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| Character & Contribution Values, integrity, finding your purpose, living your purpose, serving the greater good, making a difference, changing the world, charity, polarity, lightworkers, darkworkers |
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06-10-2007, 05:42 AM
| #1 (permalink) |
| Banned Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Quebec, Canada
Posts: 3,811
 |  Your Most Unforgettable Character…
Leaving Mom and Pop out of it… tell us about your “Most Unforgettable Character” Mine was a man called Joffre L’Heureux… when I was quite young he was hired in the small town that I lived in as the Chief of Police…. The reason that he had been hired was due to the fact that with five Hotels in a small town of 3000 pop. there was a lot of drinking and fighting on the week-ends… so, he was hired to clean up the town… Mr. L’Heureux was a very nice man and he was also a body builder in times when they were almost unheard off… Since, my family lived close to the Police Station and the fact that his son and I were friends I often was there when Mr. L’Heureux would train with weights… it impressed me so much that I asked my dad to get me some barbells and dumbbells so that I could train also… That was over 50 years ago… and to this date… I still go to the gym regularly and I probably owe the fact that I am still in good shape to that wonderful guy… In our own way… we can all be mentors for those who come after us and make a huge difference in their lives… that is another lesson that Mr. l’Heureux taught me… For more on Joffre L’Heureux see here… . |
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06-10-2007, 03:09 PM
| #3 (permalink) |
| Banned Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Darkness / The Never
Posts: 1,673
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Two people (apart from Parents and Steve Pavlina) Oath, Aka ~ Derek. Because he taught me to take responsibilty and realise my own internal power. And Jonathan, for listening to me moand an winge and bitch and he took it all with good grace and he is still my friend unconditionally, he taugh me about Non-attachment, about central cores of Buddhism, and gently nudged me in the right direction. These are my two role models tbh. |
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06-10-2007, 05:54 PM
| #4 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 632
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My mother's best friend when I was very small and the lady for whom I was named, Ms. Desiree. She was the librarian at the public library in my small hometown. She introduced me to books and her influence has flowed through my entire life. Because of Ms. Desiree, I've loved books and reading and words since a very young age and I've passed it on to my children and my grandson, so her influence continues. My mom would take me with her to visit at the library at least twice a week. While they chatted, I had the children's book room all to myself. Oh, the wonders I found there! Later when I was a pre-teen and a teenager, I continued to visit her at the library. She always had a few selections waiting for me that she knew I would love. She was an educated, proper, kind, classy, well-read, soft spoken southern lady with a beautiful southern drawl and she always smelled of lavendar  |
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06-10-2007, 06:42 PM
| #5 (permalink) | |
| Banned Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Quebec, Canada
Posts: 3,811
| Quote:
Your story also illustrates, once again, the importance and the positive influence of a mentor.. Thank you for sharing that with us...  . | |
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06-10-2007, 11:16 PM
| #6 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Minnesota, USA
Posts: 224
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A close friend of mine in college named Calvin Birdbear. Calvin was one of the most passionate people I have ever met and his influence was so great that I still think of him weekly years later. He was intense about everything in life – school, love, friendships and singing. He was brilliant and also a pain in the ass. He would call me at all hours of the night to hear a new song or show up at my job with some crazy idea trying to get me to leave early. Calvin never quite fit in anywhere and I loved him for that – he was never dressed quite right, never said the “right” thing at the right time, wasn’t politically correct about his heritage or mine and so forth. But what he did have was an unshakeable belief in himself and a willingness to live his dream. He didn’t only believe in himself, he believed in the people he cared about. He just expected you to succeed to such a degree that you actually ended up believing him. He also was the worst driver I have ever met, constantly running, bumping or backing into things and it was always “exhilarating” getting in the truck to drive home after loading his equipment. Within a month of realizing his dream and signing with a record label he was killed in a car accident driving home at night. Being his friend and watching him taught me that you don’t have to perfect (or even anywhere close) to be successful in life, that time is short, to treat the people I love with gratitude and that you can’t touch your dreams without trying. And I mean really trying. |
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06-11-2007, 12:35 AM
| #7 (permalink) | |
| Banned Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Quebec, Canada
Posts: 3,811
| Quote:
The words I quoted are very profound and very true... thanks for sharing all that with us... . | |
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06-11-2007, 03:03 AM
| #8 (permalink) |
| Banned Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 734
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My most unforgetable character was my junior basketball coach. I had dreams of playing in the Olympics, and practised every chance, day and night (my poor neighbours). When I turned fourteen I moved into the top junior coach in Australia's team. Our club was the top in the country, and our head senior coach was famous Australian Olympic coach Kieth Miller, who was a brilliant man, and who used to fill my head with Olympic dreams. It was like a dream come true when the junior coach took me under his wing and began to work with me privately, grooming me for the Olympics. However the guy was a paedophile, and I was his target. I'll never forget one day when he absolutely blasted me in private, telling me I was too soft, weak, had to become a man, and was I gay, as I was never with girls. He then wanted to know if I had 'the balls' to make it, and said he would 'teach' me about girls, make me a man, always pushing the 'if you've got the guts' angle. And away he went. That first time is completely, horrifically unexplainable, but the mind and body can do amasing things to protect you. I was a perfect target, as my mother abused my brother, sister and I repeatedly, and sometimes my father would join in to get her off his back. I knew never to talk back to adults, and never to question them, plus I had effectively had no parents to turn to. However, as I had been kicked, punched, bitten, choked, stomped, knocked out, bounced of walls, doors, table corners, chairs, you name it, I already had the skill of disassociating, or stepping outside of your body, feeling nothing. So in a way it was easy for me to be under him, but gone at the same time. Eventually I devised a way out, and constantly surrounded myself with girls so he couldn't easily get me alone, but I finally had to quit the team. Before