The Brain Types Conversation with Jeremy Niednagel

Something feels off when you “know your type,” but your relationships still repeat the same misunderstandings. We’re joined by Jeremy Niednagel, director of Beyond Personality, to explore brain typing a framework he’s helped develop over decades alongside his father, Dr. Jonathan Niednagel, that connects personality to neuroscience, observable behavior, and the way God uniquely designs each of us. It’s a conversation for anyone who loves MBTI but suspects there’s a deeper layer beneath the letters. 

We talk about what brain typing is at its core: patterns in how you think and how you move, and why those patterns can be confirmed in real life instead of living only in self-report. Jeremy shares how this work has shown up in pro sports and why his bigger passion is bringing it into families, dating, and marriage. We also dig into the difference between brain-driven behavior and choice-driven behavior, and how that one distinction can lower defensiveness, increase empathy, and create real breakthroughs in couple communication. 

From relationship readiness to faith, we keep coming back to the same takeaway: accurate self-awareness is an anchor. When stress hits, you don’t suddenly become a new person you revert to your strongest patterns. Knowing your wiring helps you listen better, judge less, and appreciate the way God built diversity for community, not competition. If you want to go deeper, Jeremy also shares where to find his work at braintypes.com and beyondpersonality.com, plus what he’s building next with an updated book aimed at practical, everyday use. 

Transcript

Welcome And Brain Typing Promise

Renee Richel 0:04

Hello loves. Welcome back. I am beyond excited to be sitting here with a very special guest, Jeremy Niednagel, if I'm saying that correctly, right? That is the director of Beyond Personality, who has spent more than 20 years working alongside his father, that is the founder of Brain Typing, Jonathan Niednagel, a devoted follower of Christ, husband to his wife, Danielle, and a father of six. Jeremy is deeply passionate about helping people understand how God has uniquely designed them, starting with the brain and how we think and move, which I love. I talk about it all the time. Through a blend of neuroscience, biblical insight, and real life experiences, his work has served families, couples, churches, schools, and leaders around the world with a heart of clarity, connection, and love for others' well-being. We are so excited to have this conversation with you today. Jeremy, welcome.

Jeremy Niednagel 1:14

Thank you. It's great to be here. It's great to talk to you, Renee.

Renee Richel 1:17

So our practices that are a little bit different but so similar, which roots back to who God intended us to be, to figure out our true DNA through all the ups and downs and hurdles and things like that. I am so excited to be having this conversation because when we match people, it's important to know who they are individually, to find them somebody that's equally yoked and compatible. So let's get started because I've got a ton of questions I want to ask you, and we'll probably have to have you on for a 2.0 version of with our audience questions too. So to kick it off, can you tell our audience what brain typing is exactly?

Jeremy Niednagel 1:56

Well, uh to say it succinctly, I would say that it started off with the Myers-Briggs information. So it was really a psychology at first, a psychological approach. And we felt my father is the pioneer of it, as you said, or I think you noted, um, basically over time, we felt that there had to be a neuroscientific underpinning to what we observed in the psychological traits. So brain typing really is a way of taking psychology to the next level and measuring it with what we know about the brain. And so we still have 16 types, as the Myers-Briggs uh information has, but we have since translated that information to be more brain descriptive. And uh, we've said for 30 years now that it's an inborn, indelible way of identifying different patterns of how God has designed brains. And so we call it brain typing, which is pretty self-explanatory. But uh brain typing really is just a way of identifying how you think and how you move and how those go together. And uh we can prove it through either either means by explaining how you are in in in a in an intellectual way or how you are in a physical, you know, athletic, how it manifests itself that way. So it's really a uh a safe way to evaluate people because it's it's a way you can prove it one way or the other, and that you don't have to just take my word for it. So that's kind of a roundabout way of explaining it. But um, I would just say that brain typing is is much more than brain typing. I think it's the whole person, it's not just your brain, but it also relates to gender, it relates to handedness and uh some other factors

Brain Typing In Sports And Family

Jeremy Niednagel 3:24

too.

Renee Richel 3:24

So yeah, and you work with some of the elite NFL or professional players in the regards of sports, right?

