I arrived home from work feeling very self-satisfied. I was on a roll. “How was your day?” asked my wife. “Great.” “Why?” “I got everything done that I wanted to.” And then she asked me this: “Is that how you measure the quality of your day?” Oh my, I thought. I certainly do. I mean,
Dale Carnegie famously wrote: “It is better to be interested than interesting.” And it’s true: Connections are made more through genuine curiosity than impressive credentials. That said, if you’re not at all interesting, people won’t be as responsive to your interest in them. Are you always as interested and as interesting as you could be?
“He’s gone.” Even now, more than seven years removed from the day, Cory Wessman can still picture the doctor’s grim face as he shared the news that Cory’s son Micah had died. Each of us has a story, narratives that shape who we are as human beings. Sometimes, our most difficult stories to tell are
I’ve recently been determined not to go to any boring parties. No boring family gatherings. No dull small talk at events. No hoping to find an early exit to a conversation. That’s right. I’ve decided that I only want to spend time with interesting people. I suppose I could try to seek out these interesting
Have you ever felt inadequate to respond when someone has opened up to you about their feelings? I know I have. But after I get past the awkwardness, I always find the profound connection makes the discomfort worth it. I had been working with Elizabeth (not her real name) for about six months. She joined
I was given the gift of space on my calendar this morning when a client asked to reschedule a meeting. And within that space, several serendipitous things happened. Initially, I sat in my chair listening to the chatter across the office. I reflected on our culture, on teammates and on the work we do. Moments
Calling all people-pleasers, approval seekers, validation junkies, emotional chameleons, insecure overachievers, and anyone who wonders how—or whether—they measure up! To some degree, you most likely see yourself through the eyes of others. The way others feel or the way others treat you impacts how you feel inside. Are these co-dependent feelings, ironically, reducing the strength
Relationships usually start with affinity: we work together, we live near each other, we both enjoy the same hobby or we exercise at the same gym. They deepen as we validate one another (implicitly or explicitly): we appreciate each other, we listen to each other, we show acts of kindness or we inflate each other’s
We all have principles that we live our lives by, and it can be really frustrating when others don’t follow them, too. Here’s one of my guiding principles that it seems like few people practice: getting back to people with a clear answer after they’ve asked or offered you something. To me, it’s about showing
“It’s not what you know but who you know,” as they say. But who has time for that? I want to be in relationship but I have so much to do. I want to be a human being but demands on my time push me toward a human doing. This tension manifests itself when I
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE