Tuesday, February 26, 2013
1 Serious Social Media Tip - P.O.P.
I keep wondering what's the secret to success. How can I improve my social media presence? What do I have to do to get better? I learned so much from someone I ran into the other day at my art group's meeting.
[You can like his facebook page by clicking HERE]
This gentleman created a local facebook group and grew it from basically two people to over 400 people in about 20 days!
I asked him what his secret is and he advised that it all had to do with P.O.P. - promoting other people first without regard to your own projects.
So based on his results, I say if you want exposure - try and P.O.P. - Promote Other People -first and then go from there.
What do you think? Does this strategy work for you? Do you have a much better strategy? Let me know in the comments below.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
10 things that used to be impossible and the 'crazy people' who made them possible.
1) Horseless Carriage -(aka the car) : Crazy person = Henry Ford.
Henry Ford hated horses. Rumor has it that he had been kicked a few too many times by cantankerous horses and he just didn't trust them as transportation. So he was constantly looking for ways to get around riding a horse into town - he lived on the farm and hated it. One day, he came across a buggie that had a huge steam engine propelling it down the country road near his parent's farm instead of the usual horse drawn buggie. Henry Ford, who already had a reputation for tinkering with contraptions, flagged the rider down and asked him everything he could about the machine powered buggie. It wasn't too long after that Henry Ford was seen around Detroit with his new fangled contraption - the quadricycle, crowds followed him everywhere.
After the Quadricycle came a few more models that made him famous in Detroit but, it was the Model T that made him world renowned.
2) The 4 minute mile - Crazy Person = Roger Bannister.
Roger Bannister wanted to win a Gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, when he finished fourth in the 1500 meter he was understandably upset. After walking away from the Olympic games with no medal in hand he set for himself a bigger goal - to be the first man on the planet to run a four minute mile. At the time it was unheard of.But after training for months to improve his speed in each quarter mile, on May 6th, 1954, Bannister broke the 4-minute mile by running a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.
3) The Black president- Crazy Person = Barack Obama. To those who aren't African American, or mixed for that matter, you can either skip this one or indulge me for a moment. But when I was young the idea of a Black President was considered somewhat of an impossible dream. Regardless of what your political opinion might be I think I can safely say in the 2008 election - Obama outworked his competitor. One example of this is during the townhall meeting debate.
After everything was said and done, all the questions answered and comments made. He and his competitor went and mingled with the crowd. The difference is that his competitor shook a few dozen hands and then left. Barack Obama went on to make contact with every single audience member he could get a hold of (there were easily a hundred) and made the effort to shake each hand he could. Check out 1:35:00 or so on the above video.
4) Light without fire: aka the lightbulb. Crazy Person = Thomas Edison, It's no secret that Thomas Edison, the famed inventor worked quite a bit "10,000 times" before he perfected the idea of the lightbulb. However, before the lightbulb people were reliant on lamps and candles and oil and wax were considered necessary in order to function at night. Fires were a way of life.
5) Man in flight: Crazy People = Will and Orville Wright aka The Wright Brothers. Simon Sinek does a TED talk about it's not "What you do but, why you do it." He talks about how at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries there was a race to have the first heavier-than-air manned flight. The Wright Brothers had none of the funding or the notoriety as one now forgotten competitor - Samuel Pierpoint Langley but, they were so focused on figuring out how to become the first that they overcame all odds and achieved their goal.
6) Man on the moon: Crazy person = JFK/NASA/Neil Armstrong. So we all likely know the story of Neil Armstrong, the famous words "One small step for man, One giant step for mankind" . What is mentioned less often is how John F Kennedy addressed congress in 1961 and said "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."
In Plato's time or Jesus' or even Da Vinci's reaching the heavens was nothing more than a dream left for the undiscovered country that is the afterlife. Today we've not only reached the heavens but touched the moon. The next logical step that would be considered impossible today would be to reach a planet in a galaxy far far away that could continue to sustain the human species. Today this seems an impossibility but hopefully in the distant future, when our descendants are researching that ancient past called the 21st century they'll read this blogpost and laugh.
7) The Personal Computer: Crazy People =Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak
To explain how far we've come in the world of computer's I have borrowed some quotes from http://estephenmack.com/humor/quotes.txt who borrowed these from the Kansas City Star.
