The Dog Star: Breed Specific
(The Dog Star is a symbol of power, will, and steadfastness of purpose, and exemplifies the One who has succeeded in bridging the lower and higher consciousness. – Astrological Definition)
I’ve now had the profound pleasure of living with two wonderful white German Shepherd dogs. Koufax and Bentley share many breed-specific traits: great with children; defend you with their lives; incredibly smart; return when called; immediately house trained; exercised in the yard according to certain routines; and so forth.
But, they are two different personalities. Koufax was aloof, would accept a pet from a visitor, but then go about his own business. He didn’t like to be touched except on the head, rarely wagged his tail, would chew on toys but never fetch, would grab my food when he could. Bentley is a fetching machine, wags his tail all the time, wants to interact continually with visitors, and is happy learning tricks and commands; eating is pleasant but not a priority—Buddy Beagle regularly steals some of his food if we’re not careful.
Same breed, two personalities.
Consultants require certain breed-specific, common traits: self-esteem, command of language, critical thinking skills, sense of urgency, speed, value-based fees, and so on. But within the ranks of successful consultants, other traits may vary: ease of writing, comfort in speaking publicly, preferable types of clients and/or content, involvement in delivery, staying local or going global, and so forth.
Within the common parameters of success, there are a lot of good ways to do things. Both Koufax and Bentley have been incredible with my grandchildren, absorbing knocks, pets, leaning, and other assaults. But Bentley tolerates other dogs while Koufax didn’t look kindly on labs for some reason. Not his “buyer.” Koufax would sit calmly without bothering you while Bentley would rather be involved in the transaction at hand, assertively so. (This is not adult vs. puppy at this point.)
If you’re true to the best aspects of the breed, you can set your own preferences and even idiosyncrasies. Buddy Beagle, after all, is a highly successful Beagle who has had to fight two full-grown Shepherds. That’s not part of his breed, but has been individually required for his own success. You may have to bite the bullet and pick up the phone to call people, because hiding behind email won’t be successful.
If you don’t have the best traits of the breed, however, your individual preferences probably won’t be enough to elevate you to the highest levels of success.
© Alan Weiss 2013
