Want to connect with people better?
Want to be more productive and make more money?
Want to be happier?
Want to be remembered as a great conversationalist?
It’s something you already do every single day.
That said, it’s something we could all benefit from doing more of every day.
The more we do, the more we learn.
It’s essential to business, wealth accumulation, laughter, happiness and love.
What am I talking about?
L-I-S-T-E-N-I-N-G
Learn to listen
The sayings about listening are as timeless as milk and cookies.
We were given two ears but only one mouth, because listening is twice as hard as talking.
We have two ears and one mouth and should use them in proportion.
Listening seems so basic, so fundamental to us. Then why do so many of us struggle with it?
I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.
Ernest Hemingway
Think about the last time you were “listening” to someone else and then got distracted. Why did it happen?
It’s really a lack of discipline. A lack of focus.
You mean to tell me you can still hear someone while you’re juggling your cell phone, listening to Spotify and typing an email?
In fact you can. That’s the problem.
People think that hearing sounds and words means they’re listening. They are.
BUT…..There’s a big difference between hearing and actively listening and paying attention.
And that’s where the key to happiness, success, better relationships, accumulating wealth and learning and achieving more than we have ever dreamed of lies.
One of the best gifts we can give someone is our undivided attention.
How many people do you know who write emails when they’re on the phone? How many people do you see at the gym on their cell phones?
It’s not about how much we do or how many things we accumulate, it’s about finding and creating meaning in the things we do for ourselves and those we care about.
Learn to listen.
It pays to become a listener as sometimes opportunity knocks very, very quietly.
Thanks for reading and have a spectacular week!
PS. Special birthday shout out to my dad, one of the best listeners I know.
PSS Here is a great post about slowing down and enjoying 39 of life’s little pleasures (I’m going to do #27 right now before I go to bed).
