"That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Liked, Right, Comfortable, or Triumphant?
The other day I was listening to a conference put on by one of my roll models, Robert Kiyosaki, and heard him say something very interesting. He said that he felt the world was made up of four kinds of needs. The needs are the need to be right, the need to be liked, the need to win, and the need to be comfortable. His opinion was that we all have these needs in varying degrees, but that some of us have a heightened or extra measure of one or two of these needs.
I have to agree with him to a certain extent, and would add that, in my opinion, many career paths tend to attract individuals with these same magnified needs in a very categorical way. For instance, I think it would be pretty safe to say that individuals with a strong or abundant need to be right end up pursuing careers in law such as attorneys, judges, politicians, and police officers. People with a pronounced need to win might include entrepreneurs, salesmen, professional athletes, professional military, doctors, and high executive positions. Those with a need to be comfortable might include engineers, designers, authors, and decorators. And those with an acute need to be liked might include those in the arts - such as actors and painters, cooks, and those in service industries.
Most of us have all of these needs in varying amounts and most of them, I would hypothesize; become more emphasized at different stages of our lives. I think that early in our lives, we tend to need to be liked more than at any other time of life. We strive for attention from family and then friends. As we enter school, sports and careers, we might shift our focus more towards our need to win, striving for grades, accomplishments and positions. As we develop and improve through our careers, we specialize and become experts in our crafts which might increase the need to be right. Perhaps, more often to validate or justify our career choices, than anything else. Then as we begin to age and retire, we might feel an increase in our need to be more comfortable. We reduce our subjection to risk, we increase our pursuit of fulfillment though hobbies, family engagement, and we certainly seek the relief of age-inducing ailments.
So, why am I writing about this? The world takes all types, as they say, and well, after thinking about it I'm trying to find where I fit within these categories. As an aspiring entrepreneur, am I a seeker of victory? As a husband and father, do I pursue the luxuries of comfort? As the clown of my family, am I driven by a proclivity for admiration? Or as a lover of information, am I motivated by a hunger to be the one with all the answers?
What needs are most prevalent in you?
I have to agree with him to a certain extent, and would add that, in my opinion, many career paths tend to attract individuals with these same magnified needs in a very categorical way. For instance, I think it would be pretty safe to say that individuals with a strong or abundant need to be right end up pursuing careers in law such as attorneys, judges, politicians, and police officers. People with a pronounced need to win might include entrepreneurs, salesmen, professional athletes, professional military, doctors, and high executive positions. Those with a need to be comfortable might include engineers, designers, authors, and decorators. And those with an acute need to be liked might include those in the arts - such as actors and painters, cooks, and those in service industries.
Most of us have all of these needs in varying amounts and most of them, I would hypothesize; become more emphasized at different stages of our lives. I think that early in our lives, we tend to need to be liked more than at any other time of life. We strive for attention from family and then friends. As we enter school, sports and careers, we might shift our focus more towards our need to win, striving for grades, accomplishments and positions. As we develop and improve through our careers, we specialize and become experts in our crafts which might increase the need to be right. Perhaps, more often to validate or justify our career choices, than anything else. Then as we begin to age and retire, we might feel an increase in our need to be more comfortable. We reduce our subjection to risk, we increase our pursuit of fulfillment though hobbies, family engagement, and we certainly seek the relief of age-inducing ailments.
So, why am I writing about this? The world takes all types, as they say, and well, after thinking about it I'm trying to find where I fit within these categories. As an aspiring entrepreneur, am I a seeker of victory? As a husband and father, do I pursue the luxuries of comfort? As the clown of my family, am I driven by a proclivity for admiration? Or as a lover of information, am I motivated by a hunger to be the one with all the answers?
What needs are most prevalent in you?
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