The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

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Ringulf
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The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Ringulf »

Not exactly Middle Earth, but Midguard at least! :mrgreen:

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Viking weapons

Have you ever wondered how some Vikings are able to win glory, wealth, fame, and an enduring place in the sagas while others have to settle for looting a few small coastal villages? What principles seperate these highly effective Vikings from ordinary marauders? Effective Vikings embrace the Plunder Mindset. The Plunder Mindset is a business concept in which a person believes that all of the resources and success should be taken for himself. The following seven habits can leverage effective strengths to foster this Plunder Mindset.

Habit 1: Be Destructive: Principles of Personal Choice

Accept responsibility for your actions in order to take control of your situation. You can be either reactive or destructive. When you are reactive, you blame other people for your problems. When you are destructive, other people blame you for their problems.

Habit 2: Begun with Their End in Mind: Principles of Personal Victory

Set long term goals based on the Total Victory principle. Formulate a ‘Personal Mission Statement’ that involves crushing your foes. Visualization is an important tool. Visualize overwhelming their warriors, plundering their villages, and carrying off their women and cattle. Unless your longship has limited cargo space, in which case you might want to visualize leaving some of the heftier ones behind.

Habit 3: Put Your Things First: Principles of Priority & Execution

Set the right priorities to magnify your effectiveness. Prioritize work aimed at achieving long-term goals at the expense of your enemies. Pillaging is an important part of time management. Successful pillaging focuses on results and benchmarks that involve taking other people’s stuff.

Habit 4: Think Win/Lose: Principles of Personal Benefit

Successful Vikings take into account the consequences their actions might have upon their clients and customers. Maintain an attitude whereby personally beneficial solutions are sought that satisfy the needs of yourself, and, in the case of a conflict, none of the other parties involved.

Habit 5: Seek First to Pillage, Then to Burn: Principles of Doing Things in the Right Order

Burning a place before pillaging it will likely result in less loot. Pillaging a place before burning it will increase the amount of loot. Keep this in mind before you pull out the torches.

Habit 6: Go Berserk: Principles of Creative Confrontation

Going berserk is an effective way to overwhelm the enemy’s team. Avoid decision making. Apply destructive problem solving. Employ brute force to promote successful confrontation. Embrace and leverage annihilation. When going berserk is pursued as a habit, the result will exceed the sum of what each of the warriors could have destroyed on their own. In this way, "The whole is reduced to a collection of parts."

Habit 7: Sharpen the Sword: Principles of Belligerent Self-Promotion

Between battles, regain Destruction Capacity by engaging in carefully selected weapon-training activities. Then, as battle approaches, eliminate unwanted decision-making capacity by quaffing vast quantities of mead.
In conclusion...

Man is different from other animals in that he has self-consciousness. Because of this unique gift, he has the ability to reflect upon his experiences, observe his own self, and think about his thoughts. But why waste your time on stuff like that when you could be spreading a reign of terror across Europe?
I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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Peter Remling
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Peter Remling »

A good recap of the motivational seminar I took.

The instructor was good except for a tendency to point
his laser pointer at your eyes.

The food wasn't great but the cruise after was nice
until we made land and then it got interesting.
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Aethelfirth
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Aethelfirth »

Is this meant to be humorous? Because from a strictly historical perspective it's simply untrue.
If it is just meant to be funny, apologies for it going over my head so to speak.
"A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities." J.R.R. Tolkien
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by RikJohnson »

Aethelfirth wrote:Is this meant to be humorous? Because from a strictly historical perspective it's simply untrue.
If it is just meant to be funny, apologies for it going over my head so to speak.
I am fairly certain that the Vikings and other Norse peoples who specialized in raiding rarely held motivational seminars.
Thus, I can only conclude that the author was inserting a bit of humor into an otherwise serious matter.

