I met a Russian ambassador this afternoon. He's charming. He's cute. His English is flawless and he's very witty. On the few occasions I have had to meet other diplomats, they have all been charming, cute, spoken perfect English and been witty. (And although he's not a diplomat, I met Oliver North once, and he could sell ice to Eskimos. The man oozes charisma from his pores.)

So. Do you become a diplomat BECAUSE you're charming, witty, etc, or do you gain those things after you've chosen that profession? I mean, I can fake my way through being social, etc for work-related things, but put me in a room at a party and I will head directly for the nearest corner and try to become invisible as hard as I can. Are people who find themselves on a national or international stage drawn to that because they already feel competent and worthy, or are they just faking it because schmoozing is part of the job description?

I dunno. I just want to know how to get whatever it is they've got. I feel kind of the same way about Dancing with the Stars, if anybody watched that. I didn't get into it on a regular basis until a few weeks ago (with the exception of tuning in for Tucker Carlson), but I got addicted in a hurry. Those women are up there on national TV, half naked, having had to teach some B-list celebrity (except for Emmitt!) how not to fall over their feet, and they're smiling and happy and looking good. Do you think they get backstage and go, "Holy crap, I screwed that up" or "damn, I look fat on camera" or are happy with what they've accomplished? No matter how well I've done something, I can find fault with it. How do you get to the point where you can look at something you've done well, that you went into it EXPECTING to do well (another problem for me), and then say, "Yeah, that was great" instead of beating yourself up for your flaws?

I'm really interested to hear what people have to say about this!

Candy