Is Your Personality Type Helping or Hurting You?

Is your personality helping or hurting you?
Are you leveraging your strengths, or are you derailing your success?

How well do you know your personality type?

Are you the person who’s a dreamer? The one who always has a lot of great ideas, but has trouble putting them into action?

Do you talk about the big project you’re working on that’s always getting delayed because you want it to be perfect?

Maybe you’re a workaholic who works nonstop and never takes time for themselves?

Perhaps you’re the person who is so scared to take risks that they’ve been in the same role for years, even though you don’t enjoy your job anymore?

If any of these descriptions resonate with you, chances are you may not be aware of how your personality type could be holding you back.

How well do you know yourself?

When I was asked this in the past, I didn’t have a good answer. I had a general idea that I was good at making connections and that I had a knack for reading people. I’d taken some personality tests in the past like Myers Briggs, but my results seemed to change every time so they didn’t seem accurate.

I’d never sat down to evaluate my greatest strengths until my coaching certification training.  We had to take several different personality tests and two tests in particular- the Core Values Index and Strengths Finder helped me see myself in an entirely different light. When you see your strengths clearly outlined on paper, it’s like a lightbulb goes off. You think, “Oh yeah! I AM really good at that!” When I learned about my personality type, the clearer it became to me how to focus on doing the things I’m best at to grow my business more effectively. The best part is that it led to greater work life balance because I learned to stop doing the things I wasn’t good at or didn’t like to do.

When you see your strengths clearly outlined on paper, it’s like a lightbulb goes off. You think, “Oh yeah! I AM really good at that!”

The Core Values Index Assessment (the CVI)

The CVI Assessment was originally designed for companies to give their employees to make sure they were in the right seats at work based on their personality type. It shows what people’s greatest strengths are, and what energizes and motivates them most at work. By understanding this, employers could make sure they were leveraging each employees’ talents to the greatest of their abilities. They would know what types of tasks each employee should focus on that they were best at and enjoyed doing. This led to higher productivity and efficiency, greater engagement and increased fulfillment at work. As a result, businesses could see increased bottom lines and fewer missed days of work.

How the CVI can help you feel understood

After taking the CVI assessment, it was the first time I felt understood. I finally realized why I’d never fit in the corporate world and why I’d never felt happy in the typical 9 to 5 workday. I’d always thought there was something wrong with me. Now I know my personality type and that I’m born to be an entrepreneur. Not only have I found a career in coaching that I absolutely love, but I’ve had greater success in this job than in any other I’ve had in the past.

Take the CVI here to uncover your greatest strengths.

When you truly understand your strengths, you can leverage them to become your biggest moneymaker.

The Four Core Value Types

There are four main core value personality types: Merchant, Innovator, Builder and Banker.

The CVI assessment will tell you your two top core value types. Every person is a blend of the four different types. The degree to which you exhibit each type is shown in your results as a series of four colored areas. If one area is very large, that means you are in alignment with that type the majority of the time and find it energizing. If an area is very small, then it takes a lot of effort and you will find it de-motivating to do those types of activities because they drain you. Let’s review the four different personality types and highlight what their greatest strengths are. You can also watch my Facebook live here where I go over the CVI.

MERCHANTS

Merchants are driven to make connections and build relationships. They can see opportunities for the future that others can’t, and they have the ability to see the truth. This combination makes them inspired to help and motivate people. They are driven to build communities and love to share their ideas with others. They naturally attract others to them and thrive on appreciation and recognition from others. They are generally extroverted and act on their intuition. Many Merchants become entrepreneurs. Their greatest contribution to the world is relationships and vision.

The greatest challenges of a Merchant

  • Being driven by their emotions
  • Having a hard time saying no
  • Getting easily distracted by new ideas (squirrel syndrome)
  • Not wanting to “get into the weeds” to finish projects they’ve started
  • Being self-motivated to consistently do the less enjoyable tasks (Banker or Builder type tasks)

Strategies for a Merchant

If you’re a merchant and you find that you don’t have any time for your business, take a look at your last week and evaluate the following:

  • What did you say yes to that you shouldn’t have?
  • What three things do you need to accomplish this week to move your business forward?
  • How can you commit to doing them no matter what?
  • Don’t take on any new projects unless you complete those three things.