Might I add that Barbara Byfield in her classic work, _The Glass Harmionica_ aka _The Book of the Wierd_ suggests that many dental problems may be averted if the berserker would rim his shield with leather before he chews upon the edge before battle.
Those who give up a little freedom in place of a little security will soon discover that they possess neither.
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Ringulf
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Ringulf »

Aethelfirth wrote:Is this meant to be humorous? Because from a strictly historical perspective it's simply untrue.
If it is just meant to be funny, apologies for it going over my head so to speak.
Yes my friend it is totaly tongue in cheek and finger to nose. It is based on a motivational book that has been around a while called "Seven Habits of Succesful People" I beleive, and takes these habits point by point adding a bit of Viking Humor.
Never one to take themselves too seriously, I doubt they even listened. :wink:
I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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Aethelfirth
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Aethelfirth »

I wasn't considering it in the format it's presented in. Merely the false things it references regarding raiding and berserkers. I've seen things similar to this written and meant to be taken seriously and it's all research based on myth, nonsense, rumor and conjecture. So I wasn't positive it was a joke. I have no experience with motivational seminars or books. Thanks for clarifying however.
"A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities." J.R.R. Tolkien
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Kortoso »

Aethelfirth wrote:Is this meant to be humorous? Because from a strictly historical perspective it's simply untrue.
If it is just meant to be funny, apologies for it going over my head so to speak.
I concur. It would have been a lot more impressive if the author had read the Havamal and shared some of that wisdom.
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Ringulf
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Ringulf »

Wow! and they say Dwarves are too serious! Guys, loosen up! it was intended to be a humorous comparison to a motivational book but as if applied to vikings. No pearls of wisdom here, no secrets of life, just a bit of humor to pass the time. Jeez Dunadain! always with the negative vibes like...like... some all powerful, evil being :twisted: had it out for them and wanted to enslave the world! :evil: ....oh... yeah, well I can see how that might color your perception of things. :wink:
I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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Aethelfirth
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Aethelfirth »

Ringulf wrote:Wow! and they say Dwarves are too serious! Guys, loosen up! it was intended to be a humorous comparison to a motivational book but as if applied to vikings. No pearls of wisdom here, no secrets of life, just a bit of humor to pass the time. Jeez Dunadain! always with the negative vibes like...like... some all powerful, evil being :twisted: had it out for them and wanted to enslave the world! :evil: ....oh... yeah, well I can see how that might color your perception of things. :wink:

Why is it that just because I don't find THIS particular thing funny I have to loosen up? I don't think any one here took it negatively but you with this comment.

I didn't know if it was a joke or something like those chain emails that get passed around as fact when they are all BS so I asked you to clarify. Getting defensive about it is pointless.

There's actually a certain level of irony in telling me to loosen up if you actually new me but I recon that's irrelevant.
"A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities." J.R.R. Tolkien
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Eothain »

Tough crowd... I thought it was humorous.

Even Ringulf's "defensive" reply was meant to be funny - I found it humorous as well. He most likely didn't intend to offend anyone, that's not how we do things here.
...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by jbook »

Nothing inherently wrong with Ringulf's post. I think most of us in the historical realm of reenacting are so used to folks posting stuff like this as a serious look into Viking culture that we are a bit turned off by it. Viking culture along with pirates, mountain man fur trade and ren faire folks and Jacobite highlander reenactors do some of the worst jobs of representing the people they claim to.
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Aethelfirth »

jbook wrote:Nothing inherently wrong with Ringulf's post. I think most of us in the historical realm of reenacting are so used to folks posting stuff like this as a serious look into Viking culture that we are a bit turned off by it. Viking culture along with pirates, mountain man fur trade and ren faire folks and Jacobite highlander reenactors do some of the worst jobs of representing the people they claim to.

Exactly!!!

It was never my intention to offend any one. Hence my wanting clarification.
"A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities." J.R.R. Tolkien
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Ringulf
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Re: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vikings

Post by Ringulf »

Guys I was not offended in the first place, Eothane knows me well enough to know my "Loosen up" post was in the same vein, I did not take it negatively either. So please know that I was just using a bit of levity in both instances and if you get to know me you will realize that I joke and tease quite often, but it is all in good fun.
I am actually very familiar with the historical reenactment community(whom I admire deeply) as well as the Authenticty Nazi's of the SCA(somewhat of a contradiction in terms) and I feel that everyone should enjoy the depth they wish to submerge to in this game or any other without casting dispersions on anyone elses level of commitment. Though I truly love historical reasearch myself and dive deep into it in many respects, I never take myself too seriously, which is why I can play a Dwarven Ranger in the first place. (Even amongst Dwarves I am accused of being somewhat frivolous and carefree) So once again I will say: relax all, this will not be my last attemp at humor so take what you see with a grain of salt when it comes to Ringulf, I will make it very evident when I am being serious! :mrgreen:
I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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