Discover Your Animal Personality Type with Eric Gee
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Cathy:Welcome to Late Boomers, our podcast guide to creating your 3rd act with style, power, and impact. Hi. I'm Cathy Worthington.
Merry:And I'm Merry Elkins. Join us as we bring you conversations with successful entrepreneurs, entertainers, and people with vision who are making a difference in the world.
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Cathy:Hello. I'm Cathy Worthington. Welcome to our Late Boomers podcast. Today, we're excited to meet with Eric g, the author of the power of personality, who is going to tell you how to recognize your personality traits and give you pointers about the people close to you.
Merry:And I'm Merry Elkins. We're hoping Eric tells us something about ourselves today too. Besides being an author, he's a life coach, the founder of an education company, a classical pianist, fantasy football champ, amateur magician. That's so all over the board, but you're a Renaissance man. I guess that's personality type, isn't it?
Merry:Anyway, thank you. Welcome, Eric.
Eric Gee:Oh, thanks for having me, and, 3 time fantasy football champion, actually. 3 times, you know, Eric just wanna say. Okay.
Cathy:Okay.
Eric Gee:Is that a Maude Bradshaw pick? But,
Cathy:Yeah. Very cool. But, Eric, tell us how your life's experiences led you to becoming an expert in typing personalities and to your work in education and coaching.
Eric Gee:You know, I think I it's because I kinda grew up not as a weird kid, but the worst kind of weird kid. I think I was that kid who fit in on the outside but didn't necessarily relate to everyone I was interacting with in the inside. And that's I don't know if it's better or worse than just being that reclusive person in the corner, but I definitely felt like I was always around people, but also felt sometimes alone inside. And so that got me thinking, like, maybe I'm different than the people around me. And I started reading up a lot of different personality type books.
Eric Gee:I think the familiar ones, MBTI, Myers Briggs, Enneagram, and I started doing that. And then I took a little got a little sidetracked and did screenwriting. I guess it's not a sidetrack. I still do that. And I went to school for that, UCLA.
Eric Gee:But then when I graduated, I started my own education company. And through that, I started really utilizing the personality typing methodology that I've learned from books I read. And then I started creating my own, which inevitably led to my book, The Power of Personality, that came out this year.
Cathy:Well That's great.
Merry:Yeah. I'd I'd I have a lot of questions in my mind about what you just said because how does education teaching education, work with personality types, you know, because it's totally different from the kind of education that we're brought up with.
Cathy:Yeah.
Merry:You know And I wanna talk about your book.
Eric Gee:Yeah. Well, I mean, we can talk about anything you want. I love talking about education and the the bias that often comes with what we learn. Like, my one of my favorite James Baldwin quotes, and I'm gonna butcher it a little bit. So I'll just say I'm gonna paraphrase it, is that the irony of education is the more we learn, the more we come to question the system we're educated in.
Eric Gee:And I think learning about personality types is great because we realize a lot of teachers and a lot of people involved in education come from a specific type of personality. I call them packs. They come from a specific personality pack, and that's the one that values safety and security, which makes sense that they would become teachers and educators because, especially elementary school, it's all about keeping kids safe, teaching them the rules. This is how you act. This is how you become a fine upstanding citizen and don't end up in jail.
Eric Gee:You know? We both. Yeah. Ideally, even I had a 3rd grade teacher who told one of my classmates that you're going to either end up in jail or dead. So she was definitely trying to scare him straight.
Eric Gee:And I think once we start understanding the different that there's a bias and that we have different personalities, we can start especially if you're an educator, you can start understanding your own bias and start working with your students more on an individual basis based on the personality.
Merry:That's interesting. Well, tell tell us more about your your book, the power of personality. And, also, how many personality types are there?
Eric Gee:Oh, well, there's okay. So this is gonna be a familiar number to people who know personality. There's 16 types. But I wrote my book because as opposed to MBTI, which also has 16 types, or which is called Myers Briggs, My book is a different methodology, and I wanted to really focus that the way you come into those 16 different personality types is very different than what came before. And that's the difference between my book.
Eric Gee:The other difference is that my book is specifically teaches or specifically written to teach people to beat a test. You know, I know a lot of personality books, they have a test in the beginning, and then you take, like, I don't know, 50 questions. And then, like, 99% of the book are prescriptions. But I'm always, like, well, if you get the diagnosis wrong, then you're gonna the different prescriptions are destructive, right, or not particularly healthy. So my whole book is focused on how to diagnose and understand the people around us better through using my personality diving methodology.
Eric Gee:So, ideally, once you read it, you'll be able to, like, type all the different people in your lives. You know? Mhmm.
