What is your personality type? Are you bipolar?

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Are you a leader, follower, or admirer?
Are you the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs?

“Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there; they cause change. They motivate and inspire others to go in the right direction and they, along with everyone else, sacrifice to get there.” - John Kotter

In today's communities, people are divided into leaders, followers, and both. I believe that you have to be a genius to be a leader, but you don't have to be a leader to be a genius. This goes for the animal/mammal kingdom as well. Some of us are natural born leaders, some of us are born to pledge our support and follow those leaders, and some of us just stand around and watch in awe. There is much supporting documentation that being bipolar goes hand in hand with being a genius. Most people misunderstand the perception that bipolar requires a person to have significant mood swings and severe depression. One of the key aspects to being bipolar is the "manic" side of the disorder, in which the "mania" is filled with creativity, artistic talent, and the need for little sleep, while heavily focused.

There are actually 16 personality types, those I have generalized all of them into the three broader groups above. The television show Survivor gives a good look at the roles people play when they are put in certain situations. Someone inevitably has to step-up and take charge. The biggest contributor to the role that you will play in society is your personality. Either you have what it takes to take charge, have what it takes to be loyal, or don't have a clue and just admire the rest of us. I had one employee who always come to work and just seemed lost. We decided like the movie, "Dances With Wolves", we would give him an Indian name. His name, "Stands Around And Stares".

The problem is that many leaders don't respect their follower's opinions, and many followers don't respect their leader's directions. Being a good leader is about taking charge, but it is also about realizing that you do not always have the best ways, smartest ways, or fastest ways. A successful leader also recognizes that their loyal followers have bright ideas and are there to support you. A great leader also recognizes talent. Often the "Top Brass" within many companies do not recognize the talent of the common worker. Many leaders have become psychopathic, while many others are bipolar, and in both cases it can make it difficult for them to work with others.

I worked for corporate America far too long and realized rather quickly that my technological talent was going to be lost somewhere along the way in "Big" America. No company would ever recognize my talent and loyalty that I had and give me an opportunity to help their company succeed further. So I quit to become an accidental leader and technological entrepreneur. I am definitely NOT the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Even if I had the visions to potentially become the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, I don't have the resources to implement my visions. Both would meet the general criteria and my specific criteria as entrepreneurs. Both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, had to adapt to changes in technology to continue to succeed throughout their careers.

There is also a huge difference between entrepreneurs and leaders. The definition of entrepreneur is one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. I however tend to disagree with this definition because an entrepreneur to me, is someone who creates an empire out of nothing. I would NOT consider Wal-mart's current CEO, an entrepreneur. However I would consider Sam Walton an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is somewhat like a magician to me. He creates an empire from nothing by being able to think outside the box.

I was on a plane traveling somewhere once. I saw a guy reading a book called, "The Journey of the Accidental Leader". I asked him if I could read it when he was finished. He said sure and gave it to me to read. After I finished reading it, I tried to give it back to him, but he let me keep it. I decided that I have been an accidental leader in my life quite a few times. Many times, I don't like being a leader, I would much rather be "Stands Around And Stares".

Here are some of my favorite quotes and excepts from the book:

• Life happens when you're planning something else.
• Leadership is not inherited. Often the circumstances dictate whose turn it is. I call this the accidental leadership. There's no grand plan; it just sort of happens, accidentally.
• Always do the right thing for the client.
• Respect everyone for the special gift each brings to the table.
• Leaders set the tone for an organization, and when it comes time for change, leaders must take charge, roll up their sleeves, and dig in for the long haul. Leaders must create an atmosphere of trust and openness among the entire team so that team members can tell the truth without recrimination, experiment without fear of failure, and know they will have the full support of their leader and the organization.
• You have to have a vision to make it come true.
• If you want to create a positive culture, show people by your actions what you believe in, don't just tell them.
• In fact, little problems that get ignored become far larger ones that eventually become potential derailers for companies and their leaders.

My Personality Type:
ENTP a.k.a. The Visionary

-The Portrait of an ENTP -
Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving

I discovered this today in my research. I chose my type based on a few keywords that described me and this is what I discovered. First, I don't understand why it is not EITP since intuitive starts with an 'i' not a 'n', but whatever. As an ENTP, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you take things in primarily via your intuition. Your secondary mode is internal, where you deal with things rationally and logically.

Intuition dominates an ENTP's personality type. Intuition is the act or knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes. They are constantly absorbing ideas and images about the situations they are presented in their lives. Using intuition to process this information, they are extremely quick and most times accurate in their ability to assess a situation. With the exception of their ENFP cousin, the ENTP has a deepened understanding of their environment than other personality types.