Jeremy Niednagel 3:31

Right. So, really that's we've been working in pro sports for almost 30 years, and all the top pro sports are presently working in the NBA and the NFL. And I would say that's really the reason why people don't haven't really heard about us much is because we do no self-promoting, we don't do any advertising. Well, for all this time, really, we've we've made our income from helping in the sports world because it's there's a lot of money there, there's a lot of need there, but it's not where our hearts are as Christians, honestly, and that helping people, families, individuals is is way more rewarding and and what we feel God is calling us to. So I'm just I'm here today, kind of in a new capacity because I'm I'm working on a new book and we want to take this to families more than we have in the past. And so, yeah, really that's been our our calling card has been sports, but but obviously sports uh don't do a whole lot for people's souls. So so I'm I'm really excited.

Renee Richel 4:23

Well, I also say it's great to also lead them on faith because it kind of talks them there because we know everything decision-wise we make, especially on the game. You got to be focused and you need to know, you know, your your own brain well enough of how you make decisions to be good.

Jeremy Niednagel 4:39

Yes. And and also I wanted to jump in headfirst when I was in my early 20s with my dad and go work for teams and do great things with brain typing. Here I am in my late 40s now, and I'll just say that I can see how God has providentially used it, where I have six kids. I've grown up, uh I grew up with the information from the time I was around 11 or 12. And then now that I've parented six kids, have one daughter married, I've definitely been able to live out how brain typing can work in a family and how you can use it in parenting. And I wouldn't have known that earlier. So I can kind of see, or not kind of, but I can really see how God has used it in my own life to be able to be an advocate for this information, but in a balanced way with this with more discernment than I would have had. And so really I I've I'm very uh passionate about this information, but not just excited, but even having lived it, it's it's meant a lot more to me. And now that's why I'm wanting to uh share it with everybody that we can, you know.

Renee Richel 5:30

Wow, in six kids. I mean, God bless you. That is a lot of personalities all in one. What is the age range of your children?

Jeremy Niednagel 5:39

Four to twenty one.

Renee Richel 5:40

That's a lot. That is a lot of personality. So it was uh it's a gift from God that He equipped you with that.

Jeremy Niednagel 5:47

I really, yeah, I've told many people I really believe that our children have been our laboratory. And I don't treat them as such, but that that has really been the backstory of it to just learn so much by raising them.

Renee Richel 5:57

So that's awesome. I love it. So you know what you're talking about for sure. Uh okay, do you see a common thread with your beyond personality clients from professional athletes to engage couples and how you are able to help them?

Jeremy Niednagel 6:13

Yes. Well, it depends on what they want to achieve. So we over the years, I think what we've learned is that to become actualized is everyone's goal. And actualization really is just becoming self-aware. Um, if you're familiar with AA and how they help people, you know, you recognize you have a problem in order to deal with it. In our sphere, it's more of recognizing who you are, not what you want to be, but really who you are, and then dealing with that accordingly so that you can become your best self, you know, the way God intended. So I would say that that's been the common thread is it doesn't matter if it's an athlete or a couple seeking to get married, you know, we just try to help them identify, be able to look in the mirror and say, okay, this is how God made me. And that's good news. If there's something I see here that I don't like, that's something that I can give attention to. And that's what we try to encourage people. Is it's not we're not always popular for telling them sometimes things that they might have to re-evaluate about themselves, but but we believe that that's the most important thing is to start with the truth and work from there.

Renee Richel 7:11

Absolutely. Um I always tell everybody you got to go back to utero, to who you are today to understand your highlight reel, right? The uh version of what you do. But I mean, our brain is our our strongest muscle in the regards we have, that it's important to continue to exercise it, probably, I'm sure you would say, after we discover this, because if we let it go to much, no different than working out, we revert back into our habits.

Jeremy Niednagel 7:35

Absolutely.

MBTI, Love Languages, And Brain Blueprint

Renee Richel 7:38

Okay. We are a big fan of the Myers Braggs. And I always say because it's like the godfather of assessments out there. The letters kind of make sense for the majority, and it's just if everybody takes the same, it's like comparing apples to apples. So on that type of indicator, where do you see the MBTI as helpful in navigating self-awareness and relationship readiness?

