The Laborer
You are a LABOR, or LABORER type. Laborers are the glue that holds people and society together. They have natural instincts for community and enjoy gatherings centered around food and family, believing that the way to the heart is through the stomach, that it is easier to know someone over a meal and a drink than in hours of stuffy conversation. Laborers are also the most caring of the Dharma Types, and gravitate to industries and professions that succor, nourish, or otherwise tend to the needy. Laborers make great social workers, nurses, or therapists and can often be found working ‘in the trenches’ with the people they serve.
Sometimes people who take the test might say, ‘I would really hate to be a Labor type, or an Outsider!’ This underscores the false belief that one type is better than another. The truth, as discussed in The Dharma Types: Secrets of the Five Ancient Castes that will Transform Your Life is that all types are equal, with different roads to happiness. But if any type were to be considered complete it would be the Laborer, who needs little from the outside world to feel self-fulfilled. When Oprah Winfrey works to build up her community, she does so out of her natural sense of service, not necessarily an expectation of reward.
Every type receives something by the natural operation of its talents. In protecting others, Warriors gain fame and power. From enriching people the Merchant gets money and gratitude. By enlightening the masses, the Educator earns respect, and by shaking up society, Outsiders find their own unique expression in the world. But the Laborer has no such agenda: the reward of good work is more work.
Laborers are practical and pragmatic, and highly skilled in their area of expertise, though not necessarily well-rounded. As a result, they may gravitate to the Service and Trades industries. They enjoy ‘building’ things, be it families or skyscrapers. They also make great Engineers and Accountants because of their ability to focus on a task. Sometimes, this narrow focus can become habit-forming, and they become dogmatic, literal-minded, and evangelistic, unable to see other points of view.
The Labor type is a creature of habit and enjoys his daily rituals. Routine and simplicity are more satisfying to him than the hustle and bustle of busy life. In later years, Laborers may yearn for the ways of the past and hearken to a day when life was more simple. They are also the most superstitious of types, believing things with an ingrained faith that is hard to budge. Laborers are tactile and respond well to touch. Eminently practical, they understand things viscerally, in the ‘gut’, rather than abstractly as a concept. Pavarotti could not read or write music… but boy could he sing! They have to see and feel something to believe it.
Famous Laborers include: Marlon Brando,Maria Callas, Deepak Chopra, Dick Cheney, Willem Dafoe, Harrison Ford, Al Gore, George Harrison, Larry King, Kevin Kostner, Dean Martin, Roy Orbison, Al Pacino, Luciano Pavarotti, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Willis, and Oprah Winfrey.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg… for more information about your type, click to purchase the e-book, or learn how to live your purpose with the Decoding Your Dharma Online Course. If you want more clarity about your Dharma Type and have a personal reading with Simon or one of his Dharma Type Practitioners, book your one-on-one session here!