8) Invisibility: Crazy People = Dr Susumu Tachi & His Team: So I guess there is this movie and book called Harry Potter that discussed an invisibility cloak. For most of us invisibility is an odd illusion that magicians create in some classic fantasy or smoke and mirrors show. Well it's lot closer to reality thanks to Dr. Susumu Tachi and his team. [Check out this clip] Although the invisibility cloak is very rudimentary today - just consider how far the computers has come in the span of a generation.
9) Robots the size of a tank: Crazy person = Japanese artist Kogoro Kurata. So when the Jetson's came out in the 1960's we were all convinced we'd have flying cars and a robot maid. Then while I was growing up, the coolest cartoons were Voltron and Transformers. But we were fairly confident tank sized robots would not be arriving anytime soon. Fast forward to today and tada - the Giant Robot has arrived:
10) Flying Cars: Crazy Person = Dr. Moller - To use the Jetson's example again. We were all going to be driving flying cars by now something that was unthinkable a century ago. Well our hovering cities have not yet arrived but the hovercar is here. The Moller Skycar is now available
Dr. Moller has had a passion for flight since he was a boy and after tinkering around as aeronautical engineer for a few years, he made the decision to get his PHd in aeronautics all the while working on the flying car.
Note to Dr. Moller - I would prefer my hover car in blue. Please & Thank You.
So what are some things you know of that were once considered impossible which have since become reality? Please post them in the comments below.
Henry Ford hated horses. Rumor has it that he had been kicked a few too many times by cantankerous horses and he just didn't trust them as transportation. So he was constantly looking for ways to get around riding a horse into town - he lived on the farm and hated it. One day, he came across a buggie that had a huge steam engine propelling it down the country road near his parent's farm instead of the usual horse drawn buggie. Henry Ford, who already had a reputation for tinkering with contraptions, flagged the rider down and asked him everything he could about the machine powered buggie. It wasn't too long after that Henry Ford was seen around Detroit with his new fangled contraption - the quadricycle, crowds followed him everywhere.
 |
| Quadricycle - from Wikipedia |
After the Quadricycle came a few more models that made him famous in Detroit but, it was the Model T that made him world renowned.
2) The 4 minute mile - Crazy Person = Roger Bannister.
Roger Bannister wanted to win a Gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, when he finished fourth in the 1500 meter he was understandably upset. After walking away from the Olympic games with no medal in hand he set for himself a bigger goal - to be the first man on the planet to run a four minute mile. At the time it was unheard of.But after training for months to improve his speed in each quarter mile, on May 6th, 1954, Bannister broke the 4-minute mile by running a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.
3) The Black president- Crazy Person = Barack Obama. To those who aren't African American, or mixed for that matter, you can either skip this one or indulge me for a moment. But when I was young the idea of a Black President was considered somewhat of an impossible dream. Regardless of what your political opinion might be I think I can safely say in the 2008 election - Obama outworked his competitor. One example of this is during the townhall meeting debate.
After everything was said and done, all the questions answered and comments made. He and his competitor went and mingled with the crowd. The difference is that his competitor shook a few dozen hands and then left. Barack Obama went on to make contact with every single audience member he could get a hold of (there were easily a hundred) and made the effort to shake each hand he could. Check out 1:35:00 or so on the above video.
4) Light without fire: aka the lightbulb. Crazy Person = Thomas Edison, It's no secret that Thomas Edison, the famed inventor worked quite a bit "10,000 times" before he perfected the idea of the lightbulb. However, before the lightbulb people were reliant on lamps and candles and oil and wax were considered necessary in order to function at night. Fires were a way of life.
5) Man in flight: Crazy People = Will and Orville Wright aka The Wright Brothers. Simon Sinek does a TED talk about it's not "What you do but, why you do it." He talks about how at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries there was a race to have the first heavier-than-air manned flight. The Wright Brothers had none of the funding or the notoriety as one now forgotten competitor - Samuel Pierpoint Langley but, they were so focused on figuring out how to become the first that they overcame all odds and achieved their goal.
6) Man on the moon: Crazy person = JFK/NASA/Neil Armstrong. So we all likely know the story of Neil Armstrong, the famous words "One small step for man, One giant step for mankind" . What is mentioned less often is how John F Kennedy addressed congress in 1961 and said "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."
