OH HIIII, cub scout. I SEE YOU.

YOU, AT A GLANCE:

You are going to make big things happen—just as soon as you’re completely 100% super ready and prepared to move forward. Your comfort zone involves following formulas, getting aaaalllll the feedback and waiting for the right time. If waiting was an Olympic sport, you’d have gold medals lining your mantle.

Beyond your infinite patience and need for safety, you’re also sitting on a wealth of ideas and a desire to put your work out into the world. By learning to trust yourself, you’ll be able to move your ideas forward while also remembering that failure isn’t permanent and that you can do – and survive – hard things.

How You Deal with Fear:

It’s easy for you to put everyone else’s opinions and experiences above your own, and when you’re afraid, you find yourself needing more information, getting more feedback, and waiting even longer. You want the certainty of safety and, while risk-taking feels good for everyone else, it’s hard for you to raise your hand and say yes to it. You also read so-called failures as signs of a personal deficiency.

How You Deal with Success:

It’s hard for you to count on success, especially when it’s based on someone else’s formula. Every time a success comes following what someone else tells you to do, you wonder if you can replicate it. Remember that your creativity is the secret ingredient to everything you do, and that the you-ness you bring to your work cannot be duplicated by anyone else. You are capable of wonderful and beautiful things. Trust yourself.

Muscles to Develop:

Intuition and Resilience

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MEET THE SUBTYPES!

Within each Make It Happen type, there are three subtypes, that describe in more details how your primary type (I see you taking notes and wanting to soak it all up, Sweets!) might manifest itself in your life, work, and creative challenges!

As you work toward understanding your archetype, bookmark this page so that you can revisit these descriptors and keep your guiding principles at the top of your mind!

AND! As you get deeper into this work, remember that your tendency might shift as you start to build success and momentum towards your big goals. That is 100% okay and expected and you can return to the quiz whenever you feel like you need a refresher!

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The Duplicator

 

You love doing the work and following through on big ideas. The only problem is that you often find yourself so inspired by what everyone else is doing that you aren’t always sure those things you’re moving forward are the ones you want. You’ve tried following other people’s formulas—and are ready to find your own!

Strengths:

• You are a brilliant detective and know what success takes.

• You’re thirsty for knowledge and love reverse-engineering logistical tactics.

• You have a huge energy and drive for your creative work.

• It’s easy for you to move forward and execute an idea.

• You thrive in structure and respond well to rules and logic.

Pitfalls:

• You often forget to check in with yourself before taking action.

• None of the millions of ideas you’ve brought to life seem to last.

• You lose yourself in the current of the formula without knowing how to adjust course.

• You don’t prioritize your own voice, needs, and strengths.

• Your creative mojo is often threatened by the need to follow rules.

What I want you to know:

Success on your own terms—your way—is possible. It starts with getting quiet and tapping into your own truths and then developing your own processes.

You can look to other people for examples of what works and best practices, but you’re going to find your most authentic version of success by intuitively applying those best practices to your creative vision and highlighting the things that make you most come alive.

Guiding Principles:

• Give yourself time to craft your own formula for success.

• Effective business strategy should bring you to life, not deflate you.

• Just because it works for them doesn’t mean it’s what you need or want.

• Stand up for yourself, your needs, and your methods.

• Your whims are the whispers of your intuition. Give them credit.

Beware:

The lure of the formula is as powerful and strong as your mastery over said formulas is comforting, so it’s easy to veer in that direction. Create daily rituals to check in with yourself so that you can adjust course as needed.

Always be asking: is this what I really want? and create space to hear your answer. This will ground you in your conviction for taking action on those things that are going to be the game-changers for you and your work.

Your Mantra:

I can be even more successful by doing things my way.

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The Census Taker

 

You are excited to move ideas forward but only after you’ve collected everyone’s opinions. You start projects by polling your peeps, asking for feedback, and making sure your idea is validated. You often find yourself confused about what to do next when those opinions contradict each other, or worse, don’t back up the direction you want to go.

Strengths:

• You care deeply about the people in your life.

• You’re great at delivering things that are going to serve your audience.

• Your ideas often develop into powerful creative works.

• People love how thoughtful and conscientious you are.

• You work well with teams and can incorporate different styles and opinions.

Pitfalls:

• You often get lost trying to navigate everyone’s feedback.

• Your biggest anxiety stems from the fear of letting someone down.

• It’s easy to think an unpopular idea isn’t worthy or valuable.

• You let creating for other people take over your zone of genius.

• People’s expectations of how you should live overshadow your values.

What I want you to know:

The people in your life and audience are always going to have opinions on the best way for you to proceed, but those opinions aren’t always the right answer for you.

Your true creative genius lies in the recognition of the things you want to say, do, and be. Not everyone will approve of your methods or approaches, but your job in this world isn’t to accomplish the impossible task of pleasing everyone.

Guiding Principles:

• Trust your intuition and your ability to know what’s best.

• When gathering feedback, create a small circle of trusted advisors of whom to ask.

• Give yourself permission to disagree on what everyone else thinks you should do.

• It’s your job to decide which feedback is worth following through on.

• Most people won’t understand an innovative idea at first. Develop it anyway.

Beware:

Even the best ideas can get watered down when decided by committee, and if you’re constantly gathering opinions, you’re putting off your big work. Rather than keeping the polls going, pause and connect with those things you really want to do, be, and say and let yourself lead from that place.

Not everyone will understand. Not everyone will agree. Not everyone will support you. And that is going to be extremely uncomfortable. Trust that you’ll find your right people.

Your Mantra:

I know what’s best for me.

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The Waiter

 

The dreams flow freely and you know you’ll get around to getting things started…someday. When the timing is right. When things are different. When you finally have it all figured out. In fact, you’re so good at waiting, sometimes those dreams are forgotten and discarded in favor of what everyone else needs you to do.

Strengths:

• You’re extremely patient and are good at letting a plan simmer.

• You can remove the emotion from an idea and are a master planner.

• You have deep longings for your life and know what needs to happen to realize them.

• You can wait like a snake in the grass…people often have no idea what you’re up to.

• You don’t rush your work and produce at a high-quality level because of this.

Pitfalls:

• You’re so good at waiting that you never get around to all the things you want to do.

• You let everyone else’s priorities take precedence over your own.

• You don’t give yourself a chance to learn from experience and can get lost in planning.

• You don’t trust yourself enough to know that it’s okay to start.

• You’re so busy waiting that you watch everyone else making things happen, wondering when it will be your turn.

What I want you to know:

You’re so much more ready than you realize. The time will never be right. It will never be convenient. You’ll never be 100% prepared for everything. Go anyway. Make your move. You don’t have to leap, but you do need to take a step. Progress happens one step and one day at a time. Give yourself the chance to build up small wins—they add up to big, bold moves.

Guiding Principles:

• Curiosity is your compass; let it guide you to action.

• Track your micro-successes daily to see how they add up.

• Making a move doesn’t have to be scary; trust yourself.

• Practice makes progress. Progress gets you to your goal.

• The time is going to pass regardless—make it count.

Beware:

There will always be a good reason for you to put off your dreams. There will always be an obligation knocking at your door. There will always be something else standing in your way. It’s up to you to believe in yourself and trust yourself enough to move forward anyway.

Your Mantra:

My time is now. I trust myself to act.

NOW WHAT?

Curious about the other two primary archetypes? Check them out here!