KNOU PERSONALITY PROFILE

FOR

BARACK OBAMA

A FIRST IMPRESSION

There are several different sides to your character, but your energy is primarily pointed in two contrary directions. A good part of you is probably devoted to people—loving, giving and responsible—but another side of you is strong and practical, probably interested in the business world or similar material activities. During your youth and young adulthood, you’ll struggle to balance your desire to give to others with the necessity of taking care of your own strong needs and ambitions. You’ll probably sometimes take care of one and sometimes the other, but rarely to your complete satisfaction. As you get older, you’ll probably learn how to balance your generous, helping side with your ambitious, practical side so that you can feel comfortable with both.

In the remainder of this profile, you’ll find a great deal of detail about your varied traits and abilities. As you read on, it’s important to keep in mind that this is not the usual psychological profile but, instead, a profile of your natural personal potentials. A psychological profile is like a snapshot at a particular moment in time. This profile, on the other hand, describes the natural potentials you have available throughout your life and often clarifies the way these potentials develop and change at different ages and under different circumstances.

Some of the potentials described in this profile may have been present when you were younger and may not be of current importance to you. A few of the potentials mentioned may not yet have appeared in your life so that an understanding of these undeveloped characteristics may serve to open your awareness to new and exciting possibilities. Some potentials—and the talents and traits that go along with them—may be in your life right now, although you may not be fully aware of them. If you’re uncertain about the presence of a particular potential, check with a friend who knows you well and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Some of the strong potentials described may not be fully developed because of obstacles which you are still working to overcome. You may find that a part of this profile describes you as you would like to be rather than as you feel you are. When this is the case, the sections of the profile describing the obstacles holding back the potentials are especially important for you to study and understand.

YOUR SENSITIVE, GENEROUS NATURE—AND YOUR LIMITED REWARDS

You have an innate sensitivity and an extreme awareness of your own and others’ feelings. Because you are so touched by the subtleties of everyone’s emotions, you can understand a great deal from a word, a gesture or even an unspoken thought. One of your major lessons in life is to learn to balance that sensitivity so it contributes to your well-being instead of tripping you up. Rather than becoming hurt or resentful because of your unusual sensitivity, you must learn to use your responsiveness for your own and others’ benefit. Although your sensitivity may feel like a weakness, particularly in your younger years, it is, without question, one of your important strengths.

With your love for your fellow man, you enjoy people as individuals and also show your concern for humanity in general. With your desire to give as selflessly as you can, possibly with little thought of reward or return, you want a close involvement with family and friends. It wouldn’t be surprising if you looked for a career in which humanitarian values and philanthropic endeavors were strongly emphasized.

You often show a good deal of compassion and tolerance. You have deep feelings and, on occasion, can be so emotional that you may have difficulty explaining yourself clearly. This probably doesn’t happen that often, though, because your strong emotions are probably held in check by your delicate ego. Particularly during your youth and adolescence, it may be more comfortable to stay in the background and express little of your emotions. It may, as a matter of fact, require considerable effort to learn to express those feelings clearly and directly. When you aren’t sure of others’ reactions, you may appear shy and retiring and put your ideas forward in a hesitant manner. When you’re in an uncomfortable situation, you’re apt to appear worried and anxious.

You’re often a considerate person, giving much in the way of friendship, affection and love. Your love and generosity are likely to be expressed with considerable depth and passion. You’re probably appreciative of all the subtle emotional nuances. You can be easily hurt by the slightest uncaring sign from anyone with whom you feel close, but you can be most charitable and forgiving when the occasion demands. The intensity of your love may sometimes make others uncomfortable.

Much of the time, you enjoy working with others and are often admired for the team spirit and cooperative attitude you bring to your activities. Others are likely to appreciate your sympathy, concern and devotion. You display patience and adaptability a good deal of the time and often pay attention to even the smallest details.

Your love of humanity is likely to be just as intense as your love of individuals. You probably give of yourself by using your teaching or counseling skills or by working to achieve humanistic goals. During your younger years, you may find it difficult to give so much and receive so little from others in return. Your personal ambitions are likely to conflict with your desire to give to other people, but these ambitions may diminish as you get older.

