I hate it when people don’t use their turn signals. I hate it when people don’t return their phone calls. I hate it when people waste my time. I hate it when (you fill in the blank).
Ever hear people use the “I hate it when people…” line? Well, if your experience is anything like mine, you hear it all the time.
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Successful people get what they want more often than the rest of us.
What could be more obvious than that?
After all, we could say that, in many respects, that’s the definition of success: the ability to get what we want.
Continue readingOne of the lessons in The Forbidden Keys to Persuasion focuses on the power of context. The reason is simple: context is one of the most overlooked aspects of communication. Especially persuasive communication.
People often spend far more time and money honing the specifics of their message than they do contemplating the “frame” around their message. In other words, context gets lost in our effort to “polish” and “perfect” our messages. Yet, if the context itself is weak or confusing, all the detail work in the world will be for naught.
Continue readingWhy do people – yes, including myself – feel so compelled to correct other people about things which make absolutely no difference?
In the past couple of weeks I’ve heard people correct others about the most insignificant things imaginable.
I’m sure there are times when we need to correct and be corrected. But not nearly as often as we may think.
Continue readingLying without really lying is easy. Just embrace two simple ideas:
1. Language is powerful and can be twisted and distorted to mislead and manipulate people without their awareness or consent.
Continue readingWhen I wrote my rant called The Trouble with Tolerance, I thought I’d gotten it all out of my system.
I was wrong. Here’s the story:
A couple of weeks back, I went to get my hairs cut. Yes, hairs. I can count them now so I prefer to think of them as individuals.
Anyway…
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As I write these words, I’m certain of 3 things. My cat is sleeping beside me. My dogs are sleeping beneath me. And I’m living in the Twilight Zone.
Until now, I thought the old Twilight Zone stories were pure fantasy. Now, I know they’re weren’t. They can really happen. At least one of them can. And has.
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Ask people whether they would rather feel lucky or feel proud and pride will win more often than not. And yet, most people spend more time trying to improve their luck than doing things that will leave them feeling proud.
Consider how many people play the lottery. The chances of being lucky enough to win are dismal. But worse, even if you do eventually win, the chances it will leave you feeling proud are nil.
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