Want to learn a ton about yourself? Do this exercise!
22. Jun, 2010 
88 Comments
While at Eben Pagan and Wyatt Woodsmall’s Personality Patterns seminar this week, I learned a PHENOMENAL exercise for learning a LOT about yourself.
It takes 5 minutes, is incredibly powerful, and will give you a tremendous amount of insight about yourself.
This changed my entire life (look for a follow up blog post shortly).
I’ll tell you exactly how to use this AFTER you do it, so for now, JUST DO IT. Again – it only takes 5 minutes.
Step 1:
List out 3 people you really admire for one reason another. They can be living or dead, and you may only admire them for one specific reason (i.e. maybe you don’t love all of them, but you really admire one specific element about them).
List out a one-word reason (or reasons) on why you admire them so much, and you MUST do 3.
Step 2:
List out 3 people you despise. If you can’t think of anyone you despise, then anyone that brings up a negative feeling in you, or bad emotions. Again you don’t need to despise ALL of them – there just needs to be one part of them that you really, really don’t like.
Same deal – list out a one-word reason (or reasons) on why you despise them so much, and you MUST do 3.
Step 3:
Post your answers here on the blog. I will tell you what to do with them after you post them.
If you don’t want to give full names, then give initials or something.
I’ll post my answers in a follow-up blog post. 
Bill Clinton smart, Barack Obama caring, Marilyn Bressel determined
George W Bush phony, Rush Limbaugh stupid,
Sean Hannity cruel
Awesome! See how that applies to you here:
Test Results
Admire:
A.P. generosity
Mom originality
J.T. hardworking
Despise:
H.C. condescending
Vince sociopath
T. immature
Results here:
Test Results
1
a) Lives life to the limit (limit)
b) A heart of gold (heart)
c) Positive energy and joy (joy)
2
a) selfish
b) egoic
c) disrespectful
Test Results
I admire…
Kina Grannis (Singer & Songwriter) for Heart, Passion, Love
Yanik Silver (Entrepreneur, Internet Marketer) for Entrepreneurship
John Resig (Creator of jQuery) for Ingenuity, Intelligence, Skill
I don’t admire so much…
Barack Obama for Deception
George Bush for Ignorance
a specific person close to me for Negativity
(sorry, don’t mean to hate on US politics, those just came to mind first as the best examples of those traits I despise)
Thanks for sharing the exercise, I’m curious about the next post
I love you Denis!
Here are the results:
Test Results
Step 1:
M – generous
D – hard-working
J – persistent
Step 2:
BB – cocky
LZ – know-it-all
JJ – anti-social
Test Results
=)
Hi Rachel!
Admire:
RE – non-PCness (is that a word? lol)
Hubby – kindhearted
MS – ambitious
Despise:
K – abusive
FP – misogynistic
KM – ignorant
It was such a treat doing this exercise with you in person yesterday! Talk about enlightening. =) I love you and have missed you so much. Glad we got to hang out!
i admire on my mom lot..i love my mom more,,,god gifted me a awesome mom..
1)i admire on my mom lot..i love my mom more,,,god gifted me a awesome mom..
2)my brother
3)mother teresa
I admire on
1.my mom(she loves me & care for me much)
2.my lover(she take care of my felings)
3.my famil(They all support me)
Admire
m – loving
f- respectful & loving
s – dutiful,loving
despise
b – egoism,habit,
c – habits, laziness
h – slowness,
I admire..
1. my mom- for her wonderful care and love
2. mother theresa- kind heartedness
3. arunthathi rai – intelligence and care for the world
I despise
1. dad – for his angryness, except this he is a good person
2. relative- selfishness and jealous
3. brother- lack of providing freedom
i am waiting for ur mail…
1)i Admire my father
2)I admire Fredom fighters Bhagat singh& Gandhi(morals)
3)my Family supports me in every issue
4)a little my moms was despise
5)Bush Despise me(for his attitude on Iraq)
your article is interesting to read and kept in suspense with only three steps to a great inspirational step to great life
Step 1:
3 people you really admire
My mom
Father
Grand mother
As because of them am here today alive on this earth.
3 people you despise
selfish
abusive
ignorant
1)i admire on my mom lot
2)i love my mom more (god gifted me)
2)my brother
3)sister &
4) my friends
Step 1
1.Admire my parents for the love and support
2.My husband for loving me
3.My daughter for being the sweetest person.
