DISC

The test showed that I am a D/C type. This is generally true because I am an active choleric with never ending personal projects, I am in constant need for changes, and I prefer to be in control of my own life.

"C" also shows. I am pretty good at quantitative subjects such as calculus, accounting, and finance. When I develop my creative ideas into plans, I plan deep into details sometimes for various scenarios.

"I" came third on my grid but I must say that I use lots of "I" when I work on group projects. This personality type is not native to me but it developed over time. At some point I noticed that people bring better ideas and are more reliable when they are motivated, energized, confident, and have a positive view on the outcome (Dah!). There was no way a regular dictatorship would work, so I had to switch.

"S" is only number four but I wouldn't say that I am completely deprived of Steadiness. If I was deprived of it, I think I would not be tutoring accounting at Baruch's SACC and would not be writing database manuals for new hires in my group at work.

In a word, the test results were accurate for me and I declare that the test works!

I guess this test was developed with business purposes but it can be very well used for personal self-study and improvement. It's great to know your own type. This way you can learn your strengths and weaknesses. Figuring out the personality types of your boss and subordinates and how to combine them with yours, may significantly improve your work environment and overall performance. That in turn will have positive influence on your career in general. Same thing with friends.

For the very personal purposes this test may help to eliminate people with personality traits you can’t stand. However, it maybe be tricky to have a person to take the test, and secondly it doesn’t take a scientific test to notice the way a person shapes his/her environment, interacts with people, and gets things done. I personally think that career paths people choose and situations they create are accurate indicators of what those people are and what you can expect from them in the future. Plus, some very important things the test doesn’t tell. For example, do you care if an egoist or a mean narrow-minded individual is a D or S type? I don't.

By the way, speaking of “first date” tests, here is one. If you take it, let me know what you think.

You are in a desert and you see a …. cube.

1) How big is the cube?
What is its color? What do you think about that color?
How far away is it from you?
Is it transparent? Can you see what is inside?
How big is the cube compared to the desert? What is the ratio?

2) There is a ladder.
Is the ladder leaning on the cube?
What is the color of the ladder? What is it made of?
What impression does it give you?
What is the distance between the cube and the ladder?

3) There is a horse.
What is the distance between the cube and the horse?
What is the color of the house?
What impression does it give you?
Is it tied? Is there a saddle?

4) There is a storm.
What is the distance between the storm and the cube.
Is it a big storm or a small storm?
Is it passing by or staying?

5) There is a flower/ there are flowers.
How many flowers are there?
Where is/ are the flower/s? (eg. next to the horse, next to the cube,
between the horse and the cube, far from both the horse and the storm etc.)
What is the color of the flower/s?
How do you feel about the flower/s?

Answers:

To interpret the answers, you should concentrate on how you feel about the thing that you describe and not how it looks. For example, you may describe the cube as blue in color and blue gives you a feeling of calmness. However, another person may describe the cube as white in color and white gives her a sense of calmness. Though both persons picture the cube differently, the interpretations of their answers are the same --- the cube represents calmness to them.

Cube : The cube represents yourself. How you think about the cube reflects how you think about yourself. For example, you may think the cube is made of yellow stones. Yellow may give you a feeling of warmth and stone may give you a feeling of strength. Then, it means that you believe that you are a strong and warm person. The distance between you and the cube reflects your understanding about yourself. If the cube is far away, then it means that you do not feel close to your inner self. If the cube is transparent, that means you let people see through you. People can read your mind easily. The ratio of the cube to the desert is how you think about yourself in this world. The bigger the ratio, the bigger your ego is. A small ratio means that you recognize that you are just one part of this world and there are many other things out there beside you.

Ladder : The ladder represents your friends. If the ladder is leaning against the cube, then it means that your friends depend on you. If the ladder is supporting the cube, that means you depend on your friends. The distance between the ladder and the cube indicates if you feel close to your friends or not. Again, how you feel about the ladder reflects how you feel about your friends (eg. what you feel about the color of the ladder and the material it is made of).

Horse : The horse is your lover. If the horse is close to the cube, then it means that you are close to your lover. If the horse is tied or has a saddle on it, then it means that you like to control your lover. As before, the impression of the horse reflects the impression you have of your lover.

Storm : The storm is the obstacle in your life. If the storm is close to the cube/ stationary, then you are always experiencing hardship in your life. If the storm is small, then it means the obstacle in your life is quite small.

Flower/s : The flower represents your offspring. If the flower is close to the cube, that means you are close to your children. Again, what you feel about the flower indicates the feelings you have towards your children.

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/9129/desert.html#answers

Miracles of Vision

To those who think vision doesn't work I can say that it does.

Here is an example. I wanted to move to the US since I was a teenager. For a person living in the post-soviet Russia it was an absolutely crazy idea at that time. But I was a dreamer with a plan (or some sort of a plan : ) that worked. I guess I had a vision without realizing it.

My next big concern was my career, so I decided to become a great astronaut. I was not tall enough to make a pilot but I could apply for a non-pilot position if I had a science degree.

Just in case you are cracking up reading this, remember that my friends in Russia did the same when I told them I wanted to live in the States.

By the way, if someone wants to check out NASA careers, here is the link:
http://www.nasa.gov/about/career/index.html

My plan was a-go until the crash of Columbia. After that, I thought of settling for a career with potentially lower prices of mistakes. So, I decided to become a financial analyst and later a tax accountant. Some may ague, though, that today being an accountant might be just as perilous as being an astronaut. Ha.
My plan was adjusted but my vision was not. I see myself being one of the best accountants ever lived.

Now comes the boreing part. My overall completely undramatic plan for the future is to develop career mentioned above and start a family. I guess one gets tired of freedom and independence after a while : )

In terms of career, I think, it is simple: pick an industry and try to become one of the best. Usually, it is easier to be good at things that are somewhat interesting. And it's not difficult to be interested in things that effect your everyday life, such as owning stocks if you are in a field of finance, getting the most out of your tax returns if you are in accounting, etc. The relevant sacrifices that I am willing to take are long hours and heavy work load.

**Secretly I am still nourishing an idea of applying to FBI and CIA finance departments. They are hiring now. How crazy would that be!!! I can imagine calling my mom and saying, "Mom, I was offered a position of an agent in CIA finance department. What do you think?" Crazy or not it would not be in contradiction with my education in accounting.**

Personal life is a bit trickier to plan because emotions are involved and you can't be rational all the time. Also, to a certain degree, coherence depends on the second party. So, celebration of the 40th anniversary might be an ambitious goal. But history is full of examples, so it's gotta be as possible as anything else.

All for now.