Jeremy Niednagel 8:02

Well, I think it all has to do with how aware we are of ourselves if we're utilizing that information to be able to uh correctly identify what we are, which is true for any of the measuring techniques that are out there. And so that's really what created the hiccup for my father. He was uh using personality evaluations for his work 30 plus years ago and found that even though the information he thought was solid, he felt that the appropriation of the information was flawed and that he would go to conventions and people would say, This is they would wear the the name badges, this is my type. And then after getting to know them, he would kind of see have have trouble with seeing what they thought they were with what he would observe. And that led him down a path of trying to understand why are people why is this information so good, but why do I see such variance between people who say that this is this is my personality type, and then they come across differently. So um it was when he started working with children that he saw saw them in their more uh original state, and and that helped him to pick up on some of the preferences and how they actually manifest themselves. But so the the shorter answer to what you asked is Myers Briggs has to do with how you see yourself, whereas brain typing has to do with who you are, and it may be difficult to understand initially, but if you take time to explore it, you'll understand that that is who you are. So persona and personality can be measured well with the Myers and Briggs, but your innate blueprint, we would say, is more uh what brain typing can bring to the surface. And so once you understand your brain type, then you can make sense of your personality and see if they either match or if they're different, then you can understand how your nurture has impacted your nature and that that that can help you parse your your whole life and make sense of uh what's happened and and where you are today uh in light of that. So I think Myers Briggs is great for measuring your personality, to say it another way, and that brain typing can measure much deeper and and help you understand that the masks you wear, so to speak, your person, your persona, uh those can change, but your brain type doesn't change over time. Your brain does change, there's elasticity there that changes your whole life, but the overall tenets of your brain type do not change from birth to to your to your you know to death.

Renee Richel 10:12

So right. And so, and just a follow-up question to that, we often pair that with the five love languages by Gary Chapman, which I'm sure you know that. Sure, yeah. Do you use that at all? Or how do you feel? Like that gives us a little bit more insight, especially when it comes to dating, like what they feel or want when it comes to love languages in that chemistry department.

Jeremy Niednagel 10:32

Right. So I we would say that there's per pertinence to all the different measurements that are out there, love languages or Enneogram or go down the list. They're all helpful and they all are pertinent, but I wouldn't say that like spiritual gifts, let's say I think brain typing relates to spiritual gifts, but one brain type doesn't equal one spiritual gift. And I think that love languages would even be probably less specific. So I think that there's a there's a pertinence there, there's a connection there, but uh but certain types are capable of more than one.

Renee Richel 10:59

Sure. Well, I mean, the truth of it is really dive in to know yourself because that's the best superpower you have, is understanding yourself. But then I'm gonna send everybody after this podcast over to check out you to get a deeper dive in putting it all together.

Dating Readiness And Openness Limits

Renee Richel 11:14

For someone in the season of singleness or starting a new relationship, a romantic relationship, where would you tell them to start in regards to understanding brain typing and themselves?

Jeremy Niednagel 11:27

Once you understand yourself, that's the most important place to start. But even if you can't do that accurately, if you can even get some of the aspects of your type uh that are that matter most to you and then and then use those of as a pivot point, then that can help you. So what I mean to say is brain typing, uh, I can do it, let's say, completely, but someone who's new to it, you know, has a harder time of of handling the information accurately, but they can at least get the main things or the obvious things that they see that in themselves or in or in the person they're interested in. And once you understand what you care most about in another person, if you can look to see what the manifestations are that are attributed to that, like if you want someone who's real relational, let's say, and then there's a brain type aspect called we call animate, which is how we identify that part of the brain. If that's what you care about to find someone who's more relational, then that's the place to start. And so that way when you when you're getting to know people or or you're you know you're fishing, so to speak, that you can look for that trait in another person and realize it's not a choice-driven uh uh trait, it's actually a brain-driven trait. And that's why it's so important that you get that earlier on so that later on you don't get surprised. I mean, it's something it's an anchor that you can hold on to about somebody that once you understand the different manifestations of the brain type aspects, then then it gives you something that's more secure so that you're not just being tossed about by all the options that are out there. So I would just say that using it in a simpler way is the only way you can do it to start off, you know, but it's to look for the obvious traits in people that everyone can see. Really, what what we do is we help people apply a system to what they have already noticed their whole lives. Like everybody when they go in public, they notice different micro expressions or different nuances and personality, and they see those. They're not blind to those, but what we help them understand is how those are related to the brain. So it's kind of just I don't know, I'm kind of rambling on that, but I'm just trying to say is you start simple and and expand from there, you know, with what's most important to you, and then understanding what are the biggest parts of you that you can identify. So even if you don't know your whole type, you could at least know some of the aspects of your type.

Renee Richel 13:32

So I have a follow-up question to that. Is there a way to strategize, to reprogram our brains to being more open-minded if we're more analytical? Because I find in my line of work all day long is I always say, this is God's time, not your time. You're only one side of the equation when it comes to a romantic relationship. And it does take compromise, it does take discussion, but it's not always what you imagine. What can it only be your way of what you know? So I'm just curious, is there a way to uh definitely not brainwash, but strategize more of an openness? If I could only figure out what that recipe is to some people, my job would be so much easier.