Step 2
1 AH-Shrewd
2 OL-Terror
3 GB-Egoistic
Step1
I admire my
Mom( she is very loving and understanding)
My papa( he is very caring and takes a lot of care)
My friends(they always lend out a helping hand)
Step2
JS: selfish
SS: arrogant
TP:cruel
I admire my dad for his braveness and hard work
My mom for her love
My children for their love and support
I hate people who are lazy and not keeping their words
admire:
Michael Jackson (Entertainment)
Brett Farve (Football)
Shaq O’Neil (Basketball)
Despite:
Hitler (Murderer)
Osama Bin Laden (Terror)
Timothy McVey (Bomber)
Admare:
1.My Dad[Helping Mentality]
2.Mahathma Gandhi[Soft minded]
3.Messi[Ability]
Despice:
1.Usnam[Anti-social]
2.Javed[Ignorent]
3.Shakira[uncultured]
Admire:
Dave Glover, ambition
My dad, dedication
My wife, caring
Despise:
CC: Pompous
Dale: Ignorance
Mark: Racist
Admire:
L – Cool online energy, inspiring
H – Built a business being real self
P – Beautiful healthy successful community builder
Despise:
R – Narrow minded and ignorant
M – Foolish and doesn’t care about his health
A – Impatient arrogant and mean
1. Vanessa Baptiste (Compassion, Dedication, Dutiful)
2.
3.
1. Carl Huggins (betrayal, disappointment, deceitful)
2.
3.
I cant think of any other persons to fill the lists, either of them…i dont even despise CHuggins…just dislike
Admire:
N.M. – Interacts very cool
S.R. – Polite and lovable
G.M. – Self-confidence
Despise:
T.P. – bad mentality
D – Very rude
P.G – Too selfish
Admire:
Daughter #1 “C”: Smart(Amazes me daily with her wisdom)
Daughter #2 “D”: Loving (A heart of gold for all!)
Son “one & Only”: Strong (Overcomes some big heartache.)
Despise:
Myself: Failure (Never seem to make it to the Gold)
Someone who I thought was my BFF: Selfish
Someone who I thought was my “never fail me”: without Loyalty
WC — Successful, helpful, humble
BM — Young energy, integrity
MA — Makes a living helping people
JB — First class @$$, thief, legend in his own mind
CM — Doesn’t honor his agreements, wants money at all costs
BC — Squandered resources.
–Tom
updated list
Great Admiration:
1. Vanessa Bailey (Compassion, Dutiful, Dedication)
2. President Barack Obama (Gentleman, Gracious,
Thorough)
Great Disappointment:
1. Carl Huggins (Deceitful, Family & Blood
Betrayal)
Step 1
1.N.J.- supportive
2.D.S. – loving
3.A.S. – caring
Step 2
1 N.L. – betrayal
2 S.U. – selfish
3 I.P. – egoistic
dad – integrity
mom – fierce
husband – truthful
person a – weak
person b – abandonment
person c – ego
1.Admire my parents for their affection and love
2.My wife’s loving support
3.My kids for their brighten future
Jesus christ- everything of my life.
Gandhiji- Freedom fighting.
Mother theresa- Love to poor
admire.
meli-caring
sam-loving
g3-cute
depise.
ro-cheat
ewin-cheap
dd-hate
Step 1 – Admire
RM – responsible
PL – forgiving
CR – smart
Step 2 – Despise
GND – inconsiderate
BCT – politics
MF – sleazy
I assumed you meant why we despise them so much, not admire them so much in step 2. I don’t admire them
Yikes, thanks for pointing that out! I try to just GET THE POSTS OUT because otherwise I can spend too much time being perfectionistic.
I edited!
Mom = Energetic
MB = Adaptability
LB = Motivational
Dad = Irresponisble
EF = conninving
Mo = Conman
Maria G.
Cherese
AP
Bud
Marsa
Sammye
I hope you get this before you read the other post – please list out a quality you like and don’t like about each!!
