What about Personality? pt 6 of 7 - Just a Little More

In case you were reading these last few posts and are having a hard time figuring out where your personality would be then let me let you know that most people are probably a mixture of two or three of these personalities.

It is very common for Winds and Fires to be combined. It's also common to see Earth/Fire and Earth/Water. Remember that Winds and Earth are opposite and that Fire and Water are opposite. Also, at the root of all Earth is Fire.

In the book the author goes into much more detail including positives and negatives of each personality. She also gives the anger styles of each personality.

I still want to emphasize that I strongly recommend this book, "The Four Elements of Success" by Laurie Beth Jones.

What is your personality type?

What about Personality? pt 5 of 7 - Wind

Wind - flighty, random, untamable, powerful, fast.

The Wind in an organization can be the life of an organization. When an organization has a good balance of Winds within it there can be some great things to happen. Winds are the ones that are always pushing for growth, change, and progress. A Wind cannot sit still and does not want to sit still. When an organization needs to move forward or is stuck in a rut it is the Wind that can take care of that. Winds jump to anything new and exciting. Winds can also move any of the other three elements to move and to change.

Winds in an organization bring life but if there are too many Winds or an improper balance of Winds then the organization can become far too flighty and meaningless. Every whim and every other thing that comes around will take the focus of the organization every three days. Winds can be great leaders once they learn to tame their whims and they can be great in any organization. Winds are an important asset that are muffled too often or else there are too many around to be used vitally.

What about Personality? pt 4 of 7 - Earth

Earth - steady, firm, unmoving, unwavering, and organized. 

Within the Earth everything is there for a reason. Everything has its place and position and purpose. This is who the Earth is. It is calm and slow to move, it is organized and content with its organization. The Earth knows what it wants and once it has it will never or rarely change. Earth are generally hard-working yet fairly emotionless. This is not to say that the Earth feels no emotion, it means to say that they rarely show their emotions to any observer that is outside of their small personal bubble.

I have had the opportunity and sometimes pleasure of running to several Earths in my life that have been in a position to direct my life in a very intimate way. I have seen the great things that a earth can do and I have seen many of the negative things that an earth can do. When an Earth is working in a positive manner he/she can bring stability and experience to an organization. When working in a negative manner he/she can bring tradition and old-fashion practices into an organization, eventually hurting it. Unfortunately, since Earths rarely move, they can be outdated and rely on what worked a decade ago. 

Earths are very common in organizations and in the world today. Earths can be extremely valuable as many of them are hard workers and will rarely do something to drastically and immediately hurt a company. An Earth makes a great leader and can see many things that others can.

What about Personality? pt 3 of 7- Water

Water - calm, soothing, steady, transparent, tranquil, slow, fast, possibly ferocious like a hurricane.

The Water is the mediator. The Water is the one that wants peace and quiet. The Water takes compassion on everyone and wants team to the focus of the group. Without Waters around the world can be a difficult place. The Water cannot be underestimated in any organization. Without quality people around to "steady the waters" an organization cannot stay afloat (I'm really liking all of these puns.) 

Now, there is more validity and need for Waters than what I am stating, but in my limited experience I am simply giving my personal references that I have seen. This is why there is a book for everyone to read. Jones does a wonderful job writing this book and helping all readers to understand what she is thinking and how she came up with this theory.

Anyway, Waters are necessary for any organization to survive. See, without someone to keep the peace, without someone to help the Fires to empathize for the very people they are tearing apart, without having a person to bring calm to a situation then there will be chaos.

What about Personality? pt 2 of 7 - Fire

Fire. What makes a personality a fire?

Exactly that - fire. This is that personality that we typically think of as firey. It is the person that sees a goal and will do everything he/she can possibly do to get that goal accomplished. Typically, a Fire will be the type that is a little louder, enjoys some confrontation, and excels in an organization as a leader, as a worker, or anywhere. But you can count on the Fire to continue to be promoted because once a goal is set, it will be accomplished.

Fires may not be the typical person that is incredibly organized. Often they will not have time for it.

I have met a lot of Fires in my life. I've been scared of some. I've learned a lot from some. Currently, I work for and with some Fires. I am surrounded by Fires because I am in a job where it is 100% commission. That is something that drives the Fire. Immediate success, immediate failure, immediate results. This is something that a Fire needs and wants. 

But it's easy to see the flaws in my current organization. Anything any organization is filled with the same personality is calls for disaster. Being that all of our managers, including our owner, is 100% Fire we see a lack of organization. We see many things changing from day to day without appropriate warning because it's gonna work better. We see a lack of good training. 

Fires are necessary in any organization. They will push everyone within an organization to get things done and to accomplish the goal at hand. They make great leaders as long as they understand that not everyone is like them. When Fires are able to do their thing an organization will skyrocket in all areas, but it may not last.

What about Personality? pt 1 of 7

I've been waiting to write on this for a while, but I knew it would take a while and several posts. So before I can ask any questions or even look at any answers I need to update some of you on where I'm coming from.

I read a book within the last year that I have loved. It fed my love for psychology and my intrigue on how so many of us can be so different. The book is called "The Four Elements of Success." It sounds a little New Age-y at first but I assure that it's not. This book is about personality and characterizes four different personalities as Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. It's an interesting concept and the best part is it is easy to remember.

So before I can ask my questions we need to go over what each of these personalities looks like. If you become really curious I suggest to go and buy the book by Laurie Beth Jones to fully understand all of it.

In the next few days we will discuss what each personality looks like and then I will ask my question(s) and let that be opened up for discussion as well.

Love for the Word

In the last few weeks I have developed a new love for the Word of God. I have come to a place where I love to read the Bible and I just can't get enough of it. I have been reading a variety of New Testament books - The Corinthians and the Gospels mainly - and I just fallen in love with it all over again.

I have thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out Jesus more. You know, we have the classic WWJD bracelets that became a huge hit and have been made fun of a lot as well. Well, What Would Jesus really Do? I think that is the real question. Too many of us can't really answer that question. Going through the Gospels and seeing how Jesus really acted and what He really did is amazing.

I love reading all of the epistles too. All of Paul's writings, James, Hebrews, the Peters, and the Johns. But when you cannot really understand what Jesus is really like in the first place and you cannot really know what Jesus did then these epistles are nearly pointless. 

Anyway, I am loving the Bible right now and I am changing some of my opinions and even theologies some because of it. Now, I'm not one to get too big into theology but I do think that we all have to have a base in it. And so right now I am making my theological foundation more accurate and firm. I love God and I love His Word. It's fun just to be able to say that.

What are you reading now?

How much are you enjoying the Word?