Jeremy Niednagel 14:14

So the question is how do we make people more open?

Renee Richel 14:17

Well, as you go through discovering who somebody is, um, you know, is there a way for somebody that's, let's say, more analytical? And I sit with this with a lot of my just clients in general that are just more analytical, which I love. Um, but part of falling in love is the falling part, which is not something you can prove. There's no science that will, you know, measure it in that regard of why and when and who you'll fall in love with. I'm just my question is as you go through this and you sit with people and you're going through their type, do you help them to also be more open to the different personality types that they come across?

Jeremy Niednagel 15:00

Well, there half of the types are more open naturally anyway. The other half that are more analytical, like you're saying, those are certain brain types that are that way. So um that's a tough one because there are a lot of types that don't want to be open now or ever.

Renee Richel 15:16

Okay. How do you see more of God's design as you study the brain?

Jeremy Niednagel 15:22

That's a great question. I think the biggest thing that we learn from it is that we've been created for community and not for just being alone in our thinking. And that uh once we understand the different 16 types and how they're all complementary to each other, then you can have a greater appreciation for our own limitations and our need of each other. And to be able to become the best you is not a solitary process, but one of of community and being open to others' input. So I would say that is a beautiful, we see that beautiful symmetry of how God's created people through that. You know, when Paul talks about uh who we are in First Corinthians, he says, Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you didn't receive? And if you did receive it, why do you act as if you hadn't received it? And I love that passage because it's it's it's the same for for your brain type. Once you understand who you are, how God's made you, then you know, you don't really you don't have an arrogance about it, you don't have a boasting about it, you just it's a humble acceptance of this is how he's made me. So then therefore, whatever I'm good at, I don't have to judge other people and I can uh appreciate the differences that God has made. And so I would say that that really just all the aspects of community come to the surface when when I look at how brain typing um informs us. And then then the first Peter passage I have to also mention in chapter four, he says, each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others. And that's that's really the goal of of understanding yourself is to know how can I best shine for God and serve others and love others the way that he's made me, and then how can I appreciate their differences too, instead of just being offended by their differences or disliking people because they're different from me. But but really just appreciating that God, it was it's his clear intention in creation to have diversity, and it's the spice of life. And I think if we reject that, we reject him.

Renee Richel 17:12

Yeah, and we wouldn't want us to all be the exact same. So every day we can actually be grateful he created us to all be uniquely different, right?

Jeremy Niednagel 17:20

Yes, that's certainly the case.

Couples Communication And Brain Driven Habits

Renee Richel 17:22

And uh okay, what challenges have you helped counsel in couples uh with your specific communication strategies?

Jeremy Niednagel 17:32

Probably the biggest thing is this is verbiage that we got from Dr. Eamon, who we used to work with quite a bit. He uh he uses the phrases brain driven versus choice-driven behavior. And um I'm quick to point out that not everything is brain type related. Even though this is, I feel, profound information that it can better everyone's lives. It's also true to say that not everything's brain type related. But uh, but if you can understand the difference between what is brain driven versus choice driven, then you will make great headway in your relationships. So I would say that um the biggest uh challenges is is helping understand people with opposite types who who really can't get themselves to accept that the other person thinks differently, not from their choices, but from at their actual neuroanatomy, the pattern the brain gave them uh helps them in a way or causes them to take in information differently than they do. And so once once they can understand that, then they can have a breakthrough with communication. But until then, they're always going to try to get that other person to jump across the the the canyon of think their thinking to their own way of thinking or their own way of hearing. And um, so that's that's the biggest challenge, really, when people have brain types that are very opposite. Dr. Robert Sapolski is somebody I used to learn from in a lot of uh I did used to go through a lot of his lectures, and he's a brilliant neuroscientist from Stanford, and he just wrote a book uh a couple years ago. So I want to read the title because it's really telling. He's a brilliant man called Determined a Science of Life Without Free Will. And in that book, he argues that basically there's just a chain of of events in our lives that cause us to behave and act the way we do, and that really there's no free will. And uh I I do certainly do not agree with that, but I think that there's a lot of evidence there that should humble us as far as why we do what we do and why we behave as we do. And if you can understand that there's a good scientific argument for um for that, then you can you can give a lot more credence to the differences in people around you and not be so judgmental and harsh toward the way that other people think. So my point in mentioning that is just that I would love to do a debate with Dr. Sabolski about that. Like how how are we different if there's so much that is seemingly determined by our genetics. But suffice it to say that uh God we know God gave us a soul and a spirit, and that alone is unique on top of some other aspects of who we are, that we're really we're not genetically determined. But what I'm getting at is this this idea of brain-driven behavior is much bigger than people realize. We we tend to act like everything's choice driven, and it's just not. There's a whole lot, a lot of us that that uh that really is uh predictable. And once you get to know people, you see that more and more, right? Really how how predictable they can be at times. But the beauty is that God gave us a spirit that that with his spirit in us can cause great changes and great growth. And that's the thing I like to focus on is that you're not set in cement with what your brain type is. There's great elasticity in the brain that you can change.

