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Understand Your Personality and Activate Growth Mode

Three new Moleskine knock-offs arrived on Sunday. One’s teal, one’s a dark blueish-green, one’s magenta. (At least that’s my argument; you may disagree based on your interpretation of the below photo.)

Alas, they’re here and I plan on using them.

Much has been said about the benefits of writing things down; I’ve talked about it on my Substack before — December 6, 2025 edition of The Saturday List — and I even shared a screengrab from a Scientific American article on the same subject.

(Yes, I’ve wondered if I’m related to either of the authors; No, I’m not sure how two folks with Low Country last names ended in in Norway.)

It used to be easier to be “the guy with the notebook” because you didn’t stand out. Now, you bring a notebook to a meeting or you have one at the coffee shop and people wonder about you.

Turns out, I’m somewhat high in Conscientiousness, one of the Big Five Personality Traits.

The Big Five

Psychologists use the Big Five Personality Traits to help figure people out. You can use the word “OCEAN” to remember them:

  • Openness
  • Conscientiousness
  • Extroversion
  • Agreeableness
  • Neuroticism

We’re all somewhere from 1 to 100 on each and that’s part of what makes each of us unique. And once you understand where you are on each, you can have a better idea of where you might be able to grow.

I mentioned above that I’m somewhat high in Conscientiousness, so a using those notebooks with a plan (more on that below) is something I do pretty often; I’m also somewhat high in Neuroticism. (I need paper and pen sitting nearby to write lists down.) Note that both can explain the fact that I am almost never late for meetings. (Unless my gallbladder is being removed; even though I sent a note and asked to move that particular job interview, I ended up being removed from consideration. Oh well.)

And, I’m pretty high in Openness, so I’m — get this! — open to new experiences. I’m (allegedly) imaginative, and adventurous, and creative!

Understanding WHAT makes you tick and HOW you tick are both pretty important. Here’s more…

Taking Notes? Journaling? Writing An Actual Book?

A couple months ago, I sat down with Megy Karydes for my Podcast, The Vandy Program. The full interview is below and Megy actually wrote a book that helps you minimize stress in your life, called 50 Ways to More Calm, Less Stress.

ONE of those 50 ways — and one that she religiously follows — is daily journaling. That’s right, setting aside time in the morning with your coffee (or tea) and making it a ritual.

It doesn’t have to be formal; it could be venting, or it could be making lists of things that are on your mind. Or poetry. Anything. But make it a ritual and, behold, you’re in Growth Mode.

One reason I ordered three notebooks of my own is that I’ve got one for Personal and one for Business. And the extra one is in case I come up with another Big Idea (for a book or something else). (Or if I exhaust the Personal or Business one and find myself needing to rip one open because I can’t wait.) But I’m the type of person who can benefit from daily journaling, and from taking notes when I watch videos or am reading an interesting book or article.

All Five Traits and Your Learning Style

So if I’m open to new experiences, and I’m conscientious and a little neurotic — in a good way, I promise! — what does that say about Activating Growth Mode?

Well, you can’t be High in all five traits, so there’s got to be a little give and take.

Take a gander at the photo below of the books that are on my nightstand.

I’m definitely open to new things, and like to read and make a habit of it AND take lots of notes, so High in Openness and Medium-to-High in both Conscientiousness and Neuroticism.

That means that I might be…less agreeable about points of view. (Honestly, I’m probably right in the middle on Agreeableness. Depends on the situation.) So that’s a place where I need to grow. AND I’m definitely an introvert, so Extraversion would be a low score for me. Assignments: get out of my shell and challenge my assumptions.

Is ‘Growth Mode’ Just ‘Learning Mode’ In Disguise?

One advantage of hosting a podcast is the ability to learn from a variety of people. About a variety of topics. (I know, I know…”Pick a Lane!”) Reaching out to people and then having them say “yes, I’ll go on your show” is actually a bit of a thrill…THEN doing more research on who they are and what they do and what makes them tick is quite fun. (Working on increasing the Extroversion score and moderating my Agreeableness so that it’s situationally appropriate.)

FINALLY, once I’m sitting down with the guest, the discussion can open up a whole host of possibilities. (I guess my job as the interviewer is to help guide the discussion in the right direction; and if *I* learn something new about the topic, then, hopefully, the viewer or listener will, too.)

