Unlike the one who gave her birth, GO READ IT! seems to have a preference for Extraversion. She attracts many visitors from around the world and is happiest when surrounded by company. She shares her mother's preference for Intuition and can see into the future, envisioning a positive, productive and peaceful world made possible by the understanding and tolerance that come from insights into personality type.
Ever since my baby was born 3 1/2 years ago, I've discovered more and more that I have a passion for teaching others about personality type through my writing! I strive to help eliminate misunderstandings about various personality preferences and about the MBTI(R) tool itself. Writing allows me to fight against personality - based stereotyping and discrimination. As a blogger, I feel I've found my niche and am where I need to be, doing what I need to do. I am proud to wear the t - shirt I had made with the above photo of a Christmas ornament I bought last year, and which so truly says I was "Born to Blog!"
As the contented parent of one blog child, it never crossed my mind to want another. Indeed, how could I have another, unless I wanted to start another blog? So life went on as normal, until one fateful day.....
Yes, it was a fateful day, July 21, 2016. This was one week before I attended the grand opening of a new nearby Chick - fil - A restaurant, at which despite being a former employee of the company I had failed to get a job I interviewed for. This was very discouraging, but perhaps they unknowingly did me a favor!
Buckling down to do some research for my July post on the Big Five, one of the first Web sites to come up in my Google search was www.truity.com. While taking the Big Five personality assessment on this site, I couldn't help noticing the words "Write for Truity" on the menu at the bottom of the page!
Sure enough, the site, which belongs to Truity Psychometrics in San Francisco and has 500,000 (!!!) monthly visitors, offers payment to "talented, passionate writers" who are "genuinely fascinated by personality type...and how it can make our lives better." This was followed by a description of who and what the company is looking for, and why, where and how. This sounded like a pretty accurate portrayal of a very good friend of mine - me!
I couldn't believe my eyes! Never had I heard of personality type bloggers being sought even as volunteers, and the idea of any blogger being paid was simply astounding. But although it was inevitable that I, breathless with excitement, would apply, throughout the process I also felt that I was about to jump off a very high cliff!
This was because in addition to being one of the most exciting things I've ever done, applying to write for Truity has also been one of the most frightening!
It took me several days to apply while I fixed a technical problem with my Web site, wrote a five - sentence statement about why I want to write for Truity, and, well, perhaps even dealt with fear and procrastination. Finally, once my Web site was fixed thanks to the help of Weebly tech support, I realized I had no excuse not to proceed!
Waking up in the middle of the night on August 3, I once again drew a deep breath, feeling that I was about to jump off a cliff.
"This is it! Today's the day!" I thought, with an overwhelming sense of being on my way to an appointment with my destiny. Since I had yet to complete the brief "cover letter" to finish my application, I got up and worked on it for several minutes before going back to sleep. About twelve hours later I submitted my application, which besides my five - sentence statement consisted simply of the link to my blog.
It was the following day while driving to an appointment several miles away before I really had a chance to think about what I had done, and I was very, very proud of myself for overcoming my fear enough to apply! Whether I won or lost, was hired or not hired, I felt like a winner just for applying.
The application process also provided a great boost to my confidence as a writer. Although I was confident before my encounter with Truity, now I am convinced I could blog about many things besides personality type as well as be successful writing many things besides blog posts. I felt that if I wasn't accepted to write for Truity it would not be because anything was lacking in the quality of my writing.
Expecting to wait at least a week before hearing from Molly since there are so many posts on my blog and presumably also plenty of other applicants, I hoped she would eventually inform me of whatever decision she made. But then I remembered that employers generally only respond to those they want to hire. After a week went by with no response I supposed that I hadn't been chosen and that it was time to move on.
But I had forgotten one thing - Google Analytics, the to - die - for program which tells a Webmaster almost everything about the visitors on his or her Web site. Except for one visitor who had found me through a Google search, my Web site reports showed no recent traffic from San Francisco. That meant that Molly, Truity's CEO, hadn't even started looking at my blog or anything else on my Web site. I was still in the running!
Finally I received an email from her on August 16, nearly two weeks after applying. She gave me some additional information about her company's products and philosophy, and asked if I would like to continue the discussion about writing for them. I was almost hyperventilating while emailing her that yes, I was interested in continuing the discussion!
Molly replied saying that was great, and then began brainstorming with me about possible article topics. It took me a few days to realize that was her way of saying "You're hired!" We decided that I would write about personality type and spirituality, a topic that as yet hadn't been attempted on Truity's Web site, since the editor, Molly, describes herself as not being very religious.
So now I have two babies (in addition to my plant and cat, of course!), in the form of two blogs and two deadlines instead of one. I imagine my experience has been similar to that of parents who are in a comfortable routine with one baby and then have or adopt another, or that of people who add a second four - legged family member to their happy, peaceful home. I think we'd all agree it's an exciting opportunity, a challenge, and one of the scariest things we've ever done, like jumping off a cliff into very deep waters which just might reveal undreamed of hidden treasures. We'd say we did it for love.
I certainly have been acting as if I've been smitten with something (a new baby, perhaps?) ever since the day I stumbled across the opportunity to write for Truity. I've been doing odd things like forgetting to do my laundry the day I first encountered Truity, and leaving my bag of snacks at home in the fridge when I went to work the following day!
My preferences for Judging and Intuition have both been pushed outside their comfort zones by this adventure. As a Judging type I want everything to be in order and predictable when it comes to the business aspects of this new venture. As an Intuitive I want to be able to look into the future and know that everything will work out fine (or better yet, great!), and not have to worry about every little thing that could go wrong. I want to be able to leap right into the future of blogging on someone else's site, knowing I'll be able to handle the demands on my time and please my new employer and readers, instead of plunging into deep waters not knowing whether what lies at the bottom is positive or negative.
On the way to my jumping off point to the deep waters of the future is something perhaps shallower but even more uncomfortable for my dominant Intuition. That is having to take one step at a time with no idea what lies right in front of me until I get there, and having to trust that I'm still right where I need to be. As Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Yes, I climbed up the stairs of self - doubt and jumped off the cliff of comfort into the waters of what - ifs the day I saw Truity's Web site and ad for writers. But how could a woman who's proud to wear a "Born to Blog!" t - shirt ultimately be anything less than successful with the help of God and support of my friends? After all, that shirt fits me to a T!