4 Life Lessons And The Psychology of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Before we get to the turtles, we have to take 2 minutes to understand the root of the Ninja Turtles’ personalities and the archetypal formula that is used — and has been used — many, many times before.

The Four Humors:

Back in the day, a bunch of old greek guys came up with the idea that the balance of fluids in the body had something to do with your personality and behavior. I’m not going to tell you about Alcmaeon of Croton, no, you can look that up for yourself if you want.

It might sound ridiculous at first, but it’s not that crazy if you just swap out the word “fluids” for “hormones.”

Of course, the old greek guys didn’t articulate it that way, but I digress.

Here’s the breakdown of the 4 main “humors” and the temperaments with which they supposedly correspond:

• Blood: Enthusiasm, intensity, social.

• Yellow Bile: Aggression and anger.

• Black Bile: Melancholy.

• Phlegm: Apathy.

Later on, Aristophanes (another old greek guy), started using these 4 different humors in dramatic theatre. Today, these are known as “The Comedy of Humors” and have been replicated again and again.

While we can confidently say that your balance of blood doesn’t change that much, and the amount of phlegm in your sinus doesn’t really alter you personality — we do know that hormones can dramatically impact human behavior and biology.

Here are some somewhat modern examples where you may have seen these archetypes already:

• Sex and the City

• Seinfeld

• Scooby-Doo

• The Fantastic Four

• The 4 Houses in Harry Potter

Personality

But what about the ninja turtles?

Although personality is a very complex concept, an assessment that is commonly used is called the DISC. DISC is an acronym for the four personality categories it measures.

Dominance. Influence. Steadiness. Conscientiousness.

Let’s place our turtles into the four DISC categories and see why they landed there.

Raphael

DISC Type: D

Raphael is a classic D in the DISC assessment. He is primarily motivated by anger, which isn’t always a bad thing. It charges him up and prepares him to face challenges with intensity. It also means that Raphael is the most straightforward, blunt, and confident.
 
Of course, this doesn’t win him any friends, but it does make him an effective voice of reason (on occasion) since he can focus on the bottom line.
 
Raphael is focused more on the outcome of the situation than how he got there — which is where he needs help from his brothers. Even though he’s fighting for good, he can rub people the wrong way with his consistently bad attitude. This means he relies on his brothers to recruit allies.

Raphael picking a fight in a trench coat from the 1990 live-action TMNT movie.

On the flip side, Raphael struggles with managing his anger. Anger is one of his primary motivators for fighting and improving, but he does not always effectively channel it. When he makes mistakes, Raphael turns his anger inward, causing him to separate himself from his brothers making him vulnerable to self-doubt, self-criticism, and external threats. He and Donatello seem to be the introverts of the bunch. In the 1990 live-action movie, Raphael makes a mistake in the turtles’ first fight. Instead of reconciling this with his brothers, he impulsively walks out on his own and gets into trouble with Casey Jones.

Our society worships this personality type. It’s believed that the challenger is the most desirable. For men, especially, the emotion of anger is the most socially accepted and normalized of all the emotions. Our society sometimes misconstrues kindness as weakness and values strength over all other traits.

“Raphael is cool, but rude.” 

The lesson here is that while anger can be a useful emotion, we can also easily lose our grip. We can lash out at others and we can beat ourselves up. Raphael reminds us to manage our anger and benevolently channel it. If you follow the Harry Potter universe, Raphael is likely a Slytherin — likely due to his decisions to do whatever it takes to complete the mission.

Mikey

DISC Type: I

Michelangelo is seen as a goofball, but his role in the team is critical. He doesn’t like conflict in general since he’d rather just be having fun, but sometimes a well-placed gag can diffuse stressful situations. Mikey is also typically the first of the four to win over new allies. Since he values relationships he prefers to use social influence to achieve collaboration instead of hard-hitting assertions like Raphael.

Sketch of Mikey hitting a punching bag in the 1990 live-action TMNT movie.

In contrast to Raphael, Mikey channels his anger effectively. When discussing the thought of losing their sensei, Splinter, in the 1990s live-action film, Mikey avoids the conversation and hits a punching bag. In fact, for nearly the entire retreat at the farm, Mikey is silent.

It’s slightly unknown but somewhat important that Mikey is also a master of one of the toughest weapons in ninjitsu; the nunchaku. It’s an illustration of his ability to make something extremely difficult look easy when he dedicates his attention. If you didn’t already know this about nunchaku, this detail would likely slip right by — just like the value of the friendships and relationships, he creates with the world outside the sewer.

