MDNA Gifts and Understanding Your Results

Congratulations, you now know your MDNA Gifts. This is the start to experiencing True Joy in your work and life.

Now what? 

Understanding what your results mean will help you get started. For starters, read more on your primary and secondary Gifts.

  1. UCD :: Unyielding Conviction & Design

  2. SSA :: Sacrificial Service & Authority

  3. KWR :: Knowledgeable Wisdom & Responsibility

  4. EIA :: Empowering Inspiration & Attraction

  5. CVS :: Compelling Value & Stewardship

  6. DLF :: Dominion Leadership & Freedom

  7. IAF :: Intuitive Alignment & Fulfillment

MDNA 3.0: Intrinsically Motivated for True Joy

In MDNA 3.0, "True Joy" is defined as: "Knowing you are in the right place at the right time with the right people doing the right thing." This is where you are operating at the intersection of your Purpose, Passions and Potential.  

The Intrinsic Motivational Spectrum 

In MDNA 3.0, we also developed the Intrinsic Motivational Spectrum (IMS). Those familiar with MDNA will see the difference from previous versions where we split the top two gifts into a "Promise" and "Personality." The IMS puts all seven Gifts on a timeline like this:

Our research has shown that looking at your gifts as a spectrum provides far greater insight. Here is Ed Kang's, creator of MDNA, UCD/EIA IMS:

 

As you can see, Ed's entire IMS is on the left side. This explains the reason he admits to going relationally offline very easily. In order to achieve true professional success and personal fulfillment, Ed must work on Joyful Relationships (which is not easy for him). 

Personal Development

The next insight is one that was confirmed by understanding the brain science of intrinsic motivation. Since our top two gifts reveal a spectrum, we can see areas where to focus our personal development. In Ed's case, he should focus on learning to express the attributes of an SSA and KWR (which is also not easy for him at all, especially SSA). But before you do this, make sure you have developed as much proficiency in your top two.

Truth in Action vs Joyful Relationships

MDNA 3.0 reveals how you are intrinsically motivated for True Joy. To do this, you must operate in both "Truth in Action" and "Joyful Relationships." Your top two gifts provide a unique picture of how your brain tends to work. This is the reason we spread the gifts across a spectrum to illustrate this point.

Brain Science

Through our research, we have found that in order to experience True Joy, you need to be using both sides of your brain. We know there is a lot of belief that some people are more right or left brained, but neuroscience is showing that we really should be operating from both sides at the same time.

The key here is, if you are are too left brained with Truth in Action, you will go relationally offline because you lose Joyful Relationships. The opposite is true. Too far on the right brain and, although you have relationships, you will be overloaded and unable to put Truth in Action. Being on both extremes is sub optimal for professional success and personal fulfillment. This does not mean certain gifts are right or left brained. It simply shows your proclivity to be left or right so you can learn to be both.