Maria G. – Smart-my mentor
Cherese – Good sales person with relationships
AP – generous and successful
Bud- self-serving
Marsa-Backstabber, liar
Sammye-self absorbed
Obama smart
Mandela brave
jobs smart
hannity cruel
Cheney mean
jc stupid
Admire
Jesus = Loving
Jullienna = Wonderful
Myself = Resilient
Despise
Gale = Hateful
Steve = bully
Council of foreign affairs = treacherous
Admire
MS communication style
J love
Oprah achievement
Dislike
HW manipulation
D insincerity
G control
Admire:
N. “Balls”
R. Courage
K. Dedication/selflessness
No admiration:
RR. Dishonest
RC. Manipulative
Mc. Arrogant
Ron R — Great speaker and great Conservitive
Greg L. — Balls, networking
Warren C. — core values, spiritual
Neal S. — Recast and Bigot, user
Obama — Unamerican
Arnold S. — Liar, Coward
Fran – merciful
Anita – positive
Nate – wise
C – cruel
M – selfish
ML – unstable
RR-Leadership
RC-Work ethic
RH-Positive outlook
TH-Jerk
BO-Selfish
VS-Jerk
BP – persistent
MR – vibrant
NM – wise
SB – nasty
LM – mean
RM – selfish
JC – Forgiveness
JR – Entrepreneurship
AN – Genuine Honesty
KS – Lack of Leadership
HM – Know-it-all
MS – Never wrong
The admire part is fairly easy, but the despise part seems much more difficult…
Admire:
Og Mandino – Storytelling
Richard Branson – Entrepreneurship
Bob Proctor – Achievement
Despise:
Kim Jong Il – Oppression
Osama Bin Laden – Hate-Mongering
Big Pharma (though not a person) – Deception
I admire my wife for her loyalty and commitment to her family
My dad for his patience and understanding
My friends for being there when i needed them
I hate people who prey on the weak for their own benifit
Admire:
Debs (My wife) – Inspirational
Tony Robbins – Motivational
Peter Andre – Wonderful father
Despise:
A (Ex wife) – Confrontational
Gordon Brown (ex UK PM) – Useless
Katie Price – Fake
Robert Frost – Poetry
Richard Nixon – Phoenix
Andy Warhol – Transmutation
David Duke – Coward
Adolf Hitler – Megalomaniac
JV – Megalomaniac
Chris M – smart
Lisa G – caring
Guy N – Tenacious
Richard S- greedy
Jerry H – sleazy
Dave S – uncouth
GW-Honorable
GB-Determined
GB-Fearless
BO-Liar
NP-Insane
S-Evil
Admire:
My late father – Most Decent Man
George W Bush – Steadfastness/Faith
Dennis Prager – Wisdom/Fairness
Despise:
Barak Obama – Narcissistic Sociopath
Iran’s Ahmadejahd – Evil Personified
Micheal Moore – Fraud/Hypocrite
Ronald Reagan – freedom, wise, kind, leadership
Glenn Beck – patriotic, constitutionalist
George Washington -freedom, loyal, honest
B Hussein Obama -promises, leftist, power, smooth, allure, image,
Bill Clinton – slick, false, deviant
Lenin – murderer, liar, terror
DF – truthful
WD – Peaceful
CBR – FUN
AS – weak
DR – fake
DP – negative
Jesus if I could put myself at the feet of any person, living or dead, I would put myself at the feet of Jesus because I could learn so much from him about compassion and kindness and dedication
Helen Keller I admire Helen Keller because in spite of her blindness and deafness she learned several languages and I admire her tenacity and determination
I admire Oprah Winfrey because she literally pulled herself up by her bootstraps and came to be a role model for us all
Hitler for being a mass murderer and getting the German people to say Its OK and blame all of their troubles on jews
I don’t care for Shaun who lives down the street – He is personable, but is always saying he will do something when he won’t – I think he is just schmoozing
I guess I don’t like Paul in the bible because he is very disrespectful of women and I think he is a male chauvanist pig.
Hi Rachel,
Step 1.
A. Carnegie ~ Rich & Benevolent
Pele ~ Skillful
Deep (UK)~ Action Taker
Step 2.
K. ~ liar
P. ~ Arrogant
Hitler ~ murdering Racist
Step One–
JG, DH, and RC– there’s one reason I admire these three people, and it’s because they have spent their lives following their dreams and making them work. They also help others do the same.
Step Two–
GM, JK, and DC all boost themselves up on the backs of others, by belittling and abusing others.