In Plato's time or Jesus' or even Da Vinci's reaching the heavens was nothing more than a dream left for the undiscovered country that is the afterlife. Today we've not only reached the heavens but touched the moon. The next logical step that would be considered impossible today would be to reach a planet in a galaxy far far away that could continue to sustain the human species. Today this seems an impossibility but hopefully in the distant future, when our descendants are researching that ancient past called the 21st century they'll read this blogpost and laugh.
7) The Personal Computer: Crazy People =Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak
 |
| 1950's computer from Wired.com |
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." - Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949."I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." - Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.-
" There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." - Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.
8) Invisibility: Crazy People = Dr Susumu Tachi & His Team: So I guess there is this movie and book called Harry Potter that discussed an invisibility cloak. For most of us invisibility is an odd illusion that magicians create in some classic fantasy or smoke and mirrors show. Well it's lot closer to reality thanks to Dr. Susumu Tachi and his team. [Check out this clip] Although the invisibility cloak is very rudimentary today - just consider how far the computers has come in the span of a generation.
9) Robots the size of a tank: Crazy person = Japanese artist Kogoro Kurata. So when the Jetson's came out in the 1960's we were all convinced we'd have flying cars and a robot maid. Then while I was growing up, the coolest cartoons were Voltron and Transformers. But we were fairly confident tank sized robots would not be arriving anytime soon. Fast forward to today and tada - the Giant Robot has arrived:
10) Flying Cars: Crazy Person = Dr. Moller - To use the Jetson's example again. We were all going to be driving flying cars by now something that was unthinkable a century ago. Well our hovering cities have not yet arrived but the hovercar is here. The Moller Skycar is now available
Dr. Moller has had a passion for flight since he was a boy and after tinkering around as aeronautical engineer for a few years, he made the decision to get his PHd in aeronautics all the while working on the flying car.
Note to Dr. Moller - I would prefer my hover car in blue. Please & Thank You.
So what are some things you know of that were once considered impossible which have since become reality? Please post them in the comments below.
Monday, February 18, 2013
MMV: Happy Anniversary Nick Vujicic - Motivational Speaker
If you think you have problems - I challenge you to compare your problems to those of Nick Vujicic. If you can honestly say you have had as many limitations and challenges as Mr. Vujicic I would challenge you to at least adopt his attitude for life.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
The 3 Pro's and 3 Con's of Keeping Your Dreams to Yourself!
About a year ago, I came across this great and brief TED talk that was discussing goals.
The talk actually got me thinking about a lot of goals that I have made in the last few years. Especially the big goals that some would call "dreams. "
So somewhat ironically or maybe coincidentally, over the past year or so I have made some half-hearted progress towards some big goals. Most of the success I did have occured when I decided I was going to achieve a thing and kept it quiet. Most of the disappointment seemed to come when I told my friends and family about a goal and they kind of shirk at my "great idea" or "big dream".
They would have a tendency to ask me "Are you sure?" or "Haven't you tried that before?" or "Do you know what you're doing?" This had the tendency of zapping my confidence and most of my desire in achieving the dream.
But there's something to be said for sharing your goals with others - maybe in a Mastermind group - to help you figure out more creative ways of achieving the goal. So I took a few minutes to weigh 3 PRO's and 3 CON's of sharing your goals and even your dreams with the unwashed masses:
PRO's
+1) If you fail no one will know-
If you try and do your best to achieve an unannounced goal you will have less of an ego blow if you end up falling flat on your face. You can keep going on with your life despite your failure without embarrassing yourself in defeat.
+2) If you succeed people will likely notice and compliment you -
If you end up succeeding at an unannounced goal - especially if it's a big one - you will impress people who would have never thought you were capable of great things and it's highly likely they will begin to see you in a different light.
+3) Studies show that you will work longer on your goal -
In the video above, Mr. Stivers mentions a study by Peter Gollwitzer that showed that people who announced their goal aloud decided to give up on working towards their goal almost a third of the time earlier than those who were instructed to keep their goal to themselves who worked the entire time given on the goal. The shocking thing is that those who gave up early, did so because they thought they made a lot of progress, those that kept going knew that had a long way to go so they kept at it.
