“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
Winston Churchill – ESTP
The ESTPs
are known for their exciting, action-oriented personalities and their skill at living totally in the moment. They are often called The Doers and it’s not hard to see why. They thrive on seeing opportunities as they arise and making the most of them. They enjoy a fast-paced lifestyle with new and exciting challenges at every turn. They are intensely logical, but also have a devil-may-care charm that makes them fun and thrilling to be around. ESTPs use their masterful Extraverted Sensing (Se) to live fully in the moment, noticing every sight, sound, and texture around them. They are extremely aware of their environment and often have a strong physical awareness and grace. They use their auxiliary Introverted Thinking (Ti) to keep a logical perspective when making decisions and to obtain a vast breadth of knowledge in all of their interests.
You’ll find famous ESTPs throughout history with a number of roles and talents; some names include Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Harry Houdini.
What Does ESTP Stand For?
E = Extroversion. ESTPs focus on the outer world of experiences, people, and events before focusing inwards.
S = Sensing. ESTPs focus more on the concrete, existing world than the world of theories and abstractions.
T = Thinking. ESTPs focus on the impersonal aspects of a decision (pros and cons, logic, cause and effect) before looking at personal impact and emotional dynamics.
P = Perceiving. ESTPs prefer having a flexible, spontaneous lifestyle. They tend to mix work with play rather than finishing one project before moving onto another.
ESTP Motivations and Weaknesses:
- Driving Force: To experience life in a fully immersive way. To chase adventure, make things happen, and seize the day!
- Backup Strength: An analytical and logical perspective on how things work together. A unique ability to find leverage points and troubleshoot in any situation.
- Weaknesses: May be so caught up in the moment that they lose sight of future consequences. May struggle to read-between-the-lines or anticipate the far-reaching effects of current actions.
- Stressors: A rigid, highly-structured schedule, emotionally chaotic environments, micro-management, lack of freedom, controlling relationships, having to sit still for too long.
ESTP Personality Traits:
Every individual has unique factors that make them totally one-of-a-kind. However, these are some common characteristics of average to healthy ESTPs:
- They have a spontaneous, casual approach to life
- They like to take action and make things happen
- They are usually very energetic and quick to respond to incoming data
- They are usually “street-smart” and clever
- They stay calm in crises’ and can think quickly in make-or-break situations
- They have a detailed and vivid storehouse of past experiences and facts
- They are very aware of what’s relevant in any given situation
- They focus primarily on the present moment
- They enjoy taking things apart to figure out how they work
ESTP Careers:
Spontaneity, action, and variety are all things that excite ESTPs in a career. They want to solve problems on-the-spot and make immediate improvements in the world around them. Rather than the humdrum 9-5 office job, they crave something that makes use of their tactical abilities. Whether they’re a firefighter or detective, they enjoy responding to immediate problems without a lot of rules or restrictions. They also need some free time after completing assignments to interact with friends and take a breather. Variety and contrasting experiences excite these types.
Career Suggestions: Pilot, Stockbroker, Investigator, Paramedic, Investor, Entrepreneur, Performer, Carpenter, Engineer, Marine biologist, Salesperson, Marketer, Personal Trainer, Professional Athlete.
Famous ESTPs:
Alexander the Great, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, George S. Patton, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Douglas MacArthur, Arthur Conan Doyle, James Randi, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Edison, Alfred Hitchcock, Harry Houdini, Jack Nicholson, Madonna, Helen Mirren, Mila Kunis
Your Important ESTP Links:
24 Signs That You’re an ESTP, the Daredevil Personality Type
The Flirting Style of the ESTP Personality Type
10 Reasons Why ESTPs Make Amazing Friends
The Shadow of the ESTP Personality Type
The Top 7 Gift Ideas for ESTPs
3 Things You’d Never Do, Based On Your Myers-Briggs® Personality Type
From Fragmented to Complete: What Each Myers-Briggs® Personality Type Needs for Wholeness
Here’s Which Lord of the Rings Character You Are, Based on Your Myers-Briggs® Personality Type
Why Each of the Myers-Briggs® Personality Types Feels Like People Don’t “Get” Them
How the 16 Myers-Briggs® Personality Types Feel About Social Media
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