“Michelangelo is a party dude.”

On the flip side, Mikey’s biggest weakness is that his interest in fun and pizza can mean a lack of interest in what’s important for the mission. This sometimes gets the team in trouble — but his brothers can’t help but forgive him when he delivers comedic relief. By Hogwarts standards, Mikey is a Hufflepuff.

Leonardo

DISC type: S

Leo has a difficult role. He is his brothers’ peer, but he is also their leader. Raphael sometimes resents that Splinter chose him to lead, but this is because Leo is the most loyal and focused of the four.

Sketch of Leo from the 1990 live-action TMNT movie.

Leo is driven by ambition, honor, and loyalty. In this sketch from the original 1990 live-action turtles movie, April O’Neil’s character depicts Leo waiting faithfully over his injured brother, Raphael.

His commitment to his family and mission also makes him arguably the most skilled of his brothers. When faced with free time, Leonardo chooses to spar with Raphael while Mikey and Donny split for some fun.

It’s important for a leader to be calm, focused, and dependable. Leo takes his job very seriously. He gathers information, usually from Donny, and makes sound decisions that benefit the team as a whole — not just his own self-interest. It’s this characteristic that earns Leo respect with his brothers. Despite the occasional eye-roll, Leo is sincere in his pursuit of justice. This, and his ability to mediate disagreements mean his team can confidently go into battle together.

We love watching leaders like Leo in movies. Calm, collected, steadfast, they give us a sense of stability during chaotic and uncertain challenges. Leo is totally a Gryffindor. 

Donatello

DISC type: C

Smart, creative, and thoughtful, Donny is the philosopher of the bunch. He’s usually tied up in a challenging technical project, meticulously improving existing tools or inventing something new (like the time scepter in TMNT III). Donny cares about accuracy and likes to think things through before making a decision. In fact, without Leo, Donny might have a hard time making things happen fast.

Sketch of Donny from the 1990 live-action TMNT movie.

Since Donny is usually wrapped up in his own projects, he can sometimes have similar avoidance behavior like Mikey. He’d just rather be building or evaluating something than arguing with Raphael. He also prefers to talk or think things through and tends to use violence as a last resort.

Donny is inspired by knowledge and deep expertise.

Though Leo is the most serious about their mission, it’s Donny who sets the standards, evaluates performance, and provides the quality assurance that Leo and the turtles need to continuously level up. If Donny were placed under the sorting hat, he’d absolutely land in Ravenclaw. 

5 Life Lessons From The Ninja Turtles

Now that we’ve covered all the personality profiles of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, let’s highlight some main takeaways from their interactions as a team.

1. Teamwork requires the diverse skills/talents/input of everyone. 

You don’t all have to agree on what to do as a team, but you do have to align on what you’re going to do.

Just look at the fractured United States and its response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a great example. We don’t all have to agree on the protocol, but we do need to align with one and start acting like a team.

“Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines.

Raphael is cool, but rude. Michelangelo is a party dude.”

2. Make strategic allies.

It’s tempting to want to do everything yourself and there’s a small, small chance that maybe you could — but a more feasible approach is to put people around you who supplement your weaknesses. The turtles, living in the sewer for many years, had no platform to speak out against crime or to show the world that they were the good guys. By creating allegiances with characters like Casey Jones and April O’Neill at Channel 4 News, they afforded themselves the ability to have influence and get new information to which they might not have had access.

3. Have mentors.

We haven’t talked much about Master Splinter. A mentor is someone who has experience in the domain you’re in and can help guide you strategically and tactically. A coach serves a different purpose. A coach asks good questions and can help you work through problems, but they might not have domain expertise. Get a mentor. Get a coach.

4. Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince was the voice of Shredder.

I’m not sure there’s a really great lesson to be learned but I felt it was worth noting how ridiculous this fact is. James Avery, the actor who played Uncle Phil on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air also played the voice of Shredder on the original 1990s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.

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That’s it.

What did I miss? What’s a life lesson you learned?

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Does Minimalism Work?

Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash

If you've seen Matt D'Avella's documentary on Netflix called "The Minimalists," you'll know what I mean by minimalism. It's the idea that if you have less stuff, you're going to be happier. That begs the question if you're a shoe-hoarder or you have a ton of tools or gear, does minimalism work?