CON's
-1) You'll miss out on the acclaim and fame that comes from proving it -
People used to laugh and laugh at Cassius Clay when he first came out because he would constantly say "I am the greatest!" It was only after he had become Muhammad Ali that people stopped laughing and began believing in the boxing great. Being bold enough to tell the world you're going to do something - that sounds absurd to the critics and then actually doing it - exposes the critics for the cynics they are and validates you for holding on to your dream. Sometimes if you say something enough times aloud it can become truth even if it isn't at the original time you started. (possibly one of the most memorable images in sports is Babe Ruth calling his shot on a home run) - that takes guts! And to go after your dreams - you need guts.
-2) Friends who are positive and supportive will not be there to cheer you on -
Everybody has that friend that is that rare, true friend - believes in you and never shows you one iota of doubt. This friend can be the oasis you need as times get tough as you approach your goal. Keeping them out of the loop to fill up your tank may end up with you on empty at the side of the road.
-3) You'll miss out on the opportunity to silence the naysayers - In contrast to those cheerleaders in your life you no doubt likely have an enemy or at least a frenemy that secretly applauds your every stumble. If that person who says "you can never do anything right" and "you'll never be able to achieve that!" is rudely awakened the day you achieve that goal - On that day you have the right to be on cloud nine and announce your achievement to your naysayers over and over and over again - In my mind at least that's a great visualization.
Big dreams are never easy - I think it's Woody Hayes - the famed coach from around these parts - that had the saying something to the effect of:
So what do you think? In your experience have you reached your big goals more easily by keeping the goal a secret or telling everyone you're going to do it? I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments below.
BTW:
The next blogpost will be centered around "10 things that used to be impossible and the 'crazy people' who made them possible"
The talk actually got me thinking about a lot of goals that I have made in the last few years. Especially the big goals that some would call "dreams. "
So somewhat ironically or maybe coincidentally, over the past year or so I have made some half-hearted progress towards some big goals. Most of the success I did have occured when I decided I was going to achieve a thing and kept it quiet. Most of the disappointment seemed to come when I told my friends and family about a goal and they kind of shirk at my "great idea" or "big dream".
They would have a tendency to ask me "Are you sure?" or "Haven't you tried that before?" or "Do you know what you're doing?" This had the tendency of zapping my confidence and most of my desire in achieving the dream.
But there's something to be said for sharing your goals with others - maybe in a Mastermind group - to help you figure out more creative ways of achieving the goal. So I took a few minutes to weigh 3 PRO's and 3 CON's of sharing your goals and even your dreams with the unwashed masses:
PRO's
+1) If you fail no one will know-
If you try and do your best to achieve an unannounced goal you will have less of an ego blow if you end up falling flat on your face. You can keep going on with your life despite your failure without embarrassing yourself in defeat.
+2) If you succeed people will likely notice and compliment you -
If you end up succeeding at an unannounced goal - especially if it's a big one - you will impress people who would have never thought you were capable of great things and it's highly likely they will begin to see you in a different light.
+3) Studies show that you will work longer on your goal -
In the video above, Mr. Stivers mentions a study by Peter Gollwitzer that showed that people who announced their goal aloud decided to give up on working towards their goal almost a third of the time earlier than those who were instructed to keep their goal to themselves who worked the entire time given on the goal. The shocking thing is that those who gave up early, did so because they thought they made a lot of progress, those that kept going knew that had a long way to go so they kept at it.
CON's
-1) You'll miss out on the acclaim and fame that comes from proving it -
People used to laugh and laugh at Cassius Clay when he first came out because he would constantly say "I am the greatest!" It was only after he had become Muhammad Ali that people stopped laughing and began believing in the boxing great. Being bold enough to tell the world you're going to do something - that sounds absurd to the critics and then actually doing it - exposes the critics for the cynics they are and validates you for holding on to your dream. Sometimes if you say something enough times aloud it can become truth even if it isn't at the original time you started. (possibly one of the most memorable images in sports is Babe Ruth calling his shot on a home run) - that takes guts! And to go after your dreams - you need guts.