A. Honest
B. Caring
C. Inspirational
A. Deceitful
B. Arrogant
C. Condescending
Step One:
Lila – powerful, strong, loving
Paul – loyalty, decency, loving, strength
Frank – truthful, playful, brave
Step Two:
DM – mean, evil, disrespectful, liar
R’s brother – evil, cruel, immoral
JN – liar, manipulator, selfish
Admire:
G.N. – for courage
J.N. – for steadfastness
J.A. – for your ability for “connect the dots” and generously sharing your knowledge
Despise:
B.O. – deceit
B.H. – charlatan
J.W. – for selling your soul for an ounce of political respectability (and castigating others who won’t follow your example)
Admire
1. Brilliant – enlightened
2. Loving – Caring – enelightened
3. Peaceful – enlightened
Despised
1. Liar, thief, drug addict
2. Liar, stupid, deceitful
3. Dishonest, mean, bad tempered
1. Love
2. Wisdom
3. Humility
I really don’t despise anyone, even my ex.
hayakawa-humanity
suzuki-humanity
obama-courage
aj-self centered
kw-enraged
rp-greedy
I admire:
Noam Chomsky-Unflinching
Joni Mitchell-Creative
Allan Holdsworth-Virtuoso
I despise:
Sarah Palin-Antisocial
George W. Bush-Sociopath
Tony Hayward-Liar
I admire
DA: Social justice
JD: Genius (in systems designing)
AS: Freedom on opportunities
I despise:
JD: Discriminating
MS: Ruining with excessive capitalism
PC: Fostering genocide
I admire
Jesus: in 3 years, changed the world
Billy Graham: bought the gospel message to millions
Nelson Mandela: Changed the culture of a nation
I dislike
Barak Obama: twists the truth to suite selfish aims
Al Gore: Dishonest-fashions his own truth and ignores facts
Al Geitner-a thief
Admire – SM – determined, Mandela – heroic, GL – Battling
Despise – Cameron – fake, Hitler – bigot, Cowell – ego
Mother Teresa – successful selflessness
Mom – joy of life
Suzie O. – financial success
Molesting minister – betrayer
Rena – saboteur
SS J – closeminded
jb- enthusiasm
lh- dedication
mb-perseverence
m – negativity
b – ignorant
a – arogant
Love:
Nikola Tesla – brilliant
Arnold Schwarzenegger – Ambition
Jay Levenson – Rational
Hate:
Rosanne Bar – Trashy
Russell Brunson – Scumbag
Rosie O’Donnelle – Moron
I admire Nelson Mandela for his ability to come through adversity and stand for what he believed in, I admire my Mom for being willing to take on life and win no matter what she was a huge person in a small body, and I admire Ghandi for his willingness to stand for his principles wihtout resorting to force
I detest MB for his cowardly vengeful ways, Hitler for his cowardice, in not being able to live with people who did not meet his expectations; the mass murderers who hide and continue to murder
Respect:
Jackie Robinsone/Willie Mays – character
Peter Drucker – insight
Steve Jobs – marketing insight
Despise:
Clinton/Obama — deceit
Hitler — fascism
ex boss — deceit
R Branson ,why ,,his ability to take action no matter what other people think of his ideas.
Frank Kern ,why, so so funny and just has a natural way about his copy, that makes people pull out the card.
Nelson Mandela,,why,,its amazing to me how he was able to live 30years in jail, then come out without hate and put a plan into action that most would never be able to accomplish.
M,she only thinks of her self.
S, greedy ,angry, Bit&^%$..
B ,greedy,lying,small person who can’t step up and be a man.
Admire:
1. overcame
2. brave
3. resilient
Despise:
1. c***
2. p****
3. unworthy
Dad-Lovingly Strong
Mum-Determination
Gary-Caring
Craig-Dishonesty
Mum-Manipulative
Karren-Greed
Like/Admire
1. Walt Disney- Brilliant
2. Warren Buffett- Uncomprising
3. Richard Branson- Daring
Dislike
1. DS- Poor Listener
2. VP- Pig Headed
3. MM- Mean
I admire – Grandma Luz – rock Mom – strength Anacleto heroic
I despise – Tony – jerk Maria – backstabber alexis – user
Like/Admire:
1.) My Dad = LOVE
2.) My Mom = SACRIFICE
3.) Mother Theresa = SAINT
Despise:
1.) Hitler = KILLER
2.) L.S. = CHEATER
3.) C.H. = SELFISH
Like/Admir
My Mom- Endurance
Clarissa Friend of Mine- Compassion
Chica- Charming
Despise-
1)Abusers- All kinds
2)RACISTS people
3)KANYE W- IGNORANT
1. sense of humor
2. relentless
3. perseverance
1. self serving
2. puts others down
3. obnoxious and loud
PS you did a great job at the seminar this weekend.