A Couple Examples

My friend Jennifer Brown is a two-time guest on the pod; I find I always learn something about people when I speak with her. “Canadian Steve” teaches me something about Canada and how they view Americans each time I speak with him. (Links to recent episodes with both are below.)

So This Post Is About…What?

No, I’m not just here to post about my podcast or my “High in Openness” personality.

I’m here to, hopefully, ask you to figure out how to maximize Growth Mode for yourself.

Are you open to new experiences? If not, you are possibly higher in another personality trait; your conscientiousness might mean you’re the type of person who could sit down with a guitar, fire up some online lessons, and become kinda self-taught in an afternoon.

OR you might have the “High in Neuroticism” trait — again, Neuroticism is not *necessarily* a bad thing — that could make you the type of person who could get the temperature conditions exactly right in your home kitchen to make a perfect loaf of fresh bread.

In any event, keep at it. Whatever “it” is…

Sharing Some Recent Interviews on The Vandy Program

Hello there!

I recently read that, of the estimated 4.5 million podcasts in the world, only 300,000 have released a new episode in the past 30 days.

Since I’ve aimed for Systems Over Goals, especially here in 2026, I thought I’d point to not 1, not 2, but 3 recent podcast interviews. So I’m in the good category, I guess; All three videos I’m sharing here are ones that have been conducted in the past 30 days.

The channel link is here: The Vandy Program.

Vandy Talks with Marc Moschetto (Jan. 29)

Marc is a long-time friend (who I met on X, of course; his handle is Boston Writer) and a consultant. Kickmotor is his company, and he has the bona fides to talk about where HR and tech intersect with common sense. Fun interview.

Vandy Talks with Liam Gallegos (Feb. 5)

Liam is the self-proclaimed “King of LinkedIn Live” and has amazing energy; and a heck of a studio setup, too. We had a fun conversation.

Vandy Talks with Stephen Barrigar (Feb. 18)

Finally, my most-recent discussion — and a long-time friend, former colleague, and resident Canadian — was with Stephen Barrigar. It was the fourth time chatting with Stephen on camera.

Take a look, be sure to subscribe. Thanks, and be on the lookout for more!

31 Days of Content: Here’s What I Learned

On December 1, I vowed to share content every day for a month. Here, on Day 31, I look back at what I’ve learned.

First Up: ‘The What’

The content I shared — for the first 30 days, not counting today — fell into three categories:

  • Business and Advice: 11 posts
  • Music: 8 posts
  • The Saturday List: 4
  • Podcast Interviews/Summaries of Shows: 4
  • Inspirational: 2
  • Creativity: 2

Next: ‘The Where’

25 of the 30 posts were on the Area 224 blog (that’s where you are right now!) and the other 5 were posted on my Substack.

In most cases, the content was re-shared by me on LinkedIn; and some of the posts were also reshared on X, which I’m still calling “Twitter.”

Best-Performing Posts?

Six of my posts stand out as performing better than the others, at least when it comes to views; Four on Substack and two on the blog:

To be fair to myself: I had spent a year or so curating my Substack much more than my blog, so, the combination of a built-in audience and the consistency of The Saturday List would both be factors leading to its (relative) success.

It’s also been suggested — fairly, I might add — that I should add a Subscribe Button to the blog. So here’s one.

The LinkedIn Factor

I will be completely direct here: LinkedIn is not my favorite tool. Sure, everyone thinks that “Followers” and “Connections” and the like are great. But it’s clunky, its newsletter publisher is pretty bad and doesn’t allow links, and views don’t lead to any real activities.

LinkedIn has a REAL algorithm problem: posts are still being delivered to the feed that are 2-plus weeks old, so the jury may be out on whether some of the above posts might still move up or down my rankings.

Finally, and this is big, even with Premium, the analytics are…poor. I can’t tell you which of my posts on LinkedIn performed well, or not well, if they are more than seven days old. Each passing month leads me to question why I pay for Premium.

Big Winner: The Daily Habit of Writing

If you watch enough cooking videos or you talk to those in some sort of performance industry — sportscasters, professional speakers, actors — you know how big it is to get “reps.” Your first four ribeyes cooked on the steel pan will be okay, the next four will get better, and, by the ninth ribeye, you are finally able to cook for others.