-2) Friends who are positive and supportive will not be there to cheer you on -
Everybody has that friend that is that rare, true friend - believes in you and never shows you one iota of doubt. This friend can be the oasis you need as times get tough as you approach your goal. Keeping them out of the loop to fill up your tank may end up with you on empty at the side of the road.
-3) You'll miss out on the opportunity to silence the naysayers - In contrast to those cheerleaders in your life you no doubt likely have an enemy or at least a frenemy that secretly applauds your every stumble. If that person who says "you can never do anything right" and "you'll never be able to achieve that!" is rudely awakened the day you achieve that goal - On that day you have the right to be on cloud nine and announce your achievement to your naysayers over and over and over again - In my mind at least that's a great visualization.
Big dreams are never easy - I think it's Woody Hayes - the famed coach from around these parts - that had the saying something to the effect of:
"Show me something that's easy, and I'll show you something that ain't worth a dime!"-Woody HayesMoral of the Story - be careful who you share your goals with and even more careful who you share your dreams with but if it's the right kind of people and/or if you're the right type of person... you can.
So what do you think? In your experience have you reached your big goals more easily by keeping the goal a secret or telling everyone you're going to do it? I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments below.
BTW:
The next blogpost will be centered around "10 things that used to be impossible and the 'crazy people' who made them possible"
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Is Love At First Sight...Bullcrap?
As I was considering whether or not to write on Valentine's Day I came across an article that convinced me to give my two cents:
 |
| from Daily Mail (UK) |
Is loving someone for their money any worse than loving them for their looks?
Monday, February 11, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Conquering and Compelling the Four personality types (Part 2 of 2)
So in last week's post,
I mentioned the easy way to determine personality type or the DISC system. To review we covered the graph that outlines the four different personality types.
In this post I'll wrap up by talking about the following
Dominant - Donald Trump, Dick Cheney, Gen. George Patton & Steve Jobs - These men are all very task-oriented and driven personalities. They are all leaders or have been leaders of organizations either today or in the past.
Influencer - Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, George W Bush, Ellen DeGeneres, Tyra Banks - These individuals are outgoing and all about relationships. If you had ten of these people in a room they would turn it into a party in under 10 minutes.
Supportive - Princess Di, Johnny Carson, Mary Tyler Moore, Beyonce. - These are the reserved and relationship oriented individuals. These type of people like to go with the flow and get to know people on a very slow and gentle pace.
Cautious - Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Ross Perot, David Letterman & Steve Wozniak - These types like to do their research and therefore like to know the answer and therefore are usually right and will not hesitate to let you know.
What the personalities NEED to be happy/content:
Dominant - Need to be in control and achieving goals. - Dominant personality types live for achieving their goals. They get a kick out of making to do lists they LOVE to be at the head of the table giving orders. If you can help them get closer to their goals or bring them more influence and power over others they will respect you more and more.
Influencer - Need variety and people lots and lots of people - This personality type just gets off on being around people. They love to meet new people, crack jokes and try new things. This personality type also loves to talk. If you can think of your friends who have the gift of gab and are always the center of attention - this is a Outgoing Relationship-oriented Influencer.
Supportive - Need stability - Supportive types love to keep things the way they are. They get annoyed when things change too much or more importantly too soon. They want everyone to get along and to avoid drama in their lives as much as possible.
Cautious - Need to be right - This type is very reserved yet calculating in their approach. They love to think and learn and research. This personality type gets a kick out of learning all the details about a subject - sometimes to the point of overkill.
What you can do to piss off these personalities
Dominant - Try and boss them around and/or waste their time - If you want to see a screaming match - put a bunch of Dominants in a room and then make a Supportive person the boss. They will run over the person in a matter of seconds and then duke it out over who's really in charge. Another way to upset this personality is to him and haw over decisions or tell a long drawn out story about your weekend before immediately getting down to business. If you read the 4-hour work week - +Tim Ferris a definite Dominant type goes into detail on how to get rid of time wasters (likely Influencers and Supportive) while attempting to get work done.
Influencer - Isolate them or embarrass them on a grand scale - These people run on the energy of other people so if you put them on a deserted Island and forced them to get along alone they would likely get really depressed until they discover a scuffed up volleyball to make their new best friend.