Merchants need to remember: When you say no to something, you’re saying YES to a higher priority.

INNOVATORS

Innovators are strategic thinkers and problem solvers. They love making systems and processes better and helping people and things to function well together. They don’t give up easily and will stick with people or a problem until it’s solved. They’re more introverted and rely on their mental abilities instead of their intuition. Innovators do well in situations where they’re spending the majority of their time solving problems, or creating things like writing, art, photography etc.

Their highest contribution to the world is assessment and creating solutions.

The greatest challenges of an Innovator

  • Perfectionism and not putting things out into the world before they’re ready.
  • Overanalyzing
  • Taking too long to make a decision
  • Doubting themselves and being their own worst critic

Innovators will keep working on things and keep trying to perfect them because they think it can always be better which leads to delays, even if it’s ready.

Strategies for an Innovator

If you’re an innovator and you’re not seeing any traction in your business, take a look at your last week and evaluate the following:

  • What is something I’ve been working on for too long that will move my business forward?
  • What am I overanalyzing that’s causing me to not take action?
  • What thoughts am I having that may be preventing me from believing in myself?
  • Don’t take on any new projects until the ones you’ve started are completed.

A really important strategy for innovators is to set deadlines and stick to them. The shorter, the better.

Innovators need to remember: Done is better than perfect.

BUILDERS

Builders are people who take action and are natural leaders. They love getting things done now and seeing results from their action or leadership. They rely on their instincts, are high risk takers, and are highly self-motivated. Builders flourish in situations where they can take charge and not be micromanaged. Therefore they do well when they have a lot of room to make decisions and act. Their highest contribution to the world is action and results.

The greatest challenges of a Builder

  • Working too hard
  • Being impatient and getting frustrated easily if others around them aren’t competent or work hard
  • Making time for themselves and their own well-being

Builders tend to be workaholics. If they’re not careful, it can lead to burnout very quickly. For example, if they’re a Merchant Builder, they have a hard time saying no so they end up doing everything for everyone. Therefore, they need to have patience when working with others who aren’t builders and give people enough time to complete projects.

Strategies for a Builder

They need to set clear boundaries around their work and personal time and stick to it. They will do whatever it takes to get things done so they need to learn to put their health and mental and emotional well-being first.

Builders need to remember: It doesn’t all have to be done now.

BANKERS

Bankers are the least understood group. They are the people who protect us from risk. They love having all the facts and data and have the best knowledge. They are self-motivated and are good at doing detail-oriented work. They do not rely on their intuition- they rely solely on their mental abilities and on things that can be proven. They do well working in stable environments that have rules and procedures. Their highest contribution to the world is risk avoidance and information.

There aren’t too many entrepreneurs who are Bankers because they avoid risk, and what’s riskier than starting your own business?

The greatest challenges of a Banker

  • Being open to new ideas and opportunities
  • Reluctance to put themselves out there
  • Taking risks
  • Thinking outside the box

As a result, Bankers often times miss golden opportunities because they avoid risk at all costs, which can prevent them from having real success. They don’t believe anything unless it’s proven, and are reluctant to try anything new. This can cause them to not tap into their full potential.

Strategies for a Banker

Be open to opportunities and trying new things. Find an accountability partner like a Merchant or a Builder who can encourage you to take more risks. Challenge yourself to try one new thing per week to get out of your comfort zone.

Bankers need to remember: Take the risk or lose the chance.

Analyzing Your CVI Result

After you take the CVI, you’ll get a notification with a short video describing your personality type and an image of your results that will look something like this:

A typical CVI assessment result

In this example, this person is a Merchant Innovator. They are a very high Merchant, and will spend over 90% of their time exhibiting that type. In addition, their Innovator is also fairly high, so they will find acting as an Innovator energizing. On the other hand, they are very small in both the Builder and Banker areas, which means it takes a lot of effort to do those types of activities and they find them draining. It doesn’t mean they can’t do them, but it takes a lot more energy and it’s not something they enjoy doing.

