Some people “never read fiction”. Life, it seems, is too short for its frivolity when there remain Great Books to be read.

Yet, well-written fiction has the power to bring emotion and experience to life, accelerating (vicariously) the individual experience. And, as psychologists know, a deeply imagined experience has the same effect as one directly experienced. Hence, the power of visualisation in sport (and life) coaching.

Here’s a fantastic, case study, example from the Art of Manliness’s Brett McKay.

He uses extracts from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is The Night to demonstrate charisma in action. It comes as a book-end to AoM’s series on the three elements of charisma, which we touched on previously.

Here’s a brief example…

Brett: Warmth makes people feel acknowledged, special, and taken care of.
Tender is the Night: He seemed kind and charming—his voice promised that he would take care of her, and that a little later he would open up whole new worlds for her, unroll an endless succession of magnificent possibilities.

Definitely worth a read.

And, as a bonus, here’s Jackson Browne…