The Jungian Myers Briggs 16-Types Test (JMB16) is designed to measure how you like to look at the world and how you like to make decisions. This test will also give you the leg-up on figuring out what it is that others want in their lives, too.

Think of it as a mega-MBTI personality test that you can do in the comfort of your own home (and keep the $175 that the certified MBTI administrators charge!).

How Useful and Reliable is the JMB16?

The original developers of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, came up with their theories from Carl Jung’s work in his book, Psychological Types (1921) – not your lazy Sunday afternoon read. At all.

The JMB16 and the original MBTI area trait based personality tests that rely on S-Data (which means data you gave or ‘self-sourced’) and are considered reliable and useful according to professional standards where “An instrument is said to be valid when it measures what it has been designed to measure” (Ghiselli, Campbell, & Zedeck, 1981; Murphy & Davidshofer, 2005).

Sounds Pretty Simple, Right?

These types of tests, if well designed, are as useful as the you want them to be. This way of thinking about research and validity applies to the original Myers-Briggs assessment and all well-designed adaptations.

All this means is that you should take the test honestly and you should exercise good judgment when evaluating your results. For all tests, including the original MBTI and the JMB16.

The JMB16 personality test was researched, designed, and made to achieve results in-line with the original Myers-Briggs assessment, but not solely based on the methods ...Click to read the full story...

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I haven’t been making a big stink about it… but my next book is REAL close to coming to life.

Okay that’s not entirely true. Every time I finish a major milestone I tweet an update and link an awesome dancing video. You have to celebrate the wins, you know?

Oh what the heck… let’s celebrate together!

Okay, thanks. I wanted that.

As I was saying, before the sudden urge to dance to Tom Jones, I’m getting real close to pushing the “publish” button on Self-Help to Live By, the next book from RichardStep.com Publishing. By real close I’m talking about late summer 2012, but still!

I really, really believe this book will help people out. I’ve been working on it for over a year now and it’s got some real nuggets of awesomeness, if you’ll allow me to toot my own horn for a bit. Toot-toot!

So What’s Inside, Richard?

A bunch! No seriously. After making the Table of Contents, it turned out to be pretty long. But don’t worry, this isn’t 7 Habits of Highly Effective People long (100,519 words). It’s a brisk, fun, and easy 38,880 words (as of today). That’s about 150 pages in Word. Still a few pages to tweak and a lot more visuals to add, but you get the idea.

I’m making the TOC extra detailed so it can serve as a cheat-sheet or review sheet by itself. The short version is below.

DRAFT Table of Contents:

• Overall Book Structure. 10
• What Does It Mean To Grow?. 11
• Self-Improvement Math: Will + Work = Change. 15
• Is Self-Help The Right Thing For You Right Now?. 18
• Personal Change Is A Life-Long Process. 21
• What’s Your

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I read Brian Tracy’s fun book “Eat That Frog!” not too long ago and I got a ton of great tips out of it. You know how I love to share these things. So here goes! This is a quick run-through of the main things I learned from this book. Check it out.

Notes on: Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy

This book is about a set of ideas to help you stop procrastinating and get more done in less time. The book is rather short, but I decided to do a real number on it and give you the nitty-gritty. By all means capable, do what works for you – and you might just be surprised with the results you begin to see soon… or who knows – you might not be surprised at all! Oh, and always remember:

Setting the Table:

• Here is a great rule for success: THINK ON PAPER
• Only ~3% of adults have clear, written goals. These folks accomplish 5 to 10 times as much as people of equal or better education and ability who do not take time to write out what they want.
• Rule: One of the worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not be done at all.

Plan Every Day in Advance:

• Every minute spent in planning saves as many as 10 minutes in execution.
• Remember the 10/90 Rule: the 1st 10% of time you spend planning and organizing your work (before beginning) will save you as much as 90% of time in getting the job done.

Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything:

• 20% of your activities

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I’m not an outwardly super-duper religious person, but I have a military grade fortress when we’re talking internal strength. I’m more of an “ask and you shall receive” than a “let me tell you all about it even though we’re talking about baseball” kind of guy.

But man oh man are there those days where I just want a quick boost to help lift me up.

Below are some quick blurbs and scripture quotes I’ve come across that have been especially useful in calming a shaky soul.

Check them out and see if they help you.

“Yes, You are my Rock and my Fortress; therefore for Your name’s sake lead me and guide me.”

“”Out of my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.”

“”Lord, guide my stride.”

“”Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” -1 Peter 5:7

“”When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice: (for the Lord thy God is a merciful God) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget thee.” -Deut 4:30-31

“”For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is a storm against the wall.” -Isaiah 25:4

“”Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” -Joshua 1:9

Have any more quick and powerful foundation settling quotes?

Please share them!

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A few years back, I sat in a training course that started off with something interesting. No, it wasn’t a bunch of bad jokes or annoying safety tips, it was a personality test.

“Oh now this is interesting. Not sure how this could possibly help me out, but hey I’ll give it a shot.”

It was the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and was facilitated by a certified MBTI administrator. Huh?! It was quite a mouth-full to say the least but I was still interested.

I picked up my pencil, open the packet, and starting going to town on the questions.

Nothing too terribly surprising or hard here – it was just a bunch of “how do you like this” or “which would you prefer that.” Easy, simple, and quick. That’s talking my language!

I anxiously waited for the administrator to run us through the results and scoring process so I could figure out what this was all about. And here it came.

Brand new fresh, engineering degree me got a big: INTJ type (I’m not INTJ anymore, by the way). Cool! Now what do I do?

I still have that original results packet and it’s useful to look at to see how much I’ve grown over the years. It did provide me some great tips on how to super-charge my next steps to growth.

How to Share this Powerful Personality Test with Others?

