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ยป Putting a value on your personality
Date published: 14/07/2011
How much is your personality worth?
As far as I know it is not really literally possible for you to sell your personality (although some people have tried to sell their souls on ebay or sell bodily organs such as kidneys: do NOT try this as it is unhealthy as well as illegal). Aside from selling your body or your assets, realise that your personality does have some value. When you understand this, you can make it work for you.
When you were at school, you may have noticed that there were some children who naturally had more out-going personalities and liked to be the centre of attention. They may have received attention for being intelligent, outspoken and confident, or they may have received negative attention for being the rebel or even the class clown.
There were also other kids at school who were quieter, more introverted: perhaps they preferred playing alone or reading books instead of being the centre of attention. These kids may have received attention for being studious or “behaving well” in class (as opposed to the loud rebellious kids who were labelled as “behaving badly”).
Once you are outside of the schooling environment, you may realise that some of the people in the business arena are also different. You may meet an outspoken and confident person who is a business owner or the manager of a large retail store. You may meet someone who is quiet and studious that works as an accountant, conveyancer or actuary. You may meet someone who likes large crowds and became a public speaker or sales trainer, or someone who prefers to be alone and became a landscaper or a pro golfer. Everyone is different and that’s OK.
You may notice a couple of things: 1) the kids who work WITH their personality generally do well in the real world. 2) the kids who work AGAINST their personality will not do so well in reality.
Examples of a rebellious child that did OK could include Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. These three billionaires definitely “colour outside of the lines” and have made their mark in the business world by being different. These three did not fit in, did not finish university and did not find joy working for someone else.
But you don’t need to be a rebel to become a billionaire. The world’s greatest investor and third richest man (approx. $40 Billion), Warren Buffett, plays by a strict set of rules. He is quiet and studious, as are many successful people who may have been labelled “nerds” or “bookworms” at school.
The young “bookwormish” Buffett could have worked against his gifts if he saw other renegade (rebellious?) people who were more successful than him in his early career; however, Buffett stuck to his core personality strengths and ultimately succeeded.
There are many tools for analysing and assessing personality types, including the I-Ching, DISC profiles, Meyers-Briggs and Wealth Dynamics. Once you have discovered your natural gifts and talents, you can work with them to maximise your profits and your happiness.
An outgoing positive “people person” may be able to make more money working as an insurance assessor, but the career mismatch may be too stressful for them to last very long at it. They could possibly release their social outlet by drinking and partying every night, and this would be taking away much of their paycheques. A natural-born accountant could potentially make more money as a sales trainer, but due to his fear of speaking in public, he may have to spend more money on anti-anxiety medication and he would not be happy, so what is the point?
Understand this: Your net worth will never exceed your self worth.
Self-worth is part of self-esteem; so is net worth! If you can happily accept who you are (and also accept who you are not), then it becomes easier to build wealth in your chosen field. Stop fighting the current and go with the flow.
If you were disruptive in class and loved to talk, find a career or hobby where you can be paid to speak, coach or train others. If you were studious, look for a research role or processing systems task, perhaps just part-time or casual.
There are many sites on the internet where people will pay smaller amounts of money for small projects, such as one hour of typing, editing, voiceover, conversational English and so on. Sure, it’s just $5 or $10 but it all adds up and some people discover their new career by experimenting with part-time or casual work.
Many people do not love their work; they just “cope” with its unpleasantness by doing other things that they enjoy. If this is you, then you may like to examine who you naturally are and what you naturally love to do. Is it possible that you could be paid for following your passion? Some people do, so why not you?
For more information, or to discuss your specific situation, please contact me directly.
Jeremy Britton
24HourWealthCoach
Jeremy Britton is an independent wealth coach who advises on investment, business and life issues. Find more info on Wealth Dynamics or Jeremy’s inspirational videos by connecting on Facebook, Youtube or www.24HourWealthCoach.com.
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