that, even during my parents stuff, I was a top student, and came Dux of my primary school. I got top marks in my first year at high school, but next thing was bottom, and considered trouble, and lazy. I became really violent and aggressive, which was a good thing in sport. I didn't trust anyone and became extremely cynical. It used to dumbfound me, and still does, how this guy was held up as the pillar of society, he was a bank manager as well, and won awards and accolades left, right and centre. I actually owe the guy a lot, as I learned about me. What I was really made of. Because of him I took up weight training, to get big and strong enough to make sure nothing ever happened again. My teenage years were radical, I had, and loved fights. Real fighting was easy for me, as I had been trained in the real thing since a baby. However I soon found myself sitting in jail cells, and I decided that my life had to be better, different, and that I was a good person, and had to act like one. So I began a total change, and launched into personal development, and transformation. Now I have an incredible life, and want only the best for everyone. Thanks to that coach, I truly know that when the chips are down, I make it, I thrive. I remind myself sometimes, in a positive way, that I was once a skinny, little, terrified kid, totally alone, trapped under a slobbering animal who had society in his back pocket, and I chose to be a good person, the best I can be. I also thank that coach, as because of him, I have developed a powerful sense of empathy, and understanding towards anyone who is being abused, and know that the slightest sense of help means so much to them. I am writing this because its the truth, and in our society, we often don't really deal with the reality of life, preferring to sweep it under the table. I could lie, to please people, and make up some story, but that wasn't the case for me, and I had and have to learn to never compromise myself to please anyone. |
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06-11-2007, 03:40 AM
| #9 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Minnesota, USA
Posts: 224
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Uplift, It's always amazing to me how such horrible events can be the catalyst for amazing transformations. While pain strips away it can take you right to the essence of who and what you are. I don't envy your experiences but it is inspiring to see what you've done with them. |
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06-11-2007, 04:02 AM
| #10 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 632
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Uplift, I am so sorry for what happened to you and I am so in awe of the way you took that terrible experience and turned it into a positive. You are obviously an amazingly strong person. It's impressive to me that you put your story out there for all to see, because I'm sure there is someone who is a victim also who will hear your story and decide, as you decided, to be a victim no longer! Kudos to you!
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06-11-2007, 04:08 AM
| #11 (permalink) |
| Banned Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Quebec, Canada
Posts: 3,811
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Uplift... it certainly took a lots of guts to share that... my hat goes off to you... your story might just be the incentive that someone needs to turn their life around.. . again, thanks for sharing... . |
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06-13-2007, 12:45 AM
| #13 (permalink) | |
| Banned Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Quebec, Canada
Posts: 3,811
| Quote:
 )In other words... some people like to emulate those who have walked the walk and have reached home post... I'm one of those... I have a ton of heroes, mentors and gurus... I'm a PD junkie... And other are not attracted to what could be called hero worship... therefore they will not seek or find them... Hope this answers your question... . | |
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06-13-2007, 05:16 AM
| #14 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 219
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I have had a number of people that made a difference in my life (really, anyone that comes into your life makes a difference, to some degree); but none of them ever have lasted in my mind as 'influential' to this day, only in the moment. The only character that has ever been timeless for me, has been 'Paul Atreides' (Usul, or Mua'dib) in the book "Dune". That character, to this day, still influences me. The book itself still influences me.
__________________ "Speak your mind, even if your voice trembles." |
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06-13-2007, 05:30 AM
| #15 (permalink) | |
| Banned Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Quebec, Canada
Posts: 3,811
| Quote:
Who said mentor and teachers had to be life and blood...???  . | |
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06-13-2007, 06:31 AM
| #16 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 332
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Mr. Bush -- My high school physics and chemistry teacher. Here's what made him such a special guy: 1) He knew how to engage a class. To demonstrate the consistent effect of gravity on objects of differing mass, he would climb onto his desk and drop things. One time, he dropped a heavy paperweight and chipped the tile on the floor! To demonstrate momentum, he would run across the room like an insane gazelle, releasing objects in mid-sprint. Oh, and there was always some strange chemical smell coming from his room. 2) He was generous. One time, he caught me cheating on a test (the first and last time I ever cheated) and he said, "John, I'm going to let you come by after school and re-take this test." I did -- and I aced it. I think the only reason I ever cheated in the first place was to feel like I was "getting away" with something. 3) He cared about his students. I remember vividly the time he drove me home from school when my father couldn't make it. I saw Mr. Bush at a class reunion recently. He was quite old (and ill) and did not remember me. Mr. Bush was so important to me, but he had so many students that I'm sure I was just a face in the crowd to him. It was sad to see him like that. But I will always remember him the way he was -- an inspiration.
__________________ 11 Causes of Procrastination and Their Cures Resolve Arguments like a Pro with 7 Proven Techniques Are You an American Zombie? How I OverCame a Crippling Anxiety Disorder Last edited by JohnPlace; 06-13-2007 at 07:23 AM. |
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06-13-2007, 06:48 AM
| #17 (permalink) |
| Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: IL
Posts: 83
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The characters I've known in real life have been fairly forgettable. But I find myself asking quite often, WWDD - What would Dagny (Taggart) Do? Dagny Taggart's the main character of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. That book (with some caveats) has really influenced me as to how a person should live their life in a fulfilling, excellent way.
__________________ dishing out tough love. |
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06-16-2007, 08:49 AM
| #18 (permalink) | |
| Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Illinois
Posts: 189
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06-16-2007, 04:15 PM
| #19 (permalink) | |
| Banned Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Quebec, Canada
Posts: 3,811
| Quote:
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