Kevin Vogelsang

I love descriptive phrases that are used to describe people.  Here’s a few, see  if you can guess who they are (some are the same person of course):

“The Dark Knight”
“The Man of Steel”
“The Boy Wonder” (okay, this one actually really sucks…too bad for this character…)
“The Webbed Wall-Crawler”
“The Masked Manhunter”
“The Clown Prince of Crime”
“The Man of Tomorrow”
“The Caped Crusader”

Most of these are excellent.  They couldn’t be used to describe any other character.  At the same time, they’re simple words we understand, and they guide us to the correct mental image that we should associate with the character.

Here’s something else interesting about descriptive phrases:
We have phrases that we would use to privately describe ourselves (self-image).  We could also come up with phrases for ourselves that we would use to describe how we think other people would describe us (perceived image).  Strangely enough, self-image and perceived image are almost never the same.  The difference is significant and depends upon an individual’s personality–how we judge ourselves and how we think we portray ourselves.  (In fact, there are some psychological tests, such as the Predictive Index, that are based on this idea.  Perhaps more on that one tomorrow…)

So what are my descriptive phrases for myself? Well, I haven’t thought a whole lot about this, but I’ll share some of mine if you share some of yours.  That way I don’t feel so stupid. Here’s a few that I would use:

“The Hillbilly Hill-Climber”
“The Visionary Cowboy”
“Thunder Wrapped In Skin”

Now, I don’t think I can rightfully claim all of those right now. But, if someone were to describe me that way, I think I’d be fine with it.  These are “self-image” phrases.  My “perceived image” phrases would probably be different.

Alright, so what’s some of yours?

-Kevin
5.18.2010

p.s.  I don’t actually feel stupid about sharing any of this.

Being surrounded by good people is a blessing.

Persona: a "social mask"

I’ve met a lot of people in my short life.  Many of these people have been very successful.  They owe much of their success to their strong and magnetic personalities.

“Personality” is a complex thing.  And on the surface, our personality not only “changes” over time, but it also changes depending on context.  We shift gears according to our environment: we’re very different at work or with our college buddies or in front of a crowd.  Moreover, we’re not necessarily conscious of these shifts.  Our personality seems to have many faces.  These many different faces are called personas.

Personas are shared between people; you’ll find certain personas in more than one place.  This shouldn’t come as a surprise.  A persona is simply a cohesive package of behaviors.  And people certainly “rub off” on each other.

I find this deeply intriguing.  And over the years, as I’ve watched people, I started noticing patterns in these personas.  Specifically, I found certain personas to be especially powerful.

In my book, I highlight 10 powerful personas, personas that really stand for something and enable people to do great things. Here’s a few:

• The Artist
• The Cocky SOB
• The Helping Hand
• The Man in the Arena

I highlight these personas with a purpose, not merely for the sake of exploration.  If we learn to recognize these personas in other people, we’re more likely to be influenced by them, and therefore more likely to spread their valuable characteristics. This is a very good thing.

I’ll be announcing the release date soon–stay tuned.  Follow me on Twitter (@KevinVogelsang) for updates.

I hope you’ll check it out.  To date, this will be the most important thing I’ve done.

-Kevin
2.3.2010