Renee Richel 20:22

Well, and our brain is our most powerful tool. And I love all the research and fascination behind this because I can't wait from even just more development, bringing it to us, we sharing it with our community, because it is one of those things that if your brain's not in tune or in check, there's so many things that fall apart around you, too. So I love what you're doing. What is the best way to learn about how your partner is wired?

Jeremy Niednagel 20:49

Okay, well, um study them, listen to them. Listening is a lost art. I'm I'm writing a children's book about that right now, actually. And uh, I think if people would just learn to listen, that they would learn a lot. But that's that's kind of obvious, but it's also difficult for people nowadays, I think, in our generation. But um when we listen to them, then we understand what makes them tick. And that's and people are, you know, you talk to a man about himself and he will listen for hours. Um that's that's true. We we love ourselves and we love to be known and and and um loved and affirmed for who we are. And I so I would say that that's the biggest key is that um when I when we do evaluations with people and we have a husband and wife or uh a couple in the room, it's amazing what the other person learns about the other when we're talking to them just because we're asking questions.

Renee Richel 21:37

Right.

Jeremy Niednagel 21:37

And you think, well, wait, haven't you already talked about this before? And so often they they say no, we haven't. And it's just because they they maybe don't do that that legwork of actually caring enough to listen to all the you know the the things that are important to them.

Renee Richel 21:50

So so people got the whole theory God gave us two ears and one mouth. Listen to speak, right?

Jeremy Niednagel 21:56

Very much so. Yeah. So yeah, it'll it'll come. to the surface I th I think also is true is that when we have uh if we have two partners in the room talking and and if one describes the other it's usually amazing how they can describe the other person better than the person can describe themselves. And so I would say too that that's such an invaluable resource is that if you're trying to um to know more about yourself to listen to your spouse or your girlfriend or whatever the relationship is but because people who know us and live with us, they they see us very well. They really do.

Renee Richel 22:31

They might judge us and our motives wrongly but they usually see the outside pretty well yeah and I was going to say I mean we're always so quick to you know put our opinion or our thoughts on somebody else than you know I I always say know and share our own highlight real because a lot of people just haven't discovered that and they don't really know but they're quick to to voice what somebody else says so I couldn't agree with you more on that. How are those that utilize your you know the brain typing able to benefit in their relationship with the Lord? I just love that you pair it so much with Christ and your faith and everything.

Jeremy Niednagel 23:04

Yeah. Um and honestly that that's a really humbling question because I'm quick to say that you know brain typing you don't need that to grow to be in love with the Lord and to serve him faithfully um but I would say that part of being fearfully and wonderfully made like it says in Psalms 139 is understanding more about yourself and the way God didn't just make you in a sloppy manner. He made you in a very specific manner. And teleology is one of my favorite words having to do with uh the purpose and meaning behind life and it's much more than the biology that we tend to focus on. And I would say that um brain typing helps us understand the the meaning and purpose of our lives better. Like God fashioned me this way so therefore he must have something for me that's going gonna go along with that to use my gifts he's made me in a special way for a special calling and you know it may be the background it may not be the the spotlight but it's still something specific to how he's made me and so I would say that that's the biggest way. And it also unburdens us to know you know God made some people like Moses who didn't like to be in front of people and other people like Paul who are all too willing to teach and preach. And so even understanding your particular brain type can help you to feel like God is pleased with you even if you're not doing the great things that your neighbor is. He wants you to be faithful in the things that that you that he made you good at and not the things that are you know necessarily he might call you out of your comfort zone but but uh I think that that can be really helpful too. We've seen a lot of people have a visible expression of relief to to understand that oh you know I've I've always had difficulty in this field and now I understand why. And and um so it's it can be very freeing to know that God loves you just the way that he made you and that he just wants you to be faithful in those gifts that he's

Parenting, Development, And Growth Under Stress

Jeremy Niednagel 24:51

given you.