Another way you can piss of an Influencer is to embarrass them in front of their peers. Unless you're an Influencer yourself beware of this - this type will likely do an ingenious job of reducing your influence in the world if you come after them. Recently an Influencer I know was insulted behind her back. Within minutes, the person who insulted the influencer was second-guessing her gaffe as the influencer found out from the very person the insult was shared with. The Influencer then went on to gradually change people's opinion surrounding the offending party - including my own opinion - in a matter of minutes.
BONUS - a final way to not so much piss off but definitely disconnect with an influencer is by focusing on nitty gritty details and fine print like a Cautious personality might do.
Supportive - Be rude, insensitive, yell or scream at them - Supportive people like to go with the flow and can't deal so much with insensitive or rude people who might attempt to belittle them. They also really get offended when they are being yelled at.
Supportive types love to "stay the course" so to speak. That being said last minute changes are close to unbearable to this personality type.
Cautious - Tell them that they're wrong about something they know and/or believe in - The Cautious type has done their research or at least all the research they care to do on any given subject their interested in so when you tell them they're wrong about something they will not only be offended that you could possibly think they could be wrong but, they will go out of their way to prove you wrong. This goes for the sports fanatic, the sci-fi movie buff and without a doubt certain fictional, L.A. -area scientists.
So how did me and Nancy finally start to get along - even though we're on the opposite end of the spectrum?
Since I'm mainly a Cautious type, and Nancy is mainly a Influencer it is easy to see how we could possibly disagree. But there were two saving graces:
1) I can get out of my Cautious mood when I'm done with my work
2) Nancy (and most Influencers) have a way of getting people to warm up to them
So we would ride the train home from work since my cautious personality was done doing all the work I had to do. And my friend would sit and crack jokes or tell stories or make friends with strangers before we had to part our ways.
So what does this all mean? Simply that we all have different personality types and to work with opposing personality types we have to accommodate for the wants and needs of the people around us.
If you'd like to learn for sure what type of personality you have - Check out this test from "48 days to the work you love" - one of my favorite podcasts.
If you'd like to learn more about personalities in general - check out these links:
http://www.squidoo.com/staymotivatedpeople
http://www.corexcel.com/articles/html/disc_personality_types.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISC_assessment
So what do you think? Was this helpful? Informative? Was it terrible? Let me know in the comments below.
I mentioned the easy way to determine personality type or the DISC system. To review we covered the graph that outlines the four different personality types.
In this post I'll wrap up by talking about the following
- Some famous examples of the personality types
- What the personality types need to be happy
- What you can do to get on a person's bad-side - quick
Dominant - Donald Trump, Dick Cheney, Gen. George Patton & Steve Jobs - These men are all very task-oriented and driven personalities. They are all leaders or have been leaders of organizations either today or in the past.
Influencer - Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, George W Bush, Ellen DeGeneres, Tyra Banks - These individuals are outgoing and all about relationships. If you had ten of these people in a room they would turn it into a party in under 10 minutes.
Supportive - Princess Di, Johnny Carson, Mary Tyler Moore, Beyonce. - These are the reserved and relationship oriented individuals. These type of people like to go with the flow and get to know people on a very slow and gentle pace.
Cautious - Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Ross Perot, David Letterman & Steve Wozniak - These types like to do their research and therefore like to know the answer and therefore are usually right and will not hesitate to let you know.
What the personalities NEED to be happy/content:
Dominant - Need to be in control and achieving goals. - Dominant personality types live for achieving their goals. They get a kick out of making to do lists they LOVE to be at the head of the table giving orders. If you can help them get closer to their goals or bring them more influence and power over others they will respect you more and more.
Influencer - Need variety and people lots and lots of people - This personality type just gets off on being around people. They love to meet new people, crack jokes and try new things. This personality type also loves to talk. If you can think of your friends who have the gift of gab and are always the center of attention - this is a Outgoing Relationship-oriented Influencer.
Supportive - Need stability - Supportive types love to keep things the way they are. They get annoyed when things change too much or more importantly too soon. They want everyone to get along and to avoid drama in their lives as much as possible.
Cautious - Need to be right - This type is very reserved yet calculating in their approach. They love to think and learn and research. This personality type gets a kick out of learning all the details about a subject - sometimes to the point of overkill.
