Who Am I? The 16 Basic Desires That Motivate Our Actions and Define Our Personalities Paperback – March 5, 2002

I have to disagree with those who said this book was repetitive. I often find that people need help in understanding different applications of concepts and felt Dr. Reiss did a good job with that. Don't let those reviews stop you from getting this book! I agree with several of the reviewers who find it a very useful tool. I recommend it every time I give leadership training. It can be impossible to determine what is important to a person just by observing them and even by asking them! And how can you reward someone if you don't know what matters to them? The test here is terrific. It can help explain conflict on a team and in a marriage. A great, great book!

I have the book and have read it repeatedly. But I am trying to understand how to apply this technology to my everyday life. I believe it is possible but I haven't figured it out yet. I like the book overall and find it fascinating.The author does license this technology to professionals and therefore probably isn't giving us everthing. And he pretty much states this as a fact in the book. I am interested in how other readers have been able to apply this to their own everyday life and done so in a meaningful way. I am interested in motivating myself to do things that I tend to procrastinate on.

This book does a great job of fleshing out the 16 basic desires, and explaining how each of them manifest themselves in our everyday lives. Reiss also does a nice job of explaining why his Motivation Theory is different than MBTI or other personality typing models, which is crucial to buying in to the premise of what he's presenting.My only complaint is the bizarre order in which the 16 desires are presented. The most logical choice would have been alphabetical, but instead Reiss starts every chapter talking about power, and each of the chapter title pages curiously have "POWER" in big bold letters at the top. Not a big deal, but it could give readers the mistaken impression that some of the 16 desires (like power) are more important or more worthy than others, just by the order and ferver by which they are presented.Overall, certainly worth the read.

I've been tossed and turned by everything that seemed like a good idea, at the time ...job-wise, relationship-wise, and other-wise.I now know to say "No, that's not me!", while appreciating the other persons' differences, without getting offended, anymore.I can lose weight, without dieting, just by saying, "I don't have the desire to eat, right now"...and do something else, to help someone else. I'll just eat when I'm hungry, and not bored.I don't feel weird, anymore, by not being a "social butterfly", but now I can appreciate the "social butterfly", without being envious...What a RELIEF!!!!!!!We all have different gifts and talents and We All Need Each Other!

The book doesn't really lead you to an answer to its title question. It can reveal your motivations in life - but only if you're mindful of yourself already. This book tries to give you general suggestions, based on your motivations, that can lead you to a "better" life. Overall I found it interesting but not particularly thought provoking or revealing. During the process of analyzing your motivations, it would be easy for someone to misrepresent himself either by self deception or simple naivete. I'd skip this one unless you're really drifting in life, or don't know that you like music, or that you're promiscuous, or that you value your personal independence.

The Reiss Profile is something I across only recently and this is a book that describes how it works. It is interesting and it covers the information behind the Reiss profile. Good for anyone who has ever done the Reiss profile and would like to read up more about it. But if you were like me who is clueless about how it works, this is a good read, though you may want to find a trainer trained to carry out the test to find out your profile more accurately.

Human motives are complex and modified by culture, experiences, beliefs and values. Embracing, to a certain degree, but surely extending A. Maslow's thinking with regards to needs and wants, Dr. Steven Reiss proposes a scientific research arguing that, because of genetic variations in basic desires, no two people enjoy the same experience in the same way.According to his research 16 basic desires drive much of human behavior. Every desire creates an opposite desire and the experience has a subjective/relative importance depending on the intensity of the feeling and importance attached to it. Difference in basic desires between people might lead to miscommunication, misunderstandings and conflict.With no significance in their order, as he presented them in the book, here are the 16 desires:POWER The desire to influence othersINDEPENDENCE Desire for self-relianceCURIOSITY Desire for knowledgeACCEPTANCE Desire for inclusionORDER Desire for organizationSAVING Desire to collect thingsHONOR Desire to be loyal to one's parents and heritageIDEALISM Desire for social justiceSOCIAL CONTACT Desire for companionshipFAMILY Desire to raise one's own childrenSTATUS Desire for social standingVENGEANCE Desire to get evenROMANCE Desire for sex and beautyEATING Desire to consume foodPHYSICAL ACTIVITY Desire for exercise of musclesTRANQUILLITY Desire for emotional calmThe book is easy to read, some may consider it too long or too repetitive but, sincerely, I enjoyed it over a couple of days spent at the beach during my holidays in the Philippines, Boracay Island.I would recommend it to all the people interested in having a better knowledge of human nature. It is a point of view worth reading.All the best,CiaoFrancesco