YOU’RE AN

ALCH E MIST

YOU NEED VARIETY TO THRIVE

WHAT YOU NEED TO THRIVE

Novelty - You’re naturally more curious about things that are

strange and new to you than other types. Use this to your
advantage to pursue unique interests, areas of study, and
business opportunities.

Discovering patterns - You have an ability to zoom out from the

specific context you’re in and see things at a high level. You can
then observe patterns across multiple contexts, where others are
more limited to ideas and thoughts common to the context
they’re in. Don’t reduce yourself to working exclusively in a single,
narrow field or industry as this reduces your ability to see
patterns. Alternatively, expand your experiences with other
hobbies or interests to give your pattern-seeking mind more
information to work with.

Exploring possibilities - You naturally chase what could be seen

by others as rabbit trails. Don’t forget to experiment and assess
whether something is possible at a simplified level before
investing too much time and money in it. This MVP (minimum
viable product) approach is your friend!

Inventing and creating original work - Whether it’s art or a new

scientific theory, don’t forget to spend at least a small percentage
of every month on making new things.

Competence across many areas - Many Alchemists fall under the

term “polymath” or “jack of all trades” as well. While many people
emphasize specializing in a single area, your strength is in a level
of competence in many areas. Being better than the average
person at a number of things allows you to see opportunities that
are impossible to see when all you know is your one
specialization. It also helps you stay out of the echo chamber of
that specialization, which can slow down your growth.

YOUR SUPERPOWERS

� Creative solutions to problems and off the wall, out of the box
ideas. Alchemists often have light bulb moments which might
be based purely on instinct, but you can often see the original
concepts or knowledge that sparked the idea.

� Inspiring other people and getting them to participate in

making their ideas happen.

� Thinking across contexts - combining many interests and skills

into a unique product or service
You can handle abstract concepts and the relationships
between ideas with ease.

� You can wear multiple hats at once. It’s likely that you prefer
this as it provides variety and can also reveal new strategies for
improving multiple parts of the business you’re working on.

POTENTIAL WEAKNESSES

� Getting bored and distracted easily

� Generally wanting to switch to a new project instead of

completing the present one

� You may put off things on a whim. Not necessarily because it’s
hard, often just because it doesn’t sound ideal at the moment.

� You’re the most likely type to have a gut-level negative reaction

to structure and repetition/practice.

HOW TO MAKE DECISIONS

� When you have big ideas, take the time to sit down and figure
out what you would need to do to make them happen.

� Don’t forget you can delegate. Being practical can help you see
if your idea is worth pursuing or not.

PLANNING STRUCTURE

� Reward yourself for completing unpleasant tasks or find a way

to delegate them.

� Find ways to create variety when you have to do something

repetitive and dull.

� Focus on completing a version 1 of each project and then come

back and do version 2 if it’s worth it.

� Take advantage of productive flow states when they

spontaneously occur, and protect them.

PEOPLE THAT HELP YOU EVOLVE

Architects to help you implement your ideas first, then Oracles

to challenge your way of thinking.

IDEAL ENVIRONMENT

Keep a variety of interesting books and materials around your

workspace to inspire you. On a short break try reading, watch-
ing, or listening to a snippet of something interesting. Having
lots of different input is a great way to improve your ability to
create.

You may enjoy environments that seem chaotic to others, like

coffee shops with interesting people, art, and things to read.
Changing up your environment can help keep your mind fresh.

SECONDARY BRAIN TYPE

There's a small part of you that resembles the Architect. While

you process externally in an abstract way, making lots of con-
nections as you go, internally you may find that your brain is
more organized and that your thought processes follow more
of a natural sequential pattern from A to B to C.

You most likely strongly dislike doing the same thing over and
over in the same way. Because of this, you probably have an
appreciation for well-built systems that save you from that sort
of tedious repetition. You may find yourself automating things
or making them run more smoothly by creating new systems
or improving ones that already exist.

On a small scale, you may find that setting up small parts of

your day to run on auto-pilot can be helpful. For example,
having a go-to healthy breakfast or choice of outfit can leave
you with more energy to spend on creative pursuits or solving
interesting problems.

FAMOUS ALCHEMISTS LIKE YOU

Mark Zuckerberg
Ellen Degeneres
Gandhi
Thomas Edison
Benjamin Franklin
Leonardo Da Vinci
Aristotle
William Shakespeare
Socrates
Albert Einstein
Richard Feynman
Carl Jung
Frodo Baggins (LOTR)
Calvin ( Calvin & Hobbes)