Ideally you should be spending 80% of your time in the areas you’re highest in and limit the amount of time in the areas you’re lowest in for your personality type.

You should be spending 80% of your time using your greatest strengths.

Conclusion

Your personality type can be your greatest asset or your biggest liability. If you understand your greatest strengths, you’ll know what areas you should focus on and what things to be aware of that could derail your success.

As a result, you start to focus your energies in the areas you’re highest in, and you’ll become more productive, efficient and happier. After that, you’ll start to see more success in both your business and your personal life. And you’ll be contributing to the world as the best version of yourself, which is the ultimate path to happiness and fulfillment.

How To Create the Life You Want

How to Create the Life You Want
Words have the power to create the life you want
Words have the power to create the life you want

Do you ever wish you had a magic wand and could create the life you want? But instead, you feel like you’re repeating the same loop, over and over again, like the movie Groundhog Day?

You feel like you’re stuck and not getting any traction in your life or business. You’ve tried doing so many things, but nothing seems to work.

You aren’t alone. Many people feel frustrated because they’re working really hard but they’re still not getting the success they want.

In The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, he talks about how people aren’t more successful because they have more willpower, it’s because they’ve learned how to let go of limiting beliefs and change their self-image. The way to do this is to change your mindset.

The only thing getting in the way of you getting everything you want in your life is your MINDSET.

One of the keys to changing your mindset is getting out of your comfort zone. Your comfort zone is there to keep you safe, but it also keeps you small and prevents you from achieving real success.

Your thoughts, cause your emotions, which lead to your behaviors, which end up as the results you see in your life.

When you feel stuck, it’s because you’re thinking the same thoughts, leading to the same emotions, causing the same behaviors and the same results. And it becomes an endless loop that never changes.

If you don’t change your thoughts, you’ll never change your results.

The first step to changing this loop is to focus on the reality you want to create.

You do this by visualizing what you want, writing it down, then reading it daily.

You have to bombard your subconscious with the new reality and it will start to work nonstop to make it happen.

Making this a daily practice is incredibly powerful and will cause profound changes in your personal life and business.

I’ve learned from my own personal experience the power of writing a new reality. I started with writing my goals on index cards and reading them daily. I started adding other elements that inspired me and began seeing significant changes in my life. So I created a card with all the tools I like to use to called the Compass Card. I’m going to take you through each part so you know how to use it.

You can download the Compass Card here: https://balancedpathcoaching.com/free-resources/

How to Use the Compass Card

Download my Compass Card and create the life you want
Download my Compass Card and create the life you want

On the top, put the date and your yearly financial goal. Put a specific number that’s at least 20% higher than last year. If you’re not sure how to come up with a financial goal, watch my Facebook live here where I talk about creating SMART goals.

Next, choose your theme words. Theme words are meant to inspire or motivate you. When I first heard about theme words, I didn’t really understand how they worked until a friend of mine told me about her experience with them. She was in a little slump of getting new clients so she started using her theme words every day. Her words were confidence, clients and cash. She would say the words every morning and anytime during the day when she needed a little boost.

After a few months, she started getting new clients. Then one of her clients paid her $2000 in cash! Which has never happened to her before!

After hearing that, I started using theme words, and they really work.

Next, write in your top five core values. Your core values are the most important principles that guide your life. If you haven’t identified yours yet, watch my Facebook live to learn how and click here to download a free exercise.

The last part is for affirmations to create the life you want.

The Power of Affirmations

If you watched my FB live where I talked about SMART goals, I told a story about Jim Carrey writing himself a postdated check for $10 million dollars for acting when he was trying to break into Hollywood and keeping that check in his wallet where he could see it every day.