Renee Richel 24:51

Well and I love your reference to Psalms 139 because it's you know none of us are perfect. He's made us imperfectly perfect and the only one that's perfect is God. And then it's so important to know your strengths, your weaknesses, what you're good at, what you're not at, what your talents are and stop wasting time in the areas he did not give you talents in yeah you work with a lot of like I'm fascinated now I've worked I started really my practice in the 50 to 60 year old demographic which has now gone into more of the 30 to 40 year old I'm still working with all I'm fascinated by the youth now, right? Because they are our future and they have so much more resources than any of us did 50, 60 year olds, seven year olds right back in the day. But I do feel like I'm like if kids can take the these kind of assessments, I'm wondering if you have uh you know uh students or or clients of that nature, but when they're 14, 15, maybe 18 starting to apply for colleges and they're still molding into who they are but I was like man if I knew my strengths and weaknesses a lot earlier on, I wouldn't have wasted so many times being in lanes that I should have not been in because I wasn't good at it and I got frustrated and I got emotion right all these things that do you find or do you work with the younger demographic or leaning towards that.

Jeremy Niednagel 26:10

Well certainly I mean parents and children is is our forte you know we can ascertain a brain type by the time they're two or three years old. Really? Okay we evaluated all our children before the age of one uh which we can't do with everybody because we still have behavioral because you can't even take the assessment at two right behavioral and just just their um phenotype just the expression of their genes even um facially and so on are indicative of their type so so yes starting early is great but not if that pigeonholes them into areas that they you know I I you talk about exploration and maybe you would have liked it to be a little more efficient a little more fine-tuned maybe that would be helpful with regard to frustration over time but but I think maybe too in God's providence sometimes he uses that to balance people out maybe to get um we've seen it where parents are very different from their children or vice versa and is that an accident or did God give them that to help you help them grow in areas that they might not have otherwise yeah like a lesson right in life too. Right and even when I mentioned Moses earlier you know Moses was used in a capacity that you wouldn't have expected. So God gave him Aaron to help him but I so we're also you know hesitant to ever say well just because you're this type you shouldn't go do this. No we've seen we've seen exceptions in every area I can tell you stories of athletes or professionals in business who have who have done well or or succeeded in areas that their brain type was not conducive to that but they just worked harder and and gave you know more effort and you know it was harder for them to achieve but for whatever reasons that that's what God had for them or you know it's hard to say how that happened but there's always those hell marry moments right I guess the best so you know just be open to what God's leading you to do. This is what you can do more efficiently but if you feel God's calling you to this other area then have at it.

Renee Richel 27:57

Sure, sure I love it. Can you give us a brief overview of the stages of mental and physical development and why it's important to understand those stages.

Jeremy Niednagel 28:08

So this is something my dad's more passionate about than I am because um I think it it's interesting to look at how if you look at the stages of human development mentally and physically that there is a uh tangential connection to uh the brain types and how they behave. So we use the number system one through 16 and the one brain type and the 16 are pulls apart. And if you look at uh an infant versus an adult you can see that how they behave are pulls apart as well. And so there's there's a connection there that that uh my father who's admittedly more scientifically minded than than I am I'm more practically I'm not a the technician I'm the practic practitioner. I would say my dad's more of the technician. And so he he uh identified that and found it to be perhaps telling about how God has made people even when Jesus said unless you come as a child you cannot come you know to me. There's brilliance in that uh and I think it's also helpful to understand that there are some people who uh really never go beyond the stages of one, two, three, four like in in infancy to toddlerhood, like in their thinking the way that they approach life. And then there are others who are the four 13, 14, 15 and 16 who have a very difficult time connecting with those who think more along the lines of a simple child. I'm cheapening the experience a little bit with how I'm describing it. But what I'm trying to say is we've we have found that to be entirely true that even if everyone in the room is an adult, when we talk to them about brain typing some will fall asleep in two minutes and some will be taking notes and asking questions. Right. And it's really because that they they think on that level in in accordance with the developmental process of human beings from from birth to maturity. So my dad found that really helpful to look at and and really only a few brain types would find that section uh interesting and the rest would kind of just it would go over their head as far as how that how that's to be applied at that well it it's all helpful because I always tell everybody prepare yourself for the long game and work it backwards.

Renee Richel 30:03

So if you want to be successful in a relationship and you're single, read married books, learn and study that was my moment 16 years ago I finally started reading marriage and relationship books to realize wait this is what I should have read all along this why doesn't work so that when I actually started then dating I was applying those things and I was further ahead so I wasn't wasting time because I read it.