Cathy:And, well, maybe talk a little bit more about that because I was gonna ask you what differentiates your book from all the others, and you pretty much answered that. So talk a little bit more about the personality types.
Eric Gee:Well, if we split them up into 4 major packs, and I I think I mentioned packs before because my personality types, I use animals to define them. Oh. So yeah. So it's, like, really easy to remember. Everyone remembers, if they're a fox.
Eric Gee:You know? And people you tell someone, oh, that person's a fox. I think we know how he or she acts. Right? Like, kinda sneaky, sly, shrewd.
Eric Gee:Everyone knows it's kinda like the James Bond type. Right? So, we have 4 different packs, but each pack, focuses on a different value. As I mentioned before, one of the major packs, and they make about half the population, and I call them gatherers, kinda like hunter gatherers. Mhmm.
Eric Gee:They they prioritize safety and security. So, like, if you think about a majority of the people in the world, you know, they focus on, like, what should you do? You should go to school, pay attention in class, get good grades so you can go to a good school after that, get a good job afterwards, get married, have kids, buy a house, that kind of mentality because all of that is designed to keeping people feeling safe and comfortable. But that leaves off about half the population.
Cathy:So what animal is that?
Eric Gee:Well, so there's 4 animals within each pack. So I have 4 packs, and I have 4 animals. Yeah. Sorry. This gets really wonky as I go into it, but, you know, and Yeah.
Eric Gee:4 times 4 is 16. Yeah. Yeah. So there are different animals within each pack, and each one of them gets, let's say, in that pack, goes towards their safteens or gains their safety and security, maybe using a different method based on their different animal.
Merry:Oh, that's so interesting. Go on to other types to
Cathy:describe How many how many animals are there then?
Eric Gee:16? Yeah. 16. So there's 4 within
Cathy:the town. Animals. Okay. Mhmm.
Eric Gee:Yeah. Because
Cathy:I think some animals we don't assign a personality trait to. Like, a fox is obvious, but other animals, maybe not so much.
Eric Gee:Yeah. You know, sometimes it got for a few of the personality types, it was a little difficult. I had to, like, start pulling, like, well, I think there's that archetype there. I had to start, like, kinda getting creative just to make sure that people can go, okay. People ask me, like, why a baboon?
Eric Gee:I'm like, well, it's not that, like, the baboon type is always, like, showing their butts to people. But, you know, like, I think of, like, Rafiki in the Lion King, how he holds them up. Even though I know Rafiki is a mandrill, I get that a lot too. But it's the idea of, like, baboons are loud, and they're aggressive. And, they're kind of Oh.
Eric Gee:In in my personality typing methodology, they're kind of preachy at their worst. So that's where preachy?
Cathy:Is there a is there a skunk?
Eric Gee:Oh, no. That would be oh, people people would not like that. I already get enough problems when people are like, why am I a beaver? I don't wanna be a beaver. Like, people hate that one sometimes.
Eric Gee:Well, I'm
Cathy:a beaver.
Merry:What is a beaver?
Eric Gee:A beaver is one of the gatherers, so they focus on safety and security. They're your typical, like, very detail oriented. They're, like, great accountants, structural engineers like a beaver. They like to build things. They like to do a lot of DIY in the house because, once again, that's part of they feel like that's part of their duty, to be, like, part of the community is helping people.
Eric Gee:But generally, in a quiet way, like, they're kinda like the person who does the dishes. But and I always say when you're interacting with beavers and if you know a person like that, you never wanna take their duty away from them. So, like, they're washing the dishes. You don't wanna say, no. Let me do it for you because that's an insult to them.
Eric Gee:But what you wanna do is just thank them. Say, I thank you for doing the work that no one ever gives you credit for, and it's just kinda the dirty work, and I appreciate you doing it. And then that'll make them super happy.
Merry:Is there is there one like that that's a loud animal that's also a DIY personal?
Eric Gee:Do you you know, there's a couple of different animals do a lot of DIY. Loud, I mean, maybe a peacock might like doing that or a fox. But, generally, the DIY like like, there's a beaver or a shark, and those tend to be wider, individuals or more reserved, I should say.
Merry:Mhmm. How fun. I love it. Well, can knowing your personality type help in romance romantic relationships?
Eric Gee:That's, like, the number one question I get asked. No matter where I'm at, actually, I could be, like, in a like, doing a lecture at a company or something and, like, trying to, like, help them be more productive. Right? And people are like, okay, that's great. I wanna be more productive, but really, I wanna get laid or I wanna hook up with someone.