In many situations, you consider your own needs as secondary and often don’t hesitate to deny yourself if others can benefit. Because you’re so willing to give so much to other people—and because you are often uncertain about expressing your own needs—you may run the risk of being treated like a doormat. Learn to recognize and take care of your own interests in order to avoid frustration and resentment.

You love beauty and harmony and possess a strong artistic side. You may choose to give to others by expressing yourself in painting, sculpture, music or other artistic ventures. In these and other activities, you often don’t receive the recognition you deserve. You may need to be more assertive to get your deserved acknowledgement unless you’re satisfied with less appreciation than others prefer.

YOUR PRACTICAL LEADERSHIP ABILITY—AND YOUR OWN IMPORTANT NEEDS

Your generous and cooperative side is an important part of your character. There’s another side, though, which appears to contribute just as much to your general makeup.

You have the makings of a fine leader. As you develop this ability, you can assume a significant position in the business or political world. Others are likely to recognize your independent approach and your superior ability to organize and manage. They’ll probably turn to you to fill vital leadership roles. With your strong potential, you’re likely to choose a line of work in which these capabilities can be developed. You usually want to be in a position of authority where you can direct and supervise.

When you want to, you can work long, hard and patiently. When you put your mind to it, you pay careful attention to detail. At these times, the systematic and orderly side of your character is also exhibited.

Others often see your strong character and inner strength as well as your logical, down-to-earth viewpoint and self-disciplined manner. They’re often willing to trust your judgment and follow as you initiate and control activities. You have a good mind and can find and develop creative solutions to problems, sometimes with a striking original flair. You can often easily convince others that your course of action is the correct one for a particular situation. From time to time, you may tend to dominate others, and this may cause difficulties.

Other people often appreciate your special ability to produce order where little or none has existed. Your patient, dependable and persevering ways add to your managerial ability. You know how to convert an abstract idea into a practical, down-to-earth working format. Although you can handle abstractions, you often prefer to work with material matters. Your honesty and sincerity make it easy for people to place their trust in you.

You can be systematic and organized, but you may have to learn to use this important characteristic in a balanced way. You probably have to be careful not to lose sight of the bigger picture because of your desire to keep things orderly or because of your excessive concern with details. A few people with your kind of energy are often disorganized instead of being systematic and orderly. If you have difficulties with organizational matters, you may have work to do to begin making use of this fine potential. At times, you probably feel like you’re in a rut, giving considerable effort without a sense of accomplishment. When this happens, see if you are causing the limitations that you experience rather than assuming that they are caused by someone or something else.

Some people with a need to be independent spend part of their lives breaking free of the dependence they often feel in their early years. Along with that need for independence, you probably also have an innate desire to accomplish, to win recognition and to attain money and material possessions. You also want to exert your personal power. You often want to express your individuality, but you usually keep within reasonable limits. There are apt to be times when you have strong needs to be satisfied and can’t rest until you’ve taken care of them. You often act without consulting others because you’re convinced that your approach is the correct or only way. As a matter of fact, there are times when you may have difficulty seeing other people’s point of view. You often prefer to do things your own way and may have to learn to consult your associates before you act.

At times, you present a somewhat fixed approach and, occasionally, can cause yourself problems by being dogmatic or narrow-minded. You may want to guard against any tendency to be rigid or stubborn. When you are impatient or bossy, you may trip yourself up.

Seeing Your Needs Realistically

You probably have considerable work to do to be able to see yourself and your needs realistically. If you’re too immersed in your own concerns, you may run into problems because of your inability to recognize others’ needs. You may have to learn to look past your own interests in order to become more aware of other people. If you’re egotistical or aggressive, it will only add to the difficulties.

If, on the other hand, your needs are fulfilled primarily by submissively depending on others, you have to find the strength to break free from this dependence and learn to act on your own. You’ll find little comfort in blaming your environment or other people for your inability to stand on your own two feet. If you’re lazy or fearful, your problems in this area will require additional effort.

Your talents, no matter how strong, are probably not being used to your advantage. If you’re domineering, others are likely to discount your capabilities. If you’re weak and dependent, others probably don’t pay enough attention to recognize your abilities. You have to find a better balance, neither dominated nor dominating, in order to have your talents fully appreciated.