Writing is similar; and, given the combination of work priorities and life priorities taking over, I had not really flexed any writing muscles of note in a long, long time.

But I did write every single day.

There were days I was able to pull together a couple blog posts, and there were other days where I felt like all I got was a neat little paragraph that shaped blog post or the next week’s Saturday List.

And, The Next Steps For Me (There Are Two)

A December goal was to do as much of this content creation as I could WITHOUT any AI tools. In fact, other than my post on GEO vs SEO, or my piece on AI-driven “creativity,” I stayed away from AI. (So yes, I wrote all the words myself.)

I don’t plan on issuing another 31-day content challenge to myself for January; however, I do plan on doing a few deeper-dive looks at AI tools and how to use them. Look for more of that in January.

The other January goal: MORE INTERVIEWS. Yes, that’s right, I plan on ramping up discussions on The Vandy Program. I only did ONE of them in December; the only gauntlet I’ll throw down for a busy January is to do…THREE.

(Here’s the one that I did in December.)

So yeah, that’s actually a blatant pitch for interesting podcast guests. If there’s someone YOU want to hear from, let me know in the comments…even if that person is you.

Finally, My Thanks

Back in journalism school, they would tell you to imagine that you’re talking to a friend or family member before you went on air. Trite? Maybe. But that’s been the thing that kept me going during December. And it’ll keep me going through 2026, come what may.

My sincere thanks for coming along for the ride.

Just How Vulnerable?

Is 2026 going to be The Year of Vulnerability? If so, we probably need to set some ground rules.

When someone is “in the soup,” they are in trouble. Trouble of some sort, trouble that may or may not be with a capital “T;” You may or may not want or need to know exactly what they’re going through, but you do need to at least be aware that they…are going through it.

The idiom goes way back to earlier times — I saw it mentioned as I rewatch the show Deadwood — and I have heard it quite a few times this year, in a variety of instances. In each case, I didn’t ask for details, just knew that I needed to show a little compassion.

So, if you are currently “In The Soup,” I see you.

Levels of Vulnerability

Let’s talk, first, about the job search world. No industry seems to be immune to cutbacks, layoffs, job losses; the rise of not just “AI” but the “AI is gonna take your job” phrase adds nothing but anxiety. There’s a real chance that you know a few people “In The Soup.”

If you spend any time at all on LinkedIn — oh, I’m there A LOT — you’ll see one debate among job searchers, hiring managers, and everyone in between: do you use the dreaded “Green Circle?”

You can use a Green Circle to telegraph to the world that you are “Open to Work.” To some, it’s important: You have a lot to offer an employer, and they need to know that you can help fill a need of theirs.

To others, it’s too vulnerable by half.

Here Again, Your Mileage May Vary

Advice for the jobless — or ANYONE going through any significant life change — is everywhere. Apply to all the jobs! Only apply to those that are a really good fit! Only apply if you have someone on the inside! And so on, and so forth.

The challenge for YOU, Dear Reader: understand just how vulnerable you want to be. Can you deal with all of the advice? Do you want help from well-meaning strangers?

Maybe Quiet Confidence Is ‘The Way’

Here’s the thing: EVERYONE is in some sort of soup. Is it lower-case “soup” or “THE SOUP ” in ALL CAPS AND BOLD ITALICS?

We’re all human, we can’t avoid the realities of life; challenges will always find us. Some people may get more than they can apparently handle, some may seem to skate by. But everyone is dealing with some sort of soup.

The Crisis Communicator in All of Us

I worked at a place a decade or so ago where we dealt with our share of crises; most of them were out of the public eye. (Part of my job was to KEEP THEM OUT OF THE PUBLIC EYE.) On my last day, as I left for greener pastures, one of my colleagues said “wow, you always seemed cool under pressure when everything was out of control.” (Yes, that old saw about men receiving compliments so infrequently that they remember them always…it’s true.)

But I also had to do the “chameleon” thing while there: couldn’t tell everyone everything that was going on, lest it jeopardize my long-term prospects.

Vulnerability could lead to victimhood if you take it too far. You could get taken advantage of. And so on.