Eric Gee:Who do I who should I hook up with? Right? And I'm like, well Or I get that question from people who are already in a relationship. And I'm like, I feel like you're just trying to get me to say that you shouldn't be happy with that person. I don't wanna do that either.
Eric Gee:Oh. So I always say,
Merry:like But, you know, I I actually was curious on the same note if is there one personality type that shouldn't be with another personality type?
Eric Gee:I always say, you know, I don't believe in perfect matches. What I do believe is that if you are this personality type and you are in a relationship with this personality type, based on those types, you guys are going to conflict in a very consistent way, and you guys are gonna get along in a very consistent way. So as long as whatever however the positives outweigh the negatives and that's good for you, then I'm always like, hey. Knock yourself out. Like, stay
Merry:in the relationship. Some examples?
Cathy:Yeah. Please.
Eric Gee:Yeah. You know, I can, I can take pick something out of pop culture? I can probably pull, like I I can give you the animal types within the that specific pop culture reference.
Merry:Oh, well, you pick 1.
Eric Gee:Okay. I'll just do the show House. Is anyone I I don't know if you guys familiar with House.
Merry:I'm not. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's not on anymore.
Merry:Right?
Eric Gee:It's not on. Yeah. I use that as an example. Like, he's, like, the same type as Sherlock Holmes. Right?
Eric Gee:So he's a chimpanzee, and he's chimpanzees are very all they focus on is information. They just want as much information as possible. Right? So in the show, he has multiple, like, relationships. And, like, I think one of the big ones is the hospital administrator played by Lisa Edelstein, Karim.
Eric Gee:She's a stag. So stags are one of the gatherers, so they focus on safety and security. So you know, like, the difference between wanting to be safe and comfortable versus wanting information, that can conflict. And for them, it often does. Right?
Eric Gee:She wants the hospital to be on good ground. She doesn't wanna get sued. She doesn't want patients to die. And he's just more like, no. But I gotta figure out the right answer, and I might have to do risky behavior in order to get that answer.
Eric Gee:Right? In in the way of solving a problem. But, so you can imagine when they get into a relationship on the show, there's no spoilers since it's already been shown, but that is a big problem. Right? Like and each one has to be okay with the other.
Eric Gee:The chimpanzee has to be okay with the stag being a bit rigid, and the stag has to be okay with the chimpanzee being a bit Risky? Yes. Risky, and I was gonna say, misanthropic. But
Cathy:Oh. Oh. Well, do you
Merry:do you use that when you're writing screenplays?
Eric Gee:You know, it's it's great. Actually, that's how I also got it really into it because I was, you know, I went to UCLA for around my twenties. Right? And I was reading a lot of personality typing methodology, my late teens to twenties. So I started really integrating that quite a bit.
Eric Gee:And the cool thing about it is in House, not to get all nerdy again, the relationship that really should work is the one between House, the main character, and Cameron, because she's a panda. And you can find that in fiction as well in the book, Jane Eyre. It's almost the exact same it's the exact same Karen. And, actually, if you read Jane Eyre and you watch House and Cameron's relationship, there is, like, a you can see the same dynamic, like the like the gruff, you know, misanthropic, cynical, you know, but really highly intelligent and curious, person with a very empathetic, spiritual, you know, emotional character, and that balances off each other.
Merry:Interesting.
Cathy:Oh, good. I love it. But how can knowing your personality type maybe help you in a familial relationship within your family? Does it help?
Eric Gee:Yeah. You know, I always tell parents because I work with them so much. Like, parents will say, like, well, sometimes sometimes parents will expect their kids to be exactly like them or chip off the old block. And I think, you know, it's one of those things where it helps explain how a parent can love all their children, but not like their children. You know?
Eric Gee:And I I think it's like, you know, if you have a similar relationship to one child, you're probably gonna like them more, right, because you're gonna relate to each other. You know? Like, I my mom's a stag. She's a gatherer. You know?
Eric Gee:She's big she was a school principal of all things. You know? She was big on, like, following order and authority. And, you know, my personality isn't so great with that. So I'm not saying my mom doesn't love me, but she and especially growing up, some there were moments, especially when I got in trouble, where she didn't like Miriam very much.
Eric Gee:You know? Like, I was always at the principal's office, and that was kind of embarrassing. You know? My dad had a rule. He was like, hey.
Eric Gee:If you get in trouble, it's alright. We're just not gonna tell your mom. You know? Whereas my brother, who's a beaver and he's a gatherer just like her, she everyone knows he's her favorite child. Like, he's the mama's boy because their values are really similar in a lot of ways.
Eric Gee:And I think as parents, we can learn to, like if you learn what your type is and you learn what your, children's type is, you can kinda understand, okay. This is probably why I have a conflict with them, and that's okay. I gotta let them be themselves. You know?