What you can do to piss off these personalities
Dominant - Try and boss them around and/or waste their time - If you want to see a screaming match - put a bunch of Dominants in a room and then make a Supportive person the boss. They will run over the person in a matter of seconds and then duke it out over who's really in charge. Another way to upset this personality is to him and haw over decisions or tell a long drawn out story about your weekend before immediately getting down to business. If you read the 4-hour work week - +Tim Ferris a definite Dominant type goes into detail on how to get rid of time wasters (likely Influencers and Supportive) while attempting to get work done.
Influencer - Isolate them or embarrass them on a grand scale - These people run on the energy of other people so if you put them on a deserted Island and forced them to get along alone they would likely get really depressed until they discover a scuffed up volleyball to make their new best friend.
Another way you can piss of an Influencer is to embarrass them in front of their peers. Unless you're an Influencer yourself beware of this - this type will likely do an ingenious job of reducing your influence in the world if you come after them. Recently an Influencer I know was insulted behind her back. Within minutes, the person who insulted the influencer was second-guessing her gaffe as the influencer found out from the very person the insult was shared with. The Influencer then went on to gradually change people's opinion surrounding the offending party - including my own opinion - in a matter of minutes.
BONUS - a final way to not so much piss off but definitely disconnect with an influencer is by focusing on nitty gritty details and fine print like a Cautious personality might do.
Supportive - Be rude, insensitive, yell or scream at them - Supportive people like to go with the flow and can't deal so much with insensitive or rude people who might attempt to belittle them. They also really get offended when they are being yelled at.
Supportive types love to "stay the course" so to speak. That being said last minute changes are close to unbearable to this personality type.
Cautious - Tell them that they're wrong about something they know and/or believe in - The Cautious type has done their research or at least all the research they care to do on any given subject their interested in so when you tell them they're wrong about something they will not only be offended that you could possibly think they could be wrong but, they will go out of their way to prove you wrong. This goes for the sports fanatic, the sci-fi movie buff and without a doubt certain fictional, L.A. -area scientists.
So how did me and Nancy finally start to get along - even though we're on the opposite end of the spectrum?
Since I'm mainly a Cautious type, and Nancy is mainly a Influencer it is easy to see how we could possibly disagree. But there were two saving graces:
1) I can get out of my Cautious mood when I'm done with my work
2) Nancy (and most Influencers) have a way of getting people to warm up to them
So we would ride the train home from work since my cautious personality was done doing all the work I had to do. And my friend would sit and crack jokes or tell stories or make friends with strangers before we had to part our ways.
So what does this all mean? Simply that we all have different personality types and to work with opposing personality types we have to accommodate for the wants and needs of the people around us.
If you'd like to learn for sure what type of personality you have - Check out this test from "48 days to the work you love" - one of my favorite podcasts.
If you'd like to learn more about personalities in general - check out these links:
http://www.squidoo.com/staymotivatedpeople
http://www.corexcel.com/articles/html/disc_personality_types.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISC_assessment
So what do you think? Was this helpful? Informative? Was it terrible? Let me know in the comments below.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Conquering and Compelling the Four personality types (part 1 of 2)
When I first met one of my best friends - Nancy - I did not like her AT ALL. In fact I was completely annoyed by her. We met at a job I had right after college and I just couldn't understand why she always wanted to stop by just to "chat". I had work to do! What I didn't know then is that she was trying to gradually bring me into her circle of trust.
If I would've done my research I would've learned a ton about the four basic personalities and could have saved myself a decades worth of grief. Unfortunately, I just learned about the four personality types - in a way that is so SIMPLE to understand - about a month ago. In truth I've learned about the personality types before but, it was always in a confusing way.
Today, I will talk about the history of the four personality types, a very simple way to understand the four personality types and how you can use that knowledge to deal with people who have a personality that differs from yours.
HISTORY:
Now you've likely at some point heard of the four different personality types or even possibly taken a personality test for a job or even paid for a test when you were reevaluating your own career. For you, this will be a quick review - feel free to scroll down. If you haven't ever heard of different personalities, here are the basics:
Back in about 400 B.C. the Great Physician Hippocrates incorporated the theory on the four different temperaments. These were based on bodily fluids that were thought to affect the humors - or personality traits.
