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The Four Elements of Success

Nelson Business

Contents

Preface.............................................................................viiIntroduction........................................................................ixI. Learning the ElementsChapter 1 Understanding the Elements: Which One Are You?...........................3Chapter 2 The Elements in the Real World...........................................35II. Applying the ElementsChapter 3 Understanding Team Dynamics: Putting It All Together.....................61Chapter 4 How to Grow (and Retain) Your Team.......................................97Chapter 5 An Elemental Look at Understanding Your Customer.........................112Chapter 6 Career Implications......................................................119III. The 28-Day ChallengeChapter 7 Element One: The Excitement of Fire......................................152Chapter 8 Element Two: The Grounding of Earth......................................163Chapter 9 Element Three: The Transformation of Water...............................175Chapter 10 Element Four: The Release of Wind.......................................189Notes...............................................................................203AppendicesI. Questions and Answers............................................................207II. The Path Elements Profile for Laurie Beth Jones.................................209III. Sample PEP Charts..............................................................227IV. A Brief History of Personality Theory...........................................245Acknowledgments.....................................................................249About the Author....................................................................253

Chapter One

Earth. Water. Wind. Fire. Which one are you? And what does it matter? This book will help to educate and convince you that knowing the difference is important indeed. And it will also help you take this individual tool of the Path Elements Profile(tm) (PEP) and expand it into a team assessment that can help transform not one, but many individuals into a harmonizing, humming force for good.

It is imperative that leaders first understand their own elements in order to assess their strengths and challenges. One CEO I was coaching, for example, is an inventor-and a certifiable genius-from the Silicon Valley. However, he had burned through six assistants in a year, blaming each one of them for their failures. Only when he saw his element, Fire, and understood his current and most willing assistant, Water, did he realize that his flame was not giving as much light as heat. He was on the verge of accomplishing nothing of worth without a team that understood him and, more important, that he understood and respected. Are you a Fire burning through your team, or perhaps another element with its own unique set of strengths and challenges? Let's find out now.

Identifying the Positive Characteristics of Each Element

In this section, please take the time to contemplate each of the four elements. These activities are designed to trigger new synapses in your brain and create a new mind map for you to better reference and absorb the information that will follow.

What are the unique and positive characteristics of each of the elements? All are powerful. All are beautiful. All can be dangerous when unharnessed or out of control. Yet for our purposes here let's consider the positive characteristics of each element.

Quickly name five positive characteristics of Earth and write them here:

Earth is/does ...

1. solid

2.

3.

4.

5.

Name five positive characteristics of Water and write them here:

Water is/does ...

1. transparent

2.

3.

4.

5.

Now name five positive characteristics of Wind and write them here:

Wind is/does ...

1. invisible

2.

3.

4.

5.

Name five positive characteristic of Fire and write them here:

Fire is/does ...

1. all-consuming

2.

3.

4.

5.

Now quickly choose the element you most relate to and write it here:

I feel most like _______________________.

If you are torn between two elements, write both of them here:

I feel I may be a blend of ______________________ and _____________________.

If you are uncertain, ask family, friends, and coworkers to choose for you. They usually can identify your elements.

At the top of the quadrant are the words Deliberate and Fast. Place a dot in the quadrant that is most like you.

At the bottom of the quadrant are the words People and Results. Place a dot in the quadrant that most attracts you.

If you placed yourself in the Deliberate quadrant, you tend toward Earth.

If you placed yourself in the Fast quadrant, you tend toward Wind.

If you placed yourself in the People quadrant, you tend toward Water.

If you placed yourself in the Results quadrant, you tend toward Fire.

Now look at your two dots. Where they are may be a reflection of your personality blend. For example, if you are in the Fast quadrant and the People quadrant, you are probably a Wind/Water. If you are in the Deliberate quadrant and the Results quadrant, you may be an Earth/Fire.

Another guide is to read the following statements and circle your answer to each one.

People say I make decisions quickly, often based on just the "scent" of something. True or False (If you answered True, your tendency is toward Wind.)

When it comes to choosing between people or results, I have to admit I almost always put people first. True or False (If you answered True, your tendency is toward Water.)

When it comes to decision making, I prefer to move based on evidence. True or False (If you answered True, your tendency is toward Earth.)

Once I commit to something, I give 110 percent to the task and am often angry when others don't do the same. True or False (If you answered True, your tendency is toward Fire.)

If you would like to have more information about taking the full PEP test, please go to my Web site, www.lauriebethjones.com, or see the information page at the end of this book.

Before we had the PEP online assessment, which pinpoints accurately each person's elemental makeup, I thought I was Water. I wanted to be Water, mostly because Jesus said He was "Living Water," but also because Water is beautifully capable of changing form.

However, my friends unanimously told me I was Wind and Fire, which gave me a whole new insight into how I was behaving in my relationships as well as in my calling. Even though I didn't get to be Living Water like Jesus, I took comfort when one friend reminded me that the Holy Spirit is compared to Wind and Fire in Scripture.

So, my dominant elements are Wind and Fire, with a little bit of Water and hardly any Earth. Therefore, I love to...