More often that not we think about ourselves first.
We look at a picture of us and several friends or family and immediately find ourselves to see how it turned out.
We start sentences with “I want” (you to do something for me). Our stories are typically geared around us or an encounter we’ve had lately.
You get the point.
Think Of Others First
I’ve recently been reading the book from Dale Carnegie titled, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” (affiliate link) This was written in 1936 and I must say, still very true today. If you don’t have it, get it.
The basics of this book are some of what I just said in the previous paragraph. He talks about how much people love to talk about themselves and how we can only get people to do something if they want to do it.
Case in Point.
Some of those really awesome, well-trained, sales guys came to my door the other day trying to give me a free alarm system. They gave me their pitch and I listened, for the most part. But the whole time I was talking with them I kept referring back (in my mind) to this book and sales techniques that they clearly had not learned. They didn’t put me first.
He led off by saying, “You’ve got a prime location being a corner lot and all. It’s great advertising for us if we can get you a system and get our sign in the yard.” Which means, to me, they want my lot because of the advertising, not because they want me to have a system. And, to be honest, he didn’t make me want to let them install it.
I believe he talked more about how awesome their “state-of-the-art” system is than the benefits of having one. But in all fairness, I become more resilient to untrained sales guys the more I learn about sales and marketing.
How Does This Help You?
I assume you’re asking what this has to do with your particular passion and how it relates to other people. You see, as people, we are engrossed in ourselves. We want, want, want for me, me, me. So, since you have a passion, someone wants it. They want what you have by nature. It’s virtually impossible for someone to have something awesome and another person not feel like they are entitled to share in it in some way.
So give it to them.
Find what it is you’re passionate about and let everyone else have it. Do you know what this does?
It makes you top of mind.
It makes you resourceful.
It makes you helpful.
It makes you awesome.
That’s what I’m doing. There’s no hidden message here. I’m passionate about being passionate. And I want to share that with everyone. And you wanted it, so you got it. It’s really as simple as that.
I’ll leave this post with quite possibly my favorite quote of all time from the one and only, Zig Ziglar.
“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
Don’t pass up the chance to let your passion work in someone else’s life.
Great article! Thanks for the helpful thoughts.
Glad you found it provoking! Thanks for reading!
Looking forward to reading more of your material!
Kent
I love that Zig Ziglar quote too. Thanks for sharing, Jared!
Yepp. It’s awesome. Heck, he’s awesome. 😀
I love How To Win Friends… Great book that every salesman or marketer should read.
Every human I think. 😀