Cathy:And so that would hold true for offspring of parents who they don't understand their parents at all. Like, why do my parents always say these stupid things to me?
Eric Gee:Yes. You know? Yeah. Especially when you have gatherer it's really funny when you have gatherer children, but, I forgot I didn't mention the hunter pack, but you have hunter parents. Hunters are, like, a third of the population, and they're what you think of.
Eric Gee:Like, they love excitement, spontaneity. They love action. Right? They just they get off on, like, stimulus. And so that's the age old thing where parents if they have hunter if parents are hunters and their kids are gatherers, then the kids are gonna be the adults the adults.
Eric Gee:And I put the adults. Right? They're gonna be like, wait. Mom, why aren't you, like, making sure that we have everything? And the parents are gonna be like, I don't know.
Eric Gee:It's not that important. Just have fun. Like, just light it up. You know? And it's kinda funny because the roles get reversed.
Eric Gee:But it's mainly because of our own bias to think that as parents, they have to act like gatherers. Right? But we don't. Like, every parent has their strengths and weaknesses based on their personality types, and you just gotta be who you are. You know?
Merry:Well, what animal would a hunter be?
Eric Gee:So they that's oh, so the foxes are there, of course. Like, they're all about excitement, and they love people, or they love how people make them feel. So there's foxes, peacocks, who love love, like, being in front of people and, like, look at me look at me as you'd imagine a peacock would be. There are so foxes, peacocks, sharks, and butterflies. And so those would be the hunter types.
Eric Gee:And when you think of, like, a
Merry:hunter butterfly personality.
Eric Gee:It's kind of like Rachel from Friends. That's she's probably the she's a perfect butterfly. You know, they they really focus a lot on beauty and how things look or of how things sound or how things taste. They're very sensitive. They probably have the strongest connection to their senses.
Eric Gee:Of course, their weakness, just like Rachel, is they can be a bit of they can be pushovers because they don't really love conflict, and they don't really have sometimes they don't really have a backbone. So they're just like, I'll just go with whatever because I'm generally pretty good at adjusting. So, sure, like, you can really push them around quite a bit, and their growth arc is that they have to, like, learn how to, like, you know, take initiative for themselves.
Cathy:Well, we promote a lot of our messages to our Boomer audience. And so do you find that as as people age, do they change their type? Can they change and and be, like, completely different than than when they were a college student?
Eric Gee:You know, I I always say that people don't change. We don't change, but we can grow, and we can grow into better versions of ourselves or worse versions of ourselves if we're not careful. And I think sometimes when people feel like they've changed, I think it's mainly them discovering more about themselves. Right? Maybe you had parents who told you you need to be this way and you just believed it and you live that way even till you were, like, 40 or 50.
Eric Gee:Right? Like, I mean, there is such a thing as a midlife crisis where people are like, wait, I've been doing this job for 20 years and I hate it. Like, can I do something else? You know? And I think that's kind of a cool thing.
Eric Gee:I love it when people are, like, you know, older, and they feel a change has happened. And mainly, it's just because they've learned more about themselves, and I think that's probably the best way to achieve happiness.
Cathy:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Merry:Well, can it help with your career and career being in this particular career and even a career change could change your personality type, couldn't it?
Eric Gee:Yeah. You know, I have a lot of clients who are like I say earl I hate to say early forties because that's when people think midlife crisis, but it's so true. Like, they're in their their early forties, and they just started thinking about what they were doing. And they're just like, yeah, I kinda hate my job. And so then I try to help them discover what their personality is, so maybe that might lead and once again, like, just because your personality doesn't mean you should do this job, this job, and this job.
Eric Gee:But you'll know what you kind of like out of something, and then maybe you can find your way even within your set field. You know? Like, I have a cousin's kid who he just graduated pharmacy school, but he's told me he doesn't wanna be in the same place for the whole like, all day. And I'm like, well, that's what exactly what pharmacists do, is stay in the same place.
Cathy:Yeah. They actually stand in one place.
Eric Gee:Right. Exactly. Yeah. It just, like,
Cathy:don't know. They're standing when I look at them in the farm. It's it looks, like, so brutal to me just to be under the fluorescent lights in one place.
Eric Gee:Yeah. You gotta they have to buy comfortable shoes, I think.
Cathy:Oh, yeah. Yeah. And you have to be really suited to that. You have to be very suited to that.
Merry:Is is there a different type, between boss and employee?
