Personality Isn't Permanent

In an interview on Inside Quest, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek explained that Millennials are never satisfied in their work in part because they were raised to believe they should have anything they want, not because they earned it but simply because they want it. They were given trophies without winning. They were raised on technology a... See more

In social science, there are four standards to determine the merit of a proposed theory: Are the categories (1) reliable, (2) valid, (3) independent, and (4) comprehensive? For the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the evidence says no, no, no, and no. The real lesson of the Myers-Briggs test is not some insight into your personality, but the incredible... See more

Math trauma manifests as anxiety or dread, and an incapacitating fear of being wrong, according to Dr. Ruef. Tragically, this fear limits options such as school and desired career choices for many people—not because they couldn’t do math but because trauma-induced fear paralyzed them.

As the author Robert Brault said, “We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.” It is not the obstacles between ourselves and our dreams that stop us. Rather, we are stopped by our commitment to the idea—to the identity—that we can never actually achieve our goals. That we don’t have what it takes. Instead of co... See more

Your personality is an effect, not a cause. The primary causes shaping your personality are your goals and the identity and behavior that flow from those goals. For most people, personality is a reaction to life events, circumstances, and social pressures. It isn’t intentionally designed. It isn’t questioned. It isn’t chosen.

Going to bed one hour earlier than your norm is one of the fastest ways to becoming your future self. You avoid wasteful consumption. You get more rest. You enable yourself to wake up earlier and get to work on your goals before the busyness of the day takes hold.

It isn’t the contents of your past that need changing, but how you view them today. As Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” It’s not about seeing a million things, but being able to see the same things a million different ways. And hopefully in better and more useful ways... See more

Although the culture is rapidly changing, there are still similar patterns. By the time a person reaches their thirties, they stop having as many “first” experiences.

The idea that you should “never be the ‘former’ anything” conveys in one phrase the entire premise of this book. Whether you were an astronaut or a drug addict, you should never be the former anything. Both trauma and achievement can have a powerful impact on your personality. But whichever you experience, you should never get stuck in the past, no... See more