The Secret to a Successful Career (Is You)

Inspirational quotes on social media will only go so far in helping you achieve your goals. You are unique and understanding your talents and innate, unchanging personality is where you'll find the answers you need to achieve success.

Platitudes are not strange looking aquatic egg-laying mammals from the land down under.

Everyone wants to succeed. Nobody wants to fail. You're not going to learn how to achieve the former and avoid the latter by reading an inspirational quote on some influencer's social media feed. (Well, there is some good advice out there, but don't be disappointed if it lacks a bit of actionable detail.)

Live. Laugh. Love. What does that even mean? If it makes you smile and appreciate your day, great. But in terms of helping you actually get ahead in life, it lacks some needed specificity.

If you really want to get what you want out of life, look in the mirror. Here's how.

The Starting Line

To get where you want to go, you first need to know where you are.

What assets do you have at your disposal? This isn't about money or possessions, but like those, this is an inventory of the kind of things you can acquire like skills or knowledge.

Then there are your aptitudes and talents. These are attributes you are born with. They can't be acquired like a computer or a skill, but they can be identified, fostered, and empowered.

If you have a natural talent for drawing flowers, art classes can make that talent blossom.

Find Your Inner Strengths

Going deeper, there is your core personality to consider. If you are a logical person with an analytical mind, you may want to skip the art class and focus instead on something more aligned with the way your brain works.

Conversely, if you are highly creative, vocations like accounting or systems analysis probably won't motivate you to jump out of bed every Monday morning, raring to start your week.

→ PRO TIP: Take the Core Values Index™ psychometric assessment. It has the highest repeat reliability of any personality test and psychometric assessment in the world. It also includes a Personalized Career Guide specific to your personality type. Nothing reveals your innate and unchanging nature more accurately.

Most people have a good sense for when they're doing something that "isn't their bag." The days go slow, it's a challenge to stay motivated, and success seems elusive.

If this describes you, you're not alone.

It is estimated that over 70% of workers feel disengaged in their job.

On the other hand, finding the answer to "What would make me happy?" is a serious challenge.

You don't know what you don't know, and until you've tried them all, how can you really tell which job will make you shine?

When you take the Core Values Index psychometric assessment, you get a strong leg up on your quest for a better — and happier — career.

This may sound like an oversimplification, but core truths tend to be surprisingly simple: you will be more successful doing something you enjoy than something you don't enjoy, no matter how much effort you put into it.

Hard work only gets you so far. Swinging a dull axe is a terrible way to cut down a tree.

When you complete an accurate personality assessment like the Core Values Index, you learn the fundamentals of what makes you tick.

Do you have an analytical mind and love to solve problems? Does collaboration and getting everyone pulling together toward a common goal bring you joy? Perhaps the sense of accomplishment you feel when you lead from the front and get things done is what fuels your engine? Or maybe nothing makes you feel more fulfilled than a thorough research project where you have mined the depths of available knowledge on a particular topic and become the in-house expert in that field?

Most likely there's a mix of two or more of these descriptors dwelling within you, blending together in a particular ratio to define your unique personality. (Your CVI profile includes the specific scores of four personality types called core value energies.)

These characteristics describe with surprising detail and accuracy where your happiness is found. When you understand how the DNA of your personality shapes the kind of fundamental activities that make you happy — solving problems, collaborating with others, leading and getting things done, or gathering knowledge and data — then you can hone in on the kind of jobs and careers where you can shine.

Doing what makes you happy in alignment with your personality is the secret to success in your career.

Anything less is cutting down a tree with a dull axe.

Core Values Index™ and CVI™ are trademarks of Taylor Protocols, Inc.