The first part about understanding minimalism is realizing that it does NOT mean that you have to be a monk or an acetic wandering through the desert with one shirt and a pair of sandals. Maybe that would work for some people, but it would probably drive most people insane.

Minimalism is about realizing what provides value to your life.

If you have a ton of books, but you don't read any of them, it sounds like they're not really adding value to your life. If the intention of the books was to learn something new, it's not working. If the intention of the books was to show them off to guests so you could talk about how smart and well-read you are, well, that's different. It's not ideal, but I get how that could feel good and thus be valuable.

Minimalism is about finding the things that bring you a lot of bang for your buck.

I have a hoodie that cost me a lot more than a regular hoodie. I wear it almost every single day of the year. I love that hoodie. I get a ton of value from it.

For some people, choosing what clothes to buy and wear is a hassle. That's me. For others, choosing what clothes to buy and wear is fun! That's my partner. Does minimalism work for both of us? For me, minimalism doesn't mean only wearing one shirt and one pair of pants--it means finding my favorite shirt and getting enough of those so that I can wear my favorite shirt every day. For my partner, it's about expressing herself in different ways. So, yes, minimalism can work for both of us.

That's just a small example, but I think it outlines the values of minimalism really well. It's not about having no stuff, it's about having only the stuff you love and letting go of the rest. From a finance perspective, this might feel a lot like getting rid of depreciating assets and focusing only on the assets that put money in your pocket. Like beanie babies.

There was this great photo in some publication that showed a couple breaking up in divorce court and splitting up their beanie babies. Here's the image and the super short post I sent to my newsletter audience about it.

This goes for work and career as well. What are the skills you love developing? It's probably worthwhile to invest more in those if you're able to make a living with them. If you can't make a living with those skills, maybe you can turn it into a hobby that brings you joy.

The focus is not on having less stuff. The focus is on having only important and meaningful stuff.

If you have a musical instrument on the wall that you don't play or use, you're probably not getting very much value from it. In fact, it might even be hurting you! How many times will you walk past the piano and say "gosh, I really should play more?" Does minimalism work for ambitious people?

If it's not serving you, let it go. It will lift pressure off your psyche and you'll be able to focus more on the things that matter most to you.

Minimalism is, at its core, about noticing what you value and giving yourself more of it. If you value playing music, you'll notice because you enjoy playing it and so your behavior follows suit. If you don't value playing music, it might feel like a chore or routine. If you're noticing how you feel about these things, you'll be able to adjust your lifestyle to double-down on what provides you value and eliminate what doesn't.

Minimalism is a feedback loop that gives you space to welcome new things into your life and test them out. Minimalism is a value system that encourages you to be really clear about what brings you happiness and then take action!

If you're like me, you've probably changed since you were younger. I'm 32 and I am definitely not the same person I was 10 years ago. My values have changed and so have the things around me. If you are mindful of what you value, it will be easier to notice these changes and recalibrate your life to suit them. You'll be much happier if you can let go of the old you and make space for your new, evolved self.

Does minimalism work for "just in case" scenarios?

To evaluate "just in case" items, just consider this:

If it's a commonly found commodity that doesn't cost a lot, consider letting it go. If it's a rare and useful thing, or if it will become rare and useful in the "just in case" scenario you're imagining, it might be worth holding onto. This isn't perfect--just look at the rarity of toilet paper after the COVID-19 outbreak. That certainly wasn't on many people's "just in case" lists.

A good, all-around safety net for these "just in case" scenarios is good ol' fashioned cash money. If you hop off a plane and your luggage is lost, having an emergency stash of money will help you keep moving without too much worry.

If you're still asking "does minimalism work," here's a quick little summary:

Minimalism works for those people who are willing to consider what they value and let go of what they don't. Remember, you're not just getting rid of EVERYTHING, you're getting rid of the stuff you least value. This makes room for more stuff you DO value. This means you're not walking around your house seeing the piano you never play and thinking "oh, I should be practicing piano more" and instead you're seeing the sleeping bag and tent in your closet and thinking "oh, I can't wait to go camping again!"

The day-to-day feeling of being surrounded by important and valuable things will have an impact on your psyche and will give you the space to focus on the parts of your work and life that matter most.

If you're still not sure, here's another post I wrote about minimalism but reframed a little differently. It steals from Greg McKeown's book on "Essentialism."

Thanks for reading.

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The Difference Between A Good Work Ethic and A Workaholic

Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash

What is the difference between have a good work ethic and being a workaholic?