Eric Gee:You know, I I I don't I never say that because I think everyone can be a really good boss, but, they will probably lead differently, however. And I think sometimes we get this mindset. I really hate the idea of an alpha and beta, all that stuff because I think that's kinda crap garbage because it's like, well, there's different ways to be strong, and there's different ways to be aggressive and get your way. You know? And I think sometimes Mhmm.
Eric Gee:Like, I always say a bear is the bear personality type. They're one of the gatherers. The bear is, like, the kindest, like, softest, gentlest personality type there is. And yet people often mistake them for being weak when, in fact, like, the bear is like Superman is a bear. Forrest Gump is a bear.
Eric Gee:Rocky is a bear. Like, they are like they have a incredibly strong and tough backbone, especially when it comes to protecting people they love, like, people they care about. And I think sometimes when we have, like, these impressions of, like, oh, someone's loud and talkative and aggressive, then they're a leader. It's not really like that. I think we can use our personality types to really figure out what makes us strong, like, truly strong and lead that way.
Merry:It it sounds to me almost as if you can be multiple personalities.
Eric Gee:I think you can borrow from different personalities. Like, I'm always, like, find your anchor first. Right? Like, find who you are because you don't want people telling you what you are. Right?
Eric Gee:You wanna figure out what you're not. And once you get that anchor, then you can kinda figure out what your natural flaws are. Right? Like, for my for example, my natural flaw for my personality type is I often start things and do not finish them. Like, every single thing that I start, I'm like, oh, that's so cool.
Eric Gee:Like, I have, like, at my home a sausage maker that I was super excited to get, and I've not used it. And I've had it sitting there for 11 months. Right? I think I will eventually get to
Cathy:it,
Eric Gee:but I haven't. But knowing that's all your type?
Cathy:What is your type, Mary?
Merry:I was we were gonna ask
Cathy:you that.
Eric Gee:I'm a baboon. So yeah. So I'm loud, and I'm preachy. Preachy definitely at my worst. Synchronous, I guess you could say.
Eric Gee:A little flaky sometimes. But I know that. So I can borrow from other types that are better at finishing things and say, oh, that's how that person forgets what they're what they start and finishes it. I maybe I should adopt some of those techniques, not to, like, change myself, but to just borrow it so that, you know, maybe I can start finishing some of the things I start more often than not.
Cathy:Does that make you your book?
Merry:Oh, sorry.
Cathy:Does that make you very playful also
Eric Gee:then yes.
Cathy:Being a baboon?
Eric Gee:Yes. Like, my so not to say another random animal, but my father was a chimpanzee. And chimpanzee and and baboons, like, often we think of, like, primates as being playful and mischievous. So since he is my dad and not it also helped, I guess, because we had very similar types. And so that just like, my playfulness just got magnified, you know, a 100 times, which was terrible which was terrible for my mom, probably, the school principal.
Eric Gee:And my dad and I just, like, you know, just making fun of her, joking around, pulling pranks on her all the time. So she didn't get it from my dad. She got it from me. You know? So, but, you know, that's what that's who we are.
Eric Gee:So
Cathy:Right. Sounds great.
Merry:I have to ask. Just by talking to us, can you type Kathy's and my personalities?
Eric Gee:Oh, that's that's tough. I mean, I often do. I'd have to ask a couple questions. So I would say
Cathy:Okay. You
Eric Gee:guys both seem very curious about stuff. I I would, so I'll do Kathy first. Did you have you ever gone into a fight and punched someone? No. No.
Eric Gee:Not at all.
Cathy:Gotten into a fight, but never with blows exchanged.
Eric Gee:Oh, like a verbal fight.
Cathy:Yeah.
Eric Gee:Oh, man. You know, I don't know. I was gonna I was gonna guess somewhere in the hunter realm, but, you know, maybe I could be totally off. I don't wanna guess if I'm, like, don't have a sure thing. But oftentimes, I try to focus on what people value because each pack values different things.
Eric Gee:And sometimes I it comes off really easily. Sometimes it doesn't.
Cathy:Mhmm.
Eric Gee:I think, generally, you know, people you know, especially when you guys are asking the questions, you seem very curious. So that tends to lend itself to other personalities, but I can't I can't guess at this moment. Sorry.
Cathy:Yeah. But do you have other questions that would help you guess?
Eric Gee:Let me see.
Cathy:Would If I had said yes, I've been in a fight where blow that I threw a punch or something.
Eric Gee:That I would've guessed I would've guessed a shark.
Cathy:But If if I said yes to that.
Eric Gee:Yeah. And sometimes I just ask questions, like, that are random, but they're generally leading questions. That's part of, like and I go over them in the book, like, methods of, like, asking questions, but not, like, directly because oftentimes, direct questions, you're not gonna get a direct response. Right? And since most of my experience is working with kids, kids are always hiding what they are.
