Identity is about positive traits; it also can be negative traits. It’s a combination of things that you do; it’s your talents, it’s your strengths, it’s your passions, it’s what you love, it’s what you care about. What we try to do is teach people how to develop a positive identity of themselves so they can self-actualize their potential as a human being.
[Exerpt from interview with Dan Schawbel & Stedman Graham]
This Forbes publication by Dan Schawbel, is set as an interview with Stedman Graham who had recently published a book called “Identity: Your Passport to Success”. The interview mainly focuses on the importance of understanding your identity and how Stedman himself found his identity. He describes how identity is about positive traits and negative traits, talents and strengths, and passions and desires because they are what make you, you. He also touches on his own identity, saying that it took him a long time to truly find it. This allows the reader to relate profoundly with the article, because that is the case for many people. The article could potentially motivate or aid others struggling with their own identity. He continuously states how identity is not necessarily on the outside, but what is on the inside because the external factors of your identity are often superficial or heavily influenced by others. He shows through his own experiences that it is possible and important to create an identity for yourself that is unique so that you can succeed as an individual in the world. Not only does Stedman give tips to the readers on how to go about creating their identity, but is realistic about the struggles and hardships that come with finding said identity.