Jeremy Niednagel 30:24

That's excellent.

Renee Richel 30:26

No it's it's very cool. So once someone is able to recognize both their genetically driven strengths and weaknesses what is the next step in growth you would say yeah uh that's really the million dollar question.

Jeremy Niednagel 30:40

Um we've had so many people say that to us. So if brain typing's true like who cares? Like what should I do about it? You know why does it matter? And I like to use the light bulb as an example you know the light bulb was created by a non-Christian and and yet we don't need it but we use it to our advantage uh because we can use the inventions of secular people. And Carl Jung wasn't a Christian as far as I can tell and yet his identification of different you know preferences and people has been invaluable to those who will utilize it and and think about it and where we are today with the other contributions. So I would just say that the best thing is to to live in that awareness of when you understand who you are and the people around you what they are, rejoice in that. Let it give you confidence let it give you humility at the same time to be confident in how God's made you and then to to be humble in the areas where you know that you just you're not going to be as strong as other people are you're not gonna be as proficient as other people are and that's okay. So I would I really would say that when life is hard when we have stress anxiety trauma worry fears when when those things happen it it shakes us to our core and that's when you really find out who you are and then you find out what you turn to so when everything's good and hunky dory you know we're all the same but when we have stress and pressure then we revert to where our brain is strongest and that's really what bring where brain typing comes out the m the the best you know the most it's the most applicable at that point. And so I would just say that that really the storms of life will come and if you understand yourself rightly then you won't be so confused when you're when you're in those dark times and in those hard times or you're having to make big decisions that you'll really understand where God is where your strengths are and you won't be confused about that. So whether it's in a relationship or whether you're in a big game and it's the you know two minutes to go at the end of the game, whatever it is, we can tell you like this is really where you're strongest and you can have confidence in that. And it should give you an anchor or a uh a compass to know how to handle the rest of you know what you're dealing with. So I think if we're all honest that when we when we get shaken we we don't even know where to look you know we we get shaken and you know we should look to the Lord first but I'm saying if we understand how he's made us and gifted us. And I I didn't mention it earlier because it's kind of silly in one sense but we had this forest friends analogy where we used 16 different mammals that live in the forest and we we use them as an example to show that that if you understand you're a skunk or a squirrel or a bear or whatever it is like you understand those are distinctions that are meaningful and if you understand what you are then you're not going to try to act like other uh creatures that God has made and it's the same in the human realm that we're that different. A skunk and a squirrel and a bear are very different. I I'm here to say that that's how different people are and in fact when we give the questionnaire that you talked about at the beginning like do we have a test for people we've had people tell us they'll take the test that we do have and they'll say this is a this test is kind of ridiculous because people would only answer the questions one way. That's what they'll say to us and we'll say uh no we actually have people who answer every one of those questions differently than you have. And so it's like it's really a myopic way of thinking to think that people are just like you are. And there are a lot of people out there who think that way when push comes to shove they actually think that everyone's going to be hyper logical and consistent or they're gonna be super visceral and emotive and care you know about that first and and it's just not the way that people are. They're very different.

Renee Richel 34:04

Well there are a lot of people I find all the day long I'm like not everybody thinks like you so get out of your own lane and try to un to see what's surrounding you right instead of like if you're quick to always make the same decisions that you think other people would make you're always going to be in the same lane of your same situation over and over and over again.

Book, Websites, And Closing Invite

Renee Richel 34:23

Yes so how can people I love all of this I truly believe you and I could talk for probably 10 hours because I'm so passionate about the human brain right um how can people find you and please mention the book that you maybe it's not out yet or if you have a book or you're writing I'm working on that.

Jeremy Niednagel 34:39

Yeah so my dad's been sick for a while he's had cancer for almost 10 years and so our materials have become outdated and um because we haven't needed them for our professional sports work uh we just haven't produced them. And so we use a lot of our reports and so on to to give the information to the teams we work with. But I'm presently working on a just an overhaul of all of our information to make it practical for families couples children you know uh individuals and so that's a book I'm I'm hoping to finish this spring to have available that will take you know our last uh book was published in 2011 so it's been a while and this will have the latest information which will be so much better than what we've previously published and more practical. And I'm glad I I feel like in some ways like Solomon with David that God's made me differently for my dad to take this information and make it more practical than ever. And I think that's what you know people's attention spans need nowadays is something that's you know that they can in the heat of the moment can still remember because if people can't remember it quickly or easily then they're not going to apply it. So I really I I'm the first to say that even if you think you know there's a lot of people that I I I kind of jokingly say my my dad used to make people think that he could walk on water because he would impress them with what he knew. But really that doesn't help anybody it what helps people is that they can remember what you told them at the time of need. And that's one reason um oh I could go off on some some speakers today who I feel do that. They have a big following and it's because they are giving people the nuggets of truth they need in a way that they can digest.