Fast forward a few years and what do you know… I’m very interested in this psychometric assessment again. But not from the MBTI / certififed administrator frame of mind.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great program and I looked into it VERY hard. But it was $175 for each ...Click to read the full story...

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Here’s a little secret of the new body language field of study. Your eyebrows can make people talk! Watch this video to see how this little tip can help you help others be a little less introverted.

I’m no body language expert, but I love to read and try this stuff! Check it out.

(Can’t see the video? Click here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgm6mqm0vB4)

Know any other quick and easy, little-known body language tips? Share ‘em!

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I just got back from Home Depot with 1,200 pounds of concrete blocks. Tired, a lot-bit sweaty, and looking to save my car from the death of over half a ton of junk (okay, 2 loads of 600 lbs), I started toward the front door.

Oh what’s this? I have a letter.

Overnight.

From Gallup.

The folks who made the StrengthsFinder test.

You know, that test that I made a free version of to help folks discovery themselves.

…crudola…

I want to make it clear to ya’ll, I want to help folks out, but I don’t want to get in the way of the work the Gallup people are doing. Of course, getting to #5 on page 1 of Google for the “strengthsfinder” term probably didn’t help my cause at all.

But anyway, since a lawyer is probably saving this for evidenece, let me cut to the chase.

I gotta’ take the test down. At least in the form that it’s in.

I will definitely make a new version that gives tips on making your life better, but it will have absolutely ZERO association with the Gallup/Clifton StrengthsFinder tests.

As far as I am concerned and think is safe, I won’t even mention the StrengthsFinder again. Ever.

So, it’s coming down VERY soon. Take it now if you want to, but know I will comply with the cease and desist order because I like to live in my house.

If you’d like to see the letter, here it is.

Lessons Learned

But since I want to focus on the positive of having learned a very good lesson here, I have a nice little reminder from someone who’s probably wishing the real Strengths Finder test was free for everybody.

Have a good day folks.

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It’s 2 o’clock and you’re beginning to doze off at your computer. Typing away at yet another email isn’t exactly your idea of a good time. Interest wanes. Breathing slows. Eyelids get heavier. Ruh-roh… here it comes. The big yawn.

Yup, your day is pretty much toast. A little too full for another cup of coffee? Reconsidering staying up so late at night? Or maybe you’re thinking it’s time to switch to an all lettuce and no dressing diet. Ahem. Maybe not. But there is something so easy you can do right now.

Stand up! No seriously. Get off your butt and reach for the ceiling. This is not s stick up – this is a wake up. Put your mouse down, move your chair back, and get them smooshed cheeks breathing.

This is a Science Stand-Up!

Research by Max Vercruyssen, Ph.D at the University of Southern California showed that subjects asked to stand had an increased heart rate of about 10 beats-per-minute (BPM) on average. Standing up also increases your ability to pay attention, speeds up your ability to process information by 5% to 20%, and increases blood flow (and oxygen) to the brain by 10% to 15%.

The next time you’re feeling funky, your audience is dozing off, or you’re in a mini-rut, just stand up. Take a 5-minute stretch or walk-to-the-breakroom trip and notice the difference it makes. All the sleepy people in the house please stand up, please stand up!

Wake up and share this stand-up tip with your friends!

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Want a quick way to get a better understanding of your personality? This “DOPE Bird Personality Test” (the dove, owl, peacock, eagle test – a personality test and not a drug-test) is a very useful tool for gaining some quick insight into your inner workings.

However you use it, the key is to find the positive points of this self-discovery exercise. It’s like having a good friend help you experience your life from the outside. It’s hard to notice that pimple on your nose without someone mentioning something (or a mirror). This test is the mirror.

Know that you are the unique you and you’re loved for that. Use the results of this test as a starting point for your next “self-improvement” step. It is not a judgment and is not a psychological evaluation.

What are the 4 Bird Personality Types?

And here’s the second-to-last moment you’ve been waiting for – quick and simple definitions of what the four bird personality types actually are. Here goes:

DOVE:

The peaceful dove. The dove is people-orientated, loyal, friendly, hard working and a great team player but tends to avoid change, confrontation, risk-taking and assertiveness.

PEACOCK:

The showy peacock. The peacock loves talking, being the center of attention, has passion/ enthusiasm and is happy/ optimistic. Peacocks can be accused of talking too much, and ...Click to read the full story...

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Have you ever got a Dorito stuck in your throat? No, not just a little piece, I mean a big honkin’ chunk of a sharp Dorito chip. Extra spicy and extra pointy.

It seems like no matter how hard you swallow, no matter how much water you drink, and no matter how much you try you just can’t get it out. And it fargin’ hurts every bit of the way down. Ouch!

Now picture this on a slightly smaller scale in an area 800,000 times more sensitive to pain. Kidney. Stones. I’m saying this is not a fun time.

But, after I stopped rolling around the floor, groaning like an injured cougar, it did give me the chance to learn some valuable lessons.

Yup. I learned something from the meanest little urethral-ninja-star I’ve ever encountered.

Here are 10 lessons passing a kidney stone can teach you about life:

1) Surprise: you’re on the ground

There I was, walking around in the bedroom when a sudden, sharp pain hit my lower right back. “What the…” squeaks out of me as my wife asks if it’s my back. I do some flexing to check the muscles and things seem fine. “Uh oh…” was my next thought, as well as a wash of fear over my face. Wait a second… I’m too young for kidney stones, right?!

No matter what you’re doing or where you’re at in life, something can throw a kink in your plans. Do your best to be prepared, but don’t let it keep you down. Check your resources and figure the problems out as they come along. I learned some very valuable health tips and treatment plans.

Minimize down time : maximize learn time.

2) Small ...Click to read the full story...

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