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Discover Your Natural Talents
More about inborn talents
What is Talent?

Get ready to discover your talents. Natural talents* are inborn, and we all have multiple talents. Your brain comes with a full set of cognitive aptitudes, it's the unique blend of your high, moderate and low aptitudes and personality traits that make you a 'natural' at specific things and not so good at other things.

Following is an introduction to a small sample of aptitudes that are professionally tested by Pathfinders Careerfinder Program.

*Natural talents can only be measured by a series of specialized aptitude tests, a 'battery' of these tests gives you a full aptitude profile of 15 talents & personality traits. Your overall pattern of talents will suggest specific career paths.

Tribal™ Personality Group

About 75% of people are tribal, they feel at home as part of a group. If you identify strongly with a sports team or college fraternity, you probably have a strong dose of the tribal trait.

Introverted Tribal™ — the more ingoing tribal personality type prefers to work alone most of the day with minimal people interaction. They play their part on a team, quietly behind the scences. They prefer to follow rather than lead. Often comfortable in a support role in a large corporation or government agency. Charlie Brown is the classic quiet tribal. Presidents George H.W. Bush, senior, and Gerald Ford both came off as an introverted tribals.

Extroverted Tribal™ — outgoing tribal personality types are the most common type in the human species. Almost everything on TV, news and pop culture is communicated by talkative tribals. The 'in-crowd' mindset. Lucy of the Peanuts comic strip. President George W. Bush, junior, perfectly embodies the extroverted tribal personality, as does Sarah Palin.

Maestro™ Personality Group

About 25% of people are maestros, they are independent-minded mavericks who walk to the beat of a different drummer. If you feel like an outsider, rarely join groups, etc, and would rather not collaborate to get the job done, you're probably a bit of a maestro.

Introverted Maestro™ — the ingoing maestros are the rarest personality type in our species. We all know them as nerds and geeks, or brainy types. The are often misunderstood, and interestingly, they usually don't care. They like being different. Linus of Peanuts is an introverted maestro. President Obama's introverted maestro nature isn't suited well for the constant hand-holding demanded by the tribal public. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are in this club too.

Extroverted Maestro™ — the outgoing maestros among us are also pretty rare, but definitley more visable. They have a take charge, know-it-all demeanor that gets attention. Many rise to leadership positions without even trying. Snoopy of Peanuts is an extroverted maestro. Former President Bill Clinton, a classic extroverted maestro, still captivates people with his knowledge and charismatic ability to communicate. President Ronald Reagan is in this club, as was Martin Luther King, Jr.

Spatial/Non-spatial Talents

About 50% of men and 25% of women are strong in the spatial ability, the rest of us are either tangible or non-spatial . . .

Spatial ability — a strong aptitude for thinking in 3D, the ability to transform and rotate a 2D image and visualize it (in your mind's eye) in three dimensions without physically touching the object.

Tangible ability — a moderate ability for 3D thinking

Non-spatial ability — a strong aptitude for working with ideas, data and information, rather than physical things.

Problem Solving Talents

Everyone has all the problem solving talents, it's a matter of degree. Typically, people are strong in just one of these abilities . . .

Diagnostic Reasoning — diagnostic reasoning is a problem-solving ability to leap to accurate conclusions by seeing a relationship between bits of information that are not obviously related. Sometimes it's referred to as thinking without thinking because it's a talent that is lightening fast at sizing up situations.

Analytical Reasoning — analytical, logical reasoning is a problem-solving ability to quickly and accurately categorize, organize and synthesize given information and reach conclusions by a thorough step-wise analysis.

Rate of Idea Flow™ — rate of idea flow is your mind's speed of generating ideas. In simpler terms, it's your brain's talent for brainstorming ideas and/or concentrating.

Personality Traits

Everyone has all four personality traits, it's a matter of degree . . .

Intuitive (N) — ability to see and understand the world largely in terms of what's possible, seeker, inspiration junkie, brilliant at dreaming up new stuff. Deep, poetic, head in the clouds; global-minded.

Sensor (S) — ability to see and understand the world largely in terms of what is, conventional, pleasure 'now' junkie, brilliant at getting things done. Literal, feet on the ground; local-minded.

Feeler (F) — decisions are more personal, based on inner likes and dislikes; subjective opinions and preferences, empathetic outlook. Concern for being tactful, caring.

Thinker (T) — decisions are more logical, based on external truths and objective evidence; level, fair-minded outlook. Concern for being precise, factual.

Sample Talent Profiles

Your natural talent profile is a unique combination of aptitudes and personsality traits. The number of talent combinations is infinite. The mix and pattern of your inborn talents is largely hard-wired, so the road to success is to do what you do best and build on your natural strengths.

Is Pathfinders' career test among the best? Unlike skills and interests, it's very difficult to accurately self-assess your inborn abilities. There are only a few organizations in the world who have the technology to professionally measure your natural talent profile.

Pathfinders is based in the Washington DC-area and has helped thousands of people worldwide discover their talents. Pathfinders' senior career consultant, Anthony Spadafore, is a leader in the field of career aptitude testing and interpreting natural talent profiles.

I want to discover my natural talents » contact Anthony to learn more . . .

The terms Tribal, Maestro, and Rate of Idea Flow are Rockport Institute trademarks, used with permission.

Quotes to Inspire
The trick to creativity, if there is a single useful thing to say about it, is to identify your own peculiar talent and then settle down to work with it for a good long time. The trick is to recognize it, to honor it, to work with it. The is where creativity starts . . . the cultivation of aptitude, far more than coincidence or inspiration, is responsible for most creative breakthroughs.

~Denise Shekerjian
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©2003 - 2012 Pathfinders. All rights reserved by Anthony Spadafore. Coauthor of Now What? A Young Person's Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career. Washington DC, Alexandria & Arlington VA, nationwide career change counseling, state-of-the-art aptitude test & personality test for professionals & students.