Renee Richel 36:04

So sure 100% so how do people find you and your website and when your book does come out please send it to me because we will make sure we promote it out to everybody that wants to go deeper than our just surface questions that we ask with the Myers Briggs and the uh per in the love languages.

Jeremy Niednagel 36:19

Yeah so uh uh brain brain types dot com is our main website uh beyondpersonality dot com is our sister site which is more of my thing um and you know I I will say like um with regard to the Myers Briggs that I I always try to be keep abreast on what's going on in that community. And I did notice recently that the most according to the MBTI the most common types uh in America are either the ISFJ or the ISTJ and then a recent Harvard study you know came out with the the idea that the INFJ was the most prevalent according to their testing. And what's interesting is that according to our evaluation method that that actually those types are among the least found in society. Which is what the ENFJ the back brain left brain types are the least prolific in society in America. Okay. According to our experience that we've observed for 30 years. And so um I bring that up because I want to I want to appreciate the relationship we have with Myers and Briggs but I also want to say that if you really want to get in the nuts and bolts of of what we're measuring, then it's it's it's a shocking thing for me to realize that they're saying these types are the most prolific where we're saying they're actually one of the some of the least found in society. And and it's really something because I think what people want to be is they want to be mysterious and enigmatic and so they want to be back brained introverts and they want to be you know dependable like a like a judge judger they call it you know the left brain dominant people are and and and so they've they've sort of maybe job security or things like that have or the the process they go through in evaluations um when they get uh when they do their their resumes and so on cause them to to take a certain identity. I I don't know exactly what sure what to to make of it but I think that people have been so so socially encouraged to be to to identify themselves that way. But I think that that if they could be freed I I think brain typing can free you to be who you are and you don't have to like you don't have to fall in line with what society says is is acceptable. I think that's the reason why people test out that way is what I'm trying to say is I don't think they're being dishonest. I think they're just like that's almost like the the roles that they their vocations are required to cause them to see themselves in that vein or something something along those lines because it's just shockingly different the way that when we see those numbers that they put out I'm just in my mind that it's it's a great disparity that needs to have some explanation behind it.

Renee Richel 38:47

Well and it's funny because when we we get results back somebody could say oh mine was so different than the one before and they said well did you take it while you were at work or did you take it on your weekend when there was nothing else going on in your life and you took it more personal, which I mean I don't think you can get into the details of that but I do say sometimes it's the environment of where you're trying to cycle analyze your own answers which I always say don't overthink it just answer. So I am so grateful that you have joined us and anybody that wants to dive deeper or be evaluated by Jeremy and his team please write in, ask us questions, we'll connect you to him I can't wait till your book is out to share with more of our audience. But this is the one area that I feel when everybody says what do I do with this or how do I do that I'm like start with your own God given brain that God designed you to be and I just love what you're doing. So I'm so grateful that you joined us today. Any questions anybody has I hope we can write in and maybe ask you or have you back on another podcast with more specific questions from our audience.

Jeremy Niednagel 39:52

Sure that's great. I I uh I'm I'm really nothing special in and of myself it's just that I've lived this information and so I actually my brain type is not one to to want to talk about it. It's one to want to just apply it. So you can even So what is your what is your Myers Briggs uh uh the Myers Briggs is they call it the ISTJ okay um so it's a it's really a challenge for me to get up in front of people and talk. Um I only do it because my I believe in it and I feel like this is a calling that God's given. Otherwise I have we have other people that are involved in our work who should be at the face of our work, you know, who the entertaining people. But um I'm kind of a a um quality control kind of person. So so really it's it's better for me to write the book and then put it in the hands of people who can share it in a in a exciting way.

Renee Richel 40:38

I love it. Well that's what we are here for God Design it's all uniquely different than we've been talking about so that we can spread the word he has for us through all of us. So I hope you have a blessed rest of your week our audience does too and we love these chats that we have so we'll continue that and maybe when your book's out we'll have somebody else on here too sharing more. I hope you have a blessed week that last thank you it's kind of a great talk on this episode of once you talk to five or neighborhood and look forward to our next task so I can be start to talk about you wanted to stay