For years, I've been proud of my work ethic. I've sacrificed, I've worked 100 hour weeks, and I've always asked myself "how can I do more?"

Isn't that what we're supposed to do?

Gary Vaynerchuk encourages "hustle" nonstop. Ben Franklin invented multiple service-based government agencies. And, let's face it, every American entrepreneur built their company by picking themselves up by their bootstraps, right?

Unfortunately, what's modeled for us by successful people isn't always the whole truth.

I actually wrote a post about Gary Vaynerchuk's success a few years ago.

Gary Vaynerchuk's audience is mostly "wannabes" and complainers so his message is directed at them. Ben Franklin was speculated to be horrible father and no entrepreneur can do everything by themselves.

Here are some guidelines for helping to scrutinize the difference between a good work ethic and a workaholic:

A Workaholic:

• Hedges on personal values to accommodate work demands.

• Feels like if they don't do their work, there will be a catastrophe. (In psychology, this is called "compulsion.")

• Typically is motivated only by the urgency of work, not necessarily the importance of work.

• Doesn't take breaks or allow for recovery time.

• Often deals with great anxiety.

• Doesn't say "no" to new work and treats most tasks as priorities or fails to delegate effectively. (This is sometimes tied to perfectionism.)

• Is unlikely to cancel due to illness.

• Doesn't "turn it off."

• Competes with others on how many hours they've worked.

• Ties their work success with their personal worth.

• Is focused on output quantity and tasks completed.

Someone With A Good Work Ethic:

• Makes the most of the time available.

• Says "no" to non-essential or low-impact work.

• Says "no" to work outside their capacity or ability.

• Is willing to change their work based on feedback because improvement is paramount.

• Can provide quality work consistently because work-in-progress is managed effectively.

• Makes time for fun and personal enjoyment and isn't afraid to "turn off."

• Tend to be high-performers and is passionate about work.

• Competes with their own work and achievements.

• Actively manages burnout symptoms.

• Is focused on quality and output value.

2 Minute Action:

Take this quick Risk Assessment to see if you have symptoms of workaholism or if you're at risk.

Additionally, you can take 2 minutes to reach out to someone in your life and check in with them. It's up to each of us to care, not only for ourselves but also for each other.

If you found this useful, here's another post I wrote on hustle and when to apply it.

The Hidden Economic Genius Of The Tequila Guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVCC0MBT6bE

Now, if you've already seen this video, I'm sure you're wondering what I could possibly be talking about. How could the Tequila guy be a genius? And more strangely, how could he be an economic genius. Stick with me and I will explain the hidden economic genius of the Tequila guy.

First, have you seen this?

Tequila Guy On America's Got Talent: On YouTube

Here's the TL;DR:

This guy gets himself onto America's Got Talent with his karaoke act. He then proceeds to sing the song "Tequila."

The punchline is that there's only one word to this song.

The audience loved it.

But how? How could this be?

I know what you're thinking. How could anyone see the hidden economic genius of the Tequila guy? He isn't doing anything special! Anyone could do that!

Here's the hidden economic genius of the Tequila guy:

Are there other people more talented than him? Of course.

Are there other people who developed the skills to be amazing singers? You bet.

What the Tequila guy did was master what I call his "productivity ratio." (I wrote about this in another post, here.)

Without doing much work, he had the audience rolling over laughing.

For the amount of effort he put in, his results were off the charts.

This is the definition of efficiency.

This should translate into your life and work pretty clearly.

Getting paid $2,500/week isn't cool if you're working 80 hours.

Getting paid $2,500/week is much cooler if you're working 10 hours.

Anyone can scale up the amount of time they work. What's more important is focusing on increasing your output, earnings, or whatever "results" you're chasing while also reducing your effort.

In economics, this was originally known as the Pareto Principle (wiki). It stated that 80% of the consequences come from 20% of the causes. This was brought into business jargon as the "80/20 rule."

If you're a consultant or a contractor, you probably have a few clients where you make most of your money. Then you've probably also got a few clients who are a pain in the neck, take up most of your time and energy, and are the least profitable.

Whatever you're working on, it's up to you to reduce your input while simultaneously increasing your output.

2 Minute Action:

Take a look at all your work.

Where are you spending the most time and effort?

Now ask yourself, what work is giving you the most return on your effort?

Today is one of those days where, with the power of reflection, you can choose what your future looks like.

What path with you choose?