This ability to intuitively understand situations and people puts The Visionary, at a distinct advantage in their lives. They typically understand things very quickly and with much depth. Accordingly, they are very flexible and easily adapt well to a wide range of circumstances. They are good at almost anything that interests them. As they mature and further develop their insights and intuitive abilities, they become extremely aware of possibilities, and this makes them quite resourceful when problem solving.

ENTPs are idea people. Their perceptive abilities cause them to see possibilities everywhere. They get excited and enthusiastic about their ideas, and are able to spread their enthusiasm to others. In this way, they get the support that they need to fulfill their visions.

The ENTP's auxiliary process of Introverted Thinking drives their decision making process. Although the ENTP is more interested in absorbing information than in making decisions, they are quite rational and logical in reaching conclusions. When they apply Thinking to their Intuitive perceptions, the outcome can be very powerful indeed. A well-developed ENTP is extremely visionary, inventive, and enterprising.

ENTP personalities are fluent conversationalists, mentally quick, and enjoy verbal sparring with others. They love to debate issues, and may even switch sides sometimes just for the love of the debate. When they express their underlying principles, however, they may feel awkward and speak abruptly and intensely.

The ENTP personality is often referred to the "lawyer" type. If they were defending someone who had committed a crime, they are likely to take advantage of quirks and loopholes in the law that will get their client off the hook. If they won the case, they would perceive their actions as fair and proper, because they acted within the scope of the law. The guilt or innocence of their client would not be as relevant. It could result in a character trait that is misperceived by others as unethical or even dishonest. Though those in his/her corner, would see it as a character trait that is invaluable.

The Visionary, does not naturally consider the personal or human element in decision making. This is a potential problem area for ENTPs. Even though their logical abilities lend strength and purpose, they may also isolate them from expressing their feelings and emotions to other people. Do not confuse the ENTP personality type with the ENTJ personality type, the ENTJ (Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging, also dubbed "The Executive") posesses many psychopathic traits.

Generally, ENTPs are upbeat visionaries. They highly value knowledge, and spend much of their lives seeking a higher level of thinking. They live in the world of possibilities, and become excited about challenges, concepts, and adversity. When presented with a problem, they're a master at improvising and quickly come up with a creative solution. Creative, clever, curious, and theoretical, ENTPs have a broad range of possibilities in their lives. They don't just think, but live outside the box.

Are You Passive Or Aggressive?

There are two types of leaders in my book. There are the passive leaders, who lead by nature, but are not "go getters". They allow everyone else to do their jobs around them and sit back and manage when it come across their desk. They are not the ones that are always looking outside the box. They are not risk takers, they will choose the 'safe bet' any day.

Aggressive leaders tend to take risks. They are 'All In.' type gamblers. They believe that you have to bet big to win big. You have to go out and make things happen. Aggressive leaders can be patient, but impulse is part of what makes them different. They can be very successful, but they can also leave a trail of defeat. Aggressive personalities tend to do better in the business world, in my opinion. They know the risks, and are willing to put their reputation on the line. These leaders can be found throughout the history of man. They truly have made a name for themselves and 'left their mark' in the history books.

Are people recognizing your Talent?

I was checking my AWSTATS statistics as I usually do and I noticed that several people were getting to my website by searching for the keyword phrase, "How can I get people to recognize my talent?" That is a really good question. I already wrote an article on getting attention through photography and marketing, but getting people to recognize your talent can be much more difficult.

The fact of the matter is that is extremely difficult to get people to recognize your talents and skills, even if you are a go getter. Especially in today's economy with ten times the normal number of people applying for jobs and the competition in the workplace itself to keep jobs. I wish there was a simple and easy answer to give you on this question, but there isn't.

Talent and skills should be recognized without you having to point them out, but many times people will not see everything that you have to offer, and your skills and talents will be overlooked. It depends on who you are trying to get to recognize what you have to offer, is it a current employer, a potential employer, a friend, a family member? Each approach to have them recognize your abilities would be different. That is the problem with most companies today. Our government is a democracy but the business world is a monarchy. If big businesses were democractic our economy would have never ended up in the hole it is in.

You should read our other article called thinking outside the box after you finish reading this one for more creative ideas. Many leaders are misdiagnosed with ADD (attention-deficit-disorder) or undiagnosed with bipolar, and when these "leaders" are labeled, it makes them feel week, and outraged, and that its impossible. But the few who actually comprehend what being bipolar is about can use it to their advantage to channel that creative energy and not let the "disorder" cause their life to be "disorderly".