People are Mirrors

Sometimes we get frustrated when dealing with someone, because we don't like the way they treat us. I know I have encountered this situation so often that I'm certain it has hampered my business success more often than I care to admit, but I will use a personal example rather than jeopardize business relationships that may already be strained.

My mother and I love each other dearly, but sometimes we just cannot get along. I am usually a very positive, optimistic person. But my mother is a bit more of a pessimist. And often I have found myself saying, "why does she have to be like that?" But I have finally learned a valuable lesson. When my mother says something so utterly negative and depressing that I just want to yell, I instead smile and say something positive back. And, the greatest miracle ever happens after that... She says something positive and uplifting too!

Of course this got me thinking about other situations where this could work. Well, reflecting on my relationship with my mother, I realized that when she says does something I don't like, I get upset and then we argue. But I figure that maybe if I respond cheerfully with a smile, even when I am upset then I can avoid arguing. And it works!

Moral of the story: often times people are just a mirror, reflecting whatever moods, attitudes, tones or feelings you show them. We seldom realize that we can alter the way some people treat us by first altering the way we treat them. Remember the old saying, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." How simple, profound, true and yet so hard to see.

So, watch out for all the people out there mirroring you. Next time a business deal is about to fall through, remember to act the way you want the other person to act and it could save your deal.

Tired but happy

Sometimes we spend a lot of time thinking about something rather than just doing it. For weeks now, we have been talking about getting all the staging stuff out of a house we just got a renter for, and moving it to our house we live in, so we can stage and sell this one. We also wanted to rearrange some furniture and put some stuff away to stage the house to show it. I can't count how many hours I've spent thinking about what needs to be done and how much work it will be. We've also spent countless hours talking about it.

Well, today we finally did it!!! We took about an hour to drive 3 towns away to get the stuff from the rental house and drive back home. Later we spent another hour rearranging the furniture, packing away "clutter" and staging the house.

Granted, we are not done. But another hour tomorrow night and our house could be ready to show. After our hour of rearranging and packing away, we were blown away by what a huge difference we had made. Not only had we gotten rid of a lot of the physical clutter in our house, but we also got rid of a lot mental clutter. We had both been thinking about this for so long.

Moral of the story: stop thinking so much and just do whatever needs to be done. No need to spend 20 hours over the next few weeks thinking about something you could do in an hour or two right now.