What’s Your Personal Ideology?

2025-11-26

You have an ideology whether you know it or not. Not political. We're not going there. I'm talking about your personal rulebook. The boundaries you set. The values you stand for. Who you actually are when nobody's watching. If you haven't decided who you are, the world will decide for you. They'll tell you who you're going to be and that's how you'll get treated. I created something years ago called a Who I Am document. It's my operating manual. My personal constitution. It establishes what I believe and serves as my foundation for...

You have an ideology whether you know it or not.

Not political. We're not going there. I'm talking about your personal rulebook. The boundaries you set. The values you stand for. Who you actually are when nobody's watching.

If you haven't decided who you are, the world will decide for you.

They'll tell you who you're going to be and that's how you'll get treated. I created something years ago called a Who I Am document. It's my operating manual. My personal constitution. It establishes what I believe and serves as my foundation for growth and change.

Featured Story

A client went political in the first 30 seconds of our group coaching call.

What's a guy to do when that happens? I let it go for about 30 seconds then closed it off. But by the end of the call, something became clear. She's so stuck in who she thinks she is that she won't listen to anybody else.

I don't understand that concept.

I know who I am. I have my own values. But I'm open to just about anything. You have a better way to lose weight than mine? I'm not going to defend my way. I'll listen and take yours if it works better.

That's the difference between knowing who you are and being stuck in who you think you are.

Important Points

If you don't decide who you are, the world decides for you and that determines how you get treated every single day.

Your personal ideology is your rulebook for life including how you see yourself, how you respond to situations, and who you hang out with.

Writing a Who I Am document forces you to be honest about who you really are, not who you think you are or want to be.

Memorable Quotes

"If you haven't decided what you're all about, then everybody else is just going to decide what you're all about and that's how you're going to get treated."

"You hang out with somebody that doesn't share your values? You're compromising. You're now becoming them."

"You can't be a grown ass adult if you don't know who you are, can you?"

Scott's Three-Step Approach

Document who you really are by writing down how you see yourself, how others see you, and how you'd like to be seen.

Define your non-negotiables including the values people must share to be in your life and how you respond in different situations.

Track yourself daily to discover who you really are versus who you think you are because the answers will surprise you.

Chapter Notes

1:05 - Personal ideology: it's about you not politics

1:56 - Do you really know who you are?

3:04 - Ideology defined: what you stand for in the world

4:05 - Creating my Who I Am document years ago

5:03 - Three questions that reveal everything about you