  At the end of the day however, they will always return to their stoic, shoulder-to-the-wheel mindset when the fun is over.

Rationals relate to Artisans in the realm of utilitarianism, as both temperaments ultimately just want to get things done.  Rationals envy the Artisans’ uncanny ability to excel in the short term, and often try to compete with their Artisan cousins’ inherent affinity for talent and skill.  Ultimately however, Rationals approach such Artisan professions and activities with a logical mind.

Idealists primary suit is diplomacy, which causes them to often ‘get in the heads’ or ‘walk in the shoes’ of those around them.  Most of the time, the prevailing temperament in their social environment of course is the Artisan.  Artisans largely dominate most social scenes, as do Artisan mindsets, as most ‘social scenes’ involve going out and having fun, something that the Artisan excels at.  And thus Idealists have no problem relating to their Artisan friends, and as a result often seem like one of them.  All in all, however, the Idealists primary concern is and always will be diplomacy.

5 thoughts on “Tactical Strategy”

  1. You know that’s right. Rationals don’t just read books about scholars and scientists and Idealists don’t just read about poets.

    They both like to read about heroes and heroines. Go figure.

  2. Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim(R)
    Scipio Africanus(R or A)
    Donald Mckay(R)
    Natan Sharansky(I)
    Richard John Neuhaus(R)

    Jrr tolkien(R)
    Alfred “The Great” of Wessex(R)
    Sir Winston Churchill(A)
    mary ann patten(G)
    Bethany Hamilton(A)

    Michael Novak(R)
    Ralph Bagnold(R)
    Yoni Netanyahu(A)
    Aurel Stein(R)
    Ruksana kauser(G)

    Simo Häyhä(A)
    Hans and Sophie Scholl(I)
    Raoul Wallenberg(I)
    Maria Theresa Habsburg(G)
    C. S. Lewis(R)

    Marco Polo(A)
    Baron Dominique Larrey(G)
    Tenzing Norgay(A)
    Samuel d Champlain(not sure)

    You may not be familiar with all of these. Of those it is interesting how many are Rationals famous for artisan things.
    So the “artisan bandwagon is attractive even for those who can’t get on it themselves.

    1. Sorry. That was the list of my “people who inspire you” section in Facebook. In other words, those were people whom I happen to admire.

      1. It is interesting and I have often wondered while reading about renowned writers, thinkers, and overall amazingly talented figures in history, how they were not Artisans but Rationals. The list you compiled is quite nice, thank you for sharing.

  3. Well, one expects thinkers and writers to be rationals. It is the ones that are “out of character” that are interesting.

    Donald McKay for instance was an Inventor providing services to Artisans. He was the shipwright that built the famous clipper ships for artisan captains to race round the horn with.

    Dominique Larrey was a Guardian who provided infrastructure for an artisanish specialty. More specifically he was a “father of paramedics” who, motivated by humanitarian instincts used his logistics talents to organize evacuation procedures for the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars-a time when medical science was almost non existent but just getting patients out in time saved a lot of lives.

    Alfred the Great was one of the few early medieval kings in Northern Europe to be a scholar in his own right rather then just a patron. He was forced by circumstance to also be a formidable warrior-prince and in his old age was a great lawgiver.

    Mary Ann Paten was a classic example of a Guardian turned Artisan for a guardian reason-she navigated the clipper Neptune’s car around the horn
    while tending her husband, the captain, who was sick with Tuberculosis. The nineteenth-century gets a bad rap with it’s stereotyped dainty women treated like china dolls. The fact was, there were a number like mrs. Patten in those days who proved themselves as tough as nails when put to it. Of course she didn’t ask to be a heroine; she only desired to be a good spouse. In some ways that makes her more impressive.

    Alfred may be the best example of getting on the “artisan bandwagon”. He lived in a time when a King was expected to personally participate in hand to hand combat and to be able to win the loyalty of seasoned warriors. He could do that while encouraging literacy, standardizing law, and a number of other sorts of goals you would expect of a rational.

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