Eric Gee:Right? They're never gonna give you like, if you tell them, oh, how about what's your favorite food? They're like, I
Merry:don't know. I don't know. You know? Yeah.
Eric Gee:You know? So I used to, like, make fun of my mom and see how their reaction was, and then you can kinda go a certain way. Because if if kids are gatherer, like and, you know, safety and security is important to them and they hear you making fun of your parents, they get kinda scared. They get scared for you because they're like, wait. That you're not supposed to do that.
Eric Gee:They're the authority. And so, yeah. Well, what makes what
Cathy:makes your personality typing methodology better than other systems? I I think it's I
Eric Gee:try to write I try to write the book in a way that takes advantage of our natural intuition. Right? I think so we've all met so many people in our lives. Right? So it's not about, like, theory and reading lots of different things.
Eric Gee:I think oftentimes people read these books, and they're just full of these theories that get really wonky and complex and also abstract. I'm more about experiences. Like, when you read, the description of, let's say, a beaver, ideally, since I'm using a lot of personal references, and anecdotes and, like, archetypal pop culture references, ideally, people will be like, oh, yeah. I know someone who acts exactly like that. You know, I want people to use their own encyclopedia of people that is in their head and start, like, getting just getting into in getting in touch with their own empathy.
Eric Gee:Right? And I think that's kinda what sets my it's not I I hopefully, it's less input and more just connecting people with what they already have inside.
Cathy:And we talked a little bit about how, change can happen, but have you seen have people ex explained to you that their personality type actually has changed?
Eric Gee:I think the most common thing I get with students, and this is my favorite part about it, is that they didn't know what they were or they thought they were something. Obviously, they don't know what personality types are. A lot of my students are 12, 13. Perfect age, right, because that's when everybody's insecure and everyone feels like garbage. And, they don't have a clue certain way.
Eric Gee:They think they should want good grades and whatnot, and this is their value system. And I love when I talking to in talking to them and working with them, they start telling me and especially later on, I've had students text me when they're in, like, their late twenties, early thirties, and they'll be, like, texting me and say, hey. Like, remember when we went over the personality stuff? Like, I really love that because I'm really finding about my this about myself, and this is what I decided to do because I thought I was gonna do this, and I decided to be a poet instead. And, you know, something like that really excites me because I think they sound genuinely happy.
Cathy:Yeah. Wow.
Merry:I think it's
Merry:It, you
Merry:know, it sounds like it would be a great system for young kids to really look at themselves because they always relate to fun things and games. And so this is, in a way, with animals, it's a wonderful way for them to relate. Don't you think? Have you found success with that?
Eric Gee:Yeah. You know, I often like what we do this is not a secret, but one of my techniques when I work with kids is, we just watch shows. We watch shows and analyze shows. Often, I I use Game of Thrones quite a bit. Not all Game of Thrones, just certain characters' stories.
Eric Gee:And, and we just start, like I I go over the types and so, okay. What person what type is this character?
Merry:What type is this character? Do that for us? Because I had a question that, which you sort of answered before talking about Jennifer Aniston and and House. And, would you type some famous people's personalities like in Game of Thrones, like you do with the kids?
Eric Gee:Oh, yeah. Sure. You can choose. You can choose. That's more fun when you you pick someone.
Merry:I don't know. Brad Pitt.
Eric Gee:Brad Pitt. Oh, Brad Pitt. Okay. Well, he definitely seems like a hunter. A lot of no.
Eric Gee:I'm not gonna I don't wanna put paint a wide brush and say all actors are hunters, but that's a that profession is one in which a lot of hunters go towards. Hunters are hustlers by nature. You know, they like excitement. They like different things, and they have no problem taking risks and taking chances. They don't need safety and security.
Eric Gee:They don't need to go into a job that's guaranteed to make them this amount of money and go maybe work 9 to 5. Right? And so they don't mind the hustle. You know? So, you know, acting's a hustle.
Eric Gee:Entertainment's generally a hustle. So, yeah, Brad Pitt is definitely a hunter, and he seems like he likes to be really cool. Like so I'm gonna say he's a fox. You know? And the difference is foxes always like to appear very cool.
Eric Gee:They're very conscious of how they appear to others. Like, Madonna would be an example of another fox. They're very good. She's, like, an expert, right, at changing her brand. Like, branding is extremely important to them.
Eric Gee:Like, they're great marketers and salespeople for that reason. And so sometimes they can be a little shameless because they will tell you exactly what they think you wanna hear. They're really good at that too, like, sensing, what does this person want? What's gonna get them to like me? Okay.