Getting Your Own Way

You can make your presence felt by dominating others or controlling situations. Since you have strong needs of your own at times, you may use an aggressive manner to get your way. Although you may gain what you want at the moment, you may find that your approach may irritate or offend others considerably so that, in the long run, you may be working against your own best interests. You probably have to learn to lessen your tendency to control or manipulate others. This lesson is likely to take far more effort than you expect.

Your Current Ability To Work Toward Independence

With your current name, it’s probably considerably easier to be independent or, at the least, to work toward independence. If you previously felt dependent and submissive, you are now likely to feel more capable of standing on your own two feet. If you previously had difficulty because of your self-centeredness, you are now probably more willing to take care of others’ needs at the same time as you take care of your own. With your current name, there’s a good chance that you’re on your way to becoming comfortably self-sufficient.

YOUR VERSATILITY AND RESTLESSNESS

Along with the other characteristics discussed, it’s worth considering another aspect of your personality which may also make a contribution to your development.

With your current name, you’re probably aware of your versatility and adaptability. You’re likely to find yourself attracted by variety, unusual people, unusual interests, travel and adventure. You’re probably much drawn, too, to new and progressive activities and, in using your talents, you’re particularly interested in the latest developments and the more original approaches. You can, on occasion, project an enthusiasm which readily interests others in your work and excites them with your creativity. When you choose to combine your creativity, resourcefulness and versatility, you have a strong combination.

With your current name, your charming and gracious sociable side is probably seen to advantage. You often enjoy expressing your delight in life. You probably possess good verbal ability and it wouldn’t be surprising if you sometimes involve yourself in activities related to words—using your acting, writing or singing talents, for instance. You’re probably a good conversationalist. If you don’t use your verbal skills in creative work, you may follow other creative pursuits.

You probably have many interests and can often move easily from one activity to another. Some of the time, you’re likely to scatter your energies among your varied interests in whimsical or careless ways which keep you from accomplishing what you want. You probably have to learn to limit the number of your activities so that at least some of your projects will be completed. Occasionally, you feel a kind of boredom or restlessness, often very much at odds with the rest of your personality. Although you usually try to balance your desire for freedom with your other needs, every now and then you probably don’t want to be bothered with any common or routine affairs at all.

The Current Change And Variety In Your Life

There’s likely to be more change and variety in your life with your current name than there was before. You may have to learn to slow the pace in order to concentrate on a few projects instead of being overwhelmed with the many exciting opportunities presented.

Your Mid-Life Concern With Having More Fun In Your Life

Sometime in the middle of your life, probably between the ages of thirty-five and fifty, you’re likely to begin thinking about how much more fun and delight you’d like to experience in your life. You probably haven’t been too concerned with this before, but current circumstances may bring it to your attention. You may have become aware of how little time you allow yourself to play and how little real fun you have. You may have enjoyed the delight of being with others in a merry or festive situation and realized how much this differed from your usual structured experiences. Whatever the reason, it wouldn’t be surprising if you start to change some of your attitudes and actions related to your enjoyment of life because of this mid-life appraisal.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Because of your diverse interests and abilities, you’re likely to expend considerable time and effort learning how to consolidate the various aspects of your character in a comfortable and productive way. When you understand how to combine the beauty of your loving, giving, responsible side with the power of your dynamic, practical side and the delight of your enthusiastic, versatile side, you are likely to find a great deal of satisfaction in your life. As you mature, you’ll probably learn to give generously to other people while satisfying your own ambitions and material needs as well as your desire for excitement and change.

A Last Word

Although you probably recognized most of the traits and talents mentioned, you may have been surprised at the magnitude of some of your potential. Although you were aware of these capabilities, the validation received from this profile may allow you to advance some of these talents much further than you may have previously anticipated.

A few of the potentials may have come as something of a surprise. If you’re only vaguely aware of a potential mentioned in the profile, it may help your personal growth to check the profile’s validity with someone who knows you well. See if that potential appears to be as strong as the profile suggests. If you’re holding yourself back in this area, you may want to utilize new aspects of your energy to bring you more fulfillment.

Pay particular attention to any potentials which have not yet surfaced in your life. There may be a lot of exciting possibilities opening for you in important areas. Be on the lookout for opportunities to exercise these awakening potentials in order to broaden your possibilities for growth and development.