He talks about how when he wasn’t getting any work, he’d drive up to Mulholland Drive and just sit there. He would stretch out his arms and say “Everyone wants to work with me. I’m a really good actor. I have all kinds of great movie offers.” And he would just repeat this over and over again, convincing himself that he had a couple of movies lined up. Then he would drive down, feeling really motivated and thinking, “Movie offers are out there for me, I just don’t hear them yet.”

He said that doing this helped offset the other thoughts from his family’s background. These affirmations helped him to realize his dream and double his initial goal by making $20 million dollars per movie in just five years.

One of the best ways to get more success is to do what Jim Carrey did, which is to use affirmations. They have the power to convince your subconscious to filter the information needed to make the new reality happen.

Affirmations help you create the life you want
Affirmations help you create the life you want

How to Write an Affirmation

Write down a statement of what you want as if you’ve already achieved it. Imagine that you are going to create the life you want. Here’s how to write yours:

  • Start with “I am” and write in the present tense.
  • State what you want, not what you don’t want.
  • Keep it short and specific, and include an action word ending with “ing”.
  • Include an emotion or feeling word that you would be feeling if you had already achieved the goal.
  • Make the affirmation for yourself, not others.

A way to come up with your affirmation is to visualize something you want to create or have. Imagine yourself having what you want, then describe it and how you feel.

You’ll see on the bottom of the card, there are five sentences where it says, “When my life is ideal, I am…”  Then fill in the blank with whatever your biggest dreams are for your life. Create the life you want and read it twice a day.

For example, if you want a vacation home, describe it and how you’ll feel when you’re in it. “When my life is ideal, I’m enjoying my four-bedroom vacation house in Hawaii.”

I started doing this a few years ago and it’s like magic. After a year, three of my goals came true!

Conclusion

When you’re not seeing results in your life or your business, it’s because of your mindset and thoughts.

When you change your thoughts, you change your emotions, then your behaviors which leads to different results in your life.

You do this by filling your subconscious with thoughts of the reality you want to create, writing them down and reading them daily. Use the Compass Card and write in your goals, theme words, core values and affirmations. Visualize yourself as if you’ve already achieved the goals. You’ll start to see opportunities coming your way and you’ll feel motivated to reach your goals. Then watch as you create the life you want.

The Secret to Making Hard Decisions

How to make hard decisions

It’s a typical day in your business, when suddenly you get an email from one of the biggest clients you’ve been praying for. THIS IS IT! This is the client who’s going to make all your dreams come true! Landing them will open new doors for you financially and socially because a stamp of approval from them is like gold.

You have a consultation call with the owner, and the scope of what he wants is really big. I mean REALLY big. It would take up the majority of your time and energy. He wants access to you at all times, even on weekends. You tell him, “Sure, that’s no problem” even if you promised your partner you weren’t going to work on weekends anymore. He’s pretty demanding, and insists on meeting at his office even though you typically work remotely so you can be available for your family. You feel a little uneasy because the initial signs show he’s probably going to be tough to work with. He’s not asking any questions- he’s just telling you everything he wants and expects you to agree. But it’s worth it because it’s such a huge client, right?

Or is it?

After all, this is the client you’ve always wanted! You’re not sure what to do- your head says yes but your gut says no. So how do you know if you’re making the right decision in taking him on?  

When making tough decisions like this, it’s helpful to have a set of principles that can guide you. These are called your core values. But if you haven’t identified what they are, you may not realize you’re making a big mistake until it’s too late.

What are Core Values?

Your core values are the most important principles that guide your life. They act as a compass when making large and small decisions, and help you stay on track with the values you’ve identified as being the most valuable to you. Most people have a basic set of morals and ethics they believe in, but few actually choose the top core values they want to live by and act on daily. When you choose your core values, your life starts to feel easier and you’ll won’t feel as conflicted when facing decisions like the one above. Click here to identify your core values.