Eric Gee:I'm gonna say that, you know, which can make them very charming and, you know, flatterers. Right? At their worst, they can people can accuse them of being phony or disingenuous. But at their best, they're really good at adapting to any situation on the fly and making the best out of it.
Cathy:Mhmm. Eric, you know, I was curious when you were talking earlier about the students that you work with. How are you connecting with these people? How are you finding these 12 13 year olds? What what does your business consist of with that?
Eric Gee:So, you know, I used to own my education company. Right? And, you know, we work with 1,000 of kids a year. Me, personally, I did not work with 1,000 of kids a year, but I did have my, you know, few that I work with. And, you know, it's really just word-of-mouth.
Eric Gee:People often find me on my website as well, project utopia.com, and you can learn about my life coaching there. But for the most part, I love it because a lot of it's word-of-mouth where people will be like, oh, like you know, because people who have kids tend to have friends with people with kids, right, or friends with kids. And so they just need this this, you know, tutor worked really great with my son. So, you know yeah. So a lot of word-of-mouth.
Cathy:Oh, that's great. Perfect sense. We were also gonna ask you about, do you sometimes type, fictional characters? And I think you got into that. When you watch TV shows with the kids, do you you personally personality type the characters that are in the show, like, even though we know those aren't real real people?
Eric Gee:Yeah. You know, I love doing that because I try to teach them that there's a reason why they learn characters in school. Right? Like, kids often get like I'm like, you're not gonna at the end of your life, no one's gonna test you on Moby Dick. Right?
Eric Gee:And say, like, what character was in page 25. Right? And what was the what were their personality traits? But I tell them, we wanna learn about fictional characters because in learning about fictional characters, they help us learn about real people. Right?
Eric Gee:Because real people Oh, yeah. Right? And so then we do I do do the personality typing. Like, let's say, do Game of Thrones. We'll do, like, I usually have my students follow Arya because Arya is a very easy to character to like.
Eric Gee:Arya, for example, is a shark. When I ask you that question about if you ever picked a fight and punched someone, I think we can agree that Arya has probably punched someone in her life, anyone who's seen the show. Arya is very aggressive and very straightforward. And, you know, the cool thing is in learning about different characters and typing them, I'm basically, tearing them up to eventually be able to type themselves and the people around them. That's ideal.
Eric Gee:But, of course, it's a lot easier to do to other people than yourself first, and, you know, that's a little bit harder looking in the mirror. Right?
Merry:Oh, so if
Cathy:you read it if you have a book like Gone with the Wind and you say, what about Scarlett O'Hara? What what type is she?
Eric Gee:She seems well, she's very overdramatic and I mean, especially I mean, Scarlett, her name is Scarlett. You know, I think of, like, Scarlet as a really bright, bold color, so she's definitely a hunter as well. And I think of a peacock because she is very, like, oh, like, you know, like, very overdramatic. Right? So Mhmm.
Eric Gee:Peacocks tend to be at their worst, they're overdramatic. At their best, they are the perfect showperson, the perfect entertainer because unlike foxes, peacocks don't mind looking foolish as long as people enjoy it. So, like, I think of, like, Jack Black or Chris Farley as peacocks. Like, they don't mind, like, looking goofy because they they just want the laughter. They just want the energy.
Eric Gee:They want people excited.
Cathy:Whereas Lot of comedians. Lot of comedians would fall into that.
Eric Gee:Right. A lot of physical comedians. People use a lot of, physical comedy, like, probably Chevy Chase
Cathy:Yeah. Mhmm.
Eric Gee:And, Kevin Hart, probably.
Cathy:Yeah. Steve Martin.
Eric Gee:Yes. Where some of the more, like, cerebral stand up comics that are a little bit more edgy would probably fall under the Smith category, which like, they or they might be chimpanzees or baboons, actually, because they're a little bit more abstract and they're a little bit more subversive. So it just depends on the type of concept.
Cathy:Subversive. Yeah. I love it.
Merry:That's great. This is so different from the old school, you know, introvert, extrovert. And by the way, I used to always think I was both an introvert and an extrovert. So you didn't get to me on your typing, and I'll I'd love to hear that. And then I'd like to know all about the how you compare your system with the old system.
Eric Gee:I love that you mentioned that. So I'm gonna ask you a question based on that. So can I ask you so you thought you were an extrovert but found out this or the other way around?
Merry:Oh, I know. I'm both.
Eric Gee:Oh, okay. So I would guess a shaman type for you. Shaman? Yes. And shamans so shamans make up about 8% of the population approximately, of course.