Advice, Then, For 2026

I write this post having just celebrated a birthday. (Yes, I realize I don’t look THAT old. Thank you.) I’ve dealt with my share of soup — my favorite story is how, a few years ago, I had “16-and-a-half inches of my colon removed” and how I asked to have the piece of colon freeze-dried so I can wear it around my neck as a symbol of my vanquished opponent; that request was denied — and anyone who has spouses or kids or pets knows that various soups, stews, and chowders surround you 24/7.

You may have had more of your colon removed, or may have had a worse problem befall you.

OR you may have had a really crappy job loss and it may have been way too long since you’ve had a job that matched your skills and abilities.

And you can tease this out in any other aspect of life: We’re all In The Soup.

Share as you see fit. Or don’t share at all. Quietly ping a friend and let them know they are on your mind. Hop on a call with an old friend; or, even better, do the IRL thing as often as you can.

Make it a wonderful 2026.

The Best Long-Form Videos of 2025

As I plan for 2026, one of the things I want to do is conduct more long-form interviews on YouTube.

As a result, I’ve spent much of the year — and especially the last three months — watching a ton of long-form interviews. I’ve got a few favorite interviewers: folks who put together a combination of interview subjects and their own ability to ask questions (and to let the guests talk).

So, while I plot my own next steps, allow me to share some of the best videos I’ve watched during 2025. (And there are two bonuses at the end: a couple good interviews that I conducted.) Here goes:

Triggernometry Interviews Richard Miniter

I’ve gone from “hey these guys are pretty good” to “OMG, ANOTHER VIDEO? I HAVE TO STOP EVERYTHING AND WATCH.” Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin know what they’re doing when they interview someone. So I have three of their chats on this list…

This first one was actually crazy memorable for me; I was shocked that a couple British folks wanted to talk with Richard about America.

The interview is a discussion of how America became…America. Big fun.

It’s great, I’ve watched it at least twice all the way through.

Triggernometry Interviews Jonathan Wilson

The subject, “The Real History of Football.” This is fun and *weird*, IMHO. As opposed to a discussion of American Football, this analysis of how football became “FOOTBALL” is really something.

It also just dropped within the past couple days, proving that sometimes they have a “run, don’t walk” subject. A propos as we enter a World Cup year.

Triggernometry Interviews Dr. Peter Attia

Dr. Peter Attia’s “Outlive” sits on my nightstand. It’s because of his work that I’ve tried to incorporate a combination of exercise, diet, and genetic predispositions — I just learned I’m A LOT MORE Italian than I had originally been told; I grew up being told I’m 0% Italian, so 20% is quite a lot more — to my own health journey.

I’m also now closer to 60 than I am to 50; so I’m hopeful that I can lean more on the part of the family that lived into its 80s (Mom just turned 80) than on the part of the family where the men die in their 60s (Grandpa was 61, Dad lived to 65). This is going to take a combination of…exercise — which Dr. Attia champions throughout his work — and diet; perhaps a few other medications can help me to ward off bad health.

Jordan Peterson Interviews Scott Adams

This becomes even better under the sober light of day: Jordan and Scott have both had some significant health challenges this year, so it is even more illuminating.

Chris Williamson Interviews Peter Zeihan

With the title of “The New World Order Is Here,” we get to listen to Peter Zeihan as he waxes poetic about the state of the world.

It’s all about demographics: and China’s demographics — and those of Russia and South Korea, too — are not good.

Chris Williamson Interviews Dave Ramsey

Big fans of both. But it’s real cool to watch a long-form interviewer (Chris) talk to someone who is used to five-to-ten-minute calls (Dave) over and over.

Dave Van de Walle (that’s me!) Interviews Stephen Barrigar

I interviewed Stephen three times in 2025, but this one was my favorite; partly because of the wide-eyed innocence we both had. Neither of us could have predicted how much impact the Trump tariffs would have had on Canadian politics — Stephen went so far as to say that Pierre Poilievre would be the next prime minister, and I didn’t dispute that assertion — but here we are.

Worth a watch to see just how wrong we both were.

Dave Van de Walle Interviews Jennifer Brown

Jennifer is a fun interview; the fact that she’s in Minnesota and, as I write this, news of possible widespread Somali fraud is making the rounds makes it all the more interesting and timely.

Also, the low number of views is a testament to me as a marketer, not her as an interview subject. SO WATCH, WILL YA???

See you in 2026. (And don’t forget to Like and Subscribe over at The Vandy Program.)

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