Today on The Bigg Success Show we visited with Paul D. Tieger. Paul is the author of the million copy best-selling book “Do What You Are” along with four other books. He is an internationally recognized expert on personality type and has created a personality assessment, Personality Type, which has been rated “extremely” or “very” helpful by over 40,000 people.
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Hear Paul talk with George & Mary-Lynn in The Bigg Success Show! Click the purple player to listen while you read: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Hear Paul talk with George & Mary-Lynn in The Bigg Success Show! Click the purple player to listen while you read: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download___
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Paul, we define bigg success as life on your own terms. Knowing who you are is implicit in that definition. There are a lot of personality tests. Why yours?
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You’re right. There are a lot of personality tests and I think they all try to do the same thing. The one that we’ve developed is the gold standard. It’s based on the Young – Myers model of personality type that a lot of people know about. Our test really identifies the key aspects that are critical to finding work that they’ll find intrinsically satisfying and being able to succeed in those jobs based on the insights they get on their personality type.
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I have to tell you, Paul. I took your free test. It’s only four questions. It took me about five minutes. It sounds easy, but I may have failed!
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Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! You can’t fail a personality test!
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I marked “not confident” on two of the four questions, which meant I got more information about that particular aspect. It’s fantastic. But, for instance, I ended up saying I was an introvert. But everybody I talk to says that I’m an extrovert. When I look at the descriptions you have, which were very helpful, it seems like I’m about fifty -fifty.
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Here’s the thing. There’s no psychological instrument that is 100 percent accurate. That’s why you have that cool little drop down box when you’re “not confident” that helps you figure it out. Nobody is exclusively an extrovert or an introvert, but everybody is primarily one or the other. Sometimes it takes a little digging. What happens when you take this personality assessment is that you come up with a personality profile. If it turns out that it doesn’t hit the nail on the head, then you can look at other profiles. It’s really rare that a person has to do this more than two times to find their true type.
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I found out that I’m an “ESFP” which means I’m an Extrovert, Sensor, Feeler, and Perceiver. It says that only four to nine percent of the population is this type of person. I’ve always felt that I was different and this just verified it for me!
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There are sixteen different personality types. Every type has its strengths and its blind spots. Every person is unique. You can be in a room with a hundred other ESFPs and you’ll have a lot in common. You’ll have a great time because ESFPs do like to have a good time.
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That’s me!
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But you’re all different – different backgrounds, parents, experiences. You live in different parts of the country. It’s a very individualized thing, but learning about your type is really your home base. It’s the essence of who you are. For ESFPs, these are people who really live in the moment. They’re very resourceful. They like to enjoy what they’re doing. They’re very social people. They like to take care of other people and make sure everybody gets what they need.
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Going back to what George was saying, I also have some introverted qualities but you’ve already answered that when you said that we all are introverts and extroverts.
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It’s really a preference. It’s like handedness. Some people are born righties; some people are born lefties. I believe that, after having done this for about 25 years now, people really are born with a personality type preference. You grow and you learn as you get older. But you’re either a righty or a lefty. Let’s say you’re a right-handed person by nature. You can learn to use your left hand if you work at it, but it’s never going to be your natural, default setting. It’s the same thing with personality type. If you’re a sensing type, then you’re a person who’s pretty realistic and practical, sees the details, and focuses on what’s going on in the moment. It doesn’t mean that you have no imagination or that you can’t be creative. It just means that’s not your first mode. Somebody else might be very creative and that’s where they go automatically.
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Paul, I write left-handed. Most things I do right-handed. The first ball glove my Dad bought me was a left-handed glove. But I’d take the glove off and throw with my right hand. So, related to personality types, if there are things that you admire about an extroverted personality, is it possible – or is it good – to try to move yourself in that direction?
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It’s a good question. I found that the people who are the most successful in any of their endeavors are really the people who have the most balance. That doesn’t mean they’re androgynous – that they’re equally both – because I believe that people have a natural in-born preference for each of these categories. But if you are so extroverted that you have to be with people 24 / 7 – you can’t be alone or you can’t read a book – that’s not good. If you’re so introverted that you can’t look somebody in the eye or you can’t do anything with other people, that’s not good. So fortunately, all of us have a balance but there really is a natural preference from where you get your energy. The key is to understand who you are because that’s really the key to your career satisfaction. Then build on your strengths while being aware of your blind spots so you can compensate for them.
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That is really helpful. I want to take the test again now, thinking about my natural tendency but also keeping in mind that’s it’s not all I’m going to be.
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Well, I think your Dad screwed you up with that left-handed glove!
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And that’s just one of the many ways!
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What is your personality type?
You can find out by taking the free personality test we discussed today.
*Special Offer: To get a 10% discount on your full career report, use promo code: biggsuccess
Tomorrow we’ll continue our discussion with Paul. Please check back to discover how knowing your personality type will help you find new opportunities in today’s tough job market.
Thanks so much for putting up with our goofy personalities today! Until next time, here’s to your bigg success!
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(Image in today's post from PersonalityType.com)
Today on The Bigg Success Show, we were privileged to visit with Benjamin Klein. Benjamin is the CEO for The Art of Charm, a highly successful coaching service. He is an expert in the psychology of sales, management and success. He has used that knowledge to create an upcoming program called Success Principles.
The most important success principle for me has always been to say what I mean and mean what I say. It’s very important to come from a position of honesty and integrity and to do things that not only create value for you, but also for those around you. You don’t go into it dependent on the outcome, whether it will be reciprocated or not. If the value is reciprocated, they are the type of person you want to work with. If the value is not reciprocated, you have saved yourself months of time dealing with someone you don’t want to work with. You give up a little bit upfront, but that just comes with honesty and integrity and knowing that you’re creating value for those around you.