Eric Gee:Because the I can refer to the introversion, extroversion dichotomy because I feel like sometimes it's overblown. Because the way we define extroversion, introversion tends to be like, oh, where do you get your energy? Are you talkative? Are you outgoing versus are you more reserved? Do you get your energy by being alone?
Eric Gee:But, you know, a lot of blowback I've gotten when I was younger was like, oh, that doesn't make sense because I'm introverted now, and I'm extroverted in this situation. So all that is garbage. And I'm like, well, that's not a bad argument to make because that's true. You know? Yeah.
Eric Gee:And so that's why my personality methodology focuses on what we value. Right? Because if you value something more and you prioritize it more, then you probably are gonna be a bit more aggressive and more extroverted with that, right, versus something that you don't particularly like. Then you might be a little bit more reserved. Right?
Eric Gee:Like a peacock, peacocks and baboons sometimes get confused with each other because, you know, they can sometimes appear similar, and they can appear extroverted. Right? But a peacock's version of extroversion is going up in a bar, doing body shots on the bar in Cabo. That's a Peacock's version. Whereas a baboon's version is more like going up in front of people and giving it a TED Talk on recycling, you know, something they really believe in.
Merry:Not like getting up on the table and going, woo hoo.
Eric Gee:Right. They'll be like, no. That's, like, that's not me. And because they have different values. Peacocks want excitement, and and they love stimuli.
Eric Gee:So Yeah. Going up and doing body shots, you're gonna get that. If you're a shaman, shamans love self knowledge. They love learning about themselves, discovering about themselves, and also helping people discover about themselves. And that would make sense to give a TED Talk on something that they feel is really important and dear to their heart because, once again, they can be a bit preachy.
Eric Gee:So, that was my long way of saying, I think you're a shaman type, focused on self knowledge, and maybe certain times you're really excitable, like, especially maybe dealing with people and when you're talking with people and learning about them. But then maybe other times, maybe you're a bit more reserved if it has to do with maybe doing body shots in Cabo. That'd be my guess. But
Cathy:Okay. I can't see Mary doing body shots in Cabo. I think not.
Merry:Don't know about people. Yeah.
Cathy:Yeah. Eric, what
Eric Gee:do you don't like tequila.
Cathy:She does like tequila. Oh.
Merry:I do.
Eric Gee:I think she's Okay. Well then
Cathy:But she's very reserved with drinking tequila, let's just say.
Merry:That's spelled
Cathy:Eric, what would you like our audience to have as a takeaway today?
Eric Gee:You know, probably that same thing I said before, find your anchor. That's the most important thing because it's the easiest way to find your happiness. Find out who you are. And then once you do that, then you can explore the other people around you and maybe borrow some of their skills that they have. But look inside first because I think so much of what we focus on is outside, like what someone does well.
Eric Gee:And I'm always like, your personality type does not determine what you do well automatically. It just determines what you value and what you love. And we tend to what we love, we tend to do more. And what we do more of, we tend to get better, and that's why we tend to be good at it. So
Cathy:Wow. Powerful words. Good wisdom.
Eric Gee:Thank you.
Merry:Yeah. Thank you, Eric. Our guest today on late boomers has been Eric Chi, author of the power of personality. And he's also a coach and educator educator. And Baboon, you said?
Eric Gee:Baboon.
Merry:Okay. You
Eric Gee:can reach and obnoxious.
Merry:No. No way. You can reach Eric on his website. It's utopiaproject.com. Correct?
Eric Gee:Mhmm. Yeah.
Cathy:But still
Merry:what y o u t o p I a project dot com.
Eric Gee:Yeah. You can find out what animal you are on there.
Cathy:Yeah. That'll be fun. We wanna thank our listeners for subscribing to our podcast and for checking us out on YouTube and recommending us to your friends. We appreciate you, and we'd love to have you give us a 5 star review. And we wanna hear about your experiences with late boomers and what gets you inspired.
Cathy:We're on Instagram at I am Cathy Worthington, at I am Mary Elkins, and at late boomers. Thank you so much for listening, and be sure to listen next week to our late boomers podcast when we feature Bob Martin as our guest. And thanks so much again to Eric g.
Eric Gee:Thank you so much for having me. I really
Merry:love it. Fun.
Cathy:Thank you for joining us on Late Boomers. The podcast that is your guide to creating a 3rd act with style, power, and impact. Please visit our website and get in touch with us at lateboomers.biz. If you would like to listen to or download other episodes of late boomers, go to ewnpodcastnetwork.com.
Merry:This podcast is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and most other major podcast sites. We hope you make use of the wisdom you've gained here and that you enjoy a successful third act with your own style, power, and impact.