THE EASY PERSONALITY TEST:
Then about a month ago, I came across a speech by Dr. Robert Rohm that made it so simple! It is basically a graph with four sides.
On the TOP of the Graph - There are OUTGOING personalities.
On the BOTTOM of the Graph - There are RESERVED personalities
On the LEFT side of the Graph - There are TASK-ORIENTED personalities
On the RIGHT side of the Graph - There are RELATIONSHIP-ORIENTED personalities
+graph.jpg)
Dominant = These are without a doubt the leaders - they go after goals and achieve them sometimes at the cost of a relationship. This type of person gets a kick out of achievement. If you get in their way they might just run you over though. A good example would be the late Steve Jobs.
Cautious = These people do their homework and come off as know-it-alls from time to time. They often lack social skills but can likely teach you a lesson or two about chess or say computer programming or investing. They also do NOT like to be wrong. Bill Gates & Warren Buffett would be a good example of this. If you're a TV fan - Sheldon from big bang theory is another good example. From time to time I count myself in this area - in other situations I can be Dominant.
If I would've done my research I would've learned a ton about the four basic personalities and could have saved myself a decades worth of grief. Unfortunately, I just learned about the four personality types - in a way that is so SIMPLE to understand - about a month ago. In truth I've learned about the personality types before but, it was always in a confusing way.
Today, I will talk about the history of the four personality types, a very simple way to understand the four personality types and how you can use that knowledge to deal with people who have a personality that differs from yours.
HISTORY:
Now you've likely at some point heard of the four different personality types or even possibly taken a personality test for a job or even paid for a test when you were reevaluating your own career. For you, this will be a quick review - feel free to scroll down. If you haven't ever heard of different personalities, here are the basics:
 |
| Hippocrates (yeah they didn't have irises back then) By El Bibliomata |
- There was the Sanguine: - Pleasure seeking and sociable
- There was the Choleric - Ambitious and leader-like
- There was the Melancholic - Introverted and thoughtful
- There was the Phlegmatic - Relaxed and quiet
- The Guardians
- The Idealists
- The Artisans
- The Rationals
THE EASY PERSONALITY TEST:
Then about a month ago, I came across a speech by Dr. Robert Rohm that made it so simple! It is basically a graph with four sides.
On the TOP of the Graph - There are OUTGOING personalities.
On the BOTTOM of the Graph - There are RESERVED personalities
On the LEFT side of the Graph - There are TASK-ORIENTED personalities
On the RIGHT side of the Graph - There are RELATIONSHIP-ORIENTED personalities
+graph.jpg)
- So now Sanguine = Influencer = Outgoing and Relationship Oriented/Focused
- So now Choleric = Dominant = Outgoing and Task Oriented/Focused
- So now Melancholic = Cautious = Reserved and Task Oriented/Focused
- So now Phlegmatic = Supportive = Reserved and Relationship Oriented/Focused
Dominant = These are without a doubt the leaders - they go after goals and achieve them sometimes at the cost of a relationship. This type of person gets a kick out of achievement. If you get in their way they might just run you over though. A good example would be the late Steve Jobs.
Cautious = These people do their homework and come off as know-it-alls from time to time. They often lack social skills but can likely teach you a lesson or two about chess or say computer programming or investing. They also do NOT like to be wrong. Bill Gates & Warren Buffett would be a good example of this. If you're a TV fan - Sheldon from big bang theory is another good example. From time to time I count myself in this area - in other situations I can be Dominant.
Supportive = These people are here
to help and support others. They shy away from the spotlight but are very loyal
to those that they know and love. My wife is a good example of this personality
in some instances. Another good example of this at least character wise would
be Natalie Portman’s Character Evie in V for Vendetta – at least at the
beginning of the movie.
I’ve gone a little long on this post
so to give you time to think about where you fit in I’ll conclude this post
next week with a post entitled “How You Can Use Your Personality (and that of
others) To Your Advantage”. + I'll explain how Nancy and me and other Influencer's have become friends.
If you're still not sure about what personality type you are - take a look at the personality tests on Dan Miller's site (and 'yes' this is an affiliate link)
If you're still not sure about what personality type you are - take a look at the personality tests on Dan Miller's site (and 'yes' this is an affiliate link)
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