Here is a little secret on how to get what you want. I will caution you that nothing works 100%, all of the time. However, if you incorporate this into your everyday life, you will be surprised how much more you will have. You will have more friends, more help in times of need, and just more of what you want.
To be honest it isn’t a secret. It is just something that is difficult to do for some, only because we get so caught up with everyday life. We are so distracted by cell phones, children, and stress that we forget how to treat people. That is right! In order to get what you want, you must treat people as if they have something you need. Now, don’t be confused! I didn’t say use people. I said, treat people as if they have something that you want or need.
Think about it! How do you treat someone who has something you want? Do you have children? Boy, do they make a great illustration for this topic! I recently promised my boys (8 year old twins) that if they did well at their gymnastics meet, then I would get them something special. Guess what? They did well. So, I went out and bought them something. They knew when I returned home from the store that I had their prize. I was able to use it to my advantage to have fun with them. I got hugs, kisses, please, and thank you. It was as if they were alien possessed. Why is that? It was simply because I had something they wanted. And since I had something they wanted, they treated me nicely.
Treat everyone as if they have something you want, that even includes strangers. Why is that? Because you never know when you will need what that person has. So, what exactly does this look like? It means smiling at others. Hold the door for them as you walk into or out of a business. It means being last in the line at the next workplace luncheon because you are assisting others with their plates and drinks. It means helping the stranger in the store parking lot return their shopping cart. It means dropping a hand written note in the mail telling someone thank you and that you were thinking of them. The list can go on and on. Just think back to the last time you needed something that someone had. How did you treat them?
I would recommend that you start this process in the workplace. Why the workplace, you may ask? First, it will make your workplace much more enjoyable. Second, you never know when the person sitting next to you will be your boss. Yes, that twenty-something that just started last week could be your boss one day. My experience as a school teacher and in the corporate world has proven this time and again. As a new special education teacher, I had to work with a fifth grade teacher because we both worked with the same student. Thank goodness I treated this teacher like he had something I wanted. Seven years after first working with him, he became a principal at a school 30 minutes away. And I on the other hand became an insurance agent that worked with school teachers. Guess what? I had to work with his teachers. How do you think it would have gone if seven years earlier, I had treated him differently? One final example comes from one of my first experiences working in the insurance industry. The 20 year veteran that mentored me and the manager that hired me became my direct reports seven years after I started. Thank goodness I treated them as if they had something I wanted. (Of course at that time they did. It was their help and knowledge.) If I hadn’t treated them well, they could have made my life very miserable.
One of the best books I’ve read on this topic, which I would recommend to you, is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I remember reading this book during my years in college. At the time, I was harassed by my friends. They tried to inform me that I didn’t need to win friends, but instead, I had to earn them. Needless to say, my response to them was that they needed to read the book. The book gives great detail and much support about how to treat people. I still highly recommend it even after all these years.
I leave you with Proverbs 17:17 A friend loveth at all times
No comments:
Post a Comment