The earlier in life that you can find out who you are and how you’re wired the better your life will be, and it will certainly reduce frustration.
I was twenty-eight years old, and for ten years I had been in business pounding my head against the wall, trying to figure out why was I frustrated with having to actually do the work with my hands, but so energized by being able to meet and sell the customer.
Then one day, I came across Strength Finder. Complete game changer. The idea was simple: Take a short test (which worked well for me and my limited attention span) and within twenty minutes of answering a series of random questions, I was informed of my top five strengths. You see the author had determined that a person has thirty-four unique strengths, five of which are primary.
Mine came out as: Activator, Belief, Communication, Positivity, and Woo. Woo was interesting to me because it literally stands for winning others over, which explains my focus on relationships and it basically meant that the world is full of friends I haven’t met! It also explains why I wanted to meet with the customer to sell and be connected to people. Completely eye-opening. I began to realize that my strengths weren’t in accounting, or in legal, or engineering. And I got freed up. I got delivered! I realized I could go hire people with those strengths, and I could work on mine.
Then I learned of another test that had a secondary impact on my life, because it gave me focus and insight on how I’m wired. The Kolbe Test. If you haven’t heard of it, I suggest you give it a google, and take it. This test helped me determine that there were four areas of operation in any given individual: Fact Finder, Follow Thru, Quick Start, and Implementor. It’s all based on associated colors and numbers to help you recognize which category you fall under. I learned that those in the Red zone labeled as the Fact Finder, when rated as a nine or ten, love all the facts they can get. But I’m a three in that category! Which means everything I need to know better be on a page or less. And yet in the Green zone, labeled as the Quick Start, I was a nine, which is off the charts high! It’s true, when I get new ideas, I love it. I am energized by new ideas. So, after taking this test, I began to realize that I am excited with all things Green related to the Quick Start, and I get the life sucked out of me when I need to absorb lots of facts, or for that matter, having to find lots of facts.
Now, this is where it all comes together. Looking back on my early days of having my own business in my twenties and being frustrated with all that entailed, what did I learn? I discovered that on the construction side, which is the Implementor, I’m a three. Which means every time I go to pick up a shovel or put something together, it would just suck the life out of me. Once I discovered that I could spend time in the Green, I came alive and thrived.
I challenge you to find out who you are and how you’re wired and go make a difference in the world, and enjoy doing it!