This world is full of people, the economy is built on people by people. When you receive money, it comes from another person by trading something of value. Money is mostly made of cotton, a lightweight material that can be turned into digits instead of carrying tons of weight in gold or whatever else to trade with. It feels weird but it doesn’t matter, it is efficient and this is how our world works right now.
I realized that one of the most important skills is dealing with people. In a world full of people, it makes a lot of sense that you need to have excellent communication skills. The better those communication skills are, the more you will get your way. Getting your way is not bad, and should not be done in a toxic, rude, unbalanced way.
You are constantly getting your way, meeting in the middle or not having your way in every second of your life.
A simple example: I used to live in a shared apartment. A person refused to do their cleaning tasks. Was I supposed to get angry and report them to the landlord? Yes, perhaps, but within a couple of minutes I managed to convince them to join us in the cleaning process. I went and explained how this causes everyone else to have more work and that, definitely, the mood of our apartment is not going to be the same after. They seemed to understand and we continued as usual. As usual but now with the apartment clean.
There are levels to those negotiations in every area of life. The better you handle those situations, the better of a reward you’re gonna get.
Exercises/Lesson Summary:
- It is no secret that being nice will get you much better results in life. Same goes with listening to people; you don’t need to be talking all the time, listening is equally important, if not more important in some cases. Listening will help you build a connection faster with the other person.
- You don’t have to be the main character everywhere you go. Silence, observation, and listening work the same in some cases. People will identify a person that is being fake and will cause total credibility loss. Being high quality in everything you do will be appreciated, and you will do better.
- Always say sorry/ok/agree/listen. Don’t overreact and keep a normal face. It doesn’t matter what you hear from the other person. Say ok and analyze it inside your mind. If things are overwhelming, you will have time later. You can always share what you think after you have calculated if this is the correct answer. When the offer is not in your favor, never be scared to negotiate or walk away. More opportunities will come along the way.
- Understand when you have leverage and use it to your advantage. That way, you can get away with more. Example: I wanted to sell my phone for 450. It was in perfect condition. When the person came to see the phone in person, he asked me how much do I sell it for. I simply didn’t say what I had in mind and persisted that he first give a number. He then offered 500, and I accepted the offer. I later realized that the phone was actually worth 500–550. Had I given my number (450), I would have gotten a worse deal. I could have also negotiated a bit more.
- Always ask! The worst thing that the other person can say is no. Taking a no should have no effect on you. If it does, take 100 no’s in one day, and it should make you immune to it for a long time.
- Don’t be scared to say sorry and apologize. If you are wrong, you are wrong. No hard feelings. Promise yourself that you will improve and things should work out fine. People are going to be much more understanding and nice if you admit to your wrongdoings. This game is a learning experience, you need that trial and error. Use it to your advantage.