Companies have core values also. A great example is REI. One of their core values is balance, and they encourage each other and their customers to enjoy all aspects of life. One example of this is their #OptOutside campaign. This was started four years ago when they made a choice to close on two of the biggest shopping days of the year: Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and pay their 12,000 employees to spend time outside. While many retail businesses would think this was financial suicide, it’s in complete alignment with their core value of balance. And #OptOutside attracted more than 1.4 million people and 170 outdoor companies, nonprofits, and organizations to participate, and over the last three years that’s grown to 15 million people and 700 organizations. It’s one of the many reasons REI continues to be a leader and innovator in the retail industry.

Why should we identify our core values?

When we don’t have a clear idea of our core values, it’s like putting a boat in the ocean without having a clear destination. We may have a general idea that we want to be a good person and contribute to society, but we need to actually define what our core values are before we can start to act accordingly and live in alignment with them.

For example, if you want to be healthy but you only exercise occasionally and don’t eat healthy meals, are you really living in alignment with that? But if you make health one of your top five core values, you will start to make better choices. You may schedule to exercise four times a week and plan ahead on how you can cook healthy meals at home. Once you define your values and look at them daily, you’ll start to hold yourself accountable to living them.

How does identifying your core values help your business?

In the book Traction by Gino Wickham, he talks about how identifying your cores values attracts like-minded people to your business and helps weed out the people who don’t fit. This goes for employees and clients too. You want to attract the right people and repel the wrong ones.

I have a client who hired me to take on a partner in her business. One of her clients wanted to invest and help expand a part of her business.  She was working 18 hour days as a single mom trying to provide for her two children, and was hoping that this deal would help her to earn more and work less so she could spend more time with her kids. On our first call, I asked her to define her top five core values. Her top two were Kids and Independence. I asked her if taking on the partner was in alignment with those values. She paused, then said if she expanded that part of her business, she’d be working more hours and would be seeing her kids less. She would have less independence because she’d have to run all her decisions by her new partner. In the end, she decided not to take the deal. She ended up letting go a part of her business that was draining her and focused on what she loved doing and did best instead. Now she’s working five hour days and is earning more than she did before. And she was able to take a one month vacation all by herself, which she hadn’t done since before she had kids. She says that identifying her core values is what saved her from taking the partner and working crazy hours. Now she is spending quality time with her kids and is in much more alignment with her core values.

Do our core values ever change?

Yes they can. I look at mine daily, and reevaluate them every year. We go through many changes throughout our lives and things that we value when we’re in our 30’s may be vastly different in our 40’s and 50’s. For parents, once their kids leave the nest, their core values may change greatly if they’ve focused a large part of their lives on their kids. Life circumstance events like loss of a job can change your values temporarily and can get you focused on doing what you need to do at that time. Your core values may change if you’re going through a lot of personal growth, so be sure to check that they are still the most important principles to you.

How do we identify our core values?

An easy way is to look at a list of values and choose the ones that resonate with you the most. Then, filter them down and end up with your top ten most important core values. Put them in order of most important to least. Write your top five down on a card or somewhere you’ll see them daily. It’s best to read them twice a day- when you wake up and before bed. A good tool for reflection before bed is to ask yourself if your decisions that day were in alignment with all your values. If not, what could you do differently tomorrow?

For example, if one of your core values is health/fitness and you didn’t work out that day, make a commitment do exercise tomorrow and maybe add in a few extra minutes. Or if it’s family and you didn’t spend any quality time with them, put it in your schedule to spend one on one time with one member that week, and let them know to hold you to it. You’ll start to feel happier and more fulfilled when you live your core values daily, which leads to greater work life balance.

Summary

To review, your core values will act as a compass for guiding your biggest decisions. They can help your business by attracting the right people and clients to you and repelling the wrong ones. Your core values can change over time, especially during transition times or big life events. Make sure to reevaluate them regularly to make sure they are still your top five. Write them on an index card and keep them in your nightstand. Make sure to read them twice a day in the morning and at night. Ask yourself if you acted in alignment with your core values that day, and if not, what could you do differently tomorrow?

If you’d like to identify your core values, I’ve created a great exercise just for you. Click here to get started!

I’d love to know your core values so share them in the comments below or send me an email at jennifer@balancedpathcoaching.com. By sharing them with me, you’ll be more likely to living them.