Color Your Future: Using the Character Code to Enhance Your Life - Softcover

Observing a caterpillar's transformation to becoming a butterfly is magical. The process brings with it the same dynamics we experience in our transformation from mere personality to fully charactered souls. It's a lifelong process of becoming fully human, fully alive. Not all caterpillars become butterflies, of course. Some die prematurely by neglecting to take the necessary precautions to enable their survival until the proper time for their "right of passage." Others simply remain on the ground, refusing to risk the unknown challenges of flight.

Caterpillars are not alone. People struggle to experience their true potential in becoming fully charactered human beings as well. Can we lift ourselves from this muddled existence? we wonder.

"Fly!" our inner core whispers. "Fly to greater heights. Experience all you were born to become." Repeatedly, from deep within us, our better self challenges us to risk the unknown -- to break free of our old inadequate patterns and charter a new course for places yet unknown. "Recreate yourself. Discover your passions. Complete your purpose in life," we hear. At every turn in life we face ourselves. Caterpillars that learn to fly listen to their instincts, their inner voice of truth. Each individual must decide to accept or reject his or her personal flight. Some prefer to continue crawling, like the caterpillar, in established patterns of despondent comfort zones. Some find pleasure enough in merely observing others in flight, satisfied to experience life through the eyes of another. Some fly for a brief time, but ill prepared, they fall victim to unrealistic expectations and ignored danger in their unfamiliar and, perhaps, somewhat "heady" role of being a butterfly. Still others embrace the challenge to fly and humbly experience new and rewarding horizons throughout their lives.

Wherever you are on your journey in life, I sincerely hope Color Your Future will help you embrace yourself, listen to your inner core, and fly.

Our journey together began with my first book, entitled The Color Code: A New Way to See Yourself, Your Relationships, and Life. It might just as easily have been entitled Sudden Identity because of its revolutionary accuracy in identifying innate personalities and core motivations. Our innate personalities give us personal definition and style. Each personality is driven by an innate core motive and uniquely expresses itself through predictable thought and behavior patterns.

Despite its obvious virtues, personality, like the caterpillar, remains limited. In order to experience the full measure of our creation, we must learn other gifts that are unnatural to us but innately comfortable to other personalities. Each personality (which I define by using color labels), brings unique gifts to share with the other personalities. Reds bring power, vision, focused commitment, leadership, and logic. Blues provide us with intimacy, service, compassion, loyalty, and emotional intuition. Whites entreat us with peace, kindness, balance, acceptance, and clarity. Yellows offer fun, forgiveness, optimism, social celebration, and valuing oneself. Humbly embracing any of these unnatural gifts activates the metamorphosis wherein our personal transformation from caterpillar to butterfly begins to take place.

Flight occurs when we have mastered enough gifts from each of the various personalities to be trusted by our fellow men. Earning this trust requires that we: 1) accurately identify and accept our core personality (color); 2) freely give our innate gifts; and 3) learn, master, and share unnatural (learned) gifts that the other colors bring to our lives. The Color Code addresses the process of gaining an accurate understanding of our identity, in other words, who we are. Color Your Future addresses the process of embracing all we are capable of becoming.

Flight, as symbolically expressed by the butterfly, is becoming charactered and living a quality life. Flight is not an ultimate end but rather a quality way of seeing life through more rewarding eyes.

The butterfly does not disdain the caterpillar for its limited movement, but rather, respectfully acknowledges it for housing the butterfly through its earlier life journey. Charactered people do not regard limited people as inferior. They appreciate them for their innate gifts of personality and acknowledge their potential. Becoming charactered requires the vision to create an ideal picture different from our current picture of reality. Without the conflict our vision creates, we would never stretch to bring our ideal picture into focus. To challenge our innate limitations and experience discomfort forces the caterpillar in us to seek the ultimate gift of charactered flight. With time, we will appreciate our years of crawling through life's somewhat desperate moments. Having once been grounded, the butterfly in us appreciates more deeply our developed gift of wings.

Color Your Future is a book for those who yearn to become more; those who want to fly. Unlike the gift of personality you received at birth, the gift of character must be earned throughout your lifetime. Becoming charactered is not a onetime opportunity, but a continuous journey, encompassing all the joys and tragedies of being human.

This journey is not for the casual observer or self-appointed critic. Color Your Future is for the humble caterpillar that senses his appointed date with destiny and rather than shrink from his appointed "right of passage," embraces his uniquely personal moment in time. This book challenges you to accept your responsibility to become charactered and take flight.

Discover Your Optimum Motive

The Color Code defines each color through core personality motives. Reds are driven by power, while Blues are motivated by intimacy. Whites seek peace, while Yellows clearly want to have fun. Color Your Future defines character as a learned process driven by the optimum motive of service. The more charactered we become, the higher degree of trust we earn, and the greater amount of service we are able to render. Becoming charactered requires a much more rigorous and principled process than merely having a personality, but offers a more powerful reward in the quality of one's life as well. It answers to a higher law than the basic motives of personality.

Unlike the unique personality motives, optimum character motives drive all personalities equally. For example, in order to serve others as dictated by our optimum motive, Yellow personalities, who innately prefer to play, must learn to focus their commitments. Reds are required to be less critical and more patient. Optimum motive demands acceptance and having realistic expectations of the Blues, while Whites are asked to confront their fears of interpersonal conflict and assert themselves. The optimum motive of service becomes our driving core in becoming charactered.

Enjoy Successful Relationships

Color Your Future is easy to read but requires a lifetime to completely understand. One does not become fully charactered without experiencing each step and embracing each of the other colors' gifts. This process requires humility and commitment. Just when I think I understand a particular gift or step, life walks me through it one more time with different players; perhaps a different child, a new employee, or an aging friend. Sometimes the challenge must be faced against a new backdrop in life -- perhaps a career change, a financial reversal, or a family crisis.

Each time we choose to walk the higher path and embrace the lessons it has to teach, we become more charactered. Limited personalities reject the invitation. Once we master each of these steps and humbly embrace the gifts each personality brings, we will have earned trust and know the rare, rewarding joy of charactered flight.

What people around the world want most in life is to enjoy successful relationships. The Color Code explains why this rarest of treasures is so difficult to accomplish. Color Your Future explains how you can make it yours. Specific steps and positive activities are offered throughout this book. Numerous case studies of ordinary people as well as candid revelations about famous celebrities will inspire you to embrace the charactered life. You will discover new possibilities for enhancing your relationships as you consider each step.

Enjoy the miracle of who you were born to become and the magic of taking charactered flight. Once you understand Color Your Future, you can never see yourself or others the same again.

Copyright © 1991, 1999 by Taylor Hartman