The seven-question “Pleasing Personality” quiz

Cheri Ruskus //July 9, 2012//

The seven-question “Pleasing Personality” quiz

Cheri Ruskus //July 9, 2012//

Each morning, most of us roll out of bed, head towards the bathroom and, at some point during our morning ritual, take a look at our face in the mirror.  I don’t know about you, but the face that greets me when I first wake up is a bit rough around the edges – to put it mildly.  After a shower and some cosmetic endowments, the face looking back at me is much more…user friendly shall we say.

How about you? What greets you when you look in the mirror each morning?  Moving past the basics of hair, skin, teeth, nose and mouth, what is happening on the other side of your eyes?  What is happening within the actual you of you?   How do your unique traits and characteristics – your personality that makes up your own unique self  – play out for you? 

Now there are tons of lotion and potions out there designed to make us look and ultimately feel better.  It is up to each of us individually to actually feel better from the inside out. 

Napoleon Hill addressed this in his classic, Laws of Success, as the principle of your Pleasing Personality.  This element was important enough to be there right along side, Self-Confidence, Leadership, and Accurate Thinking as one of the critical 17 principles he saw mandatory for success. 

Let’s face it, there are lots of people walking around in the world who look great, but the minute they open their mouths, you want to run for the hills. They just ooze unpleasantness, which strikes up an almost instantaneous wall of distrust around them.  And if you don’t trust someone, there is no way you are going to do business with them on a regular basis.

Napoleon Hill described a pleasing personality this way: 

“By far, the most important part of your personality is that part which represented by your character.  Therefore is also the part that is not visible. The style of your clothes and their appropriateness undoubtedly constitutes a very important part of your personality, for it is true that people form first impressions of you from your outward appearance.  Even the way you shake hands forms an important part of your personality and goes a long way toward attracting or repelling those with whom you shake hands.  But this art can be cultivated.”

So let’s take a pleasing personality quiz. Answer these questions to help you see just where you may need a little “cultivation” to be more pleasing.    

  1. What are the components of your personality that make a positive impression into the world at large – especially in the world of business?
  2. How would you rate your handshake keeping in mind that this is perhaps the one and only time a business acquaintance has actual physical contact with you?
  3. When you meet someone for the first time how authentic is your enthusiasm in the connection? 
  4. How would you rate your smile?
  5. How often do you actually smile throughout the course of your day both inward and outwards?
  6. Who are some people that immediately come to mind when thinking of someone who have a pleasing personality that you enjoy spending time with on a regular basis? 
  7. How often do you mirror their personality in your own?

From these questions, come up with the top five elements of your personality that not only make you unique, but also have others using the word “pleasing” when they think of you.  Then also note at what needs some work and how you will go around making some changes in this area. 

The interesting aspect of looking into each of our own personalities is how it affects us daily.  This is not just in how we work and deal with others, it is also how much we enjoy being in our own skin.  Let’s face it, if we are not attracting others with our personality we are more than likely not so delighted from the inside looking out.    

And finally to polish off this quick glimpse into our pleasing personality I want to share with you these words of Wilfred Peterson who wrote a column in the 1960’s called Words to Live By.  Here is what he wrote on this topic:

“The art of being yourself, at your best, is the art of unfolding your personality into the person you want to be…Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude towards others.”

So tomorrow morning as you look in the mirror yet one more time, see who is looking back.  Embrace yourself as you step out into